Unedited.
Target: 245 votes
Aarna's pov:
"Dhruv, once the truth was out, do you know who will suffer the most?" I asked him in a low lone as he caressed my head.
"Swaru?" He replied after thinking for a while.
"Exactly! It will be a huge blow on her. Everyone somehow knows the truth but she is the one who is completely kept in darkness. She doesn't even know the existence of her twin brother. Will she able to handle the truth? Will I able to look into her accusing eyes? Will I be able to bear her hatred? I am afraid. I am so afraid, Dhruv." I said as my eyes again started tearing up, just by imagining the whole scenario.
"She loves me a lot. She practically thinks of me as her role model but what did I do? Do I deserve her love and respect? I am fed up living like this! I will tell her the truth and will show her how a bad person I am. I don't deserve to be loved by her, Dhruv. I don't deserve it." I buried my face in his warm embrace.
"Where has the cute and pretty Aarna gone to? When did your self-confidence become so low? I will believe if you are talking about someone and say that they might hate you but we are talking about Swaru! She will never hate you even when the hell freezes. Believe me." He assured me and I too have the same thoughts as him but what if...
"I know but I am afraid to face her. Just imagining itself is so scary. You know, I dread that day a lot where she will look at me with lots of questions and unsaid accusations. Hope she won't hate me much as I won't able to live with that fact." I mumbled.
"She won't. Btw, answer this question. Who do you love the most? If you can't live without swaru, so tell me, what am I here for? A mere decoration?" He asked in a complaining tone and I appreciate his efforts of cheering me up a little.
"Of course. I love her the most but there is someone who I love more than her. In fact, he is my first love." I answered, sniggering a little.
"What! Who is he? Do I know him?" He immediately asked me with a frown etching his features.
"Of course. Silly. You know him so well. Let me tell you, he is such a wonderful person, and just say, I never stopped loving him." I smiled at him brightly with a slight teasing tone.
"Damn, just tell me who the hell is he? Haven't you always used to claim your unyielding love on me at every given chance? Now, who is this new potato?" He asked me while gritting his teeth as I bit back my smile.
"Calm down. I won't tease you anymore but it's true when I said that I love a person a lot."
"Okay. Will you do the honors of letting me know about that person?" He asked in an uninterested tone as I shot him a glare.
"My dad," hearing this, his face completely got relaxed as he glanced at me coolly.
"That's great. As long as, it's a father or uncle or brother, it's fine with me." He grinned at me like a Cheshire cat as I thinned my lips while looking at him.
"Jerk!"
"What! Don't I even have a right to be a little possessive over my girl?" He sulked.
"You have all the rights. wait. when did I become your girl?"
"of course, the moment we both are tied up together in this sacred bond." He answered me and looked at me like I had asked the dumbest question and I just shook my head.
"By the way, tell me why do you love your dad more than me? I will take note of every point. Listen, Mamayya! You are going to get a tough competition." He shouted as I immediately closed his mouth with my hand.
"Ssshh. Stop shouting. I will tell you but you can never win his place." I told him in a challenging tone as he raised his eyebrow at me.
"We will see it. Now tell me."
After settling myself again in his embrace, I started telling my dad's deeds with a smile on my face.
"You must have already gotten the entire scenario of my childhood..right! I was quite lonely at that time and became so introverted. I couldn't even ask my dad to buy me things like other children would do. So I started scribbling all my little wishes in a small notepad and before going to sleep, I would place it beside my bed and would pray to god to grant my wishes."
"As I started doing it, I didn't know how but I would always wake up to see those things placed in front of my bed. As a child, I hadn't thought much about their origin and always thought that god would always listen to my wishes and grant them until one day I got a witness who was the one that was making my dreams come true. It was my dad.
"He always comes to my room to check up on me and reading my little diary became his habit. Though I knew the truth, still I played like I didn't and till now, I never tried to rat out his little secret.
"He might be aware that I already knew it but hence he was keeping his silence and I did the same. Just like this, it became an untold pact between us and I still have that habit.
"It's not the only thing. When I started going to college. I became somewhat better when compared to before but I was never interested in forming new bonds. So I didn't have any friends but I was used to talking with everyone and I saw some of my classmates traveling through local buses.
"I also wanted to travel through just like everyone as I heard them talk about how much fun it was to travel with our classmates. So I asked my dad and insisted on traveling by bus.
" You know, I was expecting a straight 'No' but he didn't deny my wish. In fact, he allowed me to go by bus. I was so excited to have a new experience and the first day went well but when it was the second day, I came to know and experience the eve-teasing. I really got terrified but I didn't want to tell my dad about it.
"Till now, I didn't know how he came to know about this matter but from the next day onwards, I saw his car following my bus. He used to come after me to make sure about my safety even when his company is situated in the exact opposite direction of my college. At the start, I enjoyed his care and felt like I was so grateful to have him as my father." I narrated to him all my memories fondly.
" but later I started feeling guilty to make him trouble like this. I understood he shouldn't waste his time babysitting me while running such a big company. So I told him that I would go by car only with the driver.
