Chapter 7

Aahan's ears were suddenly filled with an incessant buzzing sound that he couldn't quite identify. He strained to listen closely, and soon enough, he was able to discern the sound of a young girl's voice. She was screaming his name out loud, but the source of the sound was unclear.

It seemed to echo around him, as though it was coming from all directions at once. Aahan felt a sense of urgency rising within him as he became more and more certain that someone was asking for help from him...

"AAHAN!! AAHAN, Look what they are saying...?" That sorrowful voice screams... Her voice was filled with sadness, desperation and begging...

"Aahan!! WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING ANYTHING...?" she screamed, her voice cracking with emotion.

Aahan slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice, curious to see who it was. As his eyes landed on the figure before him, his throat went dry.

He was left speechless by what he saw. The owner of the voice, a young woman, was standing in front of him, clutching his shirt tightly with her fist in a death grip. Her eyes, a warm shade of brown, were now bloodshot and red from crying. Tears flowed freely down her round face, leaving a trail of salt on her skin. Her hair was a mess, tousled and dishevelled as if she had been running her fingers through it repeatedly.

Her body trembled with emotion, and her lips were quivering slightly. It took him a moment to realize that the face before him belonged to none other than Pihu.

As he listened to her voice, something stirred within him, 'Why is her voice sounding different...?'

It seemed familiar as if he had heard it before from somewhere in his distant past. Suddenly, it dawned on him that this was one of his own memories. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, causing tears to stream down his own face.

"Aahan!!... They are telling me to leave... Why...? You said everything is going to be fine... Then why are they telling me to leave... Why...?" She screamed in pain, While shaking her head in denial pointing in the direction of his and her parents...

"STOP BEING STATUE... SAY SOMETHING..." She jerked Aahan from his dizziness of the situation while shaking him in anger...

There is an unbearable amount of pain in her eyes like she is losing something precious...

She let go of Aahan's shirt, slumping her in disappointment and whispered in a painful voice,

"You promised that you will always support me... You will fight for me... But all is a lie... Just a mere lie.."

Those words pierced his heart but he noticed that even before Pihu was shouting, her voice was not even above than whispered... Why...?

Then Pihu dashed out from the room while shutting the door with a bang sound making Aahan eyes turn into wide...

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Aahan struggled to open his eyes, blinking repeatedly to clear the haze obscuring his vision. As he finally managed to focus his gaze, he realized that his cheeks and eyes were damp with moisture. He could feel a tear trail down his face, and the weight of sadness settling heavily on his chest. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he tried to make sense of his emotions and the situation at hand...

"Shit!!... Again..." He mumbled while licking his dry lips...

"When will I be able to break free from the past...?" He asked to himself but only met with deafening silence...

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"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THAT CUP WITH YOUR FILTHY HANDS, STILL YOUR STUBBORN ASS DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME..." Naksh shouted.

" AND I TOLD YOU FUCKING MILLION TIMES THAT I DIDN'T BREAK IT INTENTIONALLY, YOU DUMBASS..." Sidharth shouted back.

"SO WHAT...? Still, you broke it, WEIRDO..."

"Your rich ass can buy these types of FUCKING thousands of cups... And if your rich ass is frozen or hijacked, then I will buy the same new cup for a fucking crybaby..."

"I'm not a crybaby, you bastard... And you illiterate shit don't know the word 'favourite'..."

"You call that ugly shit, your favourite!!..." Sidharth said while pointing at the broken cup on the ground.

"I WILL SUE YOUR ASS IF U CALL MY CUP UGLY..." Naksh glared at Sidharth, ready to beat him to death...

"In the morning people pray to god... But those dumb bitches directly summoning the devil to take them..." Shivay sighed while sipping the coffee and watching 'Crime Petrol - Friend Become Foe Drama' in front of him...

"Brother, we should stop them before they strangled each other to death..." Mrunali whispered to Shivay while enjoying her chocolate shake...

"My child, I would love to be Mother Teresa instead of Lucifer... I love my mental peace..." Shivay replied like he didn't care about them.

"Brother, that's so mean..." She scrunched her nose in disagreement.

"Those people are not saints either..."

"BUT THAT'S UGLY SHIT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE..." Sidharth shouted.

"YEAH!! BECAUSE OF YOU, DUMBASS..." Naksh retorted.

Both fight is interrupted by a bang sound of slamming... When they turned their head to voice, they both were terrified...

In a fit of anger, Janvi forcefully slammed her coffee mug onto the table. Her face was contorted with rage, and her eyes blazed with fury. It was as if she could devour both of them in one bite, without even bothering to cook them.

"JUST A FUCKING PEACEFUL MORNING all I could ask, Still the earthworm in your ass start ZUMBA in the morning..." She screamed.

"Hehe! Janvi, Beautiful girls should not get angry or they will get wrinkles in their old age..." Sidharth nervously said while raising both hands in surrender...

Naksh hit him with an elbow on the stomach,

"Bro!! This is not time for flirting..."

