Adhura Alviida

ek dil, ek jaan

Longest chapter ever and my favorite chapter ever honestly!

It had been a month since Zoya held Aditya's hand and supported him through what was one of the darkest periods of his life. Though she couldn't be physically present in his therapy sessions, she stood outside waiting for him after every single time. He knew how embarrassing it was for him to seek help for his mental health, especially being raised in such a culture where mental health issues were firstly taboo and then men weren't supposed to be weak by admitting to them. He was somewhat glad Zoya caught him self-medicating that day or else he would've never found a healthier coping mechanism for his detrimental issues, they would've ate away at his soul like a disease.

Aditya came out of the therapy room and saw Zoya on a nearby couch reading a book. He smiled to himself as he took note of how beautiful she looked when she was eagerly focused on something. He eyes still lit up but as they looked downcast they had a mysterious essence to them, especially hidden behind the thin black glasses he found so cute. Her hair framed her face ever so slightly...he noticed she was growing it long again, just the way he liked, her blonde streaks had disappeared and were replaced by her shiny natural black hair color. She sensed his presence and looked up at him. He smiled at her as he reached out, asking her for her hand as her lips curved into a smile, placing her palm in his.

That smile. That smile always seemed to put the demons in him to rest. It was one that no other woman could even match. No one, not even Pooja, could make his heart flutter when smiling like that.

She got up as they left the building, fingers interlocking with his and swinging their hands while walking on the concrete pavement. She giggled and blushed as they did so, it felt like the college romance she never got to experience with him.

Aditya noticed how red her cheeks got as she looked down and smiled when they were walking. Her little involuntary actions such as this was something he found so attractive about her. Her innocence was truly the key to his heart. Unable to help himself, he reached over and grabbed her cheek, placing a kiss on her lips. She was taken aback but slowly began reciprocating.

"Aditya!" She blushed as they broke apart.

"You are the most amazing woman I have ever met, Zoya. I'm so proud to call you mine." He said with his heart swelling just looking at her fragile face in his hands.

She looked down as she began playing with the strings of his hoodie.

"itni tareef, shouhar? Is today something special?" She chuckled.

"I don't need a reason to praise my wife." He smirked before kissing her on her forehead.

"You're my saving grace, baby." He whispered, nearing to her as his eyes became misty with emotions.

"Adi—"

"Let me say it. You...you're just perfect, Zoya. The way you handle everything, the way you've supported me in the darkest moments of my life. You know what it's like to be raised in a culture where we're not supposed to talk about these things, yet you forced me to seek help. You were there through the nightmares, through the panic attacks, your arms became my safe haven and I never want to let you go...ever!" He said all in one breath. His arms had found itself snaked around her waist as she became full with emotions on his revelation.

"Aditya...remember, you had once told me, that society will always see you as the hero in my life for accepting me as I am but you weren't the hero?"

Aditya nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling them closer.

"The roles are reversed here, baby. I am not the hero in your life for dealing with your trauma. You dealt with it yourself, jaan. I could only lend a helping hand. We've both been through so much alone and together, Aditya. But we've never had to save each other, we saved ourselves individually while supporting each other. And that's the beauty of our love. We met because of our broken hearts but instead of stitching them back up, we stitched them together." She smiled as she held onto him as if her life depended on it.