WE SHOULD BREAKUP THIS TIME FOR REAL

WE SHOULD BREAKUP THIS TIME FOR REAL
"I knew it! Avani, unless you give him a chance, how will you know? You are his crazy obsession, dear. He came back just for you, and this time he will not let you go, no matter what. He has already set his trap for you, and you have already stepped on it. He took his step, and now it’s your time. Mark my words, girl, he will not give up unless you say ‘Yes’ to him again," Smriti asserted firmly.

"Have you switched sides by any chance…?" Avani asked in anger. "I will always be on your side, irrespective of your decision, dear. But think about what I am telling you," Smriti said.

"It’s complicated, Smriti. I am confused," Avani admitted, looking at the ceiling. Her thoughts were scattered everywhere. Her mind and heart were in a battle, and she was torn about whom to trust. Her mind hesitated to trust him again, but her heart, which crazily loved him, had a different opinion.

Avani disconnected the call, closed her eyes, and lay flat on her back on the bed. After a moment, she picked up the phone again and texted Rishabh to meet her tomorrow. She didn’t want to keep fighting within herself and wanted to confront the truth—no more lies.

She texted him the address of their flat on the other side of the city, and he replied, "Okay."



The following day, a Monday, Avani took leave from her office. She needed some time to clear her head of the haunting thoughts since the day Rishabh came back in her life. Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, after lunch, she went to their apartment. It was a well-furnished empty flat that her dad had purchased as an investment property. She opened the front door and sat on the couch, waiting eagerly for him.

Rishabh arrived after 5 minutes. He entered and closed the door behind him, a bit surprised about why she called him there. Avani didn't even greet him but looked at him with her questioning gaze.

Avani got up from her place, crossing her arms on her chest. "I want to know the truth. The truth which you have been hiding from me for the last year. Why did you break up with me? If you loved me, why did you say that..." Her voice became heavy, and tears started falling.

He closed his eyes, fisted his hands, and came near her. Wiping her tears, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

Putting his hands back in his pocket, he began to speak, "I will tell you the truth, Avani. I will tell you everything." He said and turned his back.

"A year ago, I was assigned for a one-man mission. It was highly confidential, and millions of lives depended on the success of my mission. But there was no guarantee that I would come alive from the place where I was going. I had been strictly instructed to cut all ties with my family, friends, and especially you. Only my dad and I were aware of this; Mom and Kriti didn't know about the reality then. I was unapproachable, non-existent for 8 months on the face of the earth. I knew that if I had told you the truth, you wouldn't have stopped me from going, but you would have waited for me till eternity, which is the last thing I wanted at that time. Even if I didn't return, I wanted you to move on with your life. But eventually, the mission was successful, and I came back without any harm."

Avani's eyes were wide in shock at his revelation, and he continued, "I came back, and it took me one month. I firmly decided not to come back into your life again."

At that moment, I realized ten years ago, I asked you for too much. I requested you to wait for me. You don’t deserve this; you deserve to have a happy and normal life. A normal person who can love you, who will come back every evening. But I am not that person; I cannot promise that if I go on a mission, I will return. So, with that decision, I continued. But I couldn’t escape it. Whenever I closed my eyes, your face, your beautiful smile, your lovely eyes came in front of me. Practically, I started seeing you everywhere. Call me selfish if you want, but I genuinely wanted you back in my life, in my arms.

Then, when I received the invitation as a guest speaker in your company, Vikram, Rehaan, and Kabir kicked some sense into me, suggesting that I should seek your forgiveness and make you mine. Thanks to their motivation, I accepted their invitation, and here I am." saying this, he turned around and took some steps towards Avani, enveloping her in his embrace and hiding his face in the crook of her neck.

Avani with heavy heart, closed my eyes and asked him one question, “Do you even trust me?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course, I trust you,” Rishabh said, breaking the hug, cupping her both cheeks, and looking deep into her black orbs.

In the raw honesty of the moment, Avani's voice trembled with a mix of anger, pain, and betrayal. "You are lying again, Rishabh..." she uttered, pushing him away.

"If you had trusted me and had faith in me, you shouldn’t have lied to me. Did you think, I am that weak? I always knew what I was signing up for when I confessed my feelings for you. I always knew my life would never be normal, but I loved it. I loved you crazily. Did I ever complain about why we don’t meet often like other couples or spend more time together? I respect the job you are in, and I was always proud of what you were doing. But you thought of asking me to wait for you was a mistake? How could you? And... you realize it now after making me fall in love with you crazily?” she pushed him again.

“You pushed me away, thinking I will move on... Look, I have moved on,” she spread her hands, tears flowing from her eyes. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and continued, “Yes, I have moved on with a devastated, shattered, and broken soul. Yes, I am broken... You broke me. Do you even know, how I ever survived without you all this time?”

Rishabh took steps towards her, attempting to hold her, but she pushed him again.

“How could you even think, after you break up, I will move on? I never moved on; I was FUCKING STUCK, and now I can’t go back, and I can’t even move forward. What if you leave me again, saying that it was a mistake? What then, huh?" Avani shouted with tears flowing from her eyes like hot lava burning her cheeks.

"Your intention was not wrong, Major, but the execution was totally wrong. So, Major Rishabh Malhotra, you failed in this mission of life, and I conclude, we are over,” she declared, with excruciating pain in her heart.