ABHIRA: THE RULE BREAKER'S GIRL

CH10 THE MOONLIGHT TALK

“Akshara, that was amazing.”

Vansh hugged her backstage as she came down the stairs. Abhimanyu stayed on the stage talking to the audience screaming for his attention. It was her first concert as the only lead female singer for the tour.

“That was wonderful, Vansh. I had so much fun singing the mash up.” She laughed.

“Maybe devotional music wasn’t really your thing.” He laughed.

Akshara glared at him. “Not funny.”

When Akshara graduated from music college, her dream was to train with a contemporary music director outside of her family for new learnings,but she picked up the devotional music line for her father’s sake. She knew he wasn’t going to ask her to change her interests, but when she found out what her father had hoped for her to do, she switched in an instant.

When she shared her interest in devotional music, the joy she saw in his eyes made her so happy, she knew she made the right choice. Family was everything for her, and her father was at the center of it. She was a daddy’s girl, and one of the reasons for her to spend tireless hours in practice to sing a new form of music was not to let her father down.

He was well known and respected in the music industry and would not let anyone say anything about her poor performance, especially not Abhimanyu.

She was annoyed with him for using that leverage against her to get her to sing the modern mash-ups with him, but in that moment, she felt accomplished.

Newfound confidence engulfed her when she remembered the way the people in the front row cheered when she sang. The admiration in the eyes of the fans was such an energy boost, it was addicting. She wanted to do more, something that would bring more excitement to their eyes.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Abhimanyu close the show with his signature style of addressing the audience in their regional language.

“Abhi, what a night this was,” one of the band members cried out as

Abhimanyu came down the stairs to the backstage, hi-fiving his band members, background singers, and event coordinators.

She kept her eyes on him as he walked to Vansh to hug him just like every time, and she waited with deep anticipation to catch the look in his eyes, the very look that would tell her if she did what he had wanted her to do—perform to perfection.

When their eyes met, she saw the spark in his that caused her to let out a gasp. Before she could say or do anything, he stepped forward, pulling her into his arms. She went stiff for a split moment in response to the cold sweat on his bare skin, but her body contoured into him, taking in his masculinity as he lifted her feet off the floor, pulling her into him.

“You rocked, Akshara,” he yelled, making her laugh, and she heard the entire group backstage break into a round of applause.

When he set her feet back on the ground, her knees felt weak, and she reached for the damp fabric of his t-shirt on his back for support. As if he felt her need for support, he tightened his arm that was around her, pulling her to him.