The Kashyup Redemption

xx. Nike

He had forced himself to learn the ways of compartmentalizing his life.

But everything has its limit and this was his.

There was no forgetting her.

He saw her in every woman who caught his eye, comparing them to the tiny details about her he did not even know he had noticed.

Her dark eyes, her deep and real laughter. The curve of her lips.

He wished he could forget her as much as he wished he had her beside him, in that expensive coffee shop.

Coming back from the restroom had taken him every bit of his strength and he'd returned to Isha and Sahil's smiles.

"So, ready to go home and face the awful music that is Namit's whining?" Isha had a curious little glint in her eyes and a hint of mischief in her smirk.

Parth mentally noted that pissing his younger sister off would not be a smart thing to do.

"Yeah, let's go" Parth nodded, getting out of the comfortable sofa.

He was glad Isha hadn't asked any more questions about Vidushi because he was afraid he would tell her everything.

He wasn't ready for his sister to know the kind of person he had been before the coma. She would despise him for his insensitivity toward Vidushi.

She would call him an idiot for letting her go.

Call him a fool for still holding on to the thoughts of her.

He isn't ready to face the idea that Vidushi might be out of his reach forever.

There's a part of him that tells him she has the right to live her own life.

But the other part of him, the larger one, the selfish one knows that it is impossible, that neither of them has any business being apart from each other.

So he pretended some more.

He pretended that the mention of Vidushi's name did not shake him.

And it hurt him to put a smile on his face when he saw couples everywhere, knowing that he could have had that too, maybe something even better, because with Vidushi nothing was ordinary.

He returns to his room, knowing he cannot hide away from the rest of the world.

He switches on his phone and sees 20 missed calls and fifty messages from Sanyukta.

"Don't call. I'm okay. I'm with family. I need some space and time to feel like myself again." He typed.

He pressed send before he added the thought that refuses to leave his head in the message.

"What is Vidushi feeling right now?"

He has no way of knowing and she wouldn't want to speak to him anyway.

He spent the rest of the time staring at a photo of her on his mobile screen until he is called down for dinner.

Dinner was a lively meal and he used that to get to know more of his family members. Sahil had joined them and Parth noted the occasional glare that Namit in Isha's direction.

He was slightly shocked at how easily he fit in. Almost as if he had always been a part of the tightly knit little group.

"And the funny thing was, Namit didn't even realize I'd taken his precious car keys. He was so involved with his cellphone." Isha laughed.

"That's not funny. Unlike you and Sahil I actually have admin work. Maybe I should make you handle some paperwork to see how much you laugh after." Namit huffed.

"What? So you were working? Not texting a paramour?" Parth offered, genuinely shocked.

Namit had always been a hit with the ladies, getting their numbers almost effortlessly. He was a huge flirt, suave and charming, especially when he used his dance moves.

"Times change bro. It's all work, work and work." Namit took another paratha.

"More like it's all food food food." Isha whispered.

Parth couldn't help laughing.

He stopped only after he realized that this was exactly the kind of taunt his Vidushi would have thrown at Namit.

His Vidushi?

He was screwed.

A/n: I'm sorry for the long wait. Exam season and real-life invasion. Anyway, I'm hoping you like this chapter and the next ones to come. Randhir will soon be making his entry into the story, don't worry!