"Just when I said these words, I saw him sighing in relief. You know, it wasn't a kind of relief where some trouble was lifted off your shoulder but it was a kind where you wouldn't have to worry about the well-being of your loved ones.
"That was the very moment, I decided in my heart to love the man in front of me all my life. I decided to stop fighting for my mom's love and was determined to love him forever. These things might be too common for anyone but for a child like me, those were the things that gave me a will to move forward.
" I simply can't say my love for him in the words. It might be sounding like I am exaggerating but it's not the case. He tried his best to provide me all the love and care that I have been deprived of. His existence was the only thing that kept me sane when I felt this world was so cruel to me. He proved himself to be the bestest dad and I wanted to prove to him that I could be the best too.
"So I started staying away from my own house to let him live in peace. He won't say it but he hates to see his dysfunctional family. He hates to fight with mom and hates to choose one between his daughter and mom. So I decided to stay away to not put him in that situation but trust me, still, he never stopped worrying for me.
"In my entire existence, he, for the first time asked me to do something. That's to marry his friend's son. At that time, I wanted to deny it because I had yet to start my career and I was quite confused with my own feelings after meeting you at the temple but still I agreed with his request despite Indra Anna's constant reminders of me about not taking any hasty decision. I said 'Yes' because it's my time to lessen his worries. He can't worry for me all his life. I thought it was high time he should focus on his own happiness.
"I was confident that my dad never took a wrong decision regarding anything that was related to me. So I chose to trust him another time and agreed to marry his friend's son though I realized I started having feelings for you.
"It turns out that again my dad was proved to be the best as he chose the person with whom I decided to trust my heart. He chose you. He chose the person I have started loving. So now tell me, how can I love anyone more than him? So he is my first love and my hero.
"Since I was a child, though I never voiced out my wishes and opinions, I have a habit of complaining about every little thing to him. When I decided to marry you, I knew I had to face the heaps of compromises, and even after the marriage, I was okay with it but you know, sometimes, things would become so unbearable.
"It's not that we aren't happy but at that time, we seriously need a person to listen to our heart. So when I was in that situation, the first person who came to my mind was Dad but I restrained myself to not call him and tell him my worries because I chose this way by myself and I shouldn't make him worry even after getting married.
"You know,Dhruv, I am quite happy with our marriage because I started living for myself. I started enjoying my life. I started loving myself. When you told me about your past before our marriage, though I told you it was okay, I actually feared that you might hate my existence and chose to stay cold towards me, or even more, I thought you would torture me just like how they portray in some of the novels but you are quite sweet." I laughed lightly at my own words as I looked ahead.
"You started being yourself instead of pretending to be someone who wasn't you. Our banter and our silly fights are what gave me the thought that ours was a normal marriage just like others." I told him with a smile as he reciprocated it by hugging me even more tighter.
"I understand I can never beat your dad's love but I will try to be the best husband. I don't know whether you know it or not but you are the one who changed me. You taught me to live my life in a new way and you taught me to smile again and this moment, I am promising you, I am and will always be your side and you have to promise me the same.
"Even when I asked you to leave me, promise me that you will never leave me. If I said that by any chance in the future, remember it wasn't me who was speaking but my anger. So be patient with me, please. I won't be dumb to stay unaware of my own mistake and once I realize my mistake, I will try my best to correct it. So bear with me. Will you?" He asked me as I nodded my head with a smile and he kissed my forehead.
After a while, I stood up and sat in between his legs, facing the sky as he encircled his arms around my waist. A comfortable silence engulfed us until he decided to break it.
"If you are asked to give ranking for the persons you love, what will be my position in it?" He asked me but I can sense his grumpiness from his tone itself.
"Your position? Wait! Let me count. First place is my dad followed by swaru and chinnu. Then Mom, Daksha Akka, yuktha Akka, Rishu, Adi Anna, Indra Anna. Then next, Peddhamma, peddhananna, Athayya, mamayya-"
"Oh. Please stop it. I got it. I will come at the very last of the list...right. Damn, even that little guy has an important place in your heart when compared to me." He said in an aggrieved tone as I shook my head with a smile.
"Hehehe. I love all of them but it's different from the love I have for you. If I have to say it, you are the only one I love in that way. Do you understand, Mr. Grumpy?" I turned back my face to look into his eyes.
"I did." He nodded with a smile and placed his chin on my head.
Hope you guys liked this chapter.
I wanted to ask your opinion on something. So please help me with it.
I have already planned the whole plot of this story before itself. That plot includes a major situation that raises a question on Dhruv's trust in Aarna and Dhruv will mess up the whole situation a little. Later when he realized it, he will try his best to win her back and their bond will become even more stronger.
This was the thing I had planned but after seeing the response of all of you on the chapter where Dhruv left her alone at the supermarket, I am hesitating in going with the flow as I thought that you guys won't like Aarna getting hurt again and all. So I just need your opinion on this thing.
Can I go with my original plot?
Or end the book in two or three more chapters?
Please help me.
Thanks for reading.