ONE LAST TIME (Discontinued)

CHAPTER 8

Author's note: Please do read the small message at the end! Thanks!

Song of the chapter: Aur Ho- Rockstar

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I walked out of the Professor's office, my heart thudding in my chest, my vision clouded and my entire body sagged as if someone had put a wait of hundred boulders over my shoulders. I felt weak and exhausted, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. I just wanted to run away from it all or go and collapse somewhere at a place where all these problems will not haunt me. Someplace where I won't have to deal with mental torment, unanswerable questions, deadly threats and constant new headaches on a daily basis.

I was walking down the corridor aimlessly; my mind wasn't spinning with thoughts and questions anymore. It was blank. No thoughts. No questions. No answers. I had reached that level of bullshit tolerance where my mind wasn't even registering anything anymore. It had stopped functioning, hung up its boots and given the reins of control to my heart which was long dead so it didn't make much of a difference anyway.

I reached the end of the corridor, knowing that I was out of sight of the Professor's cabin and leaned against the wall there, closing my eyes and letting it all sink in.

My head throbbed as everything crashed onto me in full force and I had to struggle to separate one problem from the other and to come up with a sensible course of action for each. To start off with, I had Aryaman to inform about Raghuvir knowing everything and we both really needed to figure out how, why and what to do next. Then, my disqualification meant that now Aryaman would be free to join Fab5 but what about me? I had to get to Pune somehow, provided that the mission was still underway after Raghuvir's threats.

After that, I remembered that I had told Dhruv that today was his last chance to come clean to me. So, I had that to look forward to. And then there was the question of the looming replacement.

Yes, Nandini. I told myself. You've got a lot of stuff to attend to and no one is coming to save you from this mess. Yes, it's unfair to have so many problems but you aren't a victim. You're a fighter. You'll pull through. Real women don't cry around, they stand up and they deal.

I pumped power into myself with that thought and opened my eyes, prepared to take charge. I could do this. Just when I was to walk away though, I looked up ahead and my eyes landed on a person I had never ever expected to see, even in my wildest dreams and I halted in my tracks as the surprise hit me.

She stood there, her phone on her ear, a couple of folders in her hand and dressed in a long tunic and leggings, something in which I had never seen her before. I simply could not believe my eyes as I took in her changed form. From the way the hair was tied up in a bun with a few tendrils escaping, the confident way in which she held herself in her fashionable outfit, the makeup on her face and most importantly the absence of a baby bump.

I blinked twice, my eyes still believing that I was imagining things when she turned around completely and I knew it! It was her!

"Navya!" I screamed, for the first time in a few days, the joy and euphoria that came with seeing a person you loved coursing through me and I couldn't control the smile of genuine happiness that broke out on my face after so long.

Her eyes widened when she registered my voice and she looked at me, pleasant surprise and happiness breaking out on her face as well as she confirmed it was indeed me. "Nandini!" She said, her voice laced with glee and the next second she had dropped her phone, holding out her arms for me.

What happened next was in a blur but then, I found myself in a tight hug with my best friend whom I had never realized how much I had missed before until she was actually here! Right in front of me!