Sahil leaned slightly against the railing of the balcony of Jai and Kavya's new apartment. As he stared at the drowning sun, his mind wandered off.

How did his life become like this? He was currently living in the new apartment that his step dad had given to Jai and Kavya as a wedding gift. After returning to Mumbai, he had made up his mind to never step foot in that house ever again. Facing his step dad was a big no-no.

But deep down, he knew he had to face him at some point or the other. He was relieved by the fact that now he could really justify why his step dad had always been so cruel to him, why he had always despised him. He was finally free of his clutches. No strings attached anymore.

His mom had been desperately trying to make him talk to her since the day they got back. But he flat out refused to. How could she expect him to be okay with this so soon? The amount of mental torture that he had to go through all his life still held enough reason for him to not forgive her that easily.

Sometimes he wished he had Shanu by his side. Especially now since he felt like he couldn't hold himself up for long. He wished to see her, for her to sooth him and tell him that everything was going to be just fine, and that they'll survive this together. Why did she have to keep the truth a secret from him? If she had told him earlier, maybe none of this wouldn't have happened.

Was it really her fault?

His thoughts were interrupted by Kavya. She cleared her throat and said,

Kavya: What are you thinking?

Sahil did not turn to look at her but said,

Sahil: Nothing.

Kavya: I know that you are mad at me but... it's not like you can't share what's troubling you.

Sahil: I said it's nothing. Please just..... leave me alone.

Kavya frowned and said,

Kavya: Sahil.... I know that we've hurt you.... but just try to understand.....

Sahil: I don't wanna understand!

Kavya shuddered at his tone. Sahil immediately looked at her apologetically. He rushed past her and went to his room.

Kavya: Sahil wait!

Sahil stopped on his tracks but didn't turn around.

Kavya: I know that you're hurting. So are we. But please....for the sake of God.... please just hear me out....

Sahil turned and looked at her. He could see her eyes glistening with tears.

Kavya: I can't justify what mom did. I know that you have every right to be mad at her.....to be mad at us. We were supposed to be your support system....your family.... but we failed.

Sahil looked at his feet, silently agreeing. Kavya continued,

Kavya: But please just know that we never.... ever meant to hurt you, Sahil. Not intentionally. We made a mistake....of not telling you about your dad. I agree..... completely.... but it was just to protect you.

Sahil scrunched his nose and looked away from his feet.

Kavya: We never meant for you to find out this way. Mom.....she was going to tell you.....

Sahil looked at her questioningly.

Sahil: After the wedding. Jai had convinced mom to come clean in front of you.... after the wedding.

Sahil swallowed and looked at her. He didn't know what to do. He looked here and there.

Sahil: Why now? Why after 21 years?

Kavya: Mom was afraid, Sahil. She was scared she would loose you if she told you the truth.

Sahil glanced at her face before looking at his feet again. His silence made her continue,

Kavya: Anyways, it doesn't mean that we weren't at fault. We were.....and we are really sorry for that , Sahil.

Sahil looked at her face. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Sahil: I just..... I can't.....everytime I think of this.....the past 21 years just come floating back to my mind. The torture.....the pain.....the insults..... I can't forgive ma so easily..... it's harder than you think it is.

Kavya: I know. And I'm not asking you to...... forgive us. But Sahil, there is one person here.....who deserves your forgiveness.....

Sahil looked at her questioningly.

Kavya: Shanu.

Her name made his heart skip a beat. He inhaled deeply.

Kavya: She isn't at fault here, Sahil. I know that you are mad at her because she kept this thing a secret from you..... but it was me who asked her to do it.

Sahil looked away and sighed heavily.

Kavya: I made her swear to never utter a word about this to anyone, let alone you. She just kept a promise, Sahil.

Sahil shut his eyes as hot tears made their way down his cheeks.

Kavya: I never wished for you to hate her , Sahil. She is the only person in your life who loves you unconditionally. And I saw that. I saw how happy you were with her. I didn't mean to tell her about this either.... but it just came out....and I didn't know what to do....so I asked her to keep this a secret.

Sahil groaned in frustration.

Kavya: Please don't hate her because of me , Sahil. She loves you more than anyone else. She cares for you so much that she calls me every hour to check whether you are okay or not.

Sahil looked at her with surprise.

Kavya: Yes, for the past two days....she has been calling me every hour to know how you are despite being sick. If that's not unconditional love, I don't what is.

Sahil: She's sick?

Kavya: She came down with a cold after getting to her hostel. Ananya's been taking care of her.

Sahil rubbed his knuckles and sat down on the couch. He felt exhausted.

Kavya: Shayantani loves you, Sahil. More than any of us...ever could. You can stay mad at us..... but please try to forgive her atleast. She doesn't deserve this.

There was an uncomfortable silence following that. Kavya wiped her tears and walked back to the kitchen leaving Sahil in a daze.

                
                 ~~~~~~~~~~

Sahil inhaled deeply as he stood in front of his college hostel campus gates. After thinking for about what felt like an eternity, he was standing in front of the campus gates, debating whether this idea was goon or not. He just knew one thing that he had to see Shanu somehow.

He glanced at his watch. There was another half hour to midnight. He nodded to himself and walked ahead.

He easily entered into the campus. The security guard knew him as the Dean's son and without any ID had allowed him to go in. Guess being the Dean's son had its benefits too!

The main entrance of the girls' hostel had twenty four hour security. The mango tree at the back was the only way he could get in.

He walked towards the back of the hostel to reach the mango tree. He removed his jacket.

