Chapter 49

Ki haal chall soneyooo? ❣️

Yaaarr ek serious wala question… Someone said ki shubh and ayanshi will be a boring and predictable couple…. No one, specially tangled readers will like to read them… Now you tell me should I really seprate them and make them fall in love with someone else.. or what????

And and i wrote this lamba wala chapter… Ab hum 18 December ke baad milege… Cause mera exam hai us din and meene koch nahi pdha….

Enjoy… Vote krna… Aur tumhara favourite wala part bhi btana…
Bieeee ❤️
………

WTF.

What the actual f* is going on?
Am I getting invisible to him?**

Agar main Raghav se baat karun to – “Be cautious.” “He’s wasting your time.”

(If I talk to Raghav – “Be cautious.” “He’s wasting your time.”)

Aur khud?
Maya se kab se baat kar raha hai?
Dikhta nahi ki she is clearly flirting with him?

(And him? Since when is he talking to Maya? Doesn’t he SEE she’s flirting with him?)

Aur meeting mein aise kapde kaun pehan kar aata hai??

(And who dresses like THAT for a meeting??)

I scanned her from head to toe, judging every inch of her.

Wait-who am I to judge?

I paused.
Main to karungi pehle… pehle nurse, ab yeh.
Peecha chhod do uska.

(I will do it..- first the nurse, now she…Stop obsessing over him.)

That’s enough.

I walked toward them from the end of the hallway.

Meeting khatam hone ke baad itni baatein shobha nahi deti.

(After the meeting, this much chatting isn’t necessary.)

I was two steps away when suddenly Aubert, my secretary, slid in front of me like a human speed-breaker.

I glared.

“What?”

“Ma’am, you can’t do this!” he said too quickly.

(Ma’am, you can’t do this!)

“Why?” I whisper-yelled then paused.
“Wait what are YOU even talking about?”

“Ma’am, let them talk. Let’s go to your office.”

“Who are you to tell me? And WHY would I listen to you?” I snapped.

He swallowed hard.

“Main aapke papa ko bata dunga…”

(I’ll tell your father…)

I froze – shocked.

“Ma’am, she’s one of the major shareholders and board members are present here.
Don’t do anything that hurts Mr. Rathore’s pride.”

I looked at them again – her talking, him listening.

This time my glare was PURE fire.

Fine.
Aur karo baat.
Kutta.
Flirt.
I hate him.

Without saying another word – not to Aubert, not to anyone – I walked past.

Nav POV

I was looking for vani when Miss Maya started talking me.

“You presented today’s insight really well, Mr. Brar.”

(You presented the insight well, Mr. Brar.)

I thanked her and was about to leave, but she continued:

“Why didn’t you reply to the mail I sent you?”

Because I’m not interested.
I thought that but I didn’t say it.

“Oh! Really sorry, Miss Maya – my mails are handled by my secretary. Maybe it got missed. Was something important?”

“No, nothing serious. By the way, are you up for a friendly meal?”

(Are you free for a friendly meal?)

Friendly my ass.

“Ahm-“
I looked to the side, searching for an excuse.

And then I saw Vani – talking to some guy whose back was facing me.

Ab yeh kaun aa tapka?
Akela chhod diya karo use yaar.
Sabko main hi dur karu?

(Who dropped from the sky now? Can’t she stay alone? Do I have to chase everyone away?)

She walked away –
and the man followed her.

I’ll kill whoever that was.

“Excuse me? Where did you zone out?” Maya snapped softly.

I looked back.

“Actually, my friends already reserved. I’m so sorry but I’ll have to decline – politely.”

Smooth lie.
Delivered perfectly.

Her face dropped a little, but she smiled anyway.

“It’s okay. Enjoy.”

She walked away.

Aur Vani?

My first instinct was to follow her.
I didn’t.

Instead, I picked up a file and pretended to review plans uninterestedly

I walked into my cabin and shut the door harder than necessary.

As soon as I turned around, my eyes locked on Auber.

“YOU.
You’re going to complain to my father?
About what, exactly? Huh?”

I snapped, each word sharper than the last.

