Apologies for the delay. Without further ado...

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Chapter 48 : Lightning

It had been eleven days. Eleven days since her birthday. More than a week since they were back in their city. Time was supposed to be the magical balm that healed. The efflux of time was supposed to fix things.

However, nothing of that sort was in the remotest close to occurring. If anything, the time seemed to be tearing apart everything that they had put together in all these days of knowing each other.

That night, that dance by the cozy campfire, those few minutes of delicate and intricate intimacy had changed something for them forever. Those moments had etched themselves as memories one couldn't forget.

Every night Aadarsh went to sleep thinking about that night. Every time his gaze met her gorgeous brown eyes, he remembered that moment. And the kiss. One day, just one single day had changed their equation, seemingly forever.

On the surface, everything seemed as it had been before the vacation. She spoke to him freely. She didn't avoid him. She made no attempt whatsoever to ignore him or avoid a conversation him.

Just that the depth was missing. That spark in her when she spoke to him had died down.

It was all there yet, there was nothing. Once in a while she made those witty remarks to mock him or criticize him. But it didn't feel the same, anymore.

The warmth was missing. The crazy madness that flashed in her eyes when she looked at him was missing. She was finally getting a grip on her emotions. Her feelings that had been wildly soaring uncontrolled were finally being kept on a leash.

She was learning how to put herself together and be strong. She was taming her foolishness, working on it to make it her wisdom. It was the best thing for her. She was doing herself a favor. She was doing herself good. She was protecting herself.

He should have been happy. A part of him truly was. Yet, it caused an agonizing pain in his heart. He wanted the old her back. The bizarre part was, she was right there.

They still spent the same amount of time together as they did before, but he found himself terribly lonely.

There had been so many times that he had almost walked up to her and questioned the withdrawal. However every single time, he had held himself back. It wasn't fair for her. He wanted her and yet wanted nothing with her. He wanted to see every emotion, witness each and every feeling she felt and be a part of it; and yet was reluctant to accept and reciprocate them.

Every night he stayed awake unable to sleep, waiting for her to say something— fight with him over something, tell him one of her random observations wisely, fuss over his reckless actions and show him the mirror; but nothing came. Four days ago, he had purposefully kept the temperature of the air conditioner in their bedroom at sixteen, at night. Instead of arguing, she had politely requested him to bump it up. When he had refused stubbornly, hoping she'd argue and squabble; she had calmly got off the bed brought herself a spare blanket and worn two layers of blanket.

Strangely, that night he had been miserable. He was so used to her defiance, so used to her being unapologetically herself. Her indifference gave way to a twinge in his heart.

The stupid pillow was between them too. The next night he had tossed it away in the darkest corner of their closet. Surprisingly, she had replaced it with another one, not even bothering to figure out where the previous had gone.

Aadarsh had never felt so confused. He had always prided himself on having clarity and purpose while doing anything. He didn't, when it came to her, when it came to his marriage.

The mix of disparate emotions was slowly driving him crazy.

He gave his reflection in the mirror a final look before heading down for breakfast. He had woken up late, which had become a usual practice lately. Either he was becoming tardy or it had to do with his disturbing over-thinking habit that kicked in as soon as he hit the bed, that messed up with the quality of his sleep.

He smiled and greeted each of his siblings. His gaze swiftly went to his wife as she walked out from the kitchen. "Where's Pari?" He asked, a bit glad when her gaze darted towards him, realizing the question was directed to her.

Her gaze slowly turned to the girl that followed her, with a grumpy face. The crimson hue on her cheeks and nose, along with the wetness on her cheeks easily gave away that she had been crying.

He gaze shifted back to Ruhaani, with eyes silently querying.

"She wants to come with me to my office. It's Mukti's turn today." Ever since they were back, Ruhaani took one of the three to office with her. The girls especially looked forward to it unlike Nirvan who preferred to stay in the sanctuary of home.

He had even heard of some uncle who was very nice from both girls. Nirvan had also approved that the man was nice in very limited and subtle words. He wondered who this mystery man was.

"So, whose turn is it today, to go with Bhabhs to office?" Ashvi asked turning to the kids.

"Me!" An excited Mukti raised her hand. The girls were especially elated at the prospect of visiting Ruhaani's office because of the dedicated child space which had so many games and kind volunteers.

"I want to come too," Pari sniffed, holding the end of her mother's dupatta to wipe her face. Aadarsh felt his heart stir at the sight. He used to do that often with his mother too. It was a curious strange thing. Pari was so much like him without even being biologically related to him.

