"You're right. I never forgave my father." Krishant huffed, "And you know why? Because he was a criminal." The air tightened around the two tormented souls, about to go on a rampage utterly to justify their sorrows. The moisture in his eyes grows apparent like a twinkling star in the dark twilight as the pearls of sweat form on his pale skin with each heavy breath. He left his dish.

Priyanka could feel herself edging towards the agitation. Weirdly enough, the fancy lounge chair for sitting grew uncomfortable under dark, pernicious eyes of Krishant. More regret consumed Priyanka--the more she thought about judging him without knowing his demons first. She had chosen to give herself and Krishant more time but boldly assuming was the crime she had committed against him. Self-indulgence became an obstacle in her moment of understanding an utterly different soul as her grieving took over her rational humanity while considering his agony as Priyanka forgot to filter the absurd accusations she had blamed Krishant about from his restricted past.

Without explaining anything further, Krishant left, leaving a guilt-ridden Priyanka behind to reconsider her judgments upon people so far.

Priyanka gulped through her tightened gut but breathed further as if nothing had happened. The moment felt like a twisted game of trust, and the best judgment Priyanka could pass was not assuming anything at all. Not all decisions are wise, after all.

The more Krishant says, the more it is difficult to believe him. There's always a twist behind his every statement.

The other preparations of Krishant for the rest of their day were all in vain as the great wall of misunderstanding, healing wounds, and mistrust stood between them. Priyanka didn't know what else she could attempt in her life other than indulging in remorse.

Holding onto the same method of not letting anyone else was hard; allowing someone else to see his inner demons was hard too. Krishant had to choose his hard; no matter how painful it was, the hurt never subsided either way. But Krishant was now more determined about Priyanka, who was as hopeful as he was when he again decided to knock on her room to at least provide her one glimpse of his genuine self.

Later, they both stroll through the gust of the silent night, side by side. Not in hand in hand, but precisely in agreement. The midnight was settling in with the ghost-quite hush from the breeze that licked them, but the silence never let their nerves compose. The tension was thick, but they were tongue-tight.

"My mother," Krishant began, "I don't know how my mother was. I never met her." Looking at his companion's unoffended narrowed eyes, he continued, "She died giving birth to me." He repeated. Krishant was calmer than Priyanka expected him to be after he abruptly left his food cold earlier. "I have only known her through my father's words."

Priyanka was the least interested in knowing his history, but she respected his emotions and efforts. She needed to understand where he came from. She stayed quiet, despite feeling slightly irritated towards Krishant's secretiveness. At least now, it wasn't just about his past. His actions clarified to her how many secrets he was keeping from her. Krishant never told her about the woman from earlier, either. Priyanka clearly knew her from somewhere; she must have met her through Krishant in the course of the forgotten past one month before the coma of her life.

Not just his furtive nature, but his quirks of throwing unexpected emotions at the unpredictable time were getting Priyanka on edge. She ignored none of his words, none of his concerns or expressions; he was her sole priority after Krishant laid down his intentions reasonably, purely, and bravely.

"The woman from earlier was my ex step-mother. You have met her before." Krishant's jaw clenched with his fist balls up in his jeans pocket, a typical action to express his anger and control it at the same time. With heavy breaths, he said, "She's not especially my favorite person in the world, and neither was she yours," he continues, "My father adored her and left me under her care after his heart failed him. And he failed me." He rhythmically completed, amused by his creativity.

"Why do you hate him?" Priyanka regrets asking that as soon as Krishant's eyes glistened for a moment at the unexpected question.

"I... He...." He cleared his throat.

"It's alright. You don't have to--"

"He mistreated me." He said, confusing himself with the uncleared hesitation, "He hated me, blamed me for my mother's death." It was getting personal, but even in an overwhelming situation, Krishant managed to show only the things he wanted to show.

Priyanka internally stumbled across his words: clearly not expecting his sincere confessions. She fumbled with her own words, concluding with an empty response, and nodded instead.

The silence settled again.

"It's not like you always knew all of me. But the pace was right between us back then. We at least considered getting to know each other."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"I am sorry, Priya. But right now, I feel like I am the only one trying here." He abruptly halted in the middle of the empty footpath. "I know how you feel about all this, but trust me, I am miserable, too. Looking at you is just a reminder of how much I have lost in life, but I still want you because you make me happy. It was difficult for you to do this before too, but you tried. You tried for me. But now, all I would see is doubt in your eyes, and it's driving me crazy." His frown deepened.