He flinched slightly.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. But he was ignoring you on purpose.

I couldn’t tolerate your insult.
So yes, I… threatened you like that.
Maybe I stepped out of line……

I’ll accept any punishment.”

My anger didn’t disappear
but it stopped burning.
It shifted into something softer, unexpected.

Still, skepticism lingered.

“So… let me understand.
You pulled me back because YOU couldn’t tolerate his behaviour?”

He nodded immediately.

I stared – measuring his words, his tone, his sincerity.

“Why?
Why do you think he was ignoring me?”

Auber exhaled.

“I don’t know, ma’am.
But during the entire meeting
he was looking at you…
but not talking to you.
Not even fighting with you like always.”

I stared at him, partly offended, partly stunned.

Keh toh sahi raha hai yeh firangi…

(This foreigner is actually right…)

Karela lad bhi nahi raha mujhse.

(That bitter gourd isn’t even fighting with me.)

For once – I didn’t have a comeback.

“You can go, Aubert.”
He turned to leave.

I paused.

“And… wait.”

He looked back.

“Thank you.”
This time …….genuinely.

He nodded and quietly stepped out.

I collapsed into my chair, releasing a breath
I didn’t even know I was holding.

For the first time today ……
the silence in my cabin was too honest.

My thoughts went exactly where I didn’t want them to go.

“Nav, yaar…
why are you behaving like
I don’t exist in the room?
Or more like you don’t want me in the same room”

I whispered to myself.

And worst part?

Does he hate me now???

The question hurt
more than it should.

✧

My mind wouldn’t shut up.

Overthinking.
Overreacting.
Overfeeling.

Maine kaafi saalon pehle ek cheez seekhi thi –
agar dimaag nahi ruk raha,
toh body ko thaka do.
Itni thaka do ki dimaag ke paas overthink karne ki capacity hi na bache.

(I learned long ago – when your mind won’t stop, exhaust your body until your brain has no energy left to think.)

So I left office early and came straight to the building gym.

Running didn’t help.
Cycling didn’t help.
So now, for the last hour, I’d been lifting dumbbells like a psycho.

I picked up the weights again, looked into the mirror-
and froze.

In the reflection, I saw him.

Nav.

He entered quietly, towel on his shoulder, hair slightly messy, that stupid calm expression.

Our eyes met in the mirror.

For a split second.
Just one.

And then
he turned to leave.

Like avoiding me was his new hobby.

Something inside me snapped.

I turned completely.

“Nav- AHHHHH!”

The dumbbell was still in my hand.
It fell
on my foot.

“Fuck- fuck- fuck- fuckkkk MY GODD!”

I held my foot with both hands, hopping in pain like an idiot.

Nav rushed forward instantly.

“Pagal ho kya tum?!”

(Are you insane?!)

He wrapped an arm around my back and, with the other, lifted me off the ground effortlessly.

Effortlessly.

“Nav!!! Let me down!”
My voice cracked – pain + embarrassment.

“Chup. Ekdum chup.”

(Shut up. Completely shut up.)

Something about the firmness in his tone shut me right up.

He set me on the bench and crouched, checking my foot.

It was already red and swelling.

He looked up at me
and I instantly turned my face away, refusing to meet his eyes.

Without a word, he stood up and walked away.

I watched his back.

And my chest… ached.

“Har mard kutta hota hai.”

(Every man is a dog.)

I tried to stand.
A sharp, agonizing jolt shot up my leg.

I squeezed my eyes shut, a tear slipping out
I didn’t even know whether it was the pain in my foot
or the pain of him just… leaving.

Footsteps.

“Bola kisi ne uthne ko?
Baitho chupchap.”

(Did anyone tell you to get up? Sit quietly.)

I stared at him – shocked.

“Tum toh chale gaye the na?”

(You had left, right?)

He held up an ice pack.

“Barf lene.”

(To get ice.)

His eyes said the rest:

‘Tum mujhe jaanti hi nahi ho, Vani.’

He crouched again, the furrow on his forehead deepening as he gently placed the ice pack on my foot.

“Shukar manao zyada nahi lagi. Dhyan kahaan tha tumhara, haan?”