"Pari, stop crying and sit on the chair. Now." Ruhaani commanded a bit harshly, pointing her finger at the empty chair.

Everyone looked on curiously at her. Somehow when Ruhaani was strict with the kids, a solemnity fell upon the room. Pari had tears pooled in her eyes and was ready to cry out loud when Aadarsh decided to intervene.

"Come here, Pari."

Pari sobbed and waddled over to him. He picked her up in his arms and made her sit on the table. In those few seconds, her sobs had turned to full blown cries. "You're my big girl, right? Big girls don't cry." He said gently using his handkerchief to wipe her tears off her soft pink cheeks.

"I – I – want to go – with Mumma." She spoke between sobs and then continued to wail.

Aadarsh raised his gaze to look at Ruhaani, pleading on behalf of his daughter. They had had a debate over this a few days back as well, when a similar situation had taken place. Somehow when it was Mukti's turn to go along with Ruhaani, Pari would throw a tantrum and implore to be taken along. Ruhaani had asserted she'll only take one of the kids with her. She refuted his silent plea, dismissing his gaze.

"How about you come with Papa to his office?" He asked Pari, surprising everyone at the table. Each person looked at him incredulously.

"Pari, your Papa's office is very boring. There are no games, no building blocks, no puzzles, no clay. Nothing." Abhi filled his niece's ears only to get a glare from his elder brother.

"Shona, do you want to come with Papa?" Aadarsh asked softly.

She nodded happily and immediately hugged him, crying some more. He smiled gently patting her small back and kissing her hair. "Come on now, no more crying, have breakfast like a good girl."

As he put the girl down to go sit on her chair, his gaze met Ruhaani's. She looked away quickly and helped Pari get on the chair. Aadarsh blinked confused.

There was a time when he could predict what she was thinking, because she allowed him to see it through her expressions. However now she just drew a blank on her face. It was annoying to not be able to tell what she thought.

As they ate their breakfast with random conversations, Mukti spoke up, "Is Nick uncle going to be there today as well?"

Aadarsh wondered who this Nick aka nice uncle was. He had been hearing an awfully lot about him from Pari and Mukti, in the past few days.

"Yes. He comes to office every day. Like I go to office every day." Ruhaani answered kindly with a gentle smile, her annoyance with Pari seemed to have evaporated unexpectedly quickly. Mukti smiled widely evidently happy to learn that she would meeting Nick uncle.

"Seems to be a popular person, no Bhai?" Abhi remarked flashing a teasing grin at his brother before turning to Ruhaani. "How come we haven't heard about him from you before? Is he a colleague? A new joiner?" Abhi quizzed.

"He's in the Operations team. The team sits next to our team and his desk is across from mine." Ruhaani answered.

"What's his age?" Shelly Bua asked.

Ruhaani looked up at her, peeved. "I didn't ask him." She replied nonchalantly, having a vague idea where this was going. Shelly Bua just needed some excuse to taunt her or belittle her about something.

Abhi concealed his smile. With every passing day, Shelly Bua vs Ruhaani was becoming a treat to watch at the dining table.

"But you must surely know the age range, you're not that incapable of sound judgment, are you, darling?" Shelly Bua smiled popping a piece of the sausage into her mouth.

"Must be in his late twenties or early thirties, Bua. I go to office to get work done not judge people. And anyhow not everyone is blessed with the talent of judging people based on insignificant facts." She smiled at the woman.

"Oh darling, why do you get offended? Only people who have something to hide or are afraid of a secret spilling out, get so resentful."

"I am not offended, Bua." Ruhaani replied simply focusing on her breakfast.

"It's good to have folks of your age around in office, isn't it Bhabhs? You can hang out and have a friend to rant about office stuff." Abhi remarked casually, from the corner of his eyes he observed his brother.

He couldn't tell with surety if his brother had finally moved on and accepted Ruhaani wholeheartedly or the couple were still driven by the convenience of the arrangement and were just a couple making compromises for the sake of their family.

Abhi usually took great satisfaction in being able to make out if two people loved each other. Even as a young teenager he had known that his elder brother's best friend had been more than what she claimed to be. He had been proven right, months later when he had overheard his brother told their mother that Siddhi was his girlfriend.

Aadarsh used to be goofy around the girl. He used to have a stupid smile on his face when he used to talk to her or talk about her. His affection for his best friend had always been evident. A dull day became a bright one if she came around.

