Hey! This is my New Year's gift for you guys!
Please leave comments and vote for the chapters, I'm having a hard time writing without feedback and results. 🥲
Vyom's POV:
Nidha's voice echoed in my mind as I exited the elevator. My hands trembled as I fumbled with the keys, the jingle contrasting with the chaos inside me.
The adrenaline that surged during that elevator reunion now crashed, leaving me grappling with the aftermath. Unlocking the door felt like an eternity, each click of the lock bringing me flashbacks of Nidha's face. I took a deep breath, steadying my hands trying to type in the right combination for the lock.
'FUCK! Vyom get a hold of yourself!' I cursed at myself.
I stepped inside, and the cold air of my apartment failed to cool the fire raging within me. The air was thick with tension, an undeniable force that seemed to squeeze the breath out of me.
In a desperate attempt to drown the chaos, I reached for the crystal decanter of expensive whiskey. I watched the amber liquid glide into the glass, filling the air with its scent. As the first sip burned down my throat, I replayed the conversation with Nidha like a broken record.
No matter how many sips I took, my heart still felt unsatisfied. Nidha's presence, guarded eyes, and unspoken words hung in the air, creating an atmosphere of pain in the elevator. All of it replayed in my head.
Was it betrayal or just a painful reminder of our tangled past?
The glass clinked against the expensive marble countertop, the sound clouding my thoughts my thoughts. Anger, confusion, and a tinge of betrayal swirled inside me. The room felt smaller, I was suffocating under the weight of unresolved questions.
Who did she move on with? Why didn't she mention her daughter? Who is the father?
In a fit of frustration, I tightened my finger around the glass, squeezing hard. Shards of crystal exploded into the air, piercing through my hand.
The broken glass in my hand reminded me of our broken relationship, the sharp edges cutting into my palm. Blood mixed with the remnants of the whiskey, led to a sour smell lingering in the room as it spun, making my vision cloudy, and leaving me disoriented.
My heart pulsed through my chest, each heartbeat sounding louder than the last, like an uncontrolled drum.
The room echoed with the silence of my thoughts, broken only by the distant city sounds filtering through the penthouse windows. The storm outside mirrored the hurricane within me, 4 years of unspoken heartache threatening to unleash.
My heart takes over my mind control and exists the penthouse. Quickly I reach the elevator and before I know it, I'm hitting the 7th floor button.
The elevator drops me at my location and closes behind me. I stop looking over at the 2 doors on opposite sides of the corridor.
Which one is her penthouse?
I close my eyes letting a sharp inhale hit my lungs, the first breath I've taken in a while. I exhale slowly and decide to knock on the door to the far right.
The 3 knocks come out louder than I anticipated, as my fist slowly leaves the door, it creaks open.
"Vyom?" Nidha whispered, peaking from the door. Her swollen eyes gave away her predicament, she was going through the same storm of emotions I was.
"We need to talk." I expressed, staring straight at her.
She looked up, her eyes meeting mine with a mix of surprise and defiance. "There's nothing to talk about," she declared, her words edged with a stubborn determination that set a spark of frustration ablaze within me.
She moved away from the door, trying to close it in my face. It made a loud noise as my palm made contact, pushing it back.
A fire deep in my gut blazed out through me. "No, you will not constantly push and avoid people. We will talk!" I said, leaving no room for doubt.
Nidha's expression shifted to pure surprise as I walked in. "Vyom have you gone mad?" Her voice shaking.
I looked around, scanning the house. Toys were scattered all across the floor, small shoes lined at the door, and drawings on the fridge. Nidha and the girl being together was no coincidence, they obviously lived together.
"It's you who has gone insane Nidha!" I walked closer to her. "You always walk away, leaving everyone in the storm you left behind."
Her face paled as she met my eyes. "I don't want to talk about the past."
"I DO!" I challenged. "I have to talk about it because you left without saying a word." In my anger, I hadn't realized how much of the distance had lessened between us. "You ran away." I said, my breath bouncing off of her face.
A flicker of pain painted her face. "You left me no choice! I trusted you and you broke my heart." She pushed me back with her palms on my shoulders. I staggered back. "You, Vyom didn't trust me." Her finger pointed straight at me.
My insides churned as I recalled the night I had last seen her. The pain everyone felt in that hospital all rushed back to me. "My family was falling apart in front of me, how can you expect me to be calm? I said those words to you in anger but what did you do? You ran out of the hospital and never saw me again. You mailed divorce papers to me and moved away to a different country." My voice shook as I remembered the events.
She hunched over, staring at the floor. "I...I couldn't stay." The confession slipped through her in a small whisper.
My irritation spread inside of me. "WE COULD'VE TALKED!" I clenched my jaw as an uncontrollable grief overtook me. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME HOW YOU FELT! GIVEN ME A CHANCE FOR GODS SAKE!" I slammed my hand on the kitchen table, the sting not enough to soothe my heart.
"Vyom! Your hand!" Nidha's eyes alerted towards my bleeding hand. She rushed into the kitchen and came back with a small first aid kit. She kneeled in front of me, all her attention focused on my hand.
"Leave it," I said pulling away.
She gripped onto my wrist, steadying the hand on the table. "Don't move." She took tweezers to pluck out small glass shards from my palm and applied various ointments to the cuts. "Does it hurt?" She looked up at me, her eyes moist.
My throat dried as my heart expanded. There was nothing I could do except shake my head no.
As angered I had been, as hurt as I felt, just one look at her was enough to wash away all my grudges. She still looked like the woman who was my shelter during a storm, my solace.
She continued to work on my hand, doing a full procedure on it.
"You know..." I thought carefully about my next words. "I met the girl...downstairs." I motioned to the picture frames hanging by the TV.
She followed my gaze and smiled. "Jaira? I see."
Jaira. What a unique name for a unique kid.
I gulped, trying to add moisture to my throat. "Is she..."
Nidha stopped bandaging my hand and looked up at me. "What?"
"Is she...is she home?"
'What a coward Vyom! Couldn't even ask a question!' My thoughts fouled at me.
"No, she's at Pihu Di's house with her mom." Nidha's eyes scanned over my face.
A pool of relief pooled into my stomach cooling it down. The worry of having a child, who has been raised without me vanished.
Nidha finished bandaging my hand and got up from the table. "You're all set to go." She implied my exit.
Tired, I decided to let this go and walked up from the table to the door.
"Vyom?" She called out. I looked over my shoulder at her fidgeting with her hands behind me. "Let's just forget this. Forget we saw each other."
I let out a small laugh that filled up the quiet room. "I don't think so. I'm not forgetting you anytime soon Dr. Nidha Kaur Gupta." I called out behind me.
She stood there as I closed the door and left the apartment.
Precap: Nidha and Vyom's steamy moments.
DID HE JUST CALL HER DR. GUPTA??? 👀
What do you think that could mean?
Although we didn't reach our goal last chapter, I still published this chapter but I want to set it again.
Please get this chapter to 50 votes in order for the next chapter to get released.