"Ibadat mohabbat ki karte huye
Duaaon mein rooh ki utarta hai dil"

~ Meher ~

Mumbai, India

The entire night got me wondering, what secrets would this key unlock. Somewhere, it felt like the first answer to the questions I had in my mind.

But Kabir was Kabir. Always so secretive. Last night when I went over to his room to ask about it, he blatantly shut the door on my face.

And now apparently he was not in the office, his secretary's words, not mine. I sat at my desk as I focused on my laptop to finish the pending work until a bang on my desk disrupted my rhythm.

I didn't even have to look up as I already knew who it was. Or were.

Tanay and Amrita.

I passed them a friendly smile and was about to return back to my work when my chair was rotated to face them. I sighed. "Yes?" I acted as if I didn't know anything.

Amrita scoffed, "Look at you, Meher Mathur! Trying to act your way out," Weirdly, I found that endearing. I had my poker face on, "What are you talking about?"

"Meher," Tanay whined, "Don't be so cold-hearted. You got engaged to Kabir Sir?" Of course, they had to know. The news of our engagement spread like wildfire, garnering a lot of attention from the media. My Instagram was filled with congratulatory messages from fellow associates, colleagues and celebrities. William, whom I had not spoken to for a while had called me up at three in the morning to congratulate me on breaking my saint phase.

I think he probably cried over the phone and promised to come to the wedding as well.

"It all happened very fast, I did not have too much time to prepare or even inform anyone. So sorry guys," I gave a reasonable answer, the one I had prepared to give, to whoever asked me about our engagement.

Amrita waved a hand of dismissal. "That's not what we are upset about," I squinted my eyes in confusion, "we wanted to know how you wooed the Great Wall of China?"

I felt the laughter bubbling up my throat. "The Great Wall of China?"

Tanay pinched my cheeks. "Look at you being so adorable over his nickname," he proceeded to pinch again, but I covered my cheeks with my palms, "he's so indifferent with anyone as if there's a wall between him and the world. We have barely seen him smile or interact with the employees."

The smile which I had dimmed, the reason they gave made me uncomfortable.

"He has always been like that," I managed to say. So close to family yet so far. The guilt I had gnawed at me— if only I had made a different decision back then and not stabbed him on his back for an act of petty revenge, he wouldn't have to beat himself so hard till this day.

It wasn't his fault, but I made it look like it was and people, especially Akash Uncle believed me.

But what bothered me the most was that Kabir never retaliated— he never told anyone that what I had said wasn't true, he just accepted it as his reality.

People do change with time, I was a teenager back then and I made mistakes. Things could have been rectified if I could have just apologised profusely and confessed the truth.

I was scared.

And I didn't say sorry.

And by the time I realised it, things became very different, it was too late. I was glad that he had Radhika by his side, something that let me sleep in peace.

But she was gone. So was my peace.

A hand waved in front of my eye and I blinked. "Earth to Meher," Amrita waved her hand in front of me. I held her wrist, stopping her. "I am on Earth, what do you want to ask?"

"How did you guys fall in love?" Her excitement couldn't cheer me up. Love, it was strange. When I had it I couldn't hold on to it and when I didn't have it, the word kept on irritating me.

"We like each other," I corrected her, her brows creased in confusion, "well, we met again and hit it off. We wanted to settle down and knew we liked each other so we proposed marriage."

It was the same story that was told to the press as well. Making up a fake love story seemed like a tedious job, there were chances that we may not even pull it off considering we were so awkward around each other. So saying that it is an arranged marriage, gave us a leeway to have a distance between us, to be in our comfortable selves.

"Wow, that's really amazing," Tanay's eyes shined as he said, "Finding your partner through mutual liking and trust is a great thing. Many people still go through arranged marriages because not everyone can find their soulmates naturally. Sometimes, you start off with something along the lines of love which eventually turns into love. Looking at the two of you, I am sure you guys would fall head over heels for each other." It was so easy to say that when he knew nothing about what we shared.

We were far from love.

*   *   *

"What could this key lead us to?" Aryan inspects the key, while we are seated in the car, ready to head to the bank.

"If I knew, would have I called you to accompany me to the bank?" he gave me a sheepish smile and then started the ignition to head over to the bank.

I haven't stopped thinking of all the possibilities that could open due to this key. We weren't married yet, our deal applies only after we got married so why did he give me this key so soon?

"Stop thinking, Meher," Aryan chastised, I turned to look at him only to see his eyes fixed on the road.

"Meher," he sang, "is there any other reason why you want to marry Bhai?"

I stopped picking my nails as I froze over his question. "What do you mean?"

I watched Aryan tap his fingers on the steering wheel as he made a turn. "I mean, we could have tried to find clues to Sahil's case, in another way, without having you marry Bhai."

I snorted at his ridiculous question. "Don't you know your Bhai, Aryan? Even if the entire world tells him to help me out, he would rather jump into the sea and die until some sort of pressure has been put on him," I have known Kabir. I didn't know how he was a good man, but I was well aware of his twisted ways. Even if the world was ending, he would never ever tell me anything.

