37 | her confession
Come on, girls... let him experience butterflies too. Make the first confession for once.
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Avantika walked out of the ICU.
The moment she stepped outside, Avyukt instinctively moved aside, giving her space.
Neither of them said anything.
Avantika walked ahead.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Then she stopped.
Slowly, she looked back. Avyukt was still standing exactly where she had left him.
Not following her.
Not stopping her.
Just standing there.
Watching.
Avantika narrowed her eyes.
She waited a few more seconds.
Still nothing.
Now she was annoyed.
The same puffed-cheek expression she used whenever she was angry appeared on her face.
"Fine."
She turned around dramatically.
"I'm going to jump from the terrace."
And started walking away.
Avyukt's eyes widened.
"What?"
He immediately followed her.
---
A few minutes later, they reached the top floor terrace area. There was a section under maintenance where part of the safety railing had been removed.
Avantika walked toward the edge. Her heart was racing. Not because she intended to jump.
Not at all. In fact, she was being very careful. She knew she wasn't responsible only for herself.
But she still sat near the edge with one leg slightly stretched outward just to scare him.
The second Avyukt saw that, his heart nearly stopped.
"Avantika!"
Within seconds he reached her. Before she could react, he picked her up exactly like someone would pick up a stubborn child.
"What are you doing?" he shouted.
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
Avantika immediately puffed her cheeks.
"Hmph."
Then she folded her arms.
"I'm still less crazy than you."
Avyukt stared at her.
"What does that even mean?"
"What does that even mean?" she mocked him.
"That's your answer?"
He looked genuinely confused. And somehow that annoyed her even more.
She pointed a finger at him.
"You don't want to fight with me?"
Silence.
"You don't want to question me?"
Silence.
"You don't want to complain?"
Still silence.
"You don't want to know anything?"
Nothing.
"You don't want to argue with me?"
Avyukt simply looked at her. Unable to figure out the correct answer.
"So you're just going to stand there and act mature?" she complained.
"Do you know how annoying that is?"
For a second, Avyukt almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he looked away.
He still didn't know what to say.
Too much had happened.
Too much hurt still remained.
Seeing him quiet again, Avantika frowned.
"If you don't speak..."
She pointed dramatically toward the edge.
"...I'll jump."
Avyukt immediately tightened his grip on her.
"No, you won't."
"I will."
"No."
"I will."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"YES."
"Put me down. "
Avyukt sighed.
Then slowly lowered her back onto the ground.
"There. Happy?"
The second her feet touched the floor, Avantika gasped.
"What are you doing?"
Now it was Avyukt's turn to be confused.
"You told me to put you down."
"That doesn't mean you actually put me down!"
"What?"
"You should've understood I didn't mean it!"
Avyukt blinked.
Then blinked again.
Then looked at the sky as if asking for help.
"What exactly am I supposed to do?"
Avantika folded her arms.
"Figure it out."
"How?"
"That's not my problem."
Since despite everything that had happened...Avyukt found himself completely defeated.
Not by business.
Not by enemies.
Not by life.
But by one extremely dramatic, stubborn girl standing in front of him.
The Unspoken Confession
Without a single word of warning,
Avyukt suddenly scooped Avantika up in his arms, lifting her effortlessly as if she were a small child.
Avantika's breath hitched, her heart doing a wild somersault.
Caught up in the sudden proximity and the rush of adrenaline,
she didn't think twice-she leaned in and kissed him.
But Avyukt froze. He didn't pull away, but he didn't kiss her back either; he just stood there like a statue, completely unreactive.
Slightly miffed, Avantika pulled back just enough to look at him,
her lips forming a cute, frustrated pout. How could he be so stone-faced right now? Wanting a reaction, she leaned in determinedly for a second kiss.
This time, she didn't just press her lips to his- she leaned forward and playfully, yet sharply, bit down on his lip.
Still, nothing. Avyukt remained completely blank, utterly unresponsive to her touch.
That was the final straw. Frustration bubbling over into pure anger,
Avantika yanked her face back, glaring at him with burning eyes.
Before she could stop herself, her hand flew up and she slapped him across the face.
Smack.
For a short while, Avyukt simply stared at her.
Still silence .
