Rohan pressed his fingers together then took a deep breath to calm himself down, what he was feeling at that moment was unavoidable, it did not just make him jumpy but it also made his resolution weak. He had to do this for his friend, who he adores and loves very much... he had to face Virat, the man his sister loved and craved for. People make mistakes, Rohan knew it... they make mistakes in many things and he was talking about love here... And Rohan knew how hard it is to cope up with an emotion which is so complicated with his own experience. He took a deep breath again not wanting his chain of thoughts to be distracted with his own misery and stepped into the house only to be engulfed in hug and welcomed with a happy squeal.
"Rohan... You are late!" Manvi punched his shoulder and he rubbed the spot with an annoyed look,
Rohan was going to reply but stopped when he saw someone rushing to the hall and recognized it to be Virat as soon as he neared them with a worried face,
"What's wrong Manvi? Are you alright?" Rohan wanted to laugh out loud at Manvi's expression when Virat asked her why she was screaming, but he kept quite till Virat noticed his presence,
"Nothing... I... woh," Manvi moved her gaze from one to the other, which Rohan noticed brought Virat's attention to him, he tried to smile and moved his hand forward for a formal introduction, trying hard to make himself feel as if this man who was standing in front of him was someone else, not the Virat he had heard of.
"I should go in..." Manvi dashed away, making the two men feel awkward for a moment.
"Come... Come in," Virat offered, Rohan could say that he was kind of looking lost when they moved in and occupied the sofa.
"Yeah," Rohan looked around, wondering if he should apologize for the fiasco he had created on their engagement,
"You look so much like her,"
"Huh," Rohan tried to keep up with what Virat was saying and realized it just after a second or two,
"Like... Rosh... Roshni," Virat gulped before he uttered her whole name, his throat blocked with an unwanted lump,
"Look, I don't think we should go back there..." that was the last thing he wanted to hear from Virat at that time, "I shouldn't have behaved like that with you and I am really sorr..." he was cut short by Virat,
"No... You don't have to apologize," Virat readjusted his posture and rubbed his face, "I was wrong, and I knew that when..." he paused looking at Rohan's painful expression, "I have been living with this for years now and I don't want to anymore... I need to get rid of this guilt, and I need you to understand that I failed and I am repenting," Virat didn't know what he was talking anymore, he didn't even know why he was saying all these.
Rohan stood up, he couldn't stay seated when he was burning from the inside, he had been having this grudge against Virat for years, right or wrong he didn't know, maybe he just wanted someone to be blamed or maybe he just wanted to live in delusion to keep himself away from his own guilt. It was easy to push the blame to someone who was willing to take in everything, too easy to forget that they were also to be blamed. He claimed to love his sister too, he claimed himself to be the perfect brother... But was he? Did he understand the pain she was going through? Did his parents take any action from their side to mend her life? Was Virat the only person to be blamed? Actually was Virat the person to be blamed at all?
"Can't we just let that go? Things happen and there is no use in wallowing over something which we can't make right," Rohan took his seat again, facing Virat completely this time, "That is our past, but Manvi is our present..."
"And I will make sure to not to repeat my mistakes again," Virat answered Rohan's unvoiced question as he took a long breath, looking determined. "I have hurt her too much already," his voice was distant and morose.
Rohan tried to subdue the worry which surged through him, "So a fresh start?" He smiled, wanting to make the aura light, he forwarded his hand again as Virat nodded, "I am Rohan, Manvi's best buddy,"
...
Jeevika was setting the table when Virat walked to the dining room, he might have tried to get along with Rohan, but everything about that boy reminded him of Roshni, and he needed time to adjust with that new addition,
"Kya hua Virat? Aap ko kuch chahiye?" Jeevika asked distracting him,
"Bhabi aap mujhe 'tum' keh sakthe ho," Virat replied pulling a chair to settle,
Jeevika smiled and then nodded, "Don't you want to take part in Viren ji's and Manvi's plan in bringing Rohan and Pooja together?" She asked, shaking her head slightly,
Virat smiled and shook his head, "I still have to do a lot more work to fit in that group,"
"Ek advice dun?"
"Of course bhabi,"
"Just be yourself,"
"Getting there," Virat smiled at Jeevika as she walked in to the kitchen, "And Virat sab ko kaane khe liye bulao ge?"
"Sure," he walked off to the terrace, where the rest of them were playing truth or dare,
...
Manvi decided that she should stop with the hide and seek she was playing with her thick headed friend, She could say that Pooja had something... something in her heart for Rohan, something strong and Manvi could also understand her hesitance to accept it. But why not at least let Rohan confess, let him say what he had in his mind, the way Pooja was dodging him was crazy and it kept saying Manvi that she shouldn't give up.
Manvi looked at Virat who was talking to Viren and Jeevika, something which was rare and she didn't want to disturb that little gathering. Pooja was sitting right next to her but was lost in her own world, Rohan who was totally disappointed with their failure during their game was nowhere to be seen, Mannvi inhaled a deep breath before grabbing Pooja's arm and taking her to their rooftop.
"What's wrong Manvi?" Pooja questioned, rubbing her arms as soon as Manvi released her hold,
"Do you love Rohan?" Manvi asked, not wanting to beat around the bush. She reached forward and held a rather shocked Pooja's shoulder and shook her slightly, "Do you love Rohan? I know, you know that he does, we all know that, all of us can see that... what is with this game you are playing? Why are you being so rude to him, so insolent... You were never like this"
"Kya pagalpan hai Manvi? You know that my parents have plans for my marriage already..."
"Who? That someone who has been saying that he will come to meet you but never came? How long are you going to wait for that to work? I can't believe you are doing all this for someone who you don't even know..." Manvi walked away, moving her hands animatedly as she tried to make her friend realize what she was losing, "Please Pooh, at least consider, sachcha pyaar sab ko nahi milte, itni asaani se tho kabhi nahi," she looked at Pooja, who was looking down, but Manvi could say that she will never give in, she turned to leave the place but stopped when she saw Rohan standing by the door, they both nodded at each other with a glint in their eye, Manvi rushed back to the house after locking the door in the rooftop with tingle in her stomach.
When Manvi walked back to the hall, Virat was not there with Viren and Jeevika, she looked around but found him nowhere,
"Manvi if you are looking for Virat, he went to your room searching for you," Viren told her with a smile, "Yeh dono ek hi ghar me ek dusre koh dundna kab band karenge?" Manvi heard Viren ask Jeevika and Jeevika asking him to keep quiet as she walked towards her room, secretly hoping to have some alone time with Virat in this pretty long night.
Virat who had seen and read through Roshni's diary stood rooted to the spot when Manvi came in and gasped at the sight, they both stayed silent until Manvi took his name and Virat dashed out of the room hoping to get away from the pain his heart was going through.
"Virat ji...aap," Manvi stopped, looking at his retreating back, she walked back tothe room and assembled all the pictures which were spread on the floor, herheart squirmed while she opened the cupboard and placed it in the drawer.
