Sorry guys, i know i am super late. But was stuck by severe writers block. Anyhow will try to update the next chapters soon.
Akshara woke up as brightness spread the room . She took a look at Abhinav who was sleeping on the couch hugging a pillow. The morning sun rays beaming through the window behind the couch hit him directly on the face as he kept on tossing disturbed.
He looked so exhausted. He had been running pillar to pillar in hospital and has been taking care of her all the time.
Akshara's heart twisted at the sight of his face and decided to give him the rest he deserved today.
She walked over to the couch, slightly leaning over , she tried to catch hold of the curtain of the window behind.
Unable to make it the first time, she leaned in more the next time and caught the curtain with her right hand.
But her leg slipped as she lost her balance . She waved her hands to find something to hold on, but nothing came to her rescue as she fell flat on Abhinav.
Abhinav got awakened suddenly as he felt something crash into him. He opened his eyes hurriedly to check to only see Akshara lying on him with her eyes closed in fear.
He instinctively closed his arms around her waist . She opened her eyes slowly to see him staring at her mesmerized.
A strand of her hair was falling on her face disturbing his view. He slowly tucked behind her ear as their eyes met.
Akshara's heart thumped out of her chest in proximity. Her mind warned to get off him but her heart betrayed her. Once their eyes met, it felt like tge whole world had disappeared, only she and Abhinav existed. She wanted to lose herself in his eyes which looked like it held so much untold emotions for her.
Suddenly ,she felt a vision appear in her head. She and Abhinav was standing in the garden area of their house. Her hands were on his shoulder , his hands were on her waist. There was a decorated swing at the background. Their eyes were closed as they moved their heads forward and their foreheads touched when leaning in for a kiss.
Akshara broke out of the trance as the vision ended and immediately got off him. Abhinav scolded himself for getting lose of his self control and got up and sat besides her .
He noticed her looking disturbed
" Akshara kya hua?" He asked
" Wo.. mein..I was going to close the curtain.. but meri pair phisala gaya aur mein aap par gir gayi" Akshara reasoned her actions but didn't meet his eyes.
" Ok.. but you look disturbed Akshara.. are you feeling okay?" He questioned her .
" Wo.. gar..den..jho..ola" she stumbled making a sentence
"Huh?" He was confused at her broken words
Akshara mind was still searching for answers. Did she just imagine them romantically ? What was wrong with her mind?
" Wo.. kuch nahi hai.. mei fresh hoke aati hoon" she said and escaped c the bathroom.
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" Akshara , Jamai sa aaiye khana tayyar hai" Swarna called on both of them as they were coming downstairs.
" Mumma , papa" Abhir joined them for breakfast.
" Aree, I forgot your medicines.. mei lekar aata hoon.. aap jayiye" Abhinav ran upstairs to fetch her medicine as Abhir and Akshara proceeded to the table.
Abhir took a seat next to Ruhi.
" Come Akshu, sit here " Aarohi patted the seat next to her.
Akshara sat down passing a smile to her.
" Akshu, how is your health now? All well? Are you having your medicines on time?" Aarohi asked her a string of questions
" Haan.. ab theek hai" Akshara answered feeling slightly awkward at her friendliness. All she could remember was their strained relationship.
Aarohi smiled sadly as she could sense the distance again that had seemed to reduce in the past days.
Abhinav who had just reached the table watched that interaction and the expression on Aarohi's face.
"Akshara, ye lijiye .. aapki before food tablet.. " he passed it to her taking a seat between her and Abhir.
He looked at everyone who were also hesitating to start a conversation.
" Aare aaj sab ka mounvrath hey kya? " He asked looking around as everyone looked at him.
" Ok.. hum ek kaam karte hain.. starting from bade papa everyone has to say one favorite happy memory they have with Akshara that happened in the past 6 months.... it will be cheerful for her too.." Abhinav told his idea.
" Akshara.. aap ko patha hai na.. agar aap ko kuch detail trouble karte he toh please mujhse batadijiye. Mei unko roktha hun" he whispered to her giving her the much needed strength as she nodded with a smile.
