Twist in Time

Reunion

"The very first time I laid eye on you Akshara... when you barged into that room.. telling me that I'd never been late... I knew instantly that there was something different about you" Abhimanyu told her, chuckling at the memory, causing a small smile to appear on her own face. She had been ballsy.

"Time after time, I could not put my finger on it but I found myself so easily drawn to you. Like I could talk to you. Like I could discuss anything without you. That connection that we had... I knew there was more" he told her honestly.

She looked at him, tears evident in her eyes as she nodded in agreement.

There had been more.

Both of them didn't just realise so much.

"You reminded me so much of the best friend I had known.. the one I had spent thirteen years searching for... your fear of the fire... your calming down instantly when I hummed lag ja gale... your love for Falooda in rainy Mumbai season... and your presence at the beach in Goa when you were clearly in a frantic state. There were so many clues. I kept thinking it was too good to be true - the god damn fir-" he stopped, overcome with emotion. Tears pooled in his eyes and for the first time she noted how much the past had haunted him.

"Abhi... baby..." she cooed, kissing his stubble and rubbing his back gently, up and down.

Abhimanyu closed his eyes and let out a large shaky breath.

He did not open her eyes when he said the next few words.

"The fire that took my Mother..." he whispered... "I was in boarding school... as you know... I think Ma suspected something was up and so she sent me far away so that I could not be involved. You know how hard it was that day walking away from you."

Akshara looked at him tearfully, flashbacks overcoming her.

Eyes still closed, he shivered as he whispered the next bit... "They had told me there were no survivors... none from the incident... that everyone was gone... and so I-I-I assumed y-you were g-gon-" Abhimanyu struggled to breathe out the next bit as tears overcame him completely.

Akshara closed her own eyes shut, pulling his entire body into her and hugging him with so much force so that he could know she was there. She had been left wondering for years what happened to him and somehow she had settled on praying for him wherever he was in the world.

But Abhi? He had been left to believe that she was no more...

Her heart broke into pieces.

She did not know if she could even endure the thought of anything happening to him.

He let tears drop one by one, as he discussed his past for the first time and Akshara peppered kisses on every part of him, trying to calm him down as her own tears never ceased.

Opening his eyes, he pulled her to face him, cupping her face, so that they were looking into each other's eyes.

Love.

So much love.

"So when you came back...I did not believe it was actually you despite all the signs... but still, I fell in love with you. With Ms. Akshara Goenka not realising she was my Golu all along. And I always knew something was up Akshu... I never forgot your words, your actions may have been different but your eyes showed me every time and you even said to me that you would ruin me... I knew you had reasons jaan... I just did not know what they were..."

And then he took a deep breath, before revealing the next bit.

"So an hour before my meeting... when I got the call telling me that the deal had been leaked... and that they found it linked to your account... I knew before. I found out straight after I texted you actually in the morning..."