It was a bright day with sun at it's peak, birds chirping in delight and fresh air roaming around.

Sakshi had just woke up with an unsettling feeling in her heart. Her wound on the shoulder had healed and she had called her Bhabhi, telling her that she was coming home with her brother only. Sakshi smiled remembering how happy she was to know that.

But her heart was unsettled because this morning, she didn't find any miss calls from Shrey.

It was eight in the morning and she had bathed already. Aditi had gone out to jog an hour before and still hadn't returned just like always. She would take time to relax her abs, drink some almond milk on the way and bring one packet for her too.

The bell rang immediately, making her smile. Just now when she was thinking about her. This girl was going to live for thousands of years.

She left the gallery and entered into her room, crossing the drawing room to reach the door. Twisting the knob, she opened the door only to feel her smile fading at the sight of the person she couldn't afford to see now.

Brown eyes filled her sight, the dark circles under them started to bother her even more. She couldn't understand who was suffering the most at this time. Why did it hurt her to see him like this with pain in his eyes and anger on his nose?

"You hide about this fiance from me. Then, when I get angry about it, you are the one not even calling me for explanations," asked Shrey, staring at her while entering inside making her step back.

He closed the door after him, making her raise her eyebrows. "Is this how a relationship works, Sakshi?"

Relationship? Sakshi gulped hard, looking at him in pain. "The one you broke by not giving me a chance to speak and leaving me alone," she said, not caring about the tone that had raised.

Shrey's eyes formed a glare as he carefully took steps ahead. "Wasn't a big mistake comparing to you hiding about your fiance from your boyfriend."

Sakshi blinked, stopping when he halted and glared at her. "It wasn't worse than pretending to love me like you did those years ago," she said, feeling like a fool for bringing things up from the past.

Shrey chuckled darkly, his eyes turning glossy when he saw her all calm and determined. "So, how is this going to be? Are you going to explain things only when I would officially ask you about it?"

Sakshi lowered her eyes, her heart fluttering hard. No, this wasn't the plan. Shrey sounded like he would hear her and wanted to help this situation. She didn't want to get back to the mess.

"No. I am not going to explain anything. Because you weren't there when I wanted you to listen. . ."

Shrey's eyes softened at seeing the pain in her eyes. "That angry with me?" He walked ahead, tried to hold her hand when she stepped back and crossed her arms. He felt hurt and whispered, "We should skip all these egoistic conversations and reach the moment where we are against this problem together."

"What problem?" Sakshi asked him angrily.

His lips parted as he blinked. "The professor. Even your family has ideas about planning to marry you to him. Then, we need to handle that."

"How are you going to handle that?"

The question was clear but Shrey couldn't give a clear answer. The words formed in his mouth but never escaped. He was mature enough to not brag about it. Because he knew, marriage was life long commitment. But he did have dreams of them marrying each other and have a future together.

"See, you have no answer. If somebody had asked me about marrying you, I would have said Yes in a blink," she said, her voice cracking in hurt. "But you take time, to think because you haven't done it already. I am still not the suitable girl for you in your eyes. I am still not up to the mark. Because why not? Our brothers are rivals. Our family don't get along anymore-"

"I will marry you," said Shrey, cutting her words, his eyes holding a storm. "You are the person who has made me happy, who makes me feel loved. You make me feel alive. You are the most suitable person, Sakshi. You are my dream wife."

Sakshi breathed softly, her eyes teared up as she choked out. "It's not fair even then. Because your brother doesn't like me. Mine won't like you. We have a bad past. My brother would hurt you. He. . . He'll not understand you the way I do. You'll be just a criminal in his eyes even when the rape case was false. You'll be a loser in his eyes because you attempted suicide."

Shrey was stunned. To say that he felt hurt was an understatement. He felt attacked. He felt broken, listening to her words. He felt ashamed.

Noticing his confidence losing, Sakshi wiped her tears and stared at him. "This is the truth. Even if I am the suitable person for you, for me you are not-"

"You're saying this to hurt me. To make me go away," said Shrey, completely understanding her thoughts. "I can beat that fiance very fairly. You don't have to be scared if your brother likes him already. I'll fight for our love."

