When he was a kid, Neil's heart had been crushed at the hands of the man who was supposed to love him. The man who was supposed to protect him and shield him from the cruel world. The man who was supposed to only hug him on his birthday, Diwali and result days.

But, Harshwardhan Birla chose to be the father who smashes his son's cake in anger on his sixth birthday. The father who slaps his son for losing one mark in his english test. The father who makes sure that his adoptive son never forgets that actually, he isn't a Birla; he's just an outsider whose expenses are being taken cared of, by Harshwardhan.

Neil tried to run away from the age of eight. Not once, but four times. Unfortunately or fortunately, he came back to Birla House every single time. By the age of twelve, he stopped trying. He resigned to his fate. But every cloud does have a silver lining. For him, it was his maa and his bro.

The two pillars of his life. The two people who took efforts for him, for the relationship they had with him. The two people on whose shoulder he could cry on. The two people with whom he shared every happy moment of his life. The two people for whom he lived. The two people for whom, he could die.

And then entered two sisters. The Goenka behne. One was his soulmate, the other- his soul sister. With their arrival, Neil found the happiness which he thought, from his childhood, that he never deserved.

His Chipkali. The love of his life. The first person after Abhimanyu and Manjiri who tried to understand the person which lay beneath his happy-go-lucky persona. Their relationship was the one which started healing, both Neil and Arohi's broken hearts.

Life with Arohi was simple. They love each other. And there were no secrets. They told each other everything. Every single thing. And today, when Neil was hiding something from Arohi, it reminded him of his childhood - the period where he couldn't share anything with others. Not even with Manjiri and Abhimanyu.

Neil felt suffocated.

Again.

"How much time are you going to take to get ready Chamgadar?" Arohi asked, a frown decorating her pretty face and Neil smiled weakly at her.

"I am done" he replied, admiring his wife. She'd worn a straight line, black satin dress which reached her ankles. Hair let loose, and diamond drops; Arohi looked breathtaking.

"Wow" Neil breathed out and Arohi smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Let's goo!" she said, dragging him.

"Yeah yeah, we're not late"

"Your dad's coming, Neil. I don't want him to complain about us, again" Arohi stated and Neil's heart hammered against his chest.

"Yeah, of course" he replied.

🍁

Akshara kept on glancing at the stack of books kept on the side table as she got ready. Plugging in the hairdryer, Akshara started it. The loud sound always distracted her from her thoughts.

But today, the dryer didn't seem to work. Akshara increased the speed, but her thoughts didn't leave her. They kept on bugging her heart.

Akshara liked her job. The kids were almost always obedient and sweet, considering they weren't teens, yet. Even the actual teenagers, in the higher standards used to come and say 'hi' to their middle school teacher. They would seek blessings from her, would talk to her about their studies and gave her respect. Her colleagues were also really nice, well most of them were.

In short, her job was very rewarding. And the salary was really good. Like, too good for a teacher. But Akshara had been unsure about her profession itself. Akshara was bored of teaching history. She herself had started finding history boring.

'Maybe I just need a break.' Akshara argued with her own self.

"My precious...I don't sing for my own self. I sing for the superpower. I sing for the creator, the protector. I sing for God, my precious. Singing is my worship, Aksharaa"

Akshara was confused. Why would this certain memory come back, out of the blue?

Akshara looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair were all dried up. Akshara began to apply make-up and wear her jewellery.

"Abhiiii, we have to go today" Akshara yelled.

"Two minutes" Abhimanyu yelled back and Akshara rolled her eyes. She had worn a plain, black saree with a sleeveless black blouse. She had paired it with a pearl necklace and earrings. To complete the look, Akshara wore platform heels.

Generally, dressing up made Akshu happy. She always felt confident whenever she dressed perfect. Akshara dressed to impress, her own self. And Akshu knew that she looked stunning today, but somehow, she was filled with self doubt.

She fiddled with her necklace, her right leg unconsciously shaking in nervousness. Akshara couldn't figure out what she was feeling.

"I feel emotions through music. I cry, laugh, feel while singing and listening to music"

Akshara groaned, plopping herself on the couch. Why was she questioning such big questions just before going for a party? This was clearly not a time to reflect.

"Greetings, my lady" Abhimanyu said in a british accent, bowing in front of Akshara.

"Waah Abhi, itna sajh dhajke tu toh apni shaadi mein bhi nahi aaya tha!" (Wow Abhi, you didn't dress up so well even for our wedding!) Akshara quipped, flashing a smile.

"Aye Akshu, kapdo ki nahi, meri husn ki tareef karo!" (Akshu, don't praise my clothes. Praise my beauty) Abhimanyu replied with a frown, running his fingers through his hair.

"Sorry Abhi. Tum bohot khubsoorat dikh rahe ho!" (I am sorry Abhi. You look very beautiful!)

"I know!" he replied, feeling proud of him and Akshara rolled her eyes. Would a stranger believe that this goofy guy is head of surgery at a famous hospital?

"Chale Mrs. Birla?" (Shall we go, Mrs. Birla?) he asked and Akshara nodded, her heartbeat rising as she got up, ready to go.

"Actually, Abhi..I wanted to talk to you" she voiced out and Abhimanyu turned at her, clearly worried.

"Wh-what happened?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

"You know what....never mind. I..I don't know what I was thinking. I-I just, I just think that you know, these days you've-you've been busy and...and I don't know. We've not been able to, you know. We've not been able to like, talk? I don't know. Let's just go" Akshara rambled, making a move and Abhimanyu stopped her, holding her by her arm.

"Askhu, jaan. I am so so sorry. It's just, I've been trying to navigate this entire 'chief' thing, you know? I am so sorry, love. Just give me a couple of weeks. And then, we'll go for a vacation, just you and me. Does that sound good, hm?" he asked and Akshara's heart cried at the sight of her husband. Guilty for nothing, his eyes screaming a fear of losing her.

"Abhiii...I love you, okay? And I totally understand, okay? You really don't have to worry about this. I don't know what I have been thinking. Just-just leave it, okay" she said before hugging him. It was just a way of her trying to assure him that she wasn't leaving him.

This came out longer than I expected!

I hope that it wasn't boring. Would love to hear some reviews❤️