Holding on and Letting go [Complete]

22) Meant To Be.

"I-I'm really sorry, Ahid. I'm really sorry." Her words came out in muffled sobs

As if her tattered voice just gave him an electric shock, he spun his head towards her and had just extended his hand to her face when he suddenly halted and again looked away which pained her more than ever. His acrimony was a sign that he was still angry at her and it was killing her.

"I've already told you, Ayat. It's okay. It wasn't your fault." But his voice, it was filled with tenderness defying his behavior.

"See? You hate me so much that you can't even look at me," she squealed.

"I can never hate you." He shook his head. "Never in a trillion years."

"Yes you do otherwise why wouldn't you look at me?"

"Because it reminds me of that night." He gulped his anger down as his nose flared and he clasped his hands tightly, trying not to break anything.

"I know, I know that you're indignant at me for putting you under that indictment, for sending you off to jail, for not listening to your side of the story, for saying those mean things to you. I-"

"That's not what I'm mad at," taking a deep long breath of vexation, he cut her off and she gaped at him dubiously. "I'm angry at myself because I couldn't get there in time, because I couldn't save you, because I couldn't protect you from the disgust this society shed at you, because I couldn't guard you from the ramification it brought to you. During the wedding, when I heard those women slander about you, it boiled my blood and when I came to know you it was none other than you they were talking about, I just wanted to do one thing and that is to shoot the heck out of them and seeing your face just brings all those things back to me and how I failed you and it just kills me damnit. It freaking kills me."

His countenance was contorted into expressions so stiff that she felt if she touched his face, it would break while each word mirrored the truth itself. What was this man? He hated himself for not doing enough for her and not her for her accusations? She thought people like him only existed in stories and sappy romantic old bollywood movies but here this man was, disrupting her entire belief system.

Slightly shaking, she clasped her hands at the sides of his neck as she tried wheedling him "You, Ahid Khan, are my husband and you did protect me. You got there before the worst could happen" but he shook his head "No, I didn't."

"Yes, yes, you did. Even if in people's eye you couldn't, you saved me from severe damage and who gives a hoot about people anyway and to be really honest, hadn't they treated me like literal shit, I wouldn't have been able to become who I am today, I wouldn't have been as much strong as I am today. And if it weren't for you, who knows if I would even be alive today, huh? So you better not tell me that you didn't do all you could next time because you freaking did and if you depreciate yourself one more time, I swear, I'm gonna kick you in places where it would hurt most and I'm not even kidding."

He gaped at her in utter surprise of the bombshell speech she had just made which was then soon followed by a heart-full laugh.

"What? I'm seriously not kidding, you imbecile," offended, she countered.

"No, it's not that. I just got reminded of our fights."

"O yeah! That! We used to be so stupid, no?"

"Well, I wasn't, can't say anything about you."

"HA! HA! Very funny." She replied sarcastically.

"Oh so you actually did google the meaning of sarcasm."

"What the hell, dude? What are you, an encyclopedia? Remembering things that happened eons ago!"

"The fact that you still know about it is the proof that you remember it, too," he snickered.