"With your anxiety attacks?" Sakshi added, making his hopeful face broke into a frame of utter sadness. "Kabir is my fiance and I can't do anything about it. I can deny my brother and if he listens, very well. If he doesn't, I don't even care anymore. Because that's must have been written in my fate."

Shrey let out sarcastic chuckle.

"You are kidding me." His smile faded and a deadly look crossed his features. "If I am capable of killing myself, I am capable of killing someone else too. If that professor is a problem in your life, I'll remove it. Because he is coming into our path to an eternity of togetherness."

Sakshi swallowed, a chill running down her spine. How much it satisfied her to know that Rishabh didn't know how much Shrey was involved in this relationship too. Remembering Rishabh's words, made her more determined to say her next words.

"We can never be happy together."

Shrey gasped silently, his eyes widening in shock. "How can you say that?" He moved forward to cup her face despite her resisting. "We are the happiest with each other. You complete me, I complete you. Why would you even think that way?"

Sakshi stepped back, removing his hands off her face. Her blood boiled at remembering Rishabh's words. Her jaws tightened at reminding herself that being together with Shrey would only hurt him more. Because just like Rishabh had said, her brother would never accept him.

"Because I am being practical," she cried, glaring at him through tears. "It's not some fantasy. It's real life. My brother hates yours. Even if I come into your family, they will all hate me. Rishabh hates me. It will never be a happy life."

Shrey chuckled humorlessly. "There is a thing called Court marriage, right. Whatever you'll want, I will make it happen."

Sakshi laughed and finally gave him a dead look. "I would never cut off with my family. I would never want the same to happen with my husband. I want a normal life, Shrey." She sobbed. "This is all cruel. How can I be happy not talking to my family, to my husband's family? I will be devastated."

Shrey's jaws clenched. "I'll convince my family. I am sure, they will accept us without thinking much."

"Come out of those fantasies, Shrey." Sakshi shook her head, looking in his eyes. "I went to your house after the day you left this place. I wanted to apologise to you for not telling you about Kabir. I never told you because I never considered being connected to him. He doesn't exists for me. But now, he does because he managed to break us apart."

Shrey's heart dropped at her words.

"I came to your home to convince you. To tell you the truth. That my family likes Kabir's family. It's some friend's kids getting married shit. I just wanted to tell you that I didn't even have feelings for him. If we want, we could decide what's ahead. I could convince my family about you."

Sakshi sniffled. "But your brother opened my eyes. He is a good brother when he said, I should be practical about it and let you live. Our family would never get along. Getting hurt again and again because of you, I am tired of living for you. I should just get out of my dreams and focus on what life brings to me, not what I beg and bring out to it. You never stay. You just leave."

"My brother? Rishabh?"

Sakshi nodded, making him widen his eyes. "He was right. . ."

"What do you mean, right?" Shrey yelled angrily, making her jump. "Are you deciding to marry that professor then? It's not even your age to really marry. You have plans and dreams."

Sakshi wanted to tell him about her plan on denying her brother about Kabir. But she refrained. "You sound old-school. I can marry when I want to be. Kabir is a professor, he is nice and has a clean reputation unlike you."

Hurt reflected in Shrey's eyes. He chuckled at Sakshi in disbelief. "I can't believe you are trying to insult me to get me away from you."

Sakshi was speechless because Shrey looked mad. He walked ahead, making her stagger back until she hit the wall. Shrey's nostrils flared in anger.

"In reality, in fantasies. Whatever is possible, whatever is not. One thing is clear, Sakshi." His glare turned intense when her back hit the wall, he put his arm on the wall beside her head. "We love each other too much to stay apart."

"There is not a future of mine if you are not there in it. If I see my future wife, I see you," he whispered, making her look at him and sob lightly.

"You don't understand," she choked out, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I don't love you anymore."

Shrey chuckled darkly, his eyes zooming into hers. "People come and go, some remember you and some, not. But I remember you, Shrey. I know you enough to say that you are too strong to give up your life just like that."

Sakshi's ears turned numb as she heard him whispering the words she had written to him when he had tried to kill himself.

"The longer the bad days stay, the bigger the happiness that follows them." His gaze softened at her when tears stopped and a far-gazing look crossed her features.

