Shehnaaz woke up in an unfamiliar room the next morning. The room heater was on, and she was wrapped in a heavy blanket but still, she was feeling cold. Flashes of last night came into her mind as she closed her eyes. She vividly remembered she had fallen asleep in his arms. The night which could have taken her life, that night had become her most memorable night. Being in his arms, she felt like she was in heaven. She could spend her whole life happily in his arms.
"I wish, you could be mine, Sidharth. It hurts a lot when I see you with another girl. I will never be able to forget last night. You were so close to me. At that moment I was feeling like you were not only touching my body, you were touching my soul. I could never forget last night. It was the best night of my life." A contented smile touched her lips as she wondered about the last night. She was smiling wholeheartedly after so many days remembering about last night. It was a magical moment that she could never forget.
"But what would be Sidharth thinking about me? How will I face him?" Her smile faded into a frown as she recalled how she had confessed her love to him last night.
"What is happening, God? Now what I will do? Sidharth will have lots of questions. What I will say to him ?" Shehnaaz was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even come to know when Sidharth came out of the washroom and stood beside the bed.
"How are you feeling now ?" She was startled and instantly looked at him as she heard his voice. He was looking at her worriedly. Last night he was horrified after seeing her condition. At one moment he felt like he lost her.
"I... I am better." She stammered, answering him, and she was playing with her fingers inside the blanket. Her gaze was fixed down on the blanket, she couldn't look into his eyes because of her last night confession.
"How are you?" She asked, looking up at him. He was gazing at her and instantly moved his eyes down as she looked at him. Their heart was beating fast because of the presence of each other.
"I am fine," He passed a small smile to her.
"Is this your room? And when did you bring me here?" She asked him and sniffed, rubbing her nose. She had a cold and a high fever.
"Yes, this is my room." He took out the hanky from his pocket and gave it to her. She smiled faintly while taking it, and they gazed into each other eyes for a second.
"When you became unconscious last night, that time only a worker opened the door. I brought you here and called the doctor. The doctor said you will be fine in a few days." He told her, and she was rubbing her nose with the hanky and sniffing.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." As Sidharth said, a maid stepped into the room after opening the door with a glass of warm water. She wished good morning to Shehnaaz. She passed a faint smile to him in response. She was feeling so weak and her head was blasting because of the fever and cold.
"Sujata, help mam in getting up." Sidharth took the glass of water from her hand and ordered her to help Shehnaaz. Sujata gave a slight nod to Sidharth and helped Shehnaaz to sit against the bed while he picked up the medicine from the side table. He gave her the water and medicine. Shehnaaz took them mutely.
"Sujata, bring breakfast for Madam." Sujata left after nodding her head.
"Shehnaaz, Shivansh was worried for you because you were not picking up his call last night. Talk to him." Shehnaaz slightly nodded at him and Sidharth gave her the phone. In this, as their hands touched and a shiver of desire ran down their spine.
"Please, don't tell him about last night. I didn't tell him because I didn't want to make him worried." Sidharth spoke, and she swiped open the lock of her phone.
She looked at him. "Okay."
"How are you, Shehnaaz? Why you were not picking up calls last night? Do you have any idea that how much I was worried for you ?" Shivansh chided her after picking her call instantly like he was waiting for her call only. Shehnaaz closed her eyes dejectedly because she was feeling guilty seeing his care for her. She was feeling more guilty after the last night.
"Shivansh, I slept as soon as I came back home from the party. I was so tired. I am sorry." She replied after composing herself. She apologised to him and tears welled up in her eyes. She was apologising to him for lying to him every day and because she couldn't love him.
"Okay, fine but never do this again, and listen take care of yourself. I have a meeting. I will call you as soon as I get free."
"Okay, you too take care of yourself." She wiped her tears and hang up the call.
"I am sorry, Shivansh. I can't tell you the truth because I can't break your heart. I know, you will be shattered after knowing the truth." Shehnaaz cried in guilt and pain palming her mouth.
