chapter 49
Chapter 49 - Thank God
It was 1:43 AM.
Aarav stood outside Kavya's apartment building.
Rain soaked through his shirt.
His hair was dripping.
His breathing still hadn't settled.
Hours had passed since the hospital call.
Hours.
Yet every time he closed his eyes, he heard the words again.
Road accident.
Kavya Malhotra.
His chest tightened all over again.
He couldn't stay away.
Couldn't sleep.
Couldn't think.
The need to see her had become overwhelming.
To know she was alive.
Safe.
Breathing.
Here.
Before he could second-guess himself, he was already at her door.
Knocking.
Hard.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The sound echoed through the hallway.
"Kavya!"
Nothing.
His heart lurched.
He knocked harder.
"Kavya!"
Finally-
the lock clicked.
The door opened.
Kavya stood there wearing loose pajamas, confusion immediately turning into irritation.
"Aarav, what-"
She didn't finish.
Because he moved.
The moment he saw her.
The moment he saw she was standing there completely unharmed.
Alive.
Aarav stepped forward and wrapped both arms around her.
Tightly.
Desperately.
As if letting go would make her disappear.
Kavya froze.
"Aarav-"
His grip tightened.
She could feel him shaking.
Actually shaking.
Not with anger.
Not with frustration.
Fear.
Raw fear.
His face buried against her shoulder.
And then she heard it.
A whisper.
Broken.
Uneven.
"Thank God."
Silence.
Another shaky breath.
"Thank God..."
His voice cracked.
The words repeated again.
And again.
And again.
Like a prayer.
"Thank God."
"Kavya..."
"Thank God."
At first she was ready to push him away.
Ready to demand an explanation.
Ready to scold him for appearing in the middle of the night like a madman.
But then she noticed his hands.
Trembling.
His breathing.
Uneven.
The way his arms refused to loosen.
As though he genuinely believed he had almost lost her.
Something inside her softened despite herself.
Only slightly.
Only for a moment.
Slowly, she lowered her raised hand.
The argument died before it began.
The hallway remained quiet.
Rain tapped softly against distant windows.
Aarav kept holding her.
His eyes closed tightly.
For one terrible hour today, he had imagined a world without her.
And now that she was here-
warm.
Alive.
Real.
His heart simply couldn't let go.
For the first time in years-
Aarav held her without pride.
Without distance.
Without walls.
Only relief.
And for several silent seconds-
Kavya allowed it.
.....
[ Author's note- Now finally the chapter you all were waiting for is near. ??]