Unconditional Love

45. Perspective

It had been three days since Virat arrived in San Francisco, working to find the person who had spiked Aman's drink while also managing the new deal from Rahul Bhai's house.

 He was grateful for Rahul Bhai; he could talk to him without any fear of exposing his emotions, no matter how vulnerable it made him feel.

He had spoken to Aman once and learned that Rohit had returned to Mumbai, citing work as the reason. However, when Virat called the office, Rohit wasn't there.

Concerned, he texted Rohit, "All okay?" Rohit's response, "Everything is fine," only deepened Virat's worry.

Later, Robert explained, "Sir, it's an employee you fired after she said something to Rohit Sir. Apparently, she is the daughter of the rival company's CEO. She was working here to leak information—she succeeded with two projects before you fired her. They discovered that Aman Sir is your brother and tried to hurt him. I have all the proof—we can submit it and get her arrested."

Virat and Robert immediately began working on submitting the evidence to the San Francisco authorities to initiate the process of getting her transferred to India for further action.

Virat came home, welcomed by an amazing aroma of food.

"Go, freshen up," Rahul Bhai said, and Virat ran like a child to his room. Rahul Bhai chuckled at his excitement.

"Solved the problem?" Rahul Bhai asked, serving dinner to him.

"Yes, all done—remaining process Robert will handle it," Virat said, literally digging into the food.

"Slow down, it is not going anywhere," Rahul Bhai said, seeing him eating quickly.

Once done with dinner, they sat on the balcony.

"You never told me why you needed the break in the first place," Rahul Bhai asked.

Virat took a deep breath and shared the things Rohit and Jassi said to him. It was not easy; it still hurt the same as he said it out loud.

"Am I really selfish? Do I not consider others' emotions, how they feel?" Virat asked with moist eyes.

Rahul kept his hand on his shoulder.

"Never think like that. You are not selfish. It was not your fault—they were at fault—but we cannot even blame them. It's the situations you guys were trapped in, and to be specific, you were trapped in—it piled up," he explained calmly.

"Now, if we had to make it simple, they are fairly new in your life—Rohit doesn't know your past properly, the things you went through that made you like this. I mean, the walls you have around you. I get your instinct to protect them and shield them, even if it means protecting them from you and your emotions, but it's not right—especially for you," said Rahul Bhai.

Virat listened silently.

"You are in no way wrong in all this, but just try to express yourself more. They all love you and will help you, Cheeku. It's not your burden to carry—share it. That is the way of life," Rahul Bhai said, patting his head.

Rahul Bhai gave him space to think about it. Virat sat there in the cool breeze, reflecting on his words. After some time, he went to his room, and for the first time, he could feel the emptiness—Rohit was not there.

His clumsiness, his laughter, his cuddles—he missed everything.

Virat called him. The first two times, there was no answer. On the third try, Rohit picked up.

"Ro?" Virat called softly.

He could hear soft breathing through the phone.

"Ro, are you there?" Virat asked, growing worried.

"Yeah, sorry. I just dozed off while working," Rohit replied, though his voice carried a nervousness that Virat immediately picked up on.

"In the office?" Virat asked.

"Yes, in your cabin," Rohit answered.

Okay, so he's in my cabin. Maybe he's been staying there since he returned to Mumbai. That's why no one has seen him. Did he not go home? So many thoughts raced through Virat's mind.

"I'll call you later," he said and hung up.

Virat gave it some thought. Now he knew it would be better to go back home to the people waiting for him. He really missed them, and with the problems resolved, he felt he could handle everything better.

"Coffee?" Rahul Bhai asked as Virat came out of his room. Virat nodded.

"Ready to go back home?" Rahul Bhai asked, handing him the cup.

"How come you know me so well?" Virat whined, feeling as though Rahul Bhai had read his mind.

Rahul Bhai chuckled, pulling his cheeks.

"I just hope they are okay... You know, Rohit is sounding really low," Virat said, worrying about him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine once you're there with him," Rahul Bhai assured him. "Keep me updated about how it goes with Aman," he added.

"You miss him, don't you?" Virat asked gently.

"Of course, that sunshine kid—how can I not? See my fate. When he met with an accident, I was in the car trying to save him, and he forgot all the memories related to me," Rahul Bhai said, chuckling sadly.

"Bhai, why don't you try talking to him once? He saw you two or three times post-recovery, and he didn't panic. I'll be there with him—we can try," Virat said, resting his head on Rahul Bhai's shoulder.

"No, no, we can't risk it at all. And you know, even if he remembers, he won't be able to handle—"

"He won't be able to handle that you chose to save him instead of your girlfriend, and it affected you so much that you never even thought of giving love another chance, choosing to stay alone here," Virat said, holding his arm. As he spoke, a lone tear trickled down Rahul Bhai's cheek.

"He cannot know, Cheeku. He cannot."

Virat hugged him tightly, and they sat together in silence for a while before Virat got up to pack and leave for Mumbai.

_____

vote and spam the comments ⭐