Here's the 22nd chapter.
Enjoy reading.
Next morning, Anokhi reaches the college.
As she walked towards her class, she saw Reema, Kitty, and Bebo standing near the classroom door. They were discussing something.
"Hiiii Anokhi...", Kitty greeted.
"Hi..."
"Tum log yaha baahar kya kar rhe ho ?..."
"Anokhi... hum jaa hi rhe the andar... vo hum time table dekhne gaye the...", Reema replied.
"Aaj to test haina... mujhe tension ho rhi hain yaar...", with a tense expression on her face, Bebo said.
"Kaisi tension ?... Yeh toh sirf easy sa class test hi hoga...", Anokhi said.
"Tumhaare liye easy hoga Anokhi... humaare liye nhi... Agar kam marks aaye to hume to bhaiya se daant sunni padegi..."
Anokhi's expression changed into confused one.
"Bhaiya se daant padegi ?... Aisa kyun ?", she wondered.
"Tu kaha kho gayi Anokhi ?...", Reema nudged.
"Huhh ?... Vo... vo tum log kya keh rhe the ?... Bhaiya ?... Bhaiya se daant padegi ?... Kaun bhaiya ?", Anokhi asked.
Reema looked at her with amused expression.
"Arre Anokhi... In dono ke bhaiya aur kaun... Ye dono apne bhaai ke baare mein baat kar rhe hain..."
"Agar test mein kam marks aaye to inhe apne bhaiya se... yaani ki Mr. Shaurya Sabherwal se daant sunni padegi..."
"Shaurya Sabherwal inke bhaai hain... achcha achcha... lekin ye naam... ye naam kahi suna-suna kyun lag rha hain mujhe ?", she wondered.
*writer laughs at her 😂😂*
"Wait !... What ???...", realization dawned upon her.
"Mr. Shaurya Sabharwal ???... You mean Shaurya sir ?... Jo humaare professor hain vo Shaurya sir ???...", she looked baffled.
"Aur kitne Shaurya Sabharwal ko jaanti hain tu Anokhi ?...", Reema laughed off.
"Iska matlab... vo... vo tumhaare... tum dono ke bhaai hain ?...", she looked towards Betty.
"Haan Anokhi... vo humaare cousin bhaiya hain... lekin tumhe kya hua ?...", Kitty asked.
"N...nhi nhi kuch bhi toh nhi... "
" Vo mujhe pta nhi tha na... isiliye aise react kar diya maine..."
Anokhi overcame the shock, and they all went inside the class.
Shaurya came in after a while. Everybody stood up and so did Anokhi.
Seeing him, she recalled the recent conversation she had with Betty and Reema.
"Kitty aur Bebo inki behene hain... agar inke kam marks aaye to inhe Shaurya sir se daant sunni padegi... Ajeeb hain... Apni beheno par bhi gussa karte hain ye ?... Kal maine sirf thank you bola aur itni si baat par mujhe itna saara lecture suna diya tha unhone... Itna gussa aata kaha se hain ?...", she was engrossed in her thoughts.
"Aap baithne ki kripya karengi Miss Bhalla ?...", Shaurya's voice jolted her out of her stupor.
She looked around and realized that she was the only one who was still standing and that everyone else had taken a seat. Reema was yanking on her hand to get her to sit down, but she was lost in her own world.
"Uhhh... ohh... sorry sir... mujhe pta nhi chala tha...", she sat down quickly as embarrassment fell on her.
He started the lecture not before glaring at the particular person.
Next lecture was of IC Design Lab.
Everyone was making their way to the lab.
Meanwhile, on the way, Anokhi realized she had forgotten to bring her book along.
"Reema... main book laana bhool gayi... Tu jaa main abhi aati hoon..."
"Ok... jaldi aana..."
Anokhi hurriedly returned to her class and took out the book from her bag.
Taking it along, she was walking towards the lab, her gaze fixed on her book, when she collided with something hard.
"Uhhh... ye deewaar yaha kaise... "
Her heart skipped a beat the moment she opened her eyes and looked up.
"Matarani... firse nhi...", she prayed for mercy.
"MISS BHALLA !!!..."
She closed her eyes prepared to listen to another piece of scolding.
"Tumhaari problem kya hai Miss Bhalla ???...", he yelled.
"Jab dekho yaha-vaha girti-padti rehti ho..."
"Tum par gravity kaam nhi karti kya ???..."
"Sorry sir..."
"Tum "SORRY" ka patent kyu nhi banva leti ?... Jab se aayi ho tabse sirf yahi kaam hai tumhaara... pehle galti karo aur fir sorry..."
"Maine jaanboojhkar nhi kiya sir... bas ho gaya...", she tried to defend herself.
"Aap kabhi kuch karti hi nhi hai... bas ho jaata hai... aage kya-kya aur hoga uska list laayi hai apne saath ?... Main prepared rahunga fir..."