"We could have hired a private investigator," he suggested and I shook my head in denial.

"I have known Sahil for years, when he doesn't want someone to know something, he would never let them know about it. And, I do have a different reason for marrying him," this got Aryan's attention as his ears perked up in alertness.

"Mom," I said and Aryan's eyebrows ceased in confusion. "Shikha Aunty? Why?"

"Don't you know how much she has been bothering me with the marriage? If this wedding happens, she will let me be and never let me meet other people anymore," Aryan chuckled, his laughs reverberating in the silent car.

I narrowed my eyes at him, offended by his reaction. "I have been the silent kind, I am not usually fond of interacting with people. It always bothered Mom. But then that diffused when we all became friends. Then you guys started dating, went around, and talked about relationships, I did none," Aryan placed his hand on mine, squeezing it. "You had your relationship too,"

I shook my head and smiled in sadness, "Not long enough though,"

Aryan pulled the brakes as we reached the bank. Feeling the cool metal in my palms I heaved a breath, bracing myself for what was coming. "Are you ready?" Aryan asked as he removed the seat belt.

I nodded.

We walked inside the bank together and went over to one of the attendants in the locker section.

"We are looking for locker number 6742," Aryan inquired. The attendant looks up from her desk, adjusting her glasses, "Your name Sir?"

Aryan looks at me in question. I had no idea. Whose name should I say? Mine? Sahil's? Or Kabir's?

God help me.

"Meher Mathur," I push Aryan to the side and give my name.

"Let me see," the lady replies, typing away on her computer.

"Ah, correct," she looks at me and smiles, "you are listed as the nominee to the account of Mr. Sahil Vashisth, am I correct?"

I smile. "Yes,"

The lady called someone who would help us guide us to the locker.

As Aryan and I walked and followed the guy upstairs, I couldn't help but wonder. "Sahil listed you as his nominee?" He voiced my thoughts and I raked my brains over it until a faint memory crossed me.

"Yeah," I managed to say, wondering how I had forgotten about it. "Sahil was an orphan, you know. So he had to list someone as his nominee for the bank accounts. So he had put my name. I remember it now," It was just after he graduated from college when he asked me for help. I had agreed to it considering I had nothing to do with his finances.

If I was the nominee for the locker and the other bank accounts, why did Kabir have the key to this locker?

"This is your locker 6742," the man said and stepped back, letting us take his position. I look at the key in my hands and then at the locker. A gentle hand wrapped around my shoulders, I smiled at Aryan as he squeezed my shoulder in assurance. "You want me to open it," he whispered. I shook my head, I wanted to do this myself.

I was curious but with that, I was terrified. I feared the unknown as I had no idea what was waiting for me inside.

I put the key inside the hole and twisted it, with a click the locker opened, revealing the inside.

The locker was almost empty, except there was a small cardboard box wrapped in colourful paper with a ribbon tied in a bow.

I took the box out and closed the locker, inspecting the box over my palm. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"

I nodded.

*   *   *

I locked my room from inside, the twins were already on the bed, ready to see what was in that box.

"Did you check what was inside that box?" Arya asked.

"No, we were waiting for you," Aryan answered.

I opened my drawer and took out the box and went to the bed. Keeping the box in between us on the bed, I looked at my best friends in worry. "I am scared," my shaky voice was enough to show how scared I was. Arya squeezed my shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile. "We're in this together."

So with shaky hands and a fragile heart, I opened the lid of the box. The amount of fear I had possessed during that moment felt like there was a bomb ticking inside as if opening it would lead to the flames engulfing each and everything.

But to my surprise and relief, it was not a bomb.

Neither it was the answer to my question.

In that box laid a folded piece of paper and a gold heart shaped locket. I picked the letter first, knowing Sahil would have wanted me to do that first. When I opened the letter, Sahil's scrawny handwriting came into my vision. My thumb caressed his writing as I remembered him, it was not long ago that he was with me.

I started to read the letter. The twins leaned over my shoulders to read it along with me.

Dear Meher,

If you find this letter, then I won't be there anymore.

Arya's gasp broke my attention momentarily. "Continue," she softly muttered and I went back to read the letter.

Honestly, I had not hoped it to be like this. But sadly, this is it. Life is truly unfair. And it has always been, to both of us actually. But when things are bound to happen, no power in the world can stop it.

Mehru— I have never called you that but now I want to because you once said that you feel adored when people call you that. So dear Mehru, I feel extremely guilty for leaving you behind, it was never my intention. I intended to live a long life, a happy life to say the least. I have no idea how my life is going to end, you probably know it by now. I have regrets, loads of regrets. Regret for not confessing to Tara how I felt about her, regret of not stopping Abhi that day and regret of not giving you what Abhi had bought for you in his last moments.

You had once said that you didn't want your love to be perfect, you just wanted it to stay— though I didn't say anything that day but, to be very honest, I agree with you. I got unlucky in love, but you are not. You still have a chance. Find someone who would cherish you and kiss the ground you walk on, find someone who would love you more than Abhimanyu Tripathi did.

