Chapter 41: #34: goodbye

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Rudra woke up in the morning and realized that one of his arms was serving as a pillow for Aarohi's head, while his other arm rested on her stomach. What made him happiest was that Aarohi was hugging him tightly. Instead of waking her up, he pretended to sleep with his eyes half-open, savoring the moment. He couldn't bring himself to close his eyes fully, too overjoyed to have her so close.

When Aarohi woke up, she found herself in Rudra's arms and, for a moment, looked at his face in surprise. She reasoned that it must have been because of the cold night and the rain that they ended up cuddling. She didn't pull away immediately but continued to gaze at Rudra. Rudra, unable to resist any longer, opened his eyes fully. Their eyes met, and after a brief, intense moment, Aarohi quickly stood up, feeling awkward about the situation.

Just then, the old lady knocked on the door. "Breakfast is ready," she called out, "and please give me your clothes so I can wash them for you." Aarohi and Rudra complied, handing over their clothes before getting ready for breakfast.

At the breakfast table, the old lady introduced her husband to Aarohi and Rudra, explaining their situation. The husband greeted them warmly and joined them for breakfast. As Aarohi and Rudra were preparing to leave, the husband emerged from the room where they had spent the night.

"How did the bed collapse?" he asked, puzzled. "It's broken."

The old lady, in shock, replied, "I don't know." Then, realizing that Aarohi and Rudra had stayed in that room, she laughed softly and whispered to her husband, but her voice was loud enough for Aarohi and Rudra to hear. "They stayed in the room, and they are newly married and on holiday here."

The husband smiled knowingly and walked away. Aarohi's cheeks turned a deep shade of red as she blushed, feeling embarrassed by the misunderstanding. Rudra couldn't help but smile, amused by the situation. They both thanked the lady, bid their goodbyes, and set off to find their way back to the cottage.

They took a taxi to return to the cottage. During the ride, Rudra couldn't stop smiling, thinking about the old lady's assumptions. Aarohi noticed and asked, "Why are you smiling?" Rudra, trying to suppress his amusement, replied, "No, nothing."

Aarohi, frustrated, said, "It's funny to you, right? You're smiling at what the old lady thought about us." Rudra turned to her and said, "That's not my fault. She assumed it on her own."

Aarohi retorted, "It's entirely your fault because you told her we were married and on our honeymoon." Rudra calmly responded, "So what did you want me to tell her? That we are just what we are? Do you think she would have let us stay the night if she knew the truth?"

Aarohi understood his point because it wasn't common for strangers to be accommodated without some plausible story. She fell silent for the rest of the journey.

When they reached the cottage, Rudra entered his room, grabbed some money, and paid the taxi driver before he left. Aarohi walked into her room to find Jiya already awake. Jia looked at her with a big question mark on her face. Aarohi sighed and said, "What?"

Jia replied, "Don't you have anything to tell me?" Aarohi sat on the bed and explained the entire story . Jiya, shocked, asked, "Why did you follow him? Are you mad?"

Aarohi defended herself, saying, "He was drunk, Jiya. How could I leave him out in the rain in the middle of the night?"

Jiya pressed further, "So you still care about him?"

Aarohi, irritated, replied, "No, I just followed him as a human being. Even if it wasn’t Rudra but someone else, I would have done the same thing. Don't misunderstand me." She then went to take a shower.

Meanwhile, Rudra entered his room, where Vicky was asleep, having stayed up late waiting for him. Rudra tried to find his phone but couldn't. He realized it might be lost.

When Vicky woke up, he found Rudra coming out of the bathroom. He asked, "Where were you last night? Do you know how worried I was about you?"

Rudra replied, "Oh, sorry I didn't tell you I wouldn’t be coming back."

Vicky, clearly irritated, said, "Yeah, you should have at least told me. And why is your phone off?"

Rudra explained, "I don't know, I might have lost it at the party or something."

Vicky nodded and then asked, "So, how is it going?"

Rudra, puzzled, asked, "About what?"

Vicky said, "Between you and Aarohi."

Rudra said, "What do you mean?"

Vicky elaborated, "I know she wasn’t in her room last night either. Was she with you?"

Rudra, surprised, asked, "How did you know?"

Vicky replied, "Jiya called me early this morning to ask about Aarohi. I didn’t know where she was. Last I saw her was around 1 a.m. on her balcony while I was waiting for you."

Rudra admitted, "Yeah, she was with me. We got lost and ended up staying at someone's house last night."