" I have thousands of favorite memories with my beti ... but my favorite has to be when Akshu did that pahadi dance for us when we first arrived at kasauli" Manish said remembering the incident.
" My favorite memory would definitely would be Gangaur . Akshara's dance bought so much memories of the past back" Mimi stated reminiscing Kartik and Naira.
" Humne Gangaur celebrate kiya? Hey bhagwan, mei isse kaise bhul Sakti hoon.. " Akshara admonished herself.
" it's okay bachchi ... we will do it next year more grandly. " Swarna comforted her .
" Ok.. my turn now.. my favorite moment with bhabi was when bhabhi stood up for me and Kairaav ji when bhai ji was against our marriage. If not for bhabhi our marriage would have nor been possible" Muskaan said passing a thankful smile to her.
" Aare.. mere bhai mei kya kami hai.. aap ne kyun na bola" Akshara asked angrily to Abhinav.
" Fasa diya.. kush?" He sarcastically asked Muskaan who laughed at his condition.
Kairaav was happy to see her hold in such regard.
" Kuch kami nahi h.. uss time pe situation aise tha.. but eventually you guys convinced me and shaadi toh hogaya.. " Abhinav reasoned with her .
" Next is my turn.. mine is when my both behanas took me to bachelor party at Kasuali and how they both got drunk and I was taking care of them all night" Kairaav said laughing.
" Aare bhaiya .. I was about to tell that .. you stole my favorite memory" Aarohi complained cutely.
" Ajeeb hai.. dono bhai behen ka favorite memory daaru peena hai" Abhinav commented pulling their leg.
" Abhinav Ji.. aap toh rehne dijiye.. aapko yaad hai na jab aap aur Abhimanyu dono pee kar saare Udaipur sar par utake rakha hai.. Bechari Akshu aap dono ko dhoond kar Birla Mansion le aayi thi aur aap dono waha bhi , aap ka Amar prem kahani Shuru kar diya" Aarohi said making Akshara's eyes widen at him.
She was also happy to see how comfortable Abhinav and Aarohi was
" Lagta hai aaj ye pura parivar mujhe Akshara se thappad mare bina chain nahi lega" Abhinav commented making a scared face.
" Mei aapko Phir dekhulungi" Akshara narrowed her eyes at him .
" Waise Abhimanyu se yaad aaya, Abhinav ne kaha ki unko Abhir ka sach pata hai aur custody ki baare me bhi bola... par aaru ye baatao aap dono ne shaadi karne ke liye decide kardiya na? Wo toh meri aakri memory hai... " Akshara stopped speaking midway as she saw Aarohi's expression changing into dismay .
She turned to look at Abhinav who looked at her mirroring the same expression of Aarohi.
" Wo.. abhir ka saach jaane ke baad bhai ji ne shaadi karne ke liye inkaar kardiya" Abhinav told as Akshara felt bad for bringing up the topic.
" Aaru.. I'm so sorry.." she said turning towards her and taking her into a hug.
" Aare tu kyun sorry bolrahi hai.. uss rishta ki na koi foundation hai ya na koi value hai.. wo sirf ruhi ke liye humne decide Kiya hai. Ab wo bhi samajhgayi ki uski poppy kabhi uski papa nahi ban sakta hai.. mei bhi iss faisle mein kush hoon.. " she explained and look towards roohi who was struck in her own world of conversation with Abhir.
Akshara nodded her head clutching her sister's hand.
Abhinav felt happy seeing both the sisters bonding again.
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A week passed as Akshara settled into her routine. Her mornings were occupied with Abhir and his school work while her evenings passed with family. She learnt some small incidents from the family especially on how Abhinav stood as her pillar during the surgery and the custody .
She also learnt that she was now a lawyer , eventhough she remembered studying to become a lawyer she had no recollection of passing the bar. She was happy about her achievement and determined to pursue her career once her health issue settles down.
Abhinav was also trying to handle his buisness side by side . He had got a vehicle for lease and has started to drive for a cab company in Udaipur part time. With buisness in Kasauli also going well with proxy , he was content.
