There she sat, her body hunched over on the edge of the bed. Her face was glazed with tears and her eyes staring dazedly at the wall in front.

As he moved closer towards her, he could see how her puffy eyes seemed hollow, only fear clawing at them as they stared in a trance.

Guilt started spreading in his being. He should have been there for her yet he wasn't. He had never seen her so distant and vulnerable before. It seemed as if his Saumya was gone, replaced by a dead corpse. A pain throbbed in his throat as he blinked his eyes willing the tears to go away.

"Saumya," his voice came out soft and hoarse.

"Saumya," he called out again. Still there was no response.

He walked closer towards her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"No... don't come... come near me, Samar," she screamed jerking his hand away as she shrank away from him.

He hadn't expected that. He had never expected that she would be so broken and vulnerable. He had the urge to kiss her miseries away. Tell her that he is not Samar. He is her Akshit. He will always be hers.

"Saumya, I am Akshit. Samar is not here." His whisper seemed to calm her a bit.

"You... you are not Samar? But... he was here... he was going to... slap me." She broke into tears. Tears silently fell down her cheeks as she stared helplessly at him.

Wrapping his arms around her, he whispered, "I am here, Saumya. Your Akshit is here. No one will harm you, Saumya. I will kill anyone who tries to touch you."

"Will you really do that?" she asked looking up. Her red puffy eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Yes, I will, always."

She buried her face in his muscular chest as more tears turned his shirt moist. His heart wrenched to see her like this. He had never been good at expressing his emotions. He wanted to help her, assure her but he was clueless. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life.

"I will always be a failure," she mumbled in his chest. "I... I can never do anything correctly... I am a weak, poor and miserable childish girl..."

Her words made him furious. How could she think so low of herself?

Raising her tear-stained face with his hand, he spoke while looking in her eyes, "Saumya, you are a strong, independent and responsible woman. Don't ever think that you are a failure because you are not. Your parents would be proud of you."

"How can they be proud of me when all I have ever done is hurt them?" Her voice cracked, her tears never stopping. Her face had turned a deep shade of red as she sat there.

"I am sure they must have forgiven you. You are too adorable to be angry at for long," he winked.

"You don't know anything. They are the best parents anyone can ask for but I am the worst child anyone can ever have." Her eyes stared at him, pain and guilt evident on her face.

"You are a great woman, Saumya. Any parent would be proud to have such a daughter," he said trying to assure her.

"Even when she runs from home leaving them alone?" she challenged.

His face turned blank. He was shocked to the core to hear her words.

Burying her face in her hands she cried no more silently. Her sobs brought him out of his trance.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper.

"I... I was fed up. Fed up of listening to Dad's scolding and Mom's indifference so I decided to go away."

He stared at her, unable to understand as she started hiccupping.

Handing her a glass of water, he stared as she silently drank water.

"Dad was usually not at home and whenever he used to come, he would shout at me for no reason. It wasn't his fault. He wanted me to be disciplined. Mom would always ask him not to scold me all the time but he never listened. Slowly, his anger grew even more. He would shout at me even during his calls which weren't very frequent. Mom's health started deteriorating and she became tired of defending me. Chachu had just gotten married back then when I was in 12th grade so even he didn't know about this." Pausing, Saumya took a deep breath.

With a shaky voice, she continued, "I was always very dependent on Mom emotionally. I felt so lonely. I couldn't share all this with anyone and Mom didn't defend me either. I felt as if no one cared for me anymore. This was taking a toll on my studies. I was always very passionate and ambitious so I decided to go to UK."

She drew in a deep breath as more tears fell down her cheeks. Akshit who had pulled from the hug long ago, held her hand in his strong grip urging her to speak.

"I went to the UK. Although, I was still a part of the family, I never came to Delhi. I lived in the UK and didn't return during vacations. Mom and Dad knew why I had gone so they never asked me to come back either.

I drowned myself in my studies. I had no friends there, absolutely none. After all, I used to spend most of my time in the library and the room." She smiled ruefully and continued. "I believed that I could get rid of the loneliness by going to UK. However, it seemed that I was lonelier than before, spending most of my time with books. That's when I met him in my 1st year of M.S. Samar was my senior in College. He was this handsome, football playing jock who had a large female following. We were paired for a project where the teachers had asked us to collaborate with our seniors.

We became good friends during that time," she paused. More tears threatening to escape from her pain filled eyes. Her lips parted as she drew in a ragged breath. A wry smile tugged at her lips, mocking her for being so childish.

"I used to think that I had finally found a confidant in him, a friend who would never abandon me. Slowly, I started falling in love with him." With a sad smile, she said, "Now I know why people say that we fall in love. It's because we fall into our own ruin when we fall in love. I did wonder sometimes why he liked me. After all, I was a nerdy fat topper so unlike his type. I was blinded by my own misconceptions. I thought he loved me."

Many more tears escaped her eyes as her lips trembled, her mouth opened aghast. Akshit softly wiped the tears away with his thumb. He felt so agitated. He wanted to strangle that Samar. How dare he hurt his Saumya?!