What I am leaving behind for you is a token of love that Abhimanyu wanted to give you. I hope this locket will lead you to the closure that you're so desperately seeking for. I am so sorry that I am five years late to provide you with this, but seeing you all broken, I couldn't bring myself to give you. But when you came back from the US, I realised you had changed and I felt it was about time you received it.

All three of us hope— no scratch that, we WANT you to move on. Life is too short to keep holding on to the past. We are not asking you to forget us, we are just asking you to lock the time you had spent with us in your soul and move ahead to make new happy memories.

You always wanted to cherish the moments, right? Inside the locket, there's a little gift for you, from my side.

Adios,

Sahil (don't cry pls or else Abhi will kill me in heaven)

I laughed through my tears as I read his sign off. He knew how to make me smile. Hugging the letter, I cried as I recalled the day of the accident. Sahil didn't deserve that, he had to do so much more.

I folded the letter and kept it back in the box. My eyes fell on the gold heart shaped locket, the glistening of the gold reminded me of Abhi, his vibrant personality, his laughter, and his beautiful smile.

I picked up the jewellery, holding the locket between my fingers, bringing it closer to read something that had been engraved on it.

Sadness loomed over me as I read the engraved words.

Always and Forever, A & M.

I loathed the term forever. Like he had said, forever is a myth. It's a lie.

I delicately opened the locket, and a small chip fell on my lap.

It was a memory chip. I felt my right side shift and I turned to notice that Aryan had scrambled out to get my laptop from my study desk.

He took the chip from my hand and connected it to the laptop, and a video immediately popped up.

Aryan looked at me in concern. "Do you want to do it?"

Did I?

This letter had already thrown me off the edge, what else could be in there? "Go for it,"

Aryan clicked play and all of a sudden, Tara's giggles reverberated in my room. If any tears were running down my face, it stopped as I looked at the screen in shock.

It was indeed Tara, in full flesh and blood, alive and breathing. She moved closer to the screen, her face contorted to her signature mischievous smile. "Day one of asking Meher out planning," I felt my smile drop and realised that she was also involved in the plan. Judging by her expression, she looked very excited.

The camera moved to Abhimanyu, my heart took a double take when I watched him breathe and smile, he was nipping his fingers in nervousness. The video went on and on, I watched how meticulously the three of them were planning to help Abhimanyu ask me out.

I had no idea that they had put so much thought into this.

And then, the video finally moved to its final phase, the D-Day.

"D-Day," It was Sahil who had said it, the room was dark and I recalled the day I had walked into their house which was pitch black at the time. "I wish you could have seen this, Tara." In the darkness, I couldn't see his face that clearly, the blurriness of that video showed that he was hiding somewhere in the corner. But the sadness that exuded from those words, I could feel it.

"Is anyone here? Abhimanyu?" I heard my voice, and the camera immediately shook and took its spot. I watched myself come in and I went back to that time, living that moment. No matter how many times I would recall, it was still the same, him confessing his feelings and I was confessing mine. It was just us, lost in time, lost in each other.

The camera suddenly shook and it turned back to Sahil, who had his face contorted in a grimace. "Can't record people smooching. So here we end this, and they lived happily ever after."

And the screen turned black. As if a dam had burst open, ugly and hot tears ran down my cheeks, I felt a searing pain tearing my heart, giving me a reality check that I had lost them, for real. They were not coming back.

A hand wrapped around me and I felt the tears soaking my hair. I looked at Arya who was crying with me, for me. I hugged her and cried, the tears and the pain didn't cease to stop.

I went back to where it happened, from where all the pain had started. I wanted to forget this pain, I wanted to remember only the happy times, I wanted closure. I wanted to take away the power of the painful memory for hurt and prove to myself that I could choose to move on.

For years I had been sinking in what I called an ocean of sadness. Now I wanted to come out of it, I was tired, I was exhausted.

A knock on the door stopped whatever the chaos had ensued in the room. "I will get it," I wiped my tears and sniffed and crawled out of the bed to open the door.

I opened the door to see Kabir standing, his right hand tucked in his pocket as he leaned over to the side. He straightened up and then took a double take at me, confusion looming over his dark eyes. "What happened?" the question was not for me, it was for the twins.

Tears started brimming my eyes once again. I didn't care, I just took one look at him and jumped in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, and pulling him close. My tears soaked his t-shirt as I mumbled thank you several times. I felt a hand patting my back and I deepened the hug.

My hate for Kabir had taken a backseat today.

I was thankful to him.

I was indebted to Kabir Raizada.

And another end to the chapter. A bit on the emotional side, I must say. I always felt that Meher did not have enough time on her hands to process the deaths of Tara, Abhimanyu and Sahil and that she always struggled with it. Abhimanyu had made a promise to get her something, which did not happen then and that left a void in her heart. Getting this would eventually bring her to closure and maybe she would soften up to Kabir.

Anyhoo, how did you like this chapter? Let me know in the comments.

Also don't forget to VOTE, SHARE and COMMENT. Comment a heart letting me know that you enjoyed reading this chapter.

With Love,

Akii.