Strangers To Soulmates

5. Her past

Abhimanyu woke up due to strashing on the bed. He sat up and turned on the side lamp. He realised akshara was having an nightmare. He tried to wake her up but was unsuccessful. He gathered her in his arms speaking soothing words until he could feel her calm. She slept in his arms but sleep was far away from his eyes.

Around 5 in the morning he fell asleep in the same position.

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Akshara woke up in the morning due to sunrays. She rubbed her eyes and realised her position. She was practically laying on abhimanyu who was sleeping in a sitting position. She remembered the last night's incidence and shivered. She sat up straight , her movement woke him up.

"Akshu are you okay ?" He asked as he straightened his position.

"I am fine Abhi." Just then her eyes fell on the clock.

"Oh god !!"

"Kya hua akshu ?"

"Abhi time dekho , its already 9 tum office ke liye late ho gaye ho." She tried to stand up when he held her hand and pulled her to him.

"Areey !! Jaane do mujhe. Tum aur late ho jaoge."

"Jaan , listen. I took an off today. We have a long conversation ahead but first of all go fresh up. I will go and make us breakfast."

"Abhi but-"

"Shhh." He placed his fingers on her lips

"Go fresh up and calm yourself." She nodded.

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Akshara came down and saw abhimanyu arranging the breakfast. She went towards him and noticed him fresh up as well.

"Abhi tum kaha nahaye ?"

"We have a spare room jaan. Abhi woh sab chodo sit down to have breakfast."

Akshara nodded and they had their breakfast in peace.

Right now , abhira were sitting on the couch in living room. There was a brief silence before abhimanyu decided to break it.

"Akshu I know that whatever we will talk right now is really very personal. It's alright if you don't want to share it but just know that I will always be there for you , to listen to you." Akshara looked at him gratefully.

"Abhi tumhe yeh baat toh pata hai ki I was at Pune for studies but mujhe pune bhejne ka ek aur reason tha."

"Matlab ?"

"All the years at pune not even a single person from my family came to meet me because Unhone mujhe pune sirf studies ke liye nahi ghar se dur rakhne ke liye bheja. They didn't wanted a murderer to stay at their house."

"Murderer ? Kya keh rahi ho tum akshu ? Hosh mein toh ho ?"

"Haan abhi , they think me as a murderer.I was just 13 years old. Unhe lagta hai that it was because of me that maa and papa died. Mein sirf bacchi thi yaar and how can I even kill my parents ? I loved them so much. It was not my fault that it rained heavily that day nor that the lorry crashed into our car. Meri galti nahi thi that I survived the blast and Mumma-papa died. Unhe lagta hai ki mere jid ki wajah se woh ab nahi rahe......." And she bursted crying. Her body shook with her sobs as her husband gathered her in his arms.

"Shh akshu , I know it was not your fault. It was just an accident. Tum shaant ho jao pehale. Calm down hmm. We will talk later about this." She shook her head at this.

"Nahi let me speak. Itne saal se kissi se share nahi kiya. Let me do it today."

"Jaan but you are hurting. I can't see you hurt."

"Please." She pleaded. He looked at her and nodded but held her firmly to his chest.

"I was always the beloved daughter of my parents. Kaira di ke death ke baad they wished for a daughter but they had kairav bhaiya. They were happy with him but still the wish of having a daughter was unfulfilled. Mumma had some complications after the birth of kairav bhaiya. You know I was there miracle daughter , there own personal blessings. So I was always the star of my parents eyes. They were even more happy after they got to know about arrival of aarohi........." She took a deep breath and continued.

"It was a beautiful sunny day. Mujhe meri friend ke ghar usske birthday party mein jaana that but bade Papa ne mana kar diya jab maine kaha , that I can't take aarohi with me. I was sad but papa convinced bade Papa and I was finally able to go the the party. While returning from the party Mumma and papa both had came to pick me up. It was raining heavily that time. Papa decided to stop till the rain slowed down but Mumma convinced him to drive. I was telling them what I did at the party when suddenly a lorry crashed into our car. I got scared seeing Mumma and papa in blood. I was at backseat so I got less injuries......." She stopped feeling overwhelmed. Abhimanyu rubbed her arms trying to comfort her. She slightly nodded looking at him.

"Papa somehow managed to regain his consciousness and took me out from the car. The accident happened at a deserted road so there were no people around an the driver too ran away. Papa told me to go on the other side of road and he went back to car to bring back mumma but the unexpected happened. As soon as he opened the door of mumma's side the car blasted in flames. I got scared and due to the blast the people started to gather around. A lady asked me to tell her what happened. I explained her everything and even gave her number of bade papa. She called bade papa and told them everything. Few minutes later bade Papa came on that spot. They took me to hospital to treat my wounds and later brought me home."

"That day everything was snatched from me. My parents , my family , my everything. Uss din ke baad se everyone held me responsible for that accident. Aarohi never liked me and post that accident she openly started hating on me. No one tried to stop her. Unhone mujhe mere Mumma-papa Ko akhir baar dekhne bhi nahi diya. One day , bade Papa came to me and told me to pack my bags they were sending me to pune at a hostel. I was devastated but anyway left. All these years they paid for my stay and education but never did they came to visit me let alone even give me a call. Abhi tum hi batao meri kya galti thi ?"

"Shh meri Jaan , tumhari koyi galti nahi thi. Yeh bas ek accident tha. You didn't do anything....okay ? Get that in your head. Now coming back to Goenka family I don't have any words to say about them. They were so cruel that they didn't understand a child lost her parents they should have supported her , consoled her instead they send her away from home. Isiliye they wanted to get you married soon ? They didn't like you coming back ? did they ?"

"Haan , unhe mujhse chutkara chahiye tha. I was always against this marriage but I am thankful that they got me married to you. Atleast kuch toh accha kaam kiya. Tumhe pata hai mein kabhi goenkas se nafrat nahi kar saki. Never , all these years maine khudko blame kiya. I had so may nightmares related to that day. No one was with me then but right now I am grateful to have you with me now. I realised after we came here I had no nightmares , no panic attacks , nothing. I was happy that I had progressed but now we are back to square one."

"Don't worry Jaan. Mein hoon , I am always with you , we will heal together but right now you need to rest. It was a very overwhelming conversation to you. It brought back to many bad memories. Right now you rest I will wake you later to have lunch."

"No , please stay with me." She said seeing him trying to get up.

"Kahi nahi jaa raha mein okay ? Mein bas tumhe room tak carry karne ke liye utha." She nodded and he carried her to their room. He layed down beside her and they dozed off to dreamland.

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Hope the chapter was not too bad. I tried to portray her feelings. The next update will be soon.

Lot's of love,
Shay 💓