Last shot: ❤
"Why did you leave me?"
Suddenly a baritone voice breaks her reverie. Sonakshi stiffens her body. From the very beginning, since she met Dev today, she knew that she will have to face this question again and like the past, she won't be able to circumvent. She withdraws herself from his proximity and tries to avoid him...both physically and mentally. However, a strong pull again makes her bang to his hard chest.
"Not this time..today you have to answer me. If destiny has given me this opportunity to ask the question I want the answer."
Dev's voice is tenacious. He looks through her eyes holding her tightly into his chest.
"I have already given you my answer. I didn't love you. It was merely my limerence which is very common at a tender age. You were my crush not love and I understood it very soon."
She says curtly without breaking the eye contact.
"Only your limerence...so out of your limerence or infatuation you still care for me. You can't see me getting hurt by anyone. You are still worried about my safety the way you used to be and you want me to believe that I was your mere crush...whose heart you crashed like a glass."
He jerks her holding her shoulder. Sonakshi pushes him forcibly and frees herself.
"Yes...yes...I crashed your heart as I crashed many more...because you were nothing but a toy boy for me...you..."
Her words halt in midway as she feels a sharp sting on her left cheek.
"Shut up...just shut up before I kill you right here right now."
Dev again raises his hand but a violent knock on the door startles both of them. Dev vehemently glances at Sonakshi and tries to rush at the door but couldn't as Sonakshi again clutches his hand. She sways in denial while Dev jerks her hand.
"Stop your drama..I am not a toy boy of yours anymore."
He says sullenly and again tries to approach the door. All of a sudden Sonakshi does something which makes Dev anchored in his place with surprise. Sonakshi pulls him with all her might and fusses her lips with his in a blink of an eye. Initially, it feels like a way to stop him but gradually it metamorphoses into a passionate kiss which has everything...surrender, assurance, dependence and of course a strong indication of love. At first, Dev was reluctant to reciprocate as it was a quandary for him but his mental resistance is defeated by his emotional acceptance and he too sinks his lips in her soft petals. They don't know how long they were lost in this divine feeling. Gradually, the biological system obstructs them and they feel breathless. Both withdraw and touch their foreheads...slowly panting with closed eyes.
"Will you still say you don't love me?"
Dev whispers. Some pin-drop silent moment pass.
"I was tricked...by your Mom and when I realized my mistake till then, it was too late. You were far away from me, Dev."
Sonakshi's lips twist in a sad smile. Suddenly Dev pushes her away from his torso.
"Don't say a lie. How can you blame a person like this who is not even in this world to prove it wrong?"
Dev rebukes while Sonakshi looks at him quizzically. Dev bents his head and nods in positive.
"I didn't know that your Mom is no more but that won't change the truth Dev that Mrs Iswari Dixit came to me and told me a lie about your career, your life and your future. She told me that your father mortgaged your house and the entire business to a person and now you are not being able to return the debt. In this condition, he will confiscate your entire property. She further told me that the only way to avoid it is if you get married to his daughter. She cried and pleaded to me that only I can convince you of this. But I knew that you will never agree with this. So I decided to lie to you. I tried to make you hate me and I, unfortunately, succeeded in my foolish deed. You believed my words over my eyes which had still that believe that perhaps you can see their pain...the truth behind those lies."
Sonakshi vents out in a breath. The pain, the anger and the defeat all spurt out after a long silence.
"Mom pressurised me to marry that girl but how could I? I only loved a girl and unfortunately, that was you..I knew she didn't like you but she couldn't go to that extent where she could put the happiness of her son on stake."
Dev retreats while blabbering those words. It seems that he is not being able to decide, who deceived him the most. His mother? Whom he trusted the most or Sonakshi? Whom he loved the most. He keeps on retreating, trying to distance himself from Sonakshi. Now her presence is aching him like hell. Suddenly his leg gets stuck to something and he stumbles to fall.
"DEV...."
Sonakshi yells and races towards him.
"DON'T...."
He shows his hand.
"I don't need anybody...you left me...right? Today I am leaving you because I don't believe you anymore. So far I thought that I only love you. You never loved me. That's why you could break my heart like this. But today I came to know that you too loved me and still you broke my heart. How can I trust you?"
His voice is etched with immense pain.
"Dev, I was only thinking about you. It was tough for me too but I put your future and happiness before my love."
Sonakshi again tries to justify her.
"It was OUR love Sona...and there you lacked. You put your righteousness before our love and I will never forgive you for that."
This time Sonakshi observes a determination in his tone. She sags with defeat. Just then, again an impatient knock is heard on the closed door. Sonakshi looks at Dev with scared eyes. She knows this time she can't stop him and proving her right Dev rushes to the door and opens it...vehemently. Sonakshi can't spot anybody outside but an edgy voice alerts her ears.
"They are approaching this side. Before the police come we have to cover the residents."
Dev slightly turns his face to watch if Sonakshi heard something. His jaw contracts. On the drop of a hat, he steps out of the room and closes the door with a thud. When Sonakshi storms to it; it is already locked from outside.
.......................................
Next few hours were the scariest, worst and the longest wait for Sonakshi. At first, she was shuttling in that closed room...helplessly. And after some time, she sits on a wooden box...gathering her knees to her chest and digging her face between them. Tears are staining her cheeks. Some soft hiccups are echoing in the silence. Suddenly she hears the most awaiting sound. The door gets unlocked and opened. Sonakshi slowly gazes up. Her eyes are blurred still she can recognise her most prayed sight. She sees the silhouette of Dev approaching her...dragging his feet. She springs up and rushes to him. She almost reaches him when Dev stumbles and bangs to her. Before collapsing on her, he weakly whispers,
"I couldn't leave you...because it's our love..."
.........................................
Sonakshi increases TV volume. Today Dev's live interview is going to come. After achieving many gallantry awards, her husband Mr Dev Dixit has finally agreed to share the experience of his courageous work during that communal riot with the world.
Interviewer: "Mr Dev, you are a well-known businessman. Far from all these violence and social issues. Which emotion pushed you to jump into this life-threatening matter? As we all know you had almost saved 100 lives and eventually became successful to simmer down the riot. You even helped the local police to catch the ruffians and in this process got seriously injured. You could have lost your life."
Dev Dixit: (With a soft smile) "We can lose our life anytime..any moment. There is no grantee that we will definitely have a long life span. Life is that much unpredictable. The emotion that time I felt was a void. In that stage of my life, I didn't have much to lose. So I thought to lose my life for a cause. But the irony is in an urge of losing my life I actually found my life...again. I shouldn't say but this communal riot returned me everything that I once lost and taught me that there is always a second chance in life."
Interviewer: "Pardon me if I stepped into your personal life but it is heard that you met your love and now your better half amidst this riot only?"
Sonakshi budges on the sofa. A tinge of pink smirches her cheeks.
Dev: (Looking straight at the camera, seems he wants to address a particular person) "I met and found my lost love on that day. Dr Sonakshi Bose Dixit, that day she saved my life when a bullet ricocheted my left arm. Yes, she is now my better half. I know she is watching this interview as she was more excited than me. Sona, I want to say something which I still couldn't say. Both the time, I believed you only. The only difference was, the first time I believed your words and that day I believed your eyes."
Some tears of contentment roll down her eyes. The interview continues for some more minutes but for Sonakshi it is over. It is all about the day...the day they met again...they day they started again.
............................END....................................
Author's note: This is the end of the story. Hope you liked it. Plz do inline comments and let me know which couple do you want in the next anecdote? See you soon. ❤❤❤