Vicky asked, "So, are you two together now?"

Rudra sighed, "I wish, but no."

Vicky, excitedly, said, "You wish? What do you mean?"

Rudra confessed, "I want to be with her again. I’ve always wanted to be with her. Even during these past few years when I hated her for leaving me, I never stopped loving her. My love for her is more than anything else."

Vicky said, "Oh bhai, that’s good. So, you should ask her."

Rudra responded, "She doesn’t trust me."

Vicky, laughing, said, "Looking at your face, no one can trust you."

Rudra threw a pillow at Vicky and said, "Just shut your mouth."

They both laughed and then got ready for the day ahead.

✨️

They were all standing outside, waiting for the bus that would take them to the stadium. Rudra couldn't help but stare at Aarohi. Suddenly, Ravi approached with a bandage and handed it to Aarohi. Jiya, curious, asked, "Why are you giving it to her? Aarohi, are you hurt?"

Aarohi quickly reassured her, "No, no Jiya, I’m fine." Then she turned to Ravi and said, "My wound has healed now, so I don't need the bandage anymore."

Jiya, still puzzled, asked, "What happened to you?"

Ravi explained, "She got bitten by a bee the other night, so I gave her a bandage. I brought another one today just in case, but it’s good that she's better now."

Rudra overheard the conversation and felt a surge of relief. Internally, he was ecstatic because he realized he had been wrong about Aarohi and Ravi.

The bus arrived, and they all departed for the stadium, each busy with their own tasks.

Rudra, seizing an opportunity to speak to Aarohi alone, approached her and asked, "Why didn’t you tell me the truth?"

Aarohi, puzzled, asked, "What do you mean?"

Rudra continued, "You know, I misunderstood you and Ravi that day. Why didn’t you clear things up?"

Aarohi responded coldly, "Because I don’t care what you think about me, okay? I don't owe you any explanations."

She started to walk away, but Rudra grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. "Please Aarohi, I'm so sorry. Can you just listen to me?" he pleaded.

Aarohi, with tears in her eyes, said, "There’s nothing left to say. Just leave me alone."

Rudra, desperate, caressed her face and said, " Aaruh, I need you.  I love you so much. I regret wasting the last five years, but in those years, I never stopped loving or missing you. Can we please go back to how we were ?"

Aarohi pushed him away, tears streaming down both their faces. She shouted, "I don’t love you, okay? I regret loving you. You were the biggest mistake of my life, and I don’t want to repeat it. Stay away from me. I don't want to see your face again."

SO GOODBYE ....

She walked away, leaving Rudra heartbroken. They both cried alone, each in their own corner. The circumstances seemed determined to keep them apart, making reconciliation seem impossible.

For the whole day, Aarohi didn't see Rudra. When they were heading back, Rudra wasn't on the bus. Jiya asked Vicky, "Where is he?"

Vicky replied, "He left early."

"Okay," Jiya said, though she seemed concerned. When they reached the cottage and sat down for dinner, Rudra still didn't show up. Vicky mentioned he had no idea where Rudra was and reminded everyone that Rudra's phone was lost. Aarohi noticed Jiya's hesitation.

After dinner, the group learned they would be leaving in two days as the camp was coming to an end. Back in their room, Aarohi asked Jiya, "What's going on with you?"

Jiya took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something. I found Rudra's phone at the party, at the bar center. I didn't tell Vicky about it."

"Why didn’t you give it back?" Aarohi asked.

"I didn't get a chance. And now he's missing again. Don’t tell me you’re going to follow him," Jiya said sarcastically.

"Of course not," Aarohi replied. Jiya pulled out a drawer, took the phone, and showed it to Aarohi.

"Why are you showing it to me?" Aarohi asked.

"Just open it," Jiya urged.

Aarohi pressed the button and saw a picture of herself and Rudra from their first date. She was shocked but said nothing. The phone was locked with a password. Aarohi tried to give it back to Jiya, but Jiya insisted, "Just unlock it."

"I don’t know the password," Aarohi protested.

"Guess it," Jiya encouraged. "I guessed it correctly."

"What?" Aarohi said, surprised.

"Type it," Jiya insisted.

Aarohi typed her name, but it was wrong. "See, it’s wrong," she said.

Jiya smiled at Aarohi. "Try again."

Aarohi, irritated, handed the phone back to Jiya, but Jiya returned it and said, "Just type what he wrote over his heart."

Aarohi hesitated, then typed her name again, aaruh. This time, it unlocked.