" Abhinav , how was your day today?" Akshara asked as soon as he entered the house.
" Bahut achchi thi" he replied getting the tea from her hand and settling down on the sofa.
She could see how tiring and difficult it was for him to drive in the crowded streets of Udaipur after driving for 7 years in serene roads of Kasauli .
" Abhinav , I'm so sorry. Meri wajahse aapko Udaipur mei rehna pada.. aapko pasand nahi hai na ye kaam" she questioned feeling guilty on how her medical needs had tied him in an uncomfortable situation.
" Aree Akshara... Manta hoon ki mei kasauli ko bahut miss karta hoon.. par Udaipur bhi mera hi ghar hai.. why are you thinking so much.. this city has given me so much you, Abhir , our love.. " Abhinav stopped when he realized what he had said. Akshara's eyes widened at the word.
" I mean .. our lovely family.. how can I not like this city.. aap itne worry mat khijiye..i will be fine.. And afterall it's just temporary for a month.. we will go back to Kasauli anyhow" Abhinav assured her blinking his eyes at her hoping she hadn't caught his cover up.
" I too miss kasauli Abhinav.. I miss my home" Akshara got lost in their past memories .
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" Abhinav yahan dekhiye na, muskaan ne uske shaadi ke album diya mujhko, dekhne ke liye... I feel bad for not remembering my own bhaiya and nanad's wedding. Atleast I can make new memories from this.. will you fillme up?" Akshara excitedly settled herself on the bed and pulled him next to her .
Abhinav smiled at her excitement and started to fill her up on the details of each and every picture.
" Ye humari welcome dance ki picture hai.. yaad hai na bade papa ne kehrahe the ki aapne himachali dance ki unko welcome karne ke liye..ye uss time ki picture hai"
" Aur ye toh engagement wale din .. aap aur arohi ji ne dance bhi ki thi uss din.. Haan ye dekhiye wo picture aap dono ki dance ka"
" Aur ye toh shagun wala din ... aapko patha hai uss din humara ghar ka table fan repair hogaya.. aur .." he detailed on the story how they fixed the fan together.
Finishing the story, Abhinav looked at Akshara who was now literally sitting shoulder to shoulder with him. One of her knee pressing on his knee and the album resting on both their legs. Engaged completely in the story , she was unaware of their proximity. His mind had started replaying the memories of the night in Jaipur.
Abhinav moved away slightly creating some space between them.But before he could turn to the next page, she unconsciously closed the gap moving closer to their previous position. Giving up he just ushered his mind to stay within its limits.
He began narrating again as she turned to Sangeet and haldi pictures followed by marriage ones.
" Abhinav , ye kya hai shaadi ka har picture mei aap itne udaas kyun hai?" Akshara asked noticing the pictures.
Abhinav closed his remembering the pain Manjari had caused to him during the shaadi .
" Wo... bas aise hi.. behan ki shaadi horahi na.. isliye sad tha" Abhinav said looking at the picture not wanting to lie to her face.
She bought his reasoned moved to the next page which consisted of some group family photos from all the functions.
" Ye dekho, ruhi aur abhir ne about shaitani ki hai haldi wale din.. water fight Shuru kardiya aur sab geele hogaya.." he showed her a family picture from haldi.
" Aur ye tasveer.. neelama ko bahut ichcha thi hum kasauli walon ki alag tasveer lene ke liye.. but we five were never able to click a single picture together. Isliye haldi din ke raat humne ye picture click ki.. achche hai na" he said admiring a picture of the people he loved with all his heart .
"Haan Abhinav.. kitne pyaari picture hai" Akshara traced the picture with her hand.
Abhinav smiled at her and tried to turn to the next page when suddenly Akshara caught his hand. He looked at her as her expression changed looking at their family picture.
He took another look to see what she was noticing but he didn't get anything different about it. But her expression had now changed from curiosity to shock.
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Leave your love for the story in comments and votes guys . Will be back soon with the next chapter