On the other hand, Sidharth was sitting in the hall, holding his head with his hands, and he was stamping his foot. The memories of last night were making him weaker. The way Shehnaaz was begging him to let her die, was shocking for him. Last night he came to know she loved him a lot.
"Now I am just confused. I don't know, what I should choose, Love or Friendship. After seeing Shehnaaz's love for me, I just can't live away from her. She loves me so much like the way I love her. She needs me the way I need her. She was yearning for my love the way I am yearning for her love. I just can't control my feelings more. Oh god... whom should I choose?" After seeing the depth of Shehnaaz's love. Sidharth was confused for the first time that what he should choose between love or friendship.
"Why, Shehnaaz? Why? Why did you fall in love with me? If I choose you, then I will lose Shivansh forever. I just can't afford to lose him. His friendship is my strength. I will never be able to live happily without his friendship. Whenever I have become weak, his friendship has given me strength. His friendship is like a blessing of god to me. I can't lose it. I am nothing without his friendship... nothing. His friendship gave me a new life. How could I choose the love of a few days over the friendship of many years ?" He was questioning himself and he was going crazy.
"No, I will always choose friendship over love. Shehnaaz's love is nothing in front of Shivansh's friendship. Shivansh's friendship is most important for me. I can do anything to protect our friendship. I can spend my whole life alone without a life partner but I can't spend my life without his friendship." He got up, staring straight. At last, Sidharth again chose friendship over love.
Will he ever choose Love over Friendship? Will that day come when he will keep his love above his friendship?
Sujata came out of the room and going back to the kitchen with the plate filled with khichadi. "Sujata, why did you bring the food back ?" She stopped as she heard his voice. He walked toward her.
"Mam said she doesn't want to eat now. She will eat after some time." Sujata answered him.
"Is she crazy? If she doesn't eat, how will she get fine ?" Sidharth murmured to himself.
"Sujata, give it to me. You go and prepare soup for her." Sidharth ordered her, taking the plate of khichadi from her hand. Sujata left after nodding at him. Sidharth sighed deeply and walked toward his room.
"Shehnaaz, wait," He shouted as he opened the door of the room and saw Shehnaaz. She was about to leave the bed. She was wearing a simple light pink colour lose gown. She looked up at him and he rushed to her. He kept the plate of Khichadi on the table.
"You are very weak. If you walk, you can fall." He leaned over her and held her shoulders.
"I need to use the washroom." Her words came out like a whisper at that moment because their proximity was taking her breath heavy and accelerating her heartbeat.
"You could have called somebody. Come on let me help you." He wrapped his one hand around her back and held her shoulder from behind. He held her arm with his other hand. Shehnaaz's breath got stuck in her throat as his cold hands touched her warm skin, she closed her eyes in response. He made her stand up holding her in his protective arms. He was leading her to the washroom without looking at her, and she was only gazing at his face and her heart was thumping because he was so close to her.
"Call me when you are done ?" He said before closing the door of the washroom. As she nodded her head in response, he closed the door after last time glancing at her.
"It is even more difficult for me to control my feelings in front of you, Shehnaaz, but I have to be with you because I can't even leave you alone at this time. You need somebody to take care of you. You are my responsibility right now." He was answering his heart why he was taking care of her after deciding that he would always choose his friendship.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, twiddling his thumbs waiting for Shehnaaz to come out of the washroom. As she opened the door of the washroom, he stood up and reached her by taking long steps. He led her to the bed, holding her in the same way as before. He made her sit down on the bed taking against the bed after putting the pillow behind her. He was covering her with the blanket and she was admiring him. The way he was taking care of her, she was falling in love with him more.
"Eat something. You need the energy to get fine." He said after picking up the plate of Khichadi from the side table. He was sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. Shehnaaz was not feeling like eating anything but still, she couldn't deny him. She just nodded at him.
She finished the full plate of Khichadi, gazing into his eyes because he was making her eat with his hand.
