Sab kuch bikhar gaya. Sirf uski zindagi mein nahi, uske kamre mein bhi. Aaru smashed lamps and banged the door shut, but nothing changed. The Goenka's heard the demolition in the room but stilled themselves. No one would save her from herself. Not this time.
That's how Akshu found her: sobbing at the foot of their bed. Remnants of Aarohi's time as an intern were displayed on their bed: her ID card, scrubs, acceptance letter, and now her resignation. The Birla's had no professional grounds to fire her, but they had enough to blackmail her into signing the resignation papers. In reality, they didn't have to do that much work. Aarohi had no fight left in her after the shame overwhelmed her. Kya mooh dikhogi tum Sirat ko Aarohi, Swarna cried.
Aarohi didn't notice Akshu's presence until Akshu rested her head in Aarohi's lap.
"Akshu?"
"Aaru aaj nahi." Akshu clung onto Aaru's legs as she spoke between wails. "Mujhe tumhari godd mein ye pal de do kyun ki mere paas ab aur kuch nahi bacha"
Aaru sighed as she ran her hand through Akshu's brown tresses.
"Kya kaha Abhimanyu ne?"
"Kuch nahi." Akshu's had many panic attacks over the years. Some in public, when the audience got too loud, or the shouts got too aggressive—some in private, when the voices in her head wouldn't shut up. But today, it was his silence that drove her to devastation. His silence was deafening. His indifference was unforgiving.
"Aur agar uss ne hume maaf na kiya toh?" Aaru asked, resting her head atop Akshu's. They might be seeking pardon from different people, but the yearning was akin.
"Toh hum shikwa bhi kya kare. Akhir hum kahan ke sachey thay."
Aarohi never wanted to admit that Akshu was the only one who saw pain through her lens. Kairav and Vansh bhaiya were angels, but they weren't there when Sirat lay lifeless on the mandir steps. When the mother she adored wasn't adorned with the red of sindoor and blissful marriage, but the blood of death's crushing embrace. But Akshu was. Akshu was there then, and she's here now.
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Darmiyaan
FanfictionA series of YRKKH3 One-Shots & Ficlets. The focus will be on Abhi-Akshu, Akshu-Aaru, Akshu-Aaru-Kairav, Neirohi, Akshnav, with flashbacks of Kaira and Kairat. At the end of the day, every story will relate to either Akshara or Abhimanyu, even if it...
