BEYOND UNFINISHED✔️

Chapter 14. A Call, A Spark, and a Storm

Song :- Kaise hua- Vishal Mishra.

Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever...

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Anaya went home that evening feeling lighthearted. A sense of calmness surrounded her—finally, things were returning to normal. Though Arjun's strange behavior in the parking lot still lingered in her mind, she brushed it off like a fleeting shadow and joined her family for dinner.

Later, nestled in the comfort of her room, she found herself reaching for her phone. She needed to talk to Abhi. Tell him everything that happened—well, almost everything. She left out the unsettling side of Arjun.

Dialing quickly, she waited.

Abhi was still on the field after practice, packing his kit when his phone buzzed. The name flashing on the screen brought a rare smile to his tired face.

"Abhiiii..... guess what?"

"What..." he chuckled at her giddy voice.

"No, first you guess... please." she winced like a child asking for candy.

"Okay... Aunty made your favorite food? Or... your surgery went well?" he guessed, amused.

"No, Baba... okay, last chance!" she urged, eager.

"Hmm... your friend forgave you... right?"

"How do you know... I mean yeah... I'm happy today." Her voice lit up with warmth.

"I know you better than anyone. Better than yourself, Dora. I already knew you'd get forgiveness from that person... no one can stay mad at you for long," he said, voice dipped in gentle adoration.

Her cheeks turned crimson. God, if Abhi had seen her now, she would've buried herself alive. He always knew her inside out. Her needs. Her moods. Her silences.

Oh Abhi...

"And now she's blushing..." he sang in a teasing tone.

What he didn't say was that his chest ached to be near her. If he could, he'd fly across the world and just say it. That he loved her. That she wasn't just a friend. Because soon, someone else might try to take what was his.

She was his.
To love.
To protect.
To claim.

And if anyone tried to take her away...

He'd burn the damn world down.

"Abhi... where are you lost? Don't tell me you're checking out some girl there..." she snapped, fuming.

She didn't like him getting distracted—especially not for another girl.

And he never did.

"Nothing. I'm not checking out anyone. I have eyes and ears for only one girl. But she's miles away..." he said, voice dipped in heat.

She gasped. The first time he had said something like this. Openly. Her face flushed with sudden heat.

Abhi realized it too late.

Shit. What did he just say?

"Ahem... I mean, how can I look at anyone else when you're babbling nonstop... oh God, Dora, now my ears are bleeding..."

And there he was again. The jester.

"What! You mean to say I talk nonsense and babble stupid things?!" she nearly shouted.