It was hard to believe; he seemed to know almost everything about Priyanka, unlike her, who was still questioning people from her forgotten past, yet he accused her of not giving him another chance. Her actions had already proved her willingness to stay with him if not her words.

"You know why I am being like this."

"I know, I know, you don't remember me. But it's alright." He sighs, "How long are you going to be like this? When will you accept me and this truth?" He slowly whispers and bends to her level.

"Is this how you want to do this? By pressurizing me?" Priyanka could feel herself fuming as she unconsciously and threateningly took a step toward him. She was an expert in defending herself; that's all she had ever done in life while stepping on people's toes. Her warrior instinct did not let anyone else command her around. Just looking at Krishant's dark eyes was enough to push the guard within to take a stance.

"No, I'd never do that. I would lose you if I did that. More than myself, I want to see you happy." His face went impassive, and so did his quiet voice, but his pupils dilated mesmerizingly, which captured every fibre of attention within Priyanka as she forgot to blink and refused to look away. What was he doing?

They stayed like that for moments, under the shining full moon and calming breeze. All of their upcoming altercations vanished in the moment of unspoken hypnosis.

Krishant retreated, allowing Priyanka to breathe, but furtively glanced at her once before turning away from her completely, leaving Priyanka without asking for more shamelessly. She was not done with studying him yet.

"You said the last time we met, right before my accident, we had a fight." Krishant instantly nodded, with still his back on her as he vacantly looked at the empty field. "Was it for the same reason?"

Krishant raised his neat brow as he turned around.

"Was it because I didn't let you in before too?"

"No." His face remained impassive, but his dark eyes clouded with hesitation. He blinked a few times and glanced anywhere around Priyanka. "As I said before, you tried for me. That was never the issue between us."

"Then, what was it?" Again, Priyanka's grey eyes captured Krishant's dark ones.

"It was me, Priyanka." Krishant sighs, "It was always me."

"I do not understand this, Krishant."

"Can we just forget what we talked about right now? Because I don't think I can do this, Priyanka."

Priyanka's eyes widen. These wouldn't happen the next time; Krishant would make sure of it. Priyanka had to make sure Krishant revealed everything right at the moment.

"Krishant," She politely reaches for his paint-stained hand and laces her fingers with his securely. She had to handle the issue with tenderness; she could not coerce the truth out of Krishant.

Krishant froze in his place at the sudden attempt of Priyanka. He gulps and looks at their intertwined fingers. These were not how he had expected Priyanka to react. He deemed rage would take over Priyanka.

"I am right here. If I ever wanted to leave, I wouldn't have come with you in the first place. Please, Julian. Let's do this together." Krishant nodded with hesitation.

"Priyanka, I regret that fight. And I blame only myself for that. I think things could've been better if not for that night. We're here because of my mistakes." Priyanka nodded for him to continue, 

"And my mistake was that I trusted her. I loved her, but she never deserved it."

"Who?" Krishant stopped his rant, "We fought because of someone else?"

"Yes." Krishant stopped looking at Priyanka and closed his eyes for a few seconds, "It was because of my ex-girlfriend."

"What?"

"Monica was really toxic. She couldn't see me moving on so fast. But you helped me with it." By now, Priyanka was offended by herself. The plot was getting clear for her to grasp the scene that Krishant depicted. She couldn't be that girl who helped people and mingled in other people's relationships. Julian's words were becoming surreal for her; her own description sounded unsuitable for her character.

She tried composing herself, but her shaky voice conquered anyway, "Are you sure?"

"Why are you asking me that? I didn't even want to tell you this in the first place." Krishant grunted in annoyance at her mere accusation.

"Wait, you are saying that your girlfriend didn't want us to be together, and the last time we met, we fought over her?"

"Ex-girlfriend." He corrected, "And yes. How hard is it to understand?"

The issue was getting out of the plan for Krishant. However, Priyanka couldn't believe herself to be helpful to some stranger even in her unremembered past or hearing herself become a clingy girlfriend.

Krishant quickly withdrew his hand from Priyanka's grasp and watched her getting lost in her thoughts. He unknowingly smirks, assuming that perhaps his plan actually worked.

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