(Be thankful it’s not worse. Where was your attention?)

I looked away.

“Tumhein kya farq padta hai?”

(Why do you care?)

He inhaled slowly, sitting on the floor, ice pack still pressed to my skin.

“Vani… mujhe nahi pata tum kaunsi yaad-dasht bhoolne ki dawa khaati ho,”

(Vani… I don’t know which memory-loss medicine you’re taking)

“but I said it before and I’ll say it again…”

His voice softened.

“I like you.
More than I should.”

My breath hitched.

His eyes didn’t move from mine.

“I love spending time with you.
Chahe hum jhagad rahe ho, ek dusre ko tang kr rahe ho, unki jeeba dushwar kr rahe ho ya … Bus sath ho.I love being around you, in the same space as you. “

( “I love spending time with you.
Whether we’re fighting, annoying each other, making things difficult for each other, or… just being together.
I love being around you-in the same space as you.”)

My heartbeat picked up painfully.

“Tumhein na dekhun toh din khali lagta hai.”

(If I don’t see you, my day feels empty.)

” Mujhe nahi pta tumhara annoying lagne wala chehra kab pyare se Lamhe mai badl geya. Isse pehle ki tum kaho, its just attraction….”

(“I don’t know when your annoying face turned into something dear to me. Before you say it’s just attraction…)

He exhaled shakily.

“I tried to distance myself from you, Vani.
Really tried.
Agar yeh sirf attraction hoti to kabki khatam ho chuki hoti.”

(“I tried to distance myself from you, Vani.
I really tried.
If this were just attraction, it would have ended long ago.”)

He shook his head.

“But it didn’t.
Because it’s not attraction.”

My throat tightened.

He continued – gentler now.

“I genuinely want to be with you
Want to know you
Spend time with you.”

” isse pehle ki tum kaho ‘there is a difference between love and liking’. Yes.. yes there is …

” mai tumhare sath meethi meethi yaadein bnana chahta hu, mai tumhari pasand, na pasand janna chahata hu… I want to be there with you everytime, chahe gussa ho ya …. “

(“I want to create sweet memories with you. I want to know your likes and dislikes… I want to be there with you all the time-whether you’re angry or…”)

His voice dropped lower.

“I don’t want to rush into saying ‘I love you’ just because it sounds good.
I want it to be real.
Abhi bhi meri feelings tumhare liye sincere hai…. I know this isn’t all about me… Your opinion matters… I just can’t force you… But i promise…

(“I don’t want to rush into saying ‘I love you’ just because it sounds good.
I want it to be real.
Even now, my feelings for you are sincere.
I know this isn’t all about me-your opinion matters.
I can’t force you.
But I promise…).

He swallowed. And looked at me with sincerity and hope in his eyes

” i promise…I won’t cheat.
I won’t play games.
I’ll take care of you.
I’ll buy you chocolates, I’ll buy you pillows which you can throw at me while being angry… chahe mujhe ghr se bahar nikal dena… and I’ll give you flowers you like.. although you are more beautiful yhan any of its kind. And I’ll —-“

(“I promise… I won’t cheat.
I won’t play games.
I’ll take care of you.
I’ll buy you chocolates. I’ll buy you pillows you can throw at me when you’re angry-even if you throw me out of the house.
And I’ll give you the flowers you like, even though you’re more beautiful than any of them.
And I’ll-“)

My words were barely out of my mouth.

Because suddenly
her fingers fisted my collar, pulled me a little upward,
and her lips crashed against mine.

For a second, the world blanked.

She kissed me.
She kissed me.
She kissed
ME.

My brain couldn’t process it.

Vani.
VANI.
The girl who screams at me, mocks me, fights with me, ignores me, rejected me…
was now kissing me.

My hands hovered in the air, frozen, not touching her yet.
Shock?
Fear?
Hunger?
All of it. At once.

Her lips moved again.

Softer.
Desperate.
Honest.

Something inside me snapped

And I kissed her back.

Not gently.
Not cautiously.
But with every ounce of emotion I had been hiding, killing, suppressing for months.

