Paradise ~ A Devdutt Padikkal Story

43.

Hours passed in oblivion. Dev had lost track of time and everything around him appeared blur and unclear. There was absolutely no hope left in him, his purpose to live was lost. Dev stared at the sky through the open window as he laid on the floor. The sky was a faint orange indicating that it was dawn. The wind flowing inside was colder than usual making him shiver.

Disha woke up with a jolt on hearing her phone ring. Struggling to find her phone she looked outside the window to see the sky showing tinges of orange mixed with blue.
Who was calling her at the crack of dawn? Disha grabbed her phone to see a call from Chandni Padikkal. Finding it strange enough, Disha waited for a minute before calling her back.
"Chandni is everything alright?" Disha asked the very instant Chandni received her call.
Chandni's voice sounded tense and distressed.
"I don't know! Disha have you heard from Dev? He's not picking up our calls, pehle ye Vedangi and now Dev! These kids are going to be the end of my patience!"
"Yeah about Vedangi, she's not answering calls nor is my message reaching her. Do you have any idea what happened?" Disha asked curiously.
"It's the same with me! She has suddenly disappeared but my brother is stressing me out currently! Disha please can you go and check if everything is alright at our house? You know the address right?"
Chandni pleaded.
Disha answered positively and leapt out of her blanket hurrying out the door.
She did not even bother to change her clothes and straightaway zoomed off on her scooter.

Ascending the stairs quickly, Disha stood in surprise seeing the door unlocked. With slow steps she pushed the door ajar. The scene infront of her shook her existence.
Dev was lying on the floor, his right hand bloody and his left hand was fisted around a piece of paper. He stared at the sky through the window but his eyes seemed lifeless.
Disha rushed to his side in a second and held him in her arms shakily.
"Dev! What happened? How did this happen?! Are you alright?" She asked him questions but he stayed silent.
Disha questioned again only to receive silence as an answer.
She observed his face, his cheeks had dried up tear strains. Disha held his palm in her hand, the knuckles were badly bruised and trickles of dried blood went down his hand.

Disha was overwhelmed with pity. She could not bear to see Dev in this condition, like a wilted rose who had lost all hopes and collapsed in grief.
"Where is Vedangi?" Disha asked Dev.
At her question, tears fell down his eyes involuntarily.
Disha now knew the reason for this condition of his.
Through his fisted fingers, Disha saw the crumbled paper. Carefully unfolding his fingers, she extracted the paper out unaware of the text inside. Her hand flew to her mouth in utter shock while she read the letter. Whatever she had assumed,observed and noted throughout the wedding was indeed real and true. Both of them had feelings for each other but the greatest tragedy was Vedangi being unaware about the reality. She couldn't help but cry at the instance when Vedangi mentioned that she selfishly wished to be Disha in Dev's life.

Disha replayed all the instances in her mind starting from the accidental meet at the hotel to Chandni's wedding. How could she have been so imbecile?
She knew the very second she saw Dev with Vedangi. He was in love with Vedangi, it dripped from his eyes when he looked at her.
Being in denial all these days even after witnessing the moment between Dev and Vedangi back in Allepey, Disha had treacherously thought of it to be a misunderstanding.
Her respect for Vedangi only increased all the more. Oh to be so selfless and secretly wish to be selfish at the same time!
That girl had let go of Dev for Disha. She wanted to see Dev happy with Disha, to be hers. How could he be Disha's when he never belonged to her in the first place?

She flipped her hair with her fingers before sniffling.
"Dev! Listen to me!" Disha ordered, making him sit against the wall.
"You love her, don't you?" Disha asked in a broken voice. Dev looked at her with guilt. He found it extremely hard to face Disha inspite of knowing that she loved him to the core.
"Answer!" Disha demanded.
Dev nodded positively before a fresh set of tears welled up in his eyes.
"I cannot live without her." He said dismally. Disha's heart shattered to pieces silently but she put on a brave facade.
"I will bring her to you, I promise. Do you trust me?" Disha said softly.
Dev looked up at her in astonishment. For a moment he could see the hurt and pain in her eyes but also the hope that she tried to put into him.
"Will you ever be able to forgive me Disha? I'm so sorry to have misled you." Dev asked apprehensively.
"It is not your fault! Infact it's no one's fault, I should've known better but I kept living under assumptions. And what are you apologizing for? Falling in love is not a sin Dev!" Disha answered understandingly.
"If it is a sin, I'm equally a sinner, the whole world is a sinner! It is the most beautiful thing one can ever experience."
She added.

"Infact I'd like to thank you for making me feel the intensity of love! I have loved you and I still do. But isn't love all about the happiness of the person you love?"
"I can never blame you or Vedangi. You never belonged to me and how right is it on my part to not help you out when you need it the most?" Disha spoke through her tears.
"I want to see you happy. With or without me doesn't matter. True love is never selfish." Disha kept her palm over his.
"I'll leave no stone unturned in bringing her back to you, that's my word." She smiled with glossy eyes.
Dev hugged her instinctively to express his gratitude. He was truly grateful for her.

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Disha is the main character 🛐
My poor girl is such a brave person😭