"I fell hard Akshit. He used to take me on dates, give me presents, help me with assignments and smile that vicious smile. He made my poor heart flutter whenever he came to meet me.

It was already last year of M.S. for me. As for him, he was doing his M.Ch. from there. It was our farewell and he had promised to be my date."

She leaned her head on Akshit's shoulder as more tears escaped her eyes. Her lips trembled as she bit her lower lip. Akshit wrapped his arm around her waist as he sat beside her, patting her back.

"I... I went to his hostel building to surprise him with my proposal when I saw him kissing another girl near the building office. He... he said," she hiccupped. "He said that he never loved me. I was only a pass time for him. I... I was shattered." She paused as rivulets of saline water ran down her pink cheeks. "I had never loved any guy before and I resolved to never fall in love again.

That day I realised how selfish I had been. Leaving my loving family I had come here only to be bullied and cheated by people for whom I was a mere entity. I had left my ailing Mom to take care of herself all alone. I... I had not even met my own sister. I came back that day. I came back from the hell where I had been living."

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I wanted to rectify all my mistakes. I wanted to spend time with Chachu and Chachi, take care of my retired Dad and Mom and play with Pia. I believed that maybe I could do at least one thing right. I could rectify at least one mistake.

It had been only six months since I had returned from UK when that accident happened. A function had been organised to honour Dad and everyone was going. I was asked to go too but... I made the same mistake. 7 years ago, I had chosen my passion over my family and then... then too I chose my passion over my family. I knew a week ago that Dad was suffering from Angina Pectoris but I didn't pay much attention to it. If only I had forced him to take the tests maybe... maybe..."

Her body shook vigorously as tears now feel violently from her eyes just like a river cascades down a mountain. There was no barrage, not anymore and she cried on his chest. He desperately wanted to make her smile, to kiss her sorrow away but he knew she needed this. She needed to vent her pent up emotions.

"I am a weak girl who never learns from her mistakes..." she mumbled against his muscular frame.

He softly caressed her hair as her cries turned into sobs and finally subsided. It seemed like an eternity had passed since they met. Ages since she last smiled at him.

"You are not weak, Saumya. You are the strongest girl I have ever seen. Picking your shattered self up and living is no easy feat Saumya. I wish I had been there when you were going through all this. I know that you made a mistake but so do we all. We all make mistakes. What's important is that you learnt from your mistakes. You are a responsible and caring sister to Pia. You have supported her even when you yourself were shattered to pieces. You should never doubt yourself, Saumya."

Sniffling, she pulled away and said, "But Pia cried today. I had promised Mom on her death bed that I would never let my Baby Bear be sad. I failed Akshit." A lone tear escaped her eye.

Softly lifting her chin with his thumb, he said, "Saumya, you can't be her Mom. You are her sister. You can't take your Chachi's place in her life. She will always miss her mother just like you. You cannot change that. You can, however, try to keep her happy. Let me tell you, you have succeeded in keeping her happy. She has such an endearing personality even though she has gone through so much and that's because you have been her support. It's because of you that Pia is still living a normal life. You can try to heal her scars but it will take time Saumya. Things take time."

A warm feeling crept in her heart as she crushed him in a hug.

"Thanks a lot, Akshit."

After a few silent moments, she spoke, "I sometimes wish I could go back in time when I was still in Delhi. I would lazily sit on my bed with books all around me and then Mom would bring me chocolate frappe. I would devour it in seconds and smile gratefully at her. She would comment, "Get up you lazy girl. You are growing fatter with each passing day." I would give her a cheeky smile and then resume my studies.

I would go for coaching class for NEET in the evening and chat with friends, making fun of others with my sarcastic remarks."

Tears rolled down as she spoke, her voice hoarse, "I really tell myself everyday, Akshit that I shouldn't cry but smile when I remember those days. After all, they were the best days of my life but I always fail. I always cry, Akshit. I miss being lazy," she said with a sad smile.

"Everything will be fine, Saumya. I am there for you. I will always support you. I'm not sure if my monologue is helping though," he said with a cheeky grin. The two of them laughed at that.

Suddenly realising the close proximity of their bodies, Saumya's eyes rested on his handsome chiselled face. His nose, his cute dimples and mature look with a newly sprouting stubble, made him look breathtaking.

He stared at her cute round face with those light brown eyes and plump pink lips. She looked ravishing, maybe because her face had turned the shade of beet with all the crying.

The two could feel being drawn to each other. Their faces were merely an inch apart. Tingles and goosebumps erupted on her face as she felt his warm breath against her cheeks. She seemed to be lost in a sea of jet black, the eyes which had stolen her heart.

He seemed to have lost his rationality as his gaze dropped to her lips, so inviting and soft. Without realising what he was doing, he leaned forward and kissed her lips.

Her senses seemed to be lost as she was stunned by the kiss. Kiss him, dammit. She responded to his kiss. It was slow as if binding a promise that he would always be with her.

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