𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 (𝐀𝐛𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐮 )🎸🦋

𝟐𝟒. 𝐀 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐝𝐞

A/N: I've kept my word and  here's the third and final chapter for the day.

Happy Reading!

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Charu held her breath, unsure of how to react to the man clinging to her like she was his only anchor.

She didn't speak.

She didn't pull away.

She simply stood there, allowing him to take whatever solace he needed.

After what felt like minutes, his breathing began to steady, the rise and fall of his chest against hers slowing down.

Charu could feel the heat of his body, the slight dampness of his breath against her shoulder, the way his fingers unconsciously clenched the fabric of her kurti as if afraid she'd vanish.

Ruhi had followed Abhir, concerned about how he was coping after his conversation with Manish.

But she halted in her tracks, her eyes widening in shock.

Abhir was hugging Charu.

Not just a casual, brief hug-he was holding onto her like his life depended on it.

Ruhi's jaw nearly dropped.

Abhir and Charu?

These two who couldn't stand each other, who constantly bickered, were now sharing an intimate hug she never would have imagined.

She took a step forward, intending to intervene, but then she stopped.

Charu, the same Charu who always had a sharp remark ready for Abhir, stood still.

She didn't push him away.

Instead, she let him take comfort in her presence, her hands caressing lightly on his back in silent support.

Ruhi observed the way Charu handled him-with patience, with care, with a kind of quiet understanding she never expected from her.

A smile tugged at Ruhi's lips.

Maybe this wasn't as impossible as she thought.

She took a deep breath and stepped back quietly, choosing to leave them alone.

Maybe, just maybe, her hotheaded brother had finally found someone who could truly ground him.

After sometime, Abhir exhaled a shaky breath and pulled back slightly, just enough to look at her.

His eyes were red, not from tears but from the overwhelming emotions swirling within them.

She had never seen him this raw, this stripped of all pretense. It was unsettling.

"Sorry," he muttered, his voice hoarse.

Charu shook her head, her voice soft but firm. "Don't be."

He searched her eyes as if trying to find mockery or pity in them. But there was none.

Just a quiet understanding.

Something flickered in his eyes at that. He took a deep breath, shaking his head. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. He..He ..is..." His voice trailed off, his jaw tightening.

"He's your grandfather," Charu said carefully.

Abhir let out a dry laugh. "He was. I don't know what he is to me now, except for a painful reminder of everything that went wrong in my life."

Charu remained silent, letting him talk.

"I've spent years convincing myself I don't care, that I've moved on. But seeing him again, the way he cried, the way he pleaded-" Abhir exhaled sharply. "It messed with my head."