Epilogue #3
Before she could fall, Swayam collided into her from behind and caught her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her upright against him, as he tried to prevent them from falling down.
Suddenly, even though they were out in the open, Kashvi couldn’t breathe.
Her back was pressed to his chest, and his huffing breath tickled her cheek.
She could feel the wild rise and fall of his chest behind her.
The inky blue sky was beginning to glitter with stars, wrapping them in a cocoon of darkness.
‘Kash,’ Swayam whispered against her ear, making her shiver and grip harder onto his arm around her.
Kashvi turned her head slightly, and their lips were suddenly too close.
Heat slid down her neck and pooled in her core.
His dark gaze slipped down to her parted lips and his fingers dug into her hip to bring her closer.
A reckless part of her whispered to close the distance and taste the scent of salt and temptation that clung to him.
Then her phone rang loud with a text message, shattering their bubble.
She stepped out of his reluctant arms as she fumbled for her phone, pulling it from her pocket with shaking fingers. Her heart was still racing. The screen lit up with an unknown number she didn’t recognise.
If she’d been with anyone else, she would have remembered her rule to never, ever open text messages from unknown numbers. But around Swayam, she unwittingly ended up lowering her guard, which is why she tapped on the message bubble to read it.
Remember me?
Her blood turned to ice in her veins and every trace of warmth fizzled away as she read the message. She didn’t need to know who had sent it. The chill that bloomed in her stomach was answer enough. She immediately hit delete, but the words were branded in her mind.
Swayam frowned. ‘Kash, are you okay? What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ she said quickly, giving him a strained smile. Her voice sounded wrong even to her own ears.
Swayam didn’t look convinced. ‘Don’t lie. You’ve suddenly gone pale. Tell me,’ he insisted, reaching out to her.
She stepped back in an instant, away from him. Her heart hated the distance between them that felt like a chasm, but she forced herself to do it. She had to stay away.
When his eyes darted down to her phone, she quickly slipped it back into the pocket. ‘Di wants us back. Everyone’s waiting,’ she lied and didn’t wait for him to respond as she took off jogging back toward the bustle of the fair.
She heard Swayam following a step behind, the easy air between them was now sullied with tension and silence. And she had to tell herself that he was better off that way.
By the time they reached the others, the group had taken over a long wooden table near the edge of the beach with paper plates of chaat and samosas.
The air was thick with the scent of fried delicacies and the laughter of the people who were her family.
But even as Kashvi took a seat between them, she couldn’t shake the icy fear that had seeped deep into her bones.
***
‘I’m just saying that Kashvi is right. Our story is the childhood love trope,’ Abhay said, arguing with Luv.
‘Oh please, you just got lucky by flirting with someone clearly out of your league,’ Luv snorted.
Abhay scoffed. ‘You’re just jealous.’
Siya caught on to the topic of their conversation as she took the empty seat beside Abhay and threw her hands up in exasperation. ‘Oh my god, this discussion is still ongoing?’
Meera laughed. ‘They have officially broken the record for the longest argument about a love story.’
‘Well, we have a love story worth arguing about,’ Abhay said, wrapping an arm around Siya.
‘Modest,’ Siya muttered, rolling her eyes.
He plopped a quick kiss on her cheek and turned back to the conversation.
Siya leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm, her gaze drifting to the happy, playing kids.
The whole group of them was flocked around an ice gola stall, holding icicles and discussing which rides to try next.
Just then, one of the older boys scared the others by pretending to be a monster.
They shrieked with delight and began running around with the boy chasing them.
Her heart ached as she witnessed their joy.
She was still doing her hardest to make peace with a future where she may not carry their child. Couples therapy had been a huge help, with Abhay by her side, holding her hand, as the therapist helped them understand how they could navigate this together.
It wasn’t that the grief had vanished, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to erase that emptiness, but now she’d accepted that life wouldn’t follow the blueprint she’d made.
With love and support from their friends, and the endless patience of the man beside her, she was learning to make room for new dreams.
And in all of them, the only constant was him.
She looked back at Abhay, and all the pain that had flared within her dulled away. His wedding ring gleamed under the flashing lights of the wheel, and there was an easy smile on his face as he watched their friends being chaotic.
She reached out and slid her hand into his. Abhay turned to her and asked, ‘Are you okay?’
‘More than okay,’ she said.
‘You’ve become quiet. It’s always a little scary when that happens.’
‘Just thinking,’ she mused.
‘That’s dangerous for me,’ Abhay teased.
Siya punched his arm, making him laugh harder.
‘I was just thinking about how all of this still feels unreal sometimes.’
He tangled his fingers with hers with a familiar ease, and it felt like her world shifted back into alignment. ‘I know that feeling, but then I kiss you to remind myself that you’re with me,’ he said, and leaned in to kiss her forehead.
‘So, no regrets?’ she asked.
‘None,’ Abhay said with conviction. His eyes shone with a depthless love for her as he said, ‘Jaan, I want you to know that I’d do it all over again, take every wrong turn and live through every heartbreak, as long as it leads me to you.’
Nestled in the arms of her husband, her love, her junglee, Siya smiled. ‘Then let’s make the rest of it count.’
THE END