Broken (Wattys2016)

CHAPTER 25

After reading the small chit that was kept along with her wedding ring on the dash board Aarav had started bawling. It was after a couple of minutes that his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it and unlocked it just to find a message in his notification bar. It was like a ray of hope was back when he saw the message was from Aaliya but it soon disappeared when he opened the message.

Hey Aarav,
I want you to go home right now. I've something there for you. If you love me and yourself then do as I ask you to, okay?
Wipe your tears and drive safely. I don't want you to harm yourself.

CLUE – you'll find it where we have shared most of our kisses.

I love you. <3

He had no idea of what that message meant because he was sure that he wouldn't find Aaliya when he'd enter the house that they had once shared together. Nonetheless Aaliya had left something for him and by reading that one text he knew that she wanted him to do something and he'd do it for her and himself no matter what. With that thought, he wiped his tears and started the engine before pulling on to the main road. It was after driving for an hour and a half did he reach his house and parked his car outside before hopping out and making his way towards the door. He rang the doorbell but it was after a couple of seconds he realised that no one was at home and that Aaliya had left this place forever and for her own good. He took out the keys from his pocket and put it into the lock turning the door open. He thought of what Aaliya had written in the message, 'you'll find it where we have shared most of our kisses.' They had shared most of their kisses in the hallway. With that, he started looking around but soon his eyes landed on an off white coloured envelope that was stuck on the wall. With a small smile he took off the small piece of tape and held the envelope in his hands.

'To my first love, Aarav' was written in a neat and cursive handwriting that he soon recognised as Aaliya's. He turned the envelope and opened it just to find a couple of sheets folded inside it. He carefully took it out and slumped to the floor with his back resting against the wall where he had shared a lot of heated kisses with his wife. He unfolded the sheets and started reading her letter.

Dear Aarav,

Now that you're reading this letter, it means that I've gone; gone for our good. I know you're upset about the decision I made and trust me this is the toughest decision I've ever made Aarav, but I know it'll do both of us some good.

I know what you're going through right now, trust me I know it way too well. That's the way I've been feeling from the last two years, ever since we lost our little angel Lirisha but the last seven months have been worse because that was when I realised that I was going to lose you soon. Seeing your first love going and loving someone else wouldn't warm any wife's heart (although now I do know why you did that). Every time I saw you, a part of me loathed you while a part of me still loved you. I always wondered of how I failed to hate you Aarav because every minute I was trying so hard to hate you so that it'd become much easier for me to move on, but that never happened. I still love you and it was very hard making this decision.

But believe me, you'll get through this. I know you will.

You'd never know this but I had always had a small crush on you from the very beginning, beginning as in when we were four, when I didn't even know what that word meant. I had always had this special corner for you even though we did nothing more than fight with each other. It sort of hurt me thinking that you didn't really like me the way I did because you always fought with me but were so nice to the other girls. I was sort of jealous of them because I failed to befriend you while other girls succeeded. Years passed and we kept bickering and getting on each other's nerves, as if it had become our daily routine. Somewhere I realised that that was the only way in which I caught your attention, and I was fine with it even though sometimes you irritated me to great extent, I still liked you.