He glanced at the tree outside room 226. He could climb that , right? With his injured hand, he feared the worst. But there was no other way of getting inside her room.

He clasped the trunk with his hands and lifted one leg up to the first branch. Once up on the tree, he looked down. Anxiety filled him immediately. Why didn't he think this through?

Gathering himself, he looked up and climbed a few more inches. Pulling himself up, he reached Shanu's window. She had kept it slightly ajar letting the cold winter breeze flow in. She was sitting on the chair of her study table, her back towards him, probably alone since her roommate was on vacation.

The room lights were slightly dimmed.

Sahil whispered in the softest tone he could,

Sahil: Psst! Shanu...Shanu!

Shanu jerked up and turned around with surprise. She gaped seeing Sahil perched on a tree branch. She immediately went to her window.

Shanu: Sahil, what the heck?!

Sahil:(whispering) Ssh..... quiet...no one can know that I'm here.

Shanu whispered,

Shanu: But what the heck are you doing here? That too at this hour?! It's freaking midnight!

Sahil:(whispering) I'll explain everything.... first please help me come in.

Shanu nodded hurriedly and slowly stretched out her hand to push the window wide open so he could enter. He simply hooked one leg over the windowsill and holding the window frame with his hands, pulled the rest of his body in.

Once he was in the vicinity of her room, she closed her window and turned to him.

Shanu: Okay, what the hell?

Sahil: Keep it down, Shanu!

Shanu: The hell I'll keep it down! Sahil , you could've gotten hurt! You just recovered from the accident. What if something would have happened? You could've fallen off the tree and hurt yourself.....

Before she could continue, Sahil pressed the back of his hand on her mouth to shut her up. Shanu looked at him with bizzare eyes.

Sahil: I need you to listen to me. Uske baad jitna daatna hai daat lena.

Shanu looked at him questioningly as he removed his hand off her mouth. He made her sit on her bed and then went on to sit on her roommate's bed. For a couple of minutes, nobody said anything.

Sahil: So how are you? Kavya said you were sick.

Shanu: I told her not to tell you.  It's nothing really.

Sahil: Well, that's not your choice to make. She told me because she felt that I should know. And I should know.

Shanu looked at her feet anxiously.

Sahil: Anyways, I did not come here to lecture you. I came here to tell you that...... I'm ready to give you a second chance.

Shanu looked up at him in surprise. He nodded slightly.

Sahil: I thought about it , Shanu. I thought a lot! Probably more than I've ever thought about anything in my entire 21 year old existence.

Shanu smiled weakly.

Sahil: And I realised that...... I wasn't being fair with you. I just.... I was just.... so hurt.

Shanu looked at him sympathetically.

Sahil: When I saw you telling mom to tell me, all I could think of was that you knew about this and you didn't tell me. I never even.... acknowledged the fact that you were actually convincing mom to come clean to me. That you were actually making her do the right thing.

Shanu bit her lip and looked down.

Sahil: I was so engrossed in blaming you that I never realised that you were just trying to help.

His eyes glistened saying that. Shanu got up and went up to him. She kneeled down at his feet and cupped his face with one hand and said,

Shanu: Hey..... don't blame yourself.....okay? This isn't your fault. You had every night to be mad at me. After all I did keep a secret from you which I shouldn't have. I understand that now.

Sahil looked down at her and asked,

Sahil: No, I misunderstood you. I shouldn't have. How can you forgive me so easily?

Shanu paused to look at his face and with a week smile, said,

Shanu: Because I love you, Sahil. I love you too much to not forgive you.

Sahil shook his head and held her face. Shanu cried out with happiness.

Sahil: I love you too, Shanu. I don't know what I'd do without you.

Shanu's eyes brimmed with tears. She smiled through her tears and said,

Shanu: I don't know what I'd do without you too.

As they stood up, Sahil wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

They stayed like that for a few moments, in the warmth of each other's arms.

As they finally parted, Sahil said,

Sahil: But you have to promise me one thing. There will be no more secrets between us anymore. No matter how gruesome the truth is, we'll tell each other everything. Promise?

Shanu: I promise. No more secrets, no more misunderstandings.

Sahil: Yeah.

They smiled and looked at each other. Suddenly, the clock in Shanu's room dinged indicating that it was midnight.

Sahil smiled slightly and whispered,

Sahil: Happy Birthday.

Shanu's face lit up in an instant. The fact that he remembered was enough for her. She smiled widely and asked,

Shanu: You remembered?

Sahil: Ofcourse, I did.

Shanu smiled even more.

Sahil: But I kinda forgot to bring the present.

Shanu shook her head and said,

Shanu: No present can be better than having you with me here and forever.

Sahil smiled and kissed her forehead.

Sahil: I love you.

Shanu smiled widely and said,

Shanu: I love you too.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! So sorry for the late update. I'm just so burdened with online classes and assignments that writing this took me almost 3 days.

BTW, I'm so happy to finally make these two reconcile! I love Shanu and Sahil's relationship. It's just so pure and simple. Their relationship just proves that if you stick with your partner in their hard times, nothing can ever stop that kind of love. Love should be selfless, forgiving and most of all, simple.

Complications can arise in any relationship but if you have faith in your bond with your significant other, there is nothing that you can't overcome.

Wow! Look at me! I, a single bitch, is giving relationship advice to y'all! 😂😂

I just feel like if I ever find love, I would wish it to be like these two. Sweet and simple.

Okay, enough with the open heart conversation! If you liked the chapter please drop a VOTE and comment what is love for you in one word.

Love you loads,
    Bosedisha