However, right now he didn't see any clear sign that his brother more than admired Ruhaani. Although he was finally beginning to think there was something. Ample of moments during their vacation had hinted at that. Nonetheless, Abhi wasn't sure. For Ruhaani's sake, he wanted to find out.

He had been feeling quite miserable since the bitter realization that the woman he had been secretly pinning after was engaged to another man.

When his brother had spoken of how one was capable of erasing feelings and he had retorted with a taunt, he had seen that it affected his brother. And that's where his fears began. Was his brother still pinning after his first love? Was he not over her? Would he never get over her?

If the answer to any or all of those questions was a yes, then his brother was a foolish man. Ruhaani was a beautiful person. In fact, marrying her was his brother's best decision till date.

Abhi somehow fell relived that his brother had not taken his stupid shallow advice of not marrying her. On rare occasions, he found himself guilty of judging her without even knowing her. Surprisingly, he couldn't imagine anyone else as his sister-in-law.

Ruhaani was a wonderful person who deserved just as much love as she gave out to the world if not more. Yes, they all loved her. But he also wanted her to have Aadarsh's love. Just as she had his respect and admiration.

His brother and his Bhabhs both needed love. The best part was they already had each other. The worst part was they had probably not realized that they could fulfill each other's quest for being loved and cherished.

Back to his pursuit of figuring out their relationship, he decided to test jealousy. If you loved someone, you'd be jealous of anyone who got more of their time, who knew them better. So, he observed his brother. There was nothing that hinted he was jealous.

"No Abhi. I don't even know him that well. He's just acquaintance not friend. And only off late he's started talking to me thanks to these girls. They keep troubling him and he takes it in good spirit.

"He has a big jar of chocolates you know Bhaiya," Mukti said, "and he always shares them."

Pari immediately added, stretching her arms, "it is this big," she exaggerated.

"He is a Harry Potter fan." Nirvan added.

The conversation suddenly was about this mysterious person. How he always told them interesting stories and shared chocolates.

Having heard more than enough, Aadarsh interrupted the stupid conversation by asking Ashvi how her college was going. After she had ranted a bit, he turned to Abhi and asked him about his office.

"Jeez!" Abhi exclaimed suddenly, his mission abandoned. "I forgot to announce." He pushed his chair slightly and got up, picking up the steel glass and a spoon in his hand. He gently made a clinking sound irrespective of the fact that he already had everyone's undivided attention.

"Ladies, gentleman and little people of our family, the most eligible bachelor of this family got his promotion at work. Effective this month!"

Everyone instantly congratulated him.

"When did you get to know?" Ruhaani asked him interestedly. She had been hearing about all the efforts he was putting to get this promotion ever since she had become a permanent resident of the Sehgal house.

"The week we were preparing to go to Manali."

"And you didn't tell us!" Ashvi accused him.

"Arey, there was so much excitement already. Then there was Bhabh's birthday. So I decided to tell once I return. I forgot." He added the last part sheepishly.

"That's amazing news, Abhi. I am happy for you." Aadarsh spoke up, his gaze drifting to the househelp who placed a white envelope beside his plate and walked away. The letters— confidential were printed on it. After a brief few moments of curiosity, he wore a smile and turned to his brother. "What's the hike?"

"Twenty-five percent!"

Aadarsh nodded. It was less, when compared to the efforts his brother was putting in. However he didn't want to rain on Abhi's parade. His brother seemed genuinely happy. "We should celebrate!"

"Yes. I will make some plan for this Saturday evening. Please keep your schedule free." Abhi beamed with pride.

"No, not Saturday." Ruhaani immediately said.

At the same instant, Aadarsh recollected that she had the dentist's appointment scheduled for tooth extraction.

"Yes, there's a fest in my college and Bhabhs is going to help me with the stall that Riya and I are putting up. So it's going to be an exhausting day for us." Ashvi explained.

"Fine Sunday then!" He turned to Ruhaani for approval and she nodded. He smiled at her.

Aadarsh sighed. In moments such as these, he felt as though Ruhaani was the one who had a final say in the house not him anymore. "Sunday it is!" He said and got up. Grabbing the envelope, he made his way to the room.

Ruhaani watched his retreating figure, thoughtfully. Once done with her breakfast she decided to head to the room and talk to him.

She had been trying to keep out of his way as far as possible without making it seem like she was avoiding him. She tried to limit the words she spoke to him. She tried to put distance between them every time she anticipated it was diminishing. It seemed to be working. At least it didn't hurt as badly as before. She hoped for that sour feeling to dissipate.

