Sona’s POV:
We were heading towards the parking when I saw her approaching us…..she came running to him and hugged him tight….right before my eyes. Was I jealous?? As if you don’t have the answer!?
But wait! This shouldn’t be happening right? I should be happy for him. He has finally found the love of his life and there she stands….his girlfriend…embracing him with all authority…..affection and care oozing out of her eyes. How lucky she is to have him by her side…..I kept wondering to myself when she spoke.
“Devvvv…..how are you??”
“I’m good…and hey that’s Sonakshi….my….” I could see his voice trailing off.
“Your Best Friend! I know that!”
Well that came as a shock as I had never expected him to tell his girlfriend that I was his best friend, BUT, this was just the beginning, there were too many surprises piled up for me.
“How have I been dying to meet you Sona….it’s so good to see you finally…” she sounded way too excited as she came in for a warm hug. It seemed as if she had known me for ages.
God! What’s happening??
She was about to speak further when I saw another guy walking up to us. Dev addressed him.
“Hey! Randhir…..ssup bhai?”
“I’m doing great!! By the way what about…….Hey beautiful!” he said as he saw me standing clueless.
“I’m Randhir! You probably don’t know me…but Dev’s been telling us a lot about you! It really feels great to meet you in person!”
What the hell is happening???
Everyone here seems to know me so well as if they’ve been my best friends since pre-KGs and here I am, standing like an idiot opening my eyes wide as if that would help me recognise them.
I could only manage to shake hands with him pasting a smile on my face.
“Come Sona…you have a lot to catch up with me!” she said holding my hand and dragging me towards the lift.
“Ya let’s go….even I have a lot to talk to Sonakshi!”, said Randhir with that constant grin on his face. I somewhat like this guy. He’s quite positive and friendly.
“Don’t you dare bug her Randhir….she’s only my friend…..so you better stay away!” she said as she hit his arms playfully.
You might find it weird….but the two of them look more like a couple to me…..but isn’t she Dev’s girlfriend?? Urghh…this is all so confusing!
As we got into his home, Dev and Randhir moved towards the balcony while his girlfriend was taking me to Dev’s room. That was when I heard Dev call out.
“Sonakshi! Di! You guys need something??”
Sonakshi Di????????
How dare he call me ‘Di’??? From which angle do I look like his elder sister?? Buddha kahi ka! He needs an eye check up for sure! I was still mumbling when she made me sit with her near the huge window.
“How are you Sonakshi?” she asked with a smile.
“I’m good…uh……” I realised that I did not even ask her name.
“Sanyukta”, she said, dissolving my dilemma.
“My name is Sanyukta….you can call me Sanyu….or Sanyu Di….that’s what Dev calls me.”
“Sanyu Di….that’s sweet…..”
Wait what??? Dev calls his girlfriend ‘Sanyu Di’???
God!! Am I losing my senses? I guess I’ve gone all paranoid.
“Sanyu Di….I’m sorry but I couldn’t recognise you.”
“Oh…that’s so stupid of me…I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Dev’s cousin, his maasi’s daughter.”
W.H.A.T.?? C.O.U.S.I.N.??
She’s Dev’s cousin…..his maasi’s daughter….the same girl, he once said, who wanted to meet me. God! What was I even thinking! At that moment I felt like banging my head with a hammer.
“Sona where are you lost??”
“Nothing…I just….”
“Me and Randhir were Jatin’s batch mates at FITE…he knows us well. Randhir is my fiancé…we got engaged a few months back.”
I congratulated her as she showed me their engagement pics and a few pics of their college days.
They looked so happy….BEST FRIENDS!
My eyes nearly moistened as those pictures reminded me of the depressing 5 and a half years of college at the AIIMS. I had no other friend except for Tina. I had stopped being open to people, stopped making friends, distanced myself from everyone, only so that he could get over me and move on.
But wait?? Has he actually moved on? At this moment only one person could answer this question.
“Does Dev have a girlfriend?”, I asked and the sparkle in her eyes gave me the answer.
“Yes! He has….and trust me she’s the prettiest girl on earth. Come I’ll show you something,” she said getting up and pulled me along with her to another room which was exactly opposite to Dev’s.
She opened the door and let me in.
What I saw….knocked my senses off.
This room was ME…it’s walls…my mirrors…..every corner held loads of memories….memories of the time we’d spent together. The entire room had nothing but my pictures…our pictures…our great time was all treasured.
“Meet Dev’s love….Sonakshi!”
My eyes were fighting with the tears that that pooled up in them. I felt weak….extremely weak. I wanted to bury myself alive for doing all that I had done to him. For being so unfair to him….for being so unfair to our love.