"Now you take some rest. I will come back after some time." He stood up after saying this to her. She didn't want him to go. She just wanted to lay down in his arms comfortably at that time.
"Okay." She nodded her head, but her eyes were asking him to stop and hold her tightly in his protective arms. Sidharth could read her eyes but still, he left the room with a heavy heart.
Shehnaaz lay down and fell asleep within a few minutes only thinking about the last night because of the weakness and the effect of medicines. Sidharth came to check her and walked out of the room after finding her sleeping.
Shehnaaz woke up after taking four hours of sleep as her phone rang up.
"Hello," she answered the call in half-sleep after picking up the phone from the side table.
"I have been calling you for ten minutes, Shehnaaz. Where were you ?" Shivansh scolded her for not picking his calls again.
"I was sleeping, Shivansh." She answered him, sitting up on the bed, holding her head, it was hurting a lot.
"At this time? Didn't you go to NGO? Are you fine?" Shivansh asked worriedly, sensing something wrong.
"I am fine, Shivansh. I was just tired because of the last night." She instantly answered him.
"Shehnaaz, listen. Keep a check on Sidharth. He tries to show himself fine but he is not fine. Mukti and Cabir, they were also out of Mumbai. So I am asking you to take care of him. I am just worried about him." She could sense how much worried he was for Sidharth. He made her also worried.
"What happened, Shivansh? Did Sidharth tell you something?" Shehnaaz asked concernedly.
"Yes. He is in love with the girl." As Shivansh told her this, her heart broke down after knowing that he was in love with somebody else.
"But that girl is married," As Shivansh spoke those words and her breath got stuck in her throat. She didn't know why her heart said to her at that time that he was in love with her only.
"I asked him to tell me the name of the girl, but he didn't. He just said that she could never be his. Shehnaaz, I want to bring that girl to him. I can't see him in pain. He is killing himself from inside by going far away from that girl." Shivansh was on the verge of crying when he was telling Shehnaaz about the reason for Sidharth's bad condition.
"Shivansh, relax. He will be fine. If you fall weak like this, then who will handle him? You just don't worry. I will take care of him." Shehnaaz tried to calm him down and assured him.
"Thank you, Shehnaaz. I will call you later on. Take care." Shivansh disconnected the call saying this because he was not in a condition to talk. He was a strong person but he was falling weak after seeing Sidharth breaking down in front of his eyes every day.
"Does Sidharth love me too ?" She asked this question herself and a smile flashed on her face.
"No, how could he love me? I am his friend's wife. Maybe it just a coincidence that he loves a married woman." As she answered herself, her smile faded. She was confused if she was thinking right or it was just a coincidence.
She wondered about the past. She remembered vividly how he was apologising from Shivansh in sleep at the hospital. Now she understood the reason. He was apologising to Shivansh because of falling in love with her. He was guilty like her. She had never seen him talking to her while looking into her eyes. She understood that like her, he also tried to avoid eye contact with her. Everything was getting crystal clear to her and her heart was jumping inside happily after knowing that he was also in love with her the way she loved him.
"Why I didn't see earlier that he also loves me? Last night he was so worried for me. The way he was saying that he would not let anything happen to me, it was clearly showing how much he loves me. I was such a fool that I could not see his love earlier." She mentally slapped her mind for not seeing his love before.
"He loves me too. Sidharth loves me." She whispered those words, having a bright smile on her face. She was overwhelmed with happiness after knowing that her love was not one one-sided love.
That time only the door opened and Sidharth stepped into the room. Shehnaaz looked at him, having a cheerful smile on her face and her eyes were sparkling with happiness. He felt happy and relieved to see her beautiful smile after so many days but he was confused. He strolled to her.
He stood beside her and was about to say something, but before that, she said something unexpected to him which shocked him to the core.
"You love me too, right?" He widened his eyes in utter shock as she asked after holding his hand. He was not expecting this question from her. How did she come to know?
Expected this or not?
What will be Sidharth's reaction?
Love Mehak