Nevertheless a bitter twinge bothered her. Did he not see the subtle signs of her withdrawal from his life? Was she so insignificant in his life? Maybe she was. Maybe he didn't even think a quarter of how much she thought about him. She just hoped that with time her feelings would fade away.

She entered the room silently. He was reading some paper eagerly, so much that he didn't even realize she had walked over to the desk behind which he stood. She cleared her throat and called for his attention, "Aadarsh."

He looked up at her startled, immediately folding the piece of paper and shoving it into the envelope.

"You don't have to take Pari with you to the office..."

"I can take care of her, Ruhaani." He said placing the envelope between the pages of his work diary, his mind seemingly preoccupied with something else.

"I know you can. But it's your office and I don't want her to interfere with your work. At least in my office there's a child care unit but..."

"I can take care of her." He said tersely.

"Aadarsh I..."

"Enough." He said his voice raising abruptly. "I said I will take care her. End of topic. Do I question anything you do? No, right? So, don't question me."

Ruhaani narrowed her eyes at him, evidently irritated, "I am not questioning you or doubting your ability to take care of her. We've discussed this before. Nirvan and Pari need to spend time together. They hardly get along well."

Aadarsh sighed. "Fine. I will take Nirvan along too, if he wants to come. Happy?" He turned around picked his bag from the chair and started putting files and the diary into it.

"Aadarsh, you don't..."

"Ruhaani. Please. Just drop it. I know how to take care of things. I have been doing so far and I will take care of everything. Just leave me alone. The last thing I want, is to hear your lecture right now."

Ruhaani's gaze hardened as anger began to simmer her blood. "Fine. It's not like I desire to waste my time talking to you. Do what you want."

Aadarsh felt a nasty pang and raised his gaze to look at her. She had turned away and walked to the bed to gather her stuff.

Aadarsh closed his eyes momentarily taking in a long breath. His anger and irritation was misplaced. Feeling guilty, he decided to rectify the situation sooner than putting it off to later, "I am sorry, I shouldn't have snapped."

"Nothing new," she muttered, packing her bag not bothering to even turn, to look at him.

Sighing, he walked up to her. He held her left arm near the elbow and gently tugged at it.

Ruhaani momentarily froze.

She didn't expect him to apologize, at least not so immediately and sincerely. But he did. She didn't expect him to walk over to her to convince her. But he did. His simple touch evoked all those emotions she was trying to bury.

She turned to look at him. He stepped closer and she instinctively took one back to maintain the distance between them. Her gaze hesitantly met his. She felt a flood of emotions wash her. She wanted closeness with the man before her and yet all she could do was put distance between them, for her own good.

Aadarsh's gaze carefully observed her subtle withdrawal, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. It made him feel bitter. He didn't want her to repulse every time he went close to her.

Yet he could all but respect her decision. He gently pulled back his hand, understanding her perspective. He had to be kind to her. He couldn't accept her feelings but he could make sure to not hurt them in any way.

As his gaze melted into hers, he wanted nothing more than to take her in an embrace. His contrasting emotions confused him.

"Ruhaani, I am sorry. I was just...it was something else, okay? I didn't mean to snap." His voice was gentle as he apologized.

Ruhaani blinked twice, indecisiveness apparent in her action.

The more she worked on putting a brick wall between them, the harder he seemed to be working to make her efforts futile. There was sincerity in his eyes and manner. It was the first ever time he had voluntarily apologized and apologized like he meant it. It wasn't out of obligation or for the heck of it.

"It's okay." She said meekly. What else was she supposed to say when his apology had melted her umbrage?

"Sure?" he uttered, holding back the smile that begged to be on his lips. He knew exactly what she had felt in that moment. That inconvenient urge to forgive and forget anything that, that one person who was special for you did. He had felt it too once upon a time but for someone else.

"Yeah. So, what is it that's been troubling you that you so graciously decided to dump your frustration on me?" She asked folding her arms. If he planned to do anything cocky like he did last time after his apology—kissing her cheek or hovering over her face seductively—she wouldn't allow it. She wasn't just going to stand there and let him have his way. Nada.

"Just work!" He said dismissively. "What about your dentist appointment?"

She gazed at him with pleasant surprise. "You remembered?" She voiced her thoughts, her brain-to-mouth filter forgetting it's only job.

He saw that sudden spark in her eyes, that look of curious hopefulness. "No." He lied. "Ugh, I got a call from the clinic to confirm the appointment."

"They called you?" She asked baffled, a frown marring her facial features.

