I hurried down the staircase and hopped in the first auto I could manage to stop. I wiped my face and tried to think of... something. Something I could do that would miraculously make everything better. I tapped my feet relentlessly, trying to calm my nerves, come up with solutions and shake away the awful memories from the last half an hour. It was chilling to know what all could go wrong in mere minutes. Apart from the grotesque flashbacks of the incident, the only other thought running through my mind was to get to Abeer as fast as I could.

"Madam ji, boliye toh kidhar jaana hai?(where do you want to go?)" The auto driver asked me through the rearview mirror, waking me up from my reverie. In my hurry I had forgotten to give the address to Abeer's place. The auto-driver started his auto and took me to Abeer's locality. I tipped him extra as I was unable to find loose cash and hurried upstairs to his apartment, trying to come up with explanations for the fiasco and what could make it right. But nothing solid came to my mind. Even then, I waited no longer and rang his bell multiple times, just to see his face one more time. When no one answered, I banged the door, shouting Abeer's name over and over again. But there was no answer from the other side.

I took out my phone and gave Ajay a call. "Hello, Ajay? Are you at home?"

"No, I'm not. I'm out," he answered from the other end, making my heart sink.

"Is there any chance you might know if Abeer is at home?" I tried hopelessly, trying to grasp on to loose strings.

"I'm sure he's not at home. How would he be? He forgot to take his key when he went out today morning. Why, is there a problem Aashi?" Ajay asked, concerned. I wanted to cry, but Ajay's words gave me the tiniest bit of hope.

"Thank you, I'll talk to you later," I muttered haphazardly and cut the call before he could answer back. I racked my brains to come up with places Abeer must have gone to. It was a Sunday, so he couldn't have gone to his office by any chance.

Suddenly, I was reminded of the place he had taken me a few months ago, just after the airport incident. Everyone had their special place where they immersed themselves when they were at their low, and Abeer had his own place he had come across when he was alone during the time of the court cases against Taira's dad.

I booked a cab and rushed to Surajkund lake.

It was almost one in the afternoon when I arrived there. The sun that had managed to come out of the shadows of the clouds yesterday had again hid itself behind them. A light wind blew as I made my way towards the only silhouette sitting on the steps of the lake, his back hunched, wind gently playing with his curls. My throat felt numb; it won't utter anything. My footsteps had made Abeer aware of someone's presence, but he didn't turn around to acknowledge me.

My heart stopped as he suddenly sat straighter, perhaps realizing who had come. He did not turn around, simply leaned back and watched the clouds change their shape. I let my eyes travel to the north too, trying to make out the patterns of nature. The sky was beautifully calm today. Neither glaringly hot, nor shivering cold. It was just...there, living. My nerves calmer than they had been the entire morning, I stared at Abeer's back, hoping he would say something. Yell at me, perhaps? But he was quiet too long. Finally, when my heart could no longer bear the silence, I cleared my parched throat and spoke in a croaked voice. "Abeer..." His name came out as a whisper, or a whimper; I couldn't differentiate.

"Mrs. Jain, you do not go around following other men, it is not loyal of you. Go home and take a class or two on how to be an ideal wife and daughter-in-law, because you have already mastered the ideal daughter role," he turned his neck and smiled the most disturbing smile I had seen on his face. My heart clenched painfully.

His voice had awakened my senses, and I started rambling. "I swear, Abeer, I did not say yes. It was the worst sort of misunderstanding, or rather miscommunication that happened between me and my parents. The day we were together when it was raining, my parents thought I was with him. Dhruv. And they thought that I chat with him and call and smile, but it wasn't him. It was all you, Abeer. It has always been you," I practically wailed at the end, trying to make him see what I wanted, what I have wanted all this time.

But my words did not have the effect that I had hoped they would. Face contorted with controlled rage, he stood up in a flash and faced me, his eyes hard. "The question is why did they misunderstand in the first place! Where did this guy come from?"

I paused, unable to counter his questions. When I found no other explanations, I stuck to the honest facts. "My father's friend's son, they wanted us to marry," I said quietly, my voice surprisingly level.

"How long do you know him?" Abeer crossed his arms, face still taut.

"Since my birthday," I looked him in the eye, to see them melt a little, before they hardened again.

"Why did you hide it from me?" He asked, his voice laced with desperation and hurt.