The home screen showed a recent picture of Aarohi, taken just days before. She opened the gallery and found hundreds of pictures of herself—old ones, new ones, some blurry, some taken secretly.

Aarohi realized Rudra had been taking pictures of her throughout the camp. As she scrolled further, she saw photos from the hospital when they weren't even speaking to each other. She found pictures of her looking out a window, laughing with friends, and even one where she was checking a patient, completely unaware of the camera.

Then she found pictures from the night she spent at Rudra's house after getting drunk—pictures of her sleeping on the bed, taken by Rudra. There were tender moments captured: her sleeping peacefully, Rudra's shadow in the corner as he watched over her.

Aarohi felt a surge of emotions and wanted to cry, but she held back. "It doesn’t mean anything," she said firmly. "I don’t want to even talk about him. Take it back."

Jiya shook her head. "No, this doesn’t belong to me. If you meet him, give it to him."

Jiya went to bed, but Aarohi couldn't sleep. She lay awake, wondering, "Why did he do this? What does it mean?"

✨️

Today was the last day of the camp. Everyone was enjoying themselves, soaking in the final moments. Jiya asked Vicky, "Where is Rudra?"

Vicky replied, "He left this morning. He came back late last night, packed his stuff, and left early."

Concerned, Jiya went to Aarohi. "Did something happen between you and Rudra?"

"No," Aarohi said.

"Then why did he leave?" Jiya pressed.

"I don’t know," Aarohi replied.

Jiya, sensing something was off, said, "I know you, Aarohi. Did you say something to him that made him leave?"

Aarohi snapped, "Why are you accusing me? Why do you care about him so much? He's gone, we're leaving. It's over. Okay?"

"Okay, whatever you want, but trust me aarohi , he loves you truely," Jiya said, backing off.

✨️

When they were about to leave, Vicky pulled Jiya's hand and led her to his room, closing the door behind them. He pushed her gently against the wall.

Jiya, surprised, asked, "What are you doing? You scared me."

Vicky replied, "You don't need to be scared of me."

"Then why did you bring me here?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

Vicky took a deep breath. "You know we're going back."

"Of course I know," Jiya said. "So?"

"I just wanted to tell you that we should stay connected," Vicky said.

Jiya smiled and said, "Yeah, of course. I stay connected with my friends."

Vicky's expression turned serious. "Friends?"

Jiya looked at him, puzzled. "Aren't we?"

Vicky took a step closer, his eyes locking with hers. "I thought you knew I felt more than just friendship for you."

Jiya's smile widened. "What?"

"You don't know that I... I like you, Jiya," Vicky confessed.

Jiya's eyes softened. "But you never told me."

"Is there really a need to tell you? Especially after the night we spent together?" Vicky asked, his voice trembling with emotion.

Jiya placed her hand gently on Vicky's face. "You can't just speak it like this."

Vicky, feeling the warmth of her touch, removed her hand from his face and whispered, "Okay."

Then, with a surge of boldness, he leaned in and kissed her. It was a desperate kiss, filled with all the emotions he had kept bottled up. His lips pressed firmly against hers, conveying a mix of longing, passion, and fear of losing her. Jiya's initial surprise melted into the kiss as she responded with equal fervor. Her hands moved to his shoulders, pulling him closer.

The kiss deepened, becoming more intense and urgent. Vicky's hands slid around her waist, holding her tightly as if he never wanted to let go. Jiya's fingers tangled in his hair, her breath mingling with his as they lost themselves in the moment. Time seemed to stand still, and all the unspoken words and feelings flowed between them through the kiss.

When they finally pulled away, both were breathless. Jiya's eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed. Vicky looked at her, his heart pounding. "I've wanted to do that for so long," he admitted.

Jiya smiled, her own heart racing. "Me too," she whispered, leaning in to kiss him again, this time more gently, savoring the connection they had just solidified.

They broke the kiss and said in unison, we are getting late.

✨️

They packed their bags and left the camp. Aarohi returned to her hostel, feeling an undeniable emptiness. She kept telling herself it was for the best, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of missing Rudra.

The next day, Aarohi got ready and went to the hospital. Jiya approached her and said, "You got a parcel, Aarohi."

Jiya was also going with her but she gota a call from vickey.

Puzzled, Aarohi went to the reception to collect it. The parcel was neatly packed, and when she looked at the sender's name, she was shocked. It wasn't from her family, Rudra, or any friends. It was from Divya, rudra's sister.

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