"Yeah, I gave my number on the contact form." He informed confidently. "So, should I not tell them to confirm it when they call back again?"

"Hmm, we will have to push it. Ashvi has this fest in college where she's putting up a nail art stall. I have to help her out. And then Sunday, Abhi has his treat. So the next weekend should be fine."

He nodded and had halfway turned to go back to his desk, when he abruptly turned to look at her again with a suspecting look. "Wait. Are you scared? Are you trying to avoid the tooth extraction?"

"No." Ruhaani said immediately, her eyes widening at his question. "Why would I avoid it?" She shrugged pretending to be unbothered and then slowly looked aside at her bag. Yes, she was dreading the appointment. The reason why she had agreed to help Ashvi, in fact she was the one who had planted that idea in her mind in the first place.

Aadarsh smiled and stepped closer. "You are actually avoiding it!" He spoke with renewed conviction, noticing how she tried hard to appear normal.

"That.... is... the most ridiculous assumption ever!" She remarked, turning back to narrow her eyes at him.

"If you don't like the dentist, I could find another." He offered generously. "Anyhow the man didn't seem much experienced."

"No. He was good. At least he was understanding and patient." Ruhaani spoke up.

"Of course," he muttered, under his breath incoherently. If it was up to that man he would have stretched the appointment to last for a whole day.

"What?"

"We are going next Friday, no matter what!" He declared.

Ruhaani thought hard of some excuse but found nothing. How could her brain function well when he was so close and being nice?

"Sure, I will think about it," she said quickly, her words so fast paced that if one was not paying attention they would have hardly understood what was said. She was about to walk past and disappear, when his hand grabbed her arm and he turned to side to meet her eyes.

"I heard that! Why are you so scared?"

Ruhaani's gaze dropped to his hand that was wrapped around her upper arm and then swiped up to his eyes. "It is painful, okay? It's not like a spa session. It's a freaking tooth extraction. Like digging my gums and removing a tooth, making my mouth an excavation site."

Aadarsh looked amusedly surprised. "Let me remind you, you've gone through childbirth. There's no pain worse than that. And a tooth extraction is hardly anything. They'll give you local anesthesia, you will hardly feel anything."

Ruhaani sighed and conceded. "Fine, not Friday, Saturday!"

"Alright, next Saturday it is then!" He said satisfied that he had managed to change her mind.

"Can you leave me now? I am going to be late." She spoke when his gaze quietly lingered on her face.

His gaze gauged their closeness and then he leaned closer, making her nervous. "There's one more thing," he lowered his voice purposefully and gazed at her lips. One part of him was opposed to this idea, and the other was totally invested into doing it.

"What?" She whispered warily, pulling her face back from his, straining her neck muscles in the process.

"There's this function on Friday, inauguration of a client's new venture. I want you..." he forwarded his face towards her, "to come..." his gaze lowered to her tempting supple lips again, "... with me." His gaze ascended up to her eyes.

"Fine," she agreed quickly, feeling heat all over. Her gaze momentarily lowered to his lips. The sweet memory of the first, leaving a lingering longing in her heart. However that sweet memory came entangled with a bitter ache.

Aadarsh had only meant to tease her for the sheer joy it gave him. However, now that he was so close, he wanted a taste of that mouth. Out of nowhere the niggling yearning had sparked an embryonic lust. He inched dangerously closer, his breathing longer and deeper.

She turned her face to the side slowly, closing her eyes. She didn't want to complicate their equation. She didn't want to be hurt. It was an irksome feeling to enjoy something and then let it take you on a guilt trip or even worse down a hole of regret realizing it was not what you assumed it to be.

Aadarsh let out a sigh. A part of him was pulling him back. Telling him to leave her alone. He wasn't supposed to make advances when he wasn't going to accept feelings—hers and his.

But the other part was urging him to rogue, to do what he wanted, to follow his heart and take the plunge.

The two parts together were tearing him apart. He didn't know what to do.

"Nice earrings," he whispered, his lips a hair's width away from her earlobes.

Ruhaani took in a deep audible breath. In that moment all she knew was, his soft warm breath that tickled her skin, the feather like touch of his lips on her skin that felt like an affectionate caress and the seduction in his voice.

She slowly gathered the courage and turned to face him, ignoring all sane requests of her brain. Her gaze slowly raised up to meet his— dark and mysteriously drawing. That alluring gaze painfully slowly dropped to her lips.

"Aadarsh," she whispered. It was a desperate plea, a fearful warning, a call for sanity and a weak dismissal, all rolled into to one.