I wiped my eyes. "You were stressed due to work and then I was going to tell you but we fought and then I thought... "

"Why to limit my options? That's what you thought, yes?" He bit out cruelly, making me flinch. I had known he had an evil streak in him. The wonderful man he was, he had a cruel part to him I had wished I would never be at the receiving end of.

"NO! Seriously, Abeer, that's simply - "

"Have you gone on a date with him?" He asked, his words clipped.

"Listen to me, I - "

"Have you?" he shouted unlike he ever had, which brought a new flood of tears to my eyes.

My lips wobbling, I let out. "Yes, I have, but..." I couldn't say anything else. No words seemed enough to explain things.

"Excellent. What else happened, Aashi? Huh?" He stood dangerously close to me, grabbing me by the elbow, a wild look in his eyes. The hold wasn't hurtful, but the action shocked me.

"Abeer!" I looked up at him with anger and fear in my eyes. Never had Abeer behaved like this with me. Even last week when we had had that fight, he had not crossed any boundaries of our relationship. But right now, the wild look in his eyes scared me. His hold on my elbow angered me more. The sweet, gentle Abeer I knew, and the beast that was standing before me weren't the same.

"Abeer, this isn't you," I whispered softly, with feeling, tears pooling in my eyes as I looked at him. As if woken from a trance, he left my arm abruptly, the soft edge of his personality back. His eyes looked apologetic, but he didn't say anything.

"It was a plan," I started, my eyes on the stony ground. "I took him to Hauz Khas so that I could bore him. I thought I will bore him like I bored you when we went there."

"You lied when you cancelled the lunch, didn't you?" His voice was soft, but distant.

"No," I shook my head frantically. "We did go to Akshardham together, his family and mine. Just that..."

"I didn't know who they truly were," he said, making my heart squeeze with guilt. "Do you understand the hypocrisy here, Aashi?" The urgency in his tone made me look up. "You always want me to tell you everything from pin to piano, every little thing?!"

"Trust me...I wanted to..." I implored, unable to find anything else to help my case.

He sighed, rubbing his face with frustration. He looked down to his feet, hands deep in his pocket.

"Fine, I do. I do trust you." My heart soared with hope, but his next questions stumped me. "But let's come to the crucial questions here. You told your parents you don't want the marriage?" He looked at me straight in the eye, his voice clear.

"Yes, and I am going to tell Dhruv as well, today itself," I spoke eagerly, ready to have all this behind us.

"Good. You told them you love someone else? That you love me?" He asked with hope that quelled my heart. I looked at him, perplexed.

"What? I... how can I?"

"I can come with you," he held me by the shoulders, his grip firm, eyes warmer then ever.

"I...it isn't that easy. We can't..." I hesitated, and by God did I want to kill myself for it. I had spoken so badly to them in the last hour and blemished my image as their wonderful, dutiful daughter; it would be easier to tell them the entire truth today, would it not?

His eyes searched mine for an answer, before his chocolate orbs turned sad and distant.

"Aashi, would you have liked it if I had hidden the fact that I am dating you from my family?" His calm voice jarred me. The question unfurled an uneasy feeling. The answer was no, I wouldn't have liked it to be a secret. I would hate it.

The answer came along with an understanding that unnerved me. Made me go berserk.

I shook my head frantically. "No, Abeer... no no NO," I sobbed, tears spilling down my cheeks. He cupped my cheeks, his hold soft and loving.

"Listen to me, Aashi, listen to me," he said when I refused to stop and continued to shake my head in denial. "I am not fooling around with you. I am serious. If I be with you for longer, the pain will be greater when you leave. Because you will leave," I looked at him with tear-filled eyes. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "And I wouldn't be able to take that," his own eyes had gone watery.

"I love you, you know that, right?" He said softly, feathering my cheeks. I nodded, more tears pouring down my eyes. "Take your time and come back to me when and if you are ready to tell your parents. I can't be in this unpredictable chasm anymore," he said slowly, making me whimper. He then rested his forehead on mine, his hands still caressing my cheeks. "You saved me, Aashi, from becoming what I would've hate to become. You brought me back. You matter to me more than anyone else in this world, which is why, even if you don't come back, you need to know what you mean to me. What you will always mean to me," he breathed, and before I knew it, he was gone.

He had left me.

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