I cupped her jaw, pulled her closer, and without breaking the kiss, I stood onto my knees in front of her.

My heart was pounding so violently I could hear it.

She gasped quietly
and that sound…
that small, helpless sound…
lit something dangerous in me.

I tilted my head, deepening the kiss.

Her lips parted
and without thinking, without planning
I slipped my tongue against hers.

A soft, electric shock ran through me.

God.
She tasted like something warm, something sweet, something that made my entire chest feel too tight.

Her hands slid into my hair, gripping, pulling
not enough to hurt
but enough to tell me she wanted more.

I pulled her closer by the waist, my thumbs pressing into her skin, steadying her, because everything inside me felt like it was catching fire.

Her breath mixed with mine.
Her lips trembled against my mouth, and I swear
I felt that tremble straight in my ribs.

Every time her lips moved against mine,
I felt something inside me melt,
break,
heal,
ignite.

I didn’t know a kiss could feel like this.
Like relief.
Like surrender.
Like punishment.
Like a reward.

Like finally breathing after drowning.

I kissed her slower then
not rushing, not devouring
just tasting.

Memorising.

Her.

Her warmth.
Her breath.
Her heartbeat racing against my chest.

And in that moment

I realised something terrifying

There was no going back.
Not after this.
Not after her.

His confession didn’t just shake me
it cracked something open inside me.

He was still kneeling on the floor in front of me, one hand holding the ice pack to my foot, the other resting near my knee.
His eyes were too honest.
Too raw.
Too open.

I should’ve said something.

Anything.

But my mind wasn’t listening to me anymore.

Something snapped.

My heart lunged forward before my brain could catch up, and suddenly

I grabbed his collar and pulled him up toward me.

My lips crashed against his.

I didn’t even realise I was kissing him
until I was already doing it.

It wasn’t planned.
It wasn’t careful.
It wasn’t “should I?”
It was just

Him.
Me.
And this impossible pull between us.

The moment my mouth touched his, my whole body felt like static.
Heat, panic, relief – all tangled.

His lips were warm.
Soft.
Still for half a second because even HE didn’t expect it.

And God, that second…
that tiny second…
felt like the world held its breath.

He wasn’t kissing me back yet.
It was just me.
My mistake.
My impulse.
My undoing.

But I couldn’t stop.

I pressed my lips harder against his, my fingers curling tighter into his collar as if letting go would make the ground disappear under me.

Why am I doing this?
I don’t even want this….
No.
That’s a lie.
I’ve wanted this.
I just didn’t want to admit it.

My heart raced so violently it almost hurt.

Then

He moved.

His hands came up, one to my jaw, the other to my waist, and he kissed me back, deep and sure, and the shock of that nearly dragged a sound out of me.

He shifted closer on the floor, between my knees, lifting himself just enough so our faces aligned perfectly.

And when he kissed me properly, slowly, like he was tasting a truth he’d been starving for

I broke.

I kissed him back harder.

I don’t know how long it lasted.
Seconds?
Minutes?
It felt like both.

Because in his kiss I felt every word he said.
Every emotion he hid.

And that scared me.

Terrified me.

Because what if I couldn’t do the same for him?

“You’re just a stain, an ugly mark I should’ve wiped off long ago. No one wants you vani… Its just me… Sirf mai tumhe rakhne ke liye taiyaar hu… You don’t deserve happiness…”

( Paras’s words starting coming back to my mind…)

(“You’re just a stain-an ugly mark I should’ve wiped off long ago. No one wants you, Vani… it’s just me. I’m the only one willing to keep you. You don’t deserve happiness.”)

I don’t deserve nav…

He deepened the kiss once more,
and that’s when reality slammed into me.

My breath caught, panic surging so suddenly it almost choked me.
What was I doing?
What the hell was I doing?

I tore my mouth away from his, gasping.

My hands slipped from his collar.
I pulled back so fast I almost hit the wall behind the bench.

“No- no- this… this shouldn’t have- Nav stop- just stop-“

My voice shook.
Not weak.
Just overwhelmed.

He looked up at me, lips parted, breathing rough, eyes dark but confused.