Aadarsh's lips inched towards hers, "hmm," He hummed, his adam's apple bobbed in his throat. Ruhaani's mouth felt dry as her eyes keenly observed that. His fingers gently reaching her ears and pushing the hook of the earring that was halfway out, back into her loop. As much as he wanted to act on his desires, he wanted to be certain before every action. At the moment, he couldn't even think properly.

He was prepared to back off, when her hand gently held his forearm, her gaze meeting his. She moved closer to him.

They were both in difficult dilemma. At one end they both wanted to take the plunge into their desires, on the other they wanted to save themselves from drowning.

Her eyes seemed to be imploring him to remove off all distance between them.

He did exactly that.

His lips hurriedly sought to hers and she responded quickly by meeting him halfway. The kiss was nothing like their first. This one was packed with desperation, with maddening desires and an undeniable lust.

He had turned towards her like a sunflower to the sun. Both his hands holding her face in place while he let his mouth unabashedly savor the taste of hers. In his entire life, he'd never felt a desire like this or such acute desperation to claim what was his.

Sanity had been suspended. The madness and the unrequited urges had now taken the rein.

Everything around seemed quiet. All that they could hear was each other's ragged breaths, and the lascivious sounds their mouths made against the other's.

Ruhaani had never felt this way before. It was as though someone had set her ablaze. Like somehow she was in the center of a whirlwind and enjoying it. Like every little inch of her skin had been bared and touched. His lips moved so deliciously against hers, she tried to best to respond with the same vigor. Her hands curled tightly around the hard muscles of his forearms, as though hanging with its support.

Aadarsh gave his all to the kiss. He was totally in the moment. He had shut his mind and was kissing her with all rawness. His tongue darted into her mouth. His long fingers slowly sliding towards her hairs and weaving into the silken tresses. He gently pulled her face more closer, deepening the tantalizing kiss.

Heated breaths, wet lips, panting mouths, inebriated eyes and electrified hearts were the aftermath of the kiss.

They both refused to look at each other as a tiny layer of air separated their faces and overworked mouths. They simply stayed put until their breathing returned close to normal.

Ruhaani couldn't think anymore. She still felt the powerful touch of his mouth on hers. Her lips still tingled with the memory of his lips.

Aadarsh gazed at her downcast eyes, her swollen bright lips. He wanted to lay kisses all over on that beautiful face. His fingers slowly traced their way back from her hair to her cheeks. He couldn't not touch her soft cheeks that were now tinted with red. It was a feat that he hadn't already pressed his aching body against hers to seek relief.

It took more than a few seconds, but their gazes finally met. The reality sucked them out of the bubble of madness. It was like a blinding flash of lightning in a dark sky.

"I should go," she murmured, relinquishing the grip on his forearms, lowering her hands to her sides.

Aadarsh mutely nodded in agreement and let his fingers slide against her cheeks and ultimately drop from her face.

The guilt slowly began to claw at his insides. He had done exactly what he shouldn't have. He distractedly watched her gather her bag with shaky hands and walk past him. He slowly turned to see her leave the room. A pin drop silence enveloped the room.

Once out of the room and a few steps away from the door, Ruhaani finally took in a deep audible breath in and rested her back against the wall of the room. She no longer understood what was happening. She relived that moment again, breathing heavily. It felt like the first rain of the year that drenched one completely and contently.

He was the most fascinatingly mysterious and alluring beautiful lake, and she was sinking in it knowingly, slowly, surely and entirely.

Aadarsh settled on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his palms. He pushed back and slumped against the mattresses with a soft thud. Half laying on the bed he felt every emotion wreck havoc inside him.

He was spiraling out of control. His feelings were all over the place. It was excruciating to stay away from her. She was a strong wave that had struck his shore, he a foolish man willing to let it carry him away.

The sudden silence was deafening. It felt like the silence between lightning and thunder. It felt like the calm before a storm.

• — • — •

Looking forward to read your thoughts.

To keep you all in the loop, I got a promotion last month and hence my workload has significantly multiplied over the past few weeks. I do love writing and it's been my passion for years now. However it remains a leisure activity which brings me immense joy and my priority is my work which is what brings me my livelihood. I hope you all understand this. Going ahead I am planning to not put an approximate date to the next chapter as I used to because I have been made to believe it keeps you all waiting (although, I try my best to inform if chapter will be late). I did this to give you all a rough estimate but if it's defeating the purpose, might as well not do it.

Don't forget to vote ☆ on the chapters.

—Anami!♡