Chapter 48
SAURAV
The last thirty days felt like a lifetime and a heartbeat all at once.
In the cockpit of my jet, time was measured in seconds and Mach speeds, blink, and you’ve missed a kilometer.
But here, in this quiet valley in Assam, time was measured by the slow crawl of the sunrise over the jagged mountains and the gentle, rhythmic touch of Kavya’s hand on my forehead.
I watched her now, sitting by the small fire outside the hut. She was stirring a pot of local stew, talking to a group of village children. She didn’t know their language, and they didn’t know hers, but it didn't matter. It was a conversation of smiles, exaggerated gestures, and shared laughter.
She looked different. The polished, guarded woman I had known in the city, the one who wore her elegance like a shield had softened.
Her hair was tied back in a messy braid, and her face was flushed from the heat of the fire.
There was a strength in her shoulders that I hadn't noticed before.
Or perhaps, I had been too blind to see it.
As I sat on the porch, testing the weight on my healed leg, a sharp pang of regret hit me. It wasn't the physical pain of my mending ribs; that was a dull ache I could handle. It was the realization of everything I had put her through.
I remembered the nights I had stayed late at the base, choosing the thrill of the sky over her company.
I thought about the lonely months she spent worrying while I was flying high above the world, untouched by the ground-level reality of her life and her grief.
She had crossed rivers and jungles to find me when the rest of the world had written me off as a casualty.
I had let her feel like air, while she had treated me like the very earth she stood upon.
"You’re thinking too hard again," Kavya said. She had noticed my staring. She walked over, handing me a wooden bowl of stew. Instead of going back to the fire, she sat at my feet, resting her head against my knee.
"I’m thinking about how lucky I am," I whispered, trailing my fingers through her hair. It felt coarser now, dusted with the mountain air, but it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever touched. "And how much of a fool I’ve been."
"Saurav, we said no more regrets," she reminded me softly, closing her eyes as I continued to stroke her hair. "The mountains don't care about the past. Why should we?"
"I know. But I want to make sure the next chapter is different. I don't want to just fly over your life anymore, Kavya. I want to be in it."
We sat there for a long time, sharing the stew and watching the stars begin to poke through the purple twilight. After a long time in my life, I didn't feel the itch to be anywhere else. I didn't need the adrenaline of the Mach speeds. I just needed this.
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The next day was our last in the village. My strength had finally returned, and my leg was strong enough to carry me down the steep mountain path. But before we left the people who had given me back my life, I had one thing left to do.
I asked the Village Head to gather everyone at the center of the clearing. The sun was beginning to set, casting a deep, golden glow over the thatched roofs. The air was cool and crisp, smelling of pine and woodsmoke.
Kavya stood beside me, looking confused. She kept adjusting her shawl, glancing at the villagers who were gathering with curious expressions. "Saurav? What is all this? Did we forget to say goodbye to someone?"
I turned to her, taking both of her hands in mine. My palms were sweaty, a feeling I hadn't even had during my first solo flight. The villagers watched us with wide eyes. They didn't understand my language, but they understood the language of the heart.
"Kavya," I started, my voice thick with emotion. "When we got married two years ago, it was forced. We were in so much shit. I gave you a ring, but I didn't give you my soul. I gave you a name, but I didn't give you my time."
I felt her hands tremble. Her eyes searched mine, realizing this wasn't a formal goodbye to the village.
"In this valley, I died and was born again. And every time I opened my eyes, you were the reason I wanted to keep breathing. You are the bravest person I know. You walked through a jungle to find a man the world had given up on."
I slowly lowered myself onto one knee. It hurt a little, a sharp reminder of the crash but the pain was nothing compared to the joy in my chest. I didn't have a diamond ring; I had fashioned a small band out of sturdy mountain vines and a tiny, dried Primrose I’d found near the stream.
"Kavya Chauhan, I don't want to be your husband because someone forced you to sign a paper. I want to be your husband because I can't imagine a single sunrise without you. Will you marry me again? For real this time?"
Kavya’s breath hitched as tears spilled over her cheeks, reflecting the orange light of the sunset. She didn't say a word at first; she simply lunged into my arms, nearly knocking me over. The villagers erupted into cheers and whistles, sensing the celebration even without the translation.
"Yes," she sobbed into my chest. "A thousand times, yes."
“I love you, cutie,” I whispered into her ear, using the nickname I used to say with a smirk, but now said with every ounce of my heart. I felt her breath hitch as she gripped me even tighter.
“I love you too, handsome,” she choked out, her voice thick with emotion.
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The journey back to city was a whirlwind of helicopters, debriefings, and doctors. When I finally made the call to the base, the silence on the other end of the line was deafening. They thought they were hearing a ghost.
When we finally reached our home city, the sight of the villa took my breath away. It looked exactly as it had when I left, but the air felt different. As we walked up the driveway, the front doors flew open before we could even reach for the handle.
Abhiraj, Avni, Noor, Rhea, everyone was there.
Abhiraj looked like he had seen a miracle.
He didn't say a word; he just ran forward, pulling me into a hug that nearly broke my ribs all over again.
I squeezed him back just as hard. I felt like I had my best friend back, and for the first time, I realized how much I had missed the brotherhood of the ground.
The girls crowded around Kavya, crying and laughing at the same time. There were so many questions, so many explanations to give, but as I looked over the heads of my friends and met Kavya’s eyes, I knew we were finally home.
The "Golden Era" wasn't behind us in some vacation spot. It wasn't back in the early days of our contract marriage. It was right here, standing on our own doorstep, ready to start a life where we didn't just exist together. We lived together.
I tucked her under my arm, pulling her close as we walked into our house. The cold silence of the villa was gone, replaced by the beautiful, messy noise of a family being whole again. I was a pilot, but for the first time in my life, I was perfectly happy being grounded.
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