"You can go through this, I know. If there is nothing left to live for, live for the ones who live for you, Shrey." He whispered in her ear, rubbing his lips along her cheek, tasting her tears.

"Good days are coming," he further said, moving back to catch her eyes filling with numbness. "Survive."

He released a breathe, making her look in his eyes. "And I survived. Because you were there for me," he smiled with emotions flickering in his eyes. "You tried, you grew up but the love for me was there in your heart. Not forgotten. As alive it was before," he whispered, looking at her soft lips.

"I have suffered the wrath of universe when I pushed you away. I have learned my lesson and I won't repeat my mistake," he murmured. "Whether or not you accept it, you are mine forever, Sakshi."

She was writhing inside. What was happening? She couldn't believe it. Her eyes were seeing it all, she was hearing it all but it wasn't all processing. Because Shrey had never looked this crazy before.

"Whoever comes in between us, I'll remove him. But my heart needs to hear it from you. Tell me that you love me. I know you do," he spoke, turning stern and demanding. His hand reaching for her waist as he narrowed his eyes desperately. "Say it like you mean it. Tell the truth."

Eyes numb from the continuous tears, stared at him with hidden truth in them. Sakshi smiled sadly at him. "Four years of pretending to myself that I was growing up. Now, I realize that it wasn't pretending. I really have progressed because it isn't the same. You shouldn't forget what you did to me," she whispered back.

Rishabh's words had surfaced her mind perfectly. There was no denying that she missed Shrey so badly yet it was for the best if they were part. Just some minutes of them being in front of each other, and Shrey already looked crazy.

"You pretended to fall in love with me. You pretended to be the best boyfriend. For a teenager, I fell badly and deeply in your trap. You crushed every piece of my heart. Since then, I just have been surviving. Now, days ago, when you left me begging your for mercy, you did the same thing. You broke me again."

She brought her hands to palm his chest. "Because of you, I had lied to my family. Those years ago, I had prioritized you before them. My sister-in-law suffered because of your brother. My brother suffered because of me. I wronged him. For an orphan, I am privileged to have such a sweet family and I can't hurt or fight them again for you," she explained while fresh tears forming in her eyes, watching his face turning sadder by each second. "Because you will leave me again and this time, I'll lose them too."

Shrey shook his head slowly while she smiled in mock, removing his hands off her waist, pushing him away gently. "I have thought about it. There's a future with any other guy. But with you, it will be lifetime of suffering. Hatred from my family, from your family. I don't want to survive, Shrey. I want to live."

"Time has brought me ahead in those four years and have left you behind," she said, making his mouth part in hurt. "There's so much distance to cover. So much that you'll never reach my heart again. You are gone."

"You are saying all this to hurt me," he repeated his words. "We have been in a relationship for months. For you, since the day we met for the first time. We have been connected since then."

A tear fell from her eye and she wiped it. "Take it as a revenge, Shrey. I pretended to be in love with you like you did years ago."

He let out a humorlessl chuckle, glaring at her. She wasn't making sense. He knew. She was lying. But why? Why giving up so easily? He shook his head which further, shook her confidence. His slow footsteps towards her, pounded in her heart.

"I will claw your heart, tear it to get inside again," his breath fanned her cheek. Calm tone haunted her soul. "But it won't come to that as I am already there in your stubborn heart."

Tears hung at those thick lashes of hers, she breathed harshly. "My heart doesn't want you. Not anymore," she said, in a reluctant tone

"Your heart lies."

Shrey smirked, glaring at her. His jaws clenched, his eyes filling up with glossiness. He squeezed her waist, looking at her lips, his finger touched them, sliding down her neck, watching her breathing erratically.

A sinister smile from him made her tears fall. "And when the heart lies," he whispered, his finger turning into a strong fist holding the back of her head now. His lips barely inches away from hers.

"There are consequences."

Till now, she had lost her breaths as she watched the sanity leaving his eyes.

"And I promise, they'll all be bad. Catastrophic." He said, before finally pressing his lips against hers.

She kept resisting until he revived the locked love in her liar of a heart.

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"What do you think?"

I hope you liked it.

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I wrote a chapter of Scary too, today. Will be updating in some minutes.