“Vani…?”

That made it worse.

The softness.
The concern.
The fact that he meant every word of his confession.

I shook my head quickly, too quickly.

“I didn’t mean to- I wasn’t thinking- it just… happened- I shouldn’t have-“

My fingers trembled.
My chest felt too tight.

I couldn’t meet his eyes.

I didn’t want to see what I just caused.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I whispered, more to myself than him.

He didn’t touch me.
He didn’t interrupt.
He didn’t pull me back.

He just stayed there, still on his knees, looking at me like he was trying to understand which part of me he just kissed
and which part was now running away.

“Vani… Vani…”
He kept calling my name.

My cheeks felt cold.
My breath uneven.
My head shaking on its own.

“Vani!!!”

His voice rose – not in anger –
in fear.

His hands gently held my shoulders, steadying me.

“Look at me.”

I stopped shaking and finally looked up, tears rolling down my face.

He frowned softly.

“Why are you crying, bacha?”

He wiped my cheeks with both thumbs, gentle, patient, scared of hurting me.

I tried speaking, but my voice broke.
“I… I just don’t deserve you.”

His expression hardened immediately.
Not at me
at the idea.

I swallowed painfully.
“You… you deserve better, Nav.”

He opened his mouth but I cut in, crying harder.

“And that better is not me.”

His palms moved to my cheeks, cupping them firmly, grounding me.

His voice was calm.
Too calm.
The calm that comes before a storm.

“Why do you think that?”

I couldn’t tell him.
I shouldn’t tell him.
If he knew what had happened to me
how broken I am
he’d never look at me the same way again.
But a part of me was desperate to tell him

My voice trembled.

“I… I had a boyfriend.”

He didn’t even blink.

“So? Everyone has a past, solnyshka.”

I flinched.

How do I tell him that my past wasn’t just a normal relationship

it was a wound?
A scar I still carried?
That I had been manipulated, controlled,
that my trust had been crushed?
That I had been made to feel less than human?

I was raped … Several times…He Made videos of me. Several men watched me. He burns my skin. My bestfriend betrayed me…they blackmailed me…

But I couldn’t tell him that… He’ll despise even to see me..

I couldn’t just say it.

My throat locked.
My chest tightened.

“He… he-“
The words refused to come out.

Nav didn’t rush me.
Didn’t push.
Didn’t demand.

He just sat there beside me
looking up at me
with the softest eyes I had ever seen,
hands warm on my face,
telling me without words that I was safe.

Finally, I broke.

“He told me no one would ever love me.
That I’m a stain.”

Nav’s eyebrows furrowed sharply.
Not at me.
Never at me.

At what I had been made to believe.

Before I could breathe,
he pulled me into his chest.

Not forceful.
Not hesitant.

Just right.

His hand was still at my waist, the other at the back of my head.
Holding me like I wasn’t something broken.
Like I wasn’t something ruined.

Like I wasn’t what I’d been made to believe.

His voice stayed low, firm, steady.

“He was a liar.”

The certainty in his tone froze me.

No hesitation.
No softness.
Just truth.

He held me gently, like he knew I could shatter if he pressed even a little harder.

“Aur suno-“

He didn’t wait for my response.

“…jo khud hi kachra tha, woh tumhare baare mein sahi kaise bolega?
‘Sawan ke andhe nu har taraf hara hi dikhda.’
Matlab – ghatiya insaan nu saari duniya ghatiya hi lagdi.”

(“…someone who was trash himself-how could he ever speak the truth about you?
‘A blind man in the month of Sawan sees green everywhere.’
Meaning- a low person sees the whole world as low.”)

He wasn’t comforting me.
He wasn’t trying to be poetic.

He was just… being Nav.
Blunt. Clear. Right.

He pulled back slightly.
Just enough to see my face.

His thumb brushed my tear-slow but not dramatic.

“Vani, you can’t define yourself by someone else’s opinion.
Agar tum apne baare mein apne dad se puchogi, apni mom se, mujhse…
sab tumhare baare mein pyaari hi baatein bolenge jo tumne apne bare mai maanni band krdi hai….”