"Avyukt! Put me down" she protested immediately.
But he didn't put her down.
He just carried her, looking completely exhausted and utterly confused.
Avantika looked at him expectantly.
No reaction.
Nothing.
She frowned.
"Say something."
Still nothing.
She pouted and continued staring at him.
"Seriously?"
Nothing.
Not a single reaction.
Now she was getting annoyed.
She lightly smacked his shoulder.
Nothing.
She narrowed her eyes.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Still nothing.
Avyukt continued carrying her, looking as though his mind had stopped working altogether.
That only made her more frustrated.
Finally, she pulled her face back and glared at him.
"Unbelievable!"
Still no reaction.
Just confusion.
Pure confusion.
Avantika threw her hands up dramatically.
"I am literally confessing my feelings and you're not reacting!"
Avyukt blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Nothing.
"Wow."
She shook her head.
"You really don't deserve my love."
Silence.
"Idiot."
Silence.
"I love you."
Silence.
"I LOVE YOU!"
Still silence.
Avantika looked completely offended now.
"Aap pyaar deserve hi nahi karte mera."
Finally her voice cracked.
"Idiot... I love you."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I love you so much."
Avyukt's expression shifted slightly..But he still looked stunned..As if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
As if after everything that had happened, his heart was refusing to trust its own happiness.
Avantika's anger disappeared.
In its place was vulnerability.
Fear.
Hope.
Love.
"Please..." she whispered.
"At least don't reject me."
The words hit him harder than anything else. And suddenly, all the confusion in his eyes was replaced by something much deeper.
Because he had spent days convincing himself that she would never choose him. And now she was standing right in front of him, asking him not to walk away.
For a few moments, neither of them moved.
Avantika's last words hung between them.
"Please... at least don't reject me."
Avyukt kept looking at her.
Still carrying her.
Still silent.
And somehow that silence was becoming more terrifying than any argument.
Avantika's eyes slowly started filling with tears.
"What?" she asked softly.
No answer.
"Say something."
Nothing.
Her heart started sinking.
"Avyukt..."
Finally, he closed his eyes for a second.
A long, tired breath escaped him.
When he opened them again, they were red.
Not with anger.
With exhaustion.
With pain.
With days of sleepless nights.
With every fear he had buried inside himself.
"Do you know..." he said quietly, "how many times I imagined this?"
Avantika froze.
Avyukt laughed softly.
A broken laugh.
"Do you know how many times I wished you would come and tell me this?"
His voice cracked.
"And then I spent days teaching myself to live without hearing it."
Avantika's eyes widened.
"I told myself you didn't love me."
Another pause.
"I told myself I wasn't enough."
His grip around her tightened unconsciously.
"I told myself that if you could believe someone else over me... then maybe what we had wasn't real."
Avantika immediately shook her head.
"No."
But Avyukt continued.
"I believed it."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I believed every single horrible thing my mind told me."
Avantika realized just how badly he had been hurt.
Not angry.
Hurt.
Deeply.
Painfully.
She slowly held his face.
"Look at me."
He did.
And she could actually see the fear there.
Fear that this wasn't real.
Fear that she would disappear again.
Fear that if he believed her too quickly, he'd get hurt all over again.
"Avyukt," she said firmly.
"I was wrong."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I should've trusted you."
Another tear followed.
"I should've listened to you."
Her voice shook.
"But don't punish yourself for my mistake."
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Avyukt lowered his forehead against hers.
As if he was finally allowing himself to believe she was really here.
Really choosing him.
Really staying.
His eyes closed.
The tightness in his shoulders slowly disappeared.
The anger faded.
The loneliness eased.
He didn't look like the powerful Avyukt Vardhan anymore.
He just looked like a man who was tired of fighting. And relieved that the person he loved had finally come back.
____
Meanwhile, downstairs, Krish looked toward the staircase.
Siya followed his gaze.
"They're taking a long time."
Ruhi immediately replied, "Good."
Everyone turned toward her.
Ruhi folded her arms.
"If either of them comes back without fixing things, I'm locking them on the terrace."
A tiny smile appeared on Krish's face.
And even Siya couldn't stop herself from smiling.
Because maybe...
Just maybe...
Everything was finally starting to heal.