Soulmates ✓

11 | The Scars Are Fresh

The Present

(7 Years Later)

Twinless Twin – it's what they call him now.

Ryan never wanted the nickname. He never once thought of a day without his other half.

Aarav. His Twin. His Soulmate. Dead.

It isn't supposed to be this fresh, the pain, the void, the guilt, not after all these years. But it is still there. Harrowing truth that his twin is dead and he feels hurt every waking day of his life.

Life stopped for Ryan the day Aarav died. The profound ache fills up his lungs with every breath that he takes. It's suffocating, nauseous, and so very life-threatening.

Every birthday served as a constant reminder of overwhelming guilt. Ryan is guilty of not protecting his twin. He is guilty of abandoning him, fending for himself in the afterlife. Ryan should be with him.

But he isn't.

He's empty, hopelessly lonely, and barely surviving.

The same hemorrhaging flow of pain has him standing on the ledge of this one hundred and fifty-story building. He could jump at any second and finally be one with his twin. All these years, he has functioned as a robotic limb.

He's had a purpose separated from his soulmate. He is busy fulfilling Aarav's dreams, living the days on behalf of both of them. If he didn't, who would? From studying in Boston to his degrees in business to finally becoming a young entrepreneur, setting a mark in the business industry, and making his father proud, it's all for Aarav. He's done all of that for him. And none of it for himself.

Nothing is holding him back now.

With the same numbness which surrounded his heart the day doctors announced Aarav was dead, he looks down at New York City. One leap and he can meet his brother on the other side, hug him, and be whole again. He has already waited long enough.

No one gives a fuck if he dies anyway. Apart from his father. But is it enough to keep him from reuniting with Aarav? What if he's too late? What if Aarav got tired of waiting for him? Maybe his father wouldn't give a damn, either. They have hardly spoken two sentences over the last seven years. His father had always been sour towards Aarav. That's one of the main reasons Ryan seems to be distant from the man.

The rooftop ballroom is raging with a party to celebrate him stepping up as the new boss of his firm.

Nobody knows he is a boss who might not appear for the ceremony. A boss who is one step away from leaving this world. It's all a sham, anyway. They would be relieved to get rid of an uptight emotionless asshole boss like him, who hardly acknowledges their efforts, who hasn't even bothered the introduction. Even though he's been shitty toward them, they still cheer for him, raise toasts in his name, and applaud his expressionless praises. It is the ironic advantage of being a boss: you give people shit, and they will still thank you.

If he somehow changes his mind about jumping off, he will attend an early morning meeting with his father in India. But he's keen not to let anything stop him now. Not when he's done that he finally managed to climb the ledge in his tuxedo. There's no going back from here unless something gives him a rock-solid reason to stay.

"You might want to reconsider that move. Please don't jump."

A soft voice shakes him from the very deepest of his insides, playing light rhythms through his eardrums. If he weren't steady on his footing, her voice would have pushed him off the edge. That's the impact of hearing her after what felt like an eternity.