(“Vani, you can’t define yourself by someone else’s opinion.
If you ask your dad about yourself, your mom, or me…
they’ll all say loving things about you-things you’ve stopped believing about yourself.”)

He paused.

Something sparked in his eyes.

“Daadi yaad hai?”

(“Do you remember Dadi?”)

I nodded weakly.

Nav stood, pulled out his phone.
I blinked in confusion.

He was actually calling her?

He pressed speaker.

“Sat Sri Akal, Dadi ji… ki haal chaal?”
(“Sat Sri Akal, Dadi ji… how are you?”)

A warm, familiar voice floated out.

Nav cut straight to it.

“Dadi… Vani yaad aa thounu ?”

(“Dadi… do you remember Vani?”)

Dadi didn’t even let him finish.

His dadi interrupted

” Ranvijay ki beti… Yaad aa menu… Badi payri bachi aa …” Nav smiled and looked at me… His eyes signing towards the phone, maybe saying ” dekha.”

(“Ranvijay’s daughter… I remember her. She’s a very lovely child…”)

” acha …. Vese ap yaad rkhte nahi ho kisi ko…voh kese yaad rh gai….??”
He asked with a smile.

” yaad kive ni honi…. Edi sohni, edi payari, vaddeya da izzat, samaan krn wali, full argi bachi aa …. Menu ta gudiya argi lagdi aa …” dadi said and i smile

(“Oh… you usually don’t remember anyone. So how did you remember her?”
he asked with a smile.
“How could I not remember her… she’s so beautiful, so sweet, respects and honors elders-she’s a completely well-raised child. She feels like a little doll to me,” Dadi said, and I smiled.)

Nav looked at me

“Achha Dadi, kam hogaya, chalda haan.”

(“Alright, Dadi, the work is done. I’m heading off now.”)

“Par keda kam-?”

(“But what work-?”)

He hung up with a soft
“Love you, Dadi bye… badch gal kru…”

( Talk to you later)

Then turned to me fully.

This time, when he looked into my eyes…
I didn’t look away.

“Dekho.
Dadi ne tumhare saath kitna hi time bitaya hoga?
Par phir bhi tumhari ehmiyat pehchaan li.”

(“See.
How much time would Dadi have even spent with you?
And yet she still recognized your worth.”)

He tapped my forehead lightly.

Not playful.
Just grounding.

“Aur tum?
Tum khud ko hi galat keh rahi ho?
Yeh sahi baat thodi hai?”

(“And you?
You’re calling yourself wrong?
That’s not right, is it?”)

My throat tightened but not painfully.

Something inside me loosened.

Just a little.

For the first time, a very small smile pulled at my lips.

He noticed immediately.

His voice softened even more.

“Haanji… hun dasso.
Samjhe kuch?”

(So tell me. Did you understand anything?)

He brushed my cheek again, gentler than before.

And finally-

For the first time in a long, long time

My voice didn’t break when I spoke.

” maybe.. i am not that bad, jitna mai khud ko samjhti hu.” i said

(“Maybe… I’m not as bad as I think I am.”)

” bravoo…” he said smiling…

I smiled at him..

” vese voh ex tumhare college se hi tha??” he asked.

(“By the way, that ex of yours-he was from your college, right?” he asked.)

” choro mujhe uske bare mai baat nahi krni…” he hummed and nodded

(“Leave it. I don’t want to talk about him,” I said.)

” ek question…” i asked…

“. Haan pucho…. ” he said with a smile

(Yes ask)

” you really deserve so much better.. why don’t you move on from me.” i said and he laughed being so done with me i guess

” what if my heart declines to listen to me. So what?” He said

” matlb?” i scrunch my forehead not getting the meaning

” Rokun jitna utni baghawat ho,
Lagta hai aisa, haal-e-dil ki tum zaroorat ho”
he sings and i laughed…

(“The more I try to stop it, the more rebellious it becomes.
It feels like this-I need to tell you the state of my heart.”)

” you are soooo dramatic…” he smiled seeing me laugh.

____________

Favourite part btana maat bhulna….
Agla chapter… Soon…