I felt her hands over my shoulder as she stood there for my support.
“He loves you immensely Sona…I know it was not easy for you to abandon him….but honestly, he’s suffered a lot more. He needs you…he needs your love….and I’m sure you need him too. All the best!” she said as she left for her home along with Randhir and I was yet all alone…being swallowed by my guilt.
Dev’s POV:
After Di and Randhir left, I went to look out for Sonakshi and found her standing in HER room…..the room which has helped me sail through Sona’s absence over the years. I had never let anyone enter this room, except for Sanyu Di. She’d seen me embellish every inch of it….royal blue curtains…Pearl white walls….the minion bed cover…every corner of this room reminded me of Sona, made me feel her presence all around me.
As I entered the room, she turned towards me, unable to make an eye contact, she made her way outside.
“I’m leaving to Ele’s place…” she said without turning back. She was avoiding me….yet again. But this time I won’t let that happen.
“Running away Ms. Bose? Again? Why? Wanna test my love one more time? Go on then…I won’t stop you.”
Sonakshi stood rooted in her place. She knew she couldn’t face him but she didn’t want to loose him either. She couldn’t look into his eyes and retort….she was quiet…and he was all set to confront her.
“Jo ladka tumse 8 din door nahi reh sakta tha, use tumne 8 saal tak khud se door rakha. Just because uou wanted to prove me wrong! Right?? Trust me, even I tried my best to prove you right, tried my best to forget you, to move on. But I failed….for the first time in my life….I failed…only because of you. Only because I thought that you can never be wrong. But you WERE wrong. That day…..Sonakshi you were wrong. We were meant to be together. Main toh humesha se hi pagal tha, bewakoof tha….woh kya kehti thi tum….obhodro tha….par tum toh samajhdaar thi….phir tumse itni badi galti kaise ho gayi?? Meri har ek baat tumhe pata hoti thi na, phir kyun uss din tum mujhe samajh nahi paayi? I guess tum mujhe samajhna hi nahi chahti thi….kyunki tum khud ko nahi samajh paa rahi thi. Tum aaj bhi apne aap se bhaag rahi ho Sonakshi…kab tak bhaagti rahogi??”
He could see tears brimmed up in her eyes…he didn’t want her to break down…coz he could never see her in pain….least could he think of being the reason behind her tears.
“Jab tak bhaagna chahti ho…..jitna bhaagna chahti ho….bhaag lo! Main phir bhi tumhaara intezaar karunga. I will wait for you…with all my love and all my heart…..aur agar flavour bata dogi….toh Glucon-D bhi rakh loonga tumhaare liye…..coz itna bhaagne ke baad tumhaare paas mujhse ladne ke liye energy nahi bachegi na,” he said as his lips curved up into a smile.
Sonakshi looked at him in disbelief.
Sona’s POV:
Is he even real?? The mistake I’ve made is unforgivable…I’ve caused him a hell lot of pain…and here he stands…trying to crack me up….when he sees guilt floating in my eyes. How can he love me so much…when I don’t even deserve it. I knew he was expecting me to say something….but even if I tried, words just couldn’t make their way out of my mouth. All I knew was that I just couldn’t hold back my tears….the guilt….the regret….was eating me up.
“I’m sorry Dev….” this was all I could say before loosing myself to his arms. His touch gave me strength, warmth, and most importantly, words.
“I was scared….scared of losing you…scared of being left alone….scared of losing our friendship. I didn’t know when my insecurities overpowered my senses. I’d loved you always….always….I could never imagine a single second without you…but then the fear……it just spoiled everything…..it spoiled everything…..”
I broke down….unable control my emotions any longer. I could feel his hands caressing me….calming me down….and his cuteness….making me smile through the tears.
“Fear is good Sonakshi….kyunki darr ke aage jeet hai?….aur dekho….even after all that had happened between us…..hum jeet gaye…haina?
“I love you Dev…..”, I said digging my face deeper into his chest while his chin rested on my head.
“Needless to say….I love you too…”
…………………………………………………………………..
The End.
P.S. That was all I had to give people. Thank you so much for all your love and support. Each one of you have been very special to me. To know that you all could relate to my story gives me immense pleasure. Words are not enough to express how blessed I feel to have readers like you. Thank you so much for everything.
The story is not over yet. There is a lot more yet to happen with Dev and Sona in this journey of rising in love together.
I you wish to read more, to can find this story on wattpad. My wattpad profile is SeamlessSmile and the name of this story is “Rising In Love With Her.”
It’s time to say goodbye.
Love you all????