Anokhi looked at him with a "KOI SENSE HAI ISS BAAT KI ???" expression.
"Aage bhi kuch excuse dena hai aapko ?..."
"I'm really sorry sir... vo mera dhyaan book mein tha isliye shayad aapko dekh... dekh nhi paayi..."
"Ab jaaiye aap... nhi to lab mein jo chal rha hai vo dekh nhi paayengi aap...", he took a jibe at her.
"J... ji sir...", saying so she hurriedly walked away.
Shaurya stood there motionless, staring at her eroding figure.
"Ughhh... "
"Kitni irritating hain ye ladki..."
"Pta nhi do saal kaise jhelunga ise..."
*writer is laughing like a maniac at this... 🤣🤣🤣*
He straightened his collar and was about to go when he had an epiphany.
"Deewaar ???... "
"Really ???... "
"Main kis angle se deewaar lagta hu... ", thinking so, he left.
The whole day passed as usual.
In the middle of the night, Aastha was preparing her bed for sleeping. She was busy in work related to her institute and got late in completing it.
She had just finished putting on her nightgown and was on her way to bed when her phone rang.
"Itni raat ko kiska phone hai..."
She held the phone in her hand.
"Unknown number hai ye to..."
She picked up the call and said, "Hello..."
There was no response from the other side.
"Hello ?..."
"Hello kaun ???...", she asked again but in vain.
She brought the phone in front of her eyes and observed the number, checked it if she had seen it before, but no.
She tried once again, "Hello... Kya aap sun sakte hain ?..."
She received no response, instead silence dominated.
She could hear the person breathing and for some reason, she became restless. She felt as if she knew the caller, as if she had a deep connection with the person. As a result, her breathing became uneven.
For one last time, she tried.
"H... h... hello... k... kaun... hai ?..."
Her heart skipped a beat when the caller ultimately responded.
"NOOR..."
Phone slipped from her grasp as the word entered her ear.
It took her a few moments to realize what she had just heard. She couldn't believe it.
Quickly wiping her tears, she picked up the phone. The phone call was still active. She pressed her phone to her ear.
No one spoke anything. In the silence, they could both feel each other. Innumerable emotions were raging inside them.
"Mujhe... mujhe pehchaana nhi Noor ?...", the caller asked, breaking the pregnant silence.
Tears trailed down her cheeks and only a gasp escaped her lips.
"SH...SHAAN..."
Shaan closed his eyes and let the tears flow. His heart felt content as she still remembers him. Her trembling voice conveyed that she, too, yearned for him as much as he did.
Here Aastha didn't know what to do. Even if they were both silent, her heart wanted to keep the call on because she was satisfied just to listen him respire. Her rational mind, on the other hand wanted to end the call because she knew that the longer she remained on the line, the weaker she would become and the more difficult things would become for both of them.
She hung up the phone right away so she wouldn't be ruled by her emotions.
But she felt miserable. She felt so terrible that she hurt him by hanging up the call when he called her after so many years. She felt guilty thinking Shaan's state. But she didn't have a choice. It was good for both of them.
She went to bed and dimmed the light.
Laying down herself, she closed the eyes. Tears squeezed out of her eyelids.
AFTER A LONG TIME, she heard "NOOR", she heard HIS voice after so many years. It was overwhelming for her.
She felt defeated in life because she was locked in a position from where, neither she can distance herself from THEM nor go close to THEM. It hurt her badly.
THEIR happy moments were ephemeral... short-lived... but still they are the strength for her.
She wishes to see THEM, she wishes to see her grown up LADDOO... but CAN'T and it hurts... it really hurts.
Memories began to play like a slideshow beneath her closed eyelids, and she had no idea when she dozed off...
Shaan was simply staring at the mobile with a faint smile on his lips.
Just hearing one word from his NOOR's voice made him feel so relieved.
Shaan was not disappointed when she hung up the phone. He knew something like that would happen for sure. He very well knew what type of woman Aastha was. He knew she will never let her emotions overpower her which was why she hung up the call. And hence, he didn't call back her. This showed that she still loved him, she still cared for him, she still craved for him which was the case with him too.
He, like Aastha, was satisfied just hearing his name in her voice.
Both longed for each other and wanted to say so many things during the call, but no words came out of their mouths. They were content with the silence created by their breathing. Even in the silence, they could sense each other. That was more than enough for both of them.
He didn't get a chance to talk to her today, but he will try again. He will call her again... however, not today.
He walked over to the jug on the bedside table to quench his thirst, but it was empty, so he went downstairs to the kitchen to fill it.
Meanwhile, someone broke into his room and sneak peeked into his mobile. But to his dismay, the phone was password protected, so he couldn't complete his task. He had to leave with a heavy heart.
Shaan returned, and after having a glass of water, he too fell asleep, but this time with a contented heart, unlike every other day...
So, how was it ?
Do tell me in comments 😊