“Meri shaadi aapse kyu nahi ho rahi hai, AVM?”
Her unfiltered desire laced with the raw emotions of her heart longed for the reason. The answer to the question that she could never bring to her lips in her sane state of mind but her intoxicated self was beyond every fence of rationality.
She cared the least about her fiance at that moment. She cared the least about the fact that perhaps, her every feeling for Ahaan was as wrong as a sin in the blindfolded eyes of society and in fact, to some extent, in her own eyes as well.
Her marriage was fixed and it wasn’t Ahaan who was going to be her life partner but Mayank.
Though it was a whole different story that Mayank stood by her not even once every time she fell in trouble.
He was there when society furiously and persistently tried to drown her in the marsh of the so-called ethics and mannerisms a woman needed to abide by – he was there… not to pull her out but to help society push her down.
She cared the least. About every damn thing apart from her intensely beating heart and its perpetrator – Ahaan Veer Malhotra. AVM.
Naam Teen Banda Mean.
“Boliye na, AVM. Hamari shadi -”
“Shh.” Shifting closer to her, he placed his palm on her lips, stopping her from saying anything that she might regret the next day. “Please keep quiet.”
“Naiii,” she screeched hysterically at him, slapping his hand off her mouth. Her earlier expression – desperate to just once hear him say that… even he wished… even he wished that he could keep her forever his… just the way her heart was wanting to keep him hers – faded into a pout.
“Boliye na, AVM.” She blinked, struggling hard to keep her dizzy eyes open as she squeezed his arm to get him to say something. His silence was upsetting to her.
He sat there, contemplating for a minute, about just how to handle the situation or rather how to handle this version of Ishqi.
Having her otherwise fierce self so helplessly vulnerable in front of him had left him in a daze.
Did she even know what she was saying? Did it have even a fraction of a percent of truth in it or was it just the effect of alcohol? His frazzled mind had stopped working by then to figure it out.
“Chalo. Mai tumhe room me chhod deta hu. Kapde gile hai tumhare. Bimar ho jaogi.” He stood up, pulling her along with him.
He had just taken a step when she gripped his hand that was holding her, getting him back to where she had stood. The sudden jerk had him stumble on his steps and he fell on her. His arms protectively wrapped around her waist not to let her fall because of his weight.
“Kya kar rahi ho tum? Lag jati abhi.” Panicked for a moment, he reprimanded her and mentally prepared himself for her outburst for yelling at her but seeing her lips breaking into a smile, he felt as if he would go insane.
She was going to drive him insane one day, he was sure of that.
“Hone dijiye na bimar, AVM. Aap hai na mera khayal rakhne ke liye. Jaise kal raat rakha tha. Rakha tha na? Mujhe zada kuch yaad to nahi lekin itna to mai jaanti hu ke aap the mere paas,” she mumbled, her senses losing to the effect of alcohol but she continued to fight to keep herself awake.
“Ishqi, careful…” His concerned eyes followed her as she escaped his grip, running back to the poolside.
He was beside her within seconds – to hold her shaky figure steady, and her scattered emotions together.
“Ek baat puchu?” She held onto him again, her uncertain orbs seeking something in his eyes – something that momentarily left him hesitant as if he knew that she was going to ask him something that he had no justification to.
He nodded anyway, allowing her to go ahead with her curiosity despite knowing that he was landing himself in trouble.
“Mayank ko koi farq nahi padta jab mai kisi problem me hoti hoon par aapko padta hai. Mayank ko koi farq nahi padta jab mai upset hoti hoon par aapko padta hai. Mayank ko kabhi samajh nahi aata ke mai pareshan hoon par aap… par aap samajh jate hai. Mayank kabhi mera saath nahi deta par aap… dete hai.
Aisa kyu, AVM? Meri shadi to Mayank se ho rahi hai na? Aap se nahi. Fir kyu jab har baar jaha Mayank ko hona chahiye, waha aap hote hai aur jo Mayank ko karna chahiye wo aap karte hai? Aapko itna farq kyu padta hai, AVM?
Itna sab karte hai mere liye. Naam teen banda mean se AVM, the sweetheart ban jate hai aur fir mujhse kehte hai ke mujhe aisa lagta hai ke mujhe aapke liye feelings hai lekin aisa hai nahi.”
Her leg twisted when she took a step toward him causing her entire self to fall onto him. Before he could even process it, she lifted his hand to wound it around her back.
“Kya aap hamesha mere itne paas nahi reh sakte?”
The innocence of her question and the honesty of her emotions were overwhelming. He stood there, wordlessly, containing his very own desires that he had locked up somewhere deep in his heart, unknown to even his own self.
Wow