But Janvi only devilishly smirked, "Then how about chopping..." She shows the knife to them with not so innocent smile...

"Where the hell did she get the knife...?" Naksh shouted while running for his life...

"That doesn't matter... What matters is Damn!! she looks hot with the psychic look..." Sidharth shouted, also running with Naksh...

Janvi was ready to throw a knife in their direction but Mrunali held her hand,

"Calm down, Baby... Don't raise your blood pressure for them..." Mrunali whispered softly.

Janvi takes a long breath to calm herself and smiles at Mrunali, "Anything for you, puppy..."

"HEY!!, she is not your baby..." Shivay shouted.

"Neither your... And she loves me more..." Mrunali playfully stuck out her tongue in tease and hugged Janvi tightly, eliciting a laugh from Janvi.

Shivay squinted his eyes while pointing his finger at Mrunali in an accusing manner,

"You're stealing my girl..."

"So what...? You can steal my man too... Right to equality..."

Shivay was left speechless as he struggled to form words, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly like a fish out of water.

Janvi and Mrunali found his reaction amusing and broke out in uncontrollable laughter at the sight of him.

"Hey, little one..." Mrunali raised her head from Janvi and looked in the direction of the voice.

"How many times have I told you, I'm not little..." Mrunali said.

"Your height does not justify what you said. Now come here." Aahan indicated her to follow him.

She rolled her eyes at his statement while following him. She mumbled, "Why do you always order me...?"

Behind them, Janvi and Shivay are smiling softly looking at them,

"Recently they both are doing well with each other..." Shivay whispered.

"Yeah... They both look good with each other." Janvi nodded.

"Yess... But no one looks better than us..." Shivay proudly said.

"We're not in a relationship..."

"Shehzadi ji, not now but soon will..."

"Soo much confidence, huh...?" Janvi raised her eyebrows at him while folding her arm to her chest...

"My mother once taught me, 'no matter what's come... Never give up on your dream.' so I'm just following her words..."

"Soo much nonsense in the morning... " She rolled her eyes and walked away, ignoring Shivay's voice...

Mrunali was following Aahan, swinging her hands here and there like a child...

(Aahan Pov)

"Hey Aahan, what's on your mind?" she asked.

I cursed myself silently, 'What's wrong with me? I need to calm down and not get nervous. It's just a straightforward question. Why am I panicking?' I tried to maintain a poker face while my heart raced.

"Cough* I wanted to ask you something," I hesitated.

"What is it?" she asked.

I took a deep breath and went for it,

"Iwannaaskyoufordinnerout..." I said in one breath.

"Bravo," she clapped sarcastically, "You almost had me there. Your way of speaking is too good for me to understand."

'Seriously... This is not a time for being savage...'

"I said, I wanna ask you for a dinner..."

'yes...this is so easy... Well done Aahan Agnihotri, proud of you..."

She nodded in agreement, but suddenly her expression changed, and she shouted, "WHAT?!"

"I already told you," I said, rolling my eyes. She didn't respond, just stood there frozen with her mouth wide open and eyes bulging. 'Did I break her nervous system?' I wondered.

"Hey little one, are you okay?" I asked, waving my hand in front of her, but she still didn't respond. So, I had to shake her on the shoulder to bring her back to reality.

"Be ready at 6:00 pm today, okay?" I said, walking out of the room. Hopefully, she would be able to figure out what had just happened.

I was walking down the corridor when I saw Pihu coming towards me. A dream from morning flashed in front of my eyes, and I froze in place.

"Standing around in the corridor isn't a great way to spend your time," Pihu teased me, pulling me out of my thoughts. A sweet smell hit me, and I couldn't help but ask, "Did you change your perfume again?"

Pihu's teasing face turned serious as she replied, "Yeah."

"Why?" I asked, feeling a little hesitant.

"It's just a habit," she said flatly, with no emotion in her voice.

"What about the perfume you used to wear in past?" I asked.

"I don't like it anymore," she said, her voice empty of any feeling.

"It used to be your favourite," I reminded her.

"I know, but it reminds me of how life slapped on my face," she said, looking deep into my eyes.

"Try to move on," I suggested.

"I'm trying," she replied, her voice tinged with sadness.

I decided to change the subject. "I asked Mrunali to go out for dinner," I said.

Pihu gave me a small smile and said, "Congratulations."

"You've changed a lot," she said. "Before, when I talked about dates, you always ran away as if your life depended on it," she added, chuckling at the end.

I started to feel bad for her, so I apologized. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"It's not your fault," she said, smiling. "And don't break my twin heart, or I'll break you," she threatened, playfully...

As she walks out of the corridor, my eyes follow her figure until she disappears around the corner. I feel a twinge of pain and regret in my chest as I realize that I should have taken a stand for her... The memory of her leaving alone haunts me, and I vow to never let such a situation occur again...

"I'm sorry for not taking a stand for you..."

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To be continued...

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