chapter 18

Chapter start

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London, time 11:50 pm.

The doorbell of the flat in which Ansh lives rings, and Ansh who was still awake and busy with his books starts wondering who could it be at this time ?

He was just wearing trousers and nothing on top but now, before opening the door, he comes out of the room wearing a T-shirt over himself and passes through the hall and reaches the door.

He opens the door : But as soon as he opens the door he cannot believe his eyes that the person he is seeing is really her : And before he could say anything, he sees that the person is none other than Advaita and she immediately steps forward and hugs him and he gets shocked. His heart beats faster due to her action.

Whereas Advaita has a happy smile on her face and her eyes are moist too, Seeing him after almost 6 months, and she couldn't stop herself and did what her heart told her to do, she hugged him.

Advaita, moving her hand on his back, takes her fingers through his hair and she tries in every way to feel him close to her by hiding her face in his neck

And there, Ansh suddenly having this new experience, feeling someone so close to him, he is unable to understand what he should do and at first he really couldn't believe that this girl had reached here.

" Please hold me." He hears her request in her stuttered voice and unconsciously his hand moves from her waist to her back where he just rests his hand but she feels that at least he listened to her request and hugged her back.

" I missed you so much." She says and for some reason, Ansh is able to feel that her eyes are moist, saying this even though he is unable to see her face but he gets shocked when he feels his eyes getting wet, he also feels his throat choking, but he gets confused as to what is happening to him, why is his body suddenly reacting so strangely?

" Happy birthday, my love." She says and now Ansh finally understands the reason for her coming here, did she really come here for him, for this day of his? he thinks.

Today is his twenty-fifth birthday.

But now first of all gulping he composes himself and stops the tears from flowing from his eyes and maintains his stern face.

And there, Advaita does nothing further, but after wishing him on his birthday and after hugging him for about 8 to 10 minutes, she comes back to normal from her emotional state and takes a breath and separates herself from him and looks at him.

" Happy birthday, Ansh." She says it again to which he looks at her

"Thank.....you." He says haltingly and then he lets her in with her belongings that she had left on the floor before hugging him, and then he closes the door.

Well, it's been almost 6 months since Ansh came here, and today is his 25th birthday which is a special number.

And for this special day, his family planned to come here but when they came to know that Advaita was going, everyone cancelled their plan thinking that this year, perhaps these two need to spend more time together.

And Advaita did not know that Ansh's family had planned something like this otherwise she would not have come alone, she just spoke to Aarav to get Ansh's address here, and when Aarav told this to everyone in his house, they cancelled their plan and let her go alone.

And today everyone has already wished Ansh according to their country's time, when it was 12 midnight in India, it was 7:30 in London but still everyone wished Ansh by doing a family video call and at that time, Ansh requested everyone to not stay awake to wish him according to the time here because when it is 12 o'clock here, it will be 4:30 in the morning in India.

And this is also a different thing that nobody calls him at this time because everyone knows that Advaita will be with him so nobody thinks of disturbing them.

" I know you might not have liked me coming here, but what can I do, I am a bit impudent na, I couldn't help myself, so I just...." Standing in front of him, Advaita explains the reason for her visit while Ansh watches her silently.

Well, he is also surprised as to why he is not getting angry today on seeing her which he always used to do earlier and why, in a corner of his heart, he likes her coming here; he feels good seeing her but why ?

" Would you like to celebrate your birthday with me ? I promise I won't take much of your time, just few minutes." She says this while showing him a cake box in her hand which she has brought with her.

And seeing his silence she does nothing but smiles because if he had to refuse, he would have used his words but maybe it is his yes which he is unable to say, so she does not say anything further but while looking here and there her eyes fall on his small dining table on which she places the cake and signals him to come closer to her, on which he slowly moves closer to her.

And, Even though he is silent, his eyes are not leaving her face, he can see how happy she looks at this moment.

Isn't she angry with him for ignoring her messages and calls? Doesn't she have any complaints against him for coming here without telling her?

" No, first piece is for the birthday boy." Advaita says, taking a piece of cake from his hand which he, after cutting, hesitantly offers to feed her, but she does not eat it, instead she takes a piece of cake from his hand and feeds him and he mentally smiles feeling the flavour of that cake, this is his favourite flavour.

He is about to cut another piece for her to feed her but she stops him

" This is enough for me." She says this while showing his leftover piece in her hand and then she eats it and her, doing this makes him feel a little different.

After this both of them look at each other and Advaita who never remained silent in front of him, but today she is also not able to understand how to talk to him after so many months. She mustered up the courage to come here but now she is not able to understand anything.

Whereas Ansh too is unable to understand what he should say and what he should do...he likes some things and finds some things awkward too.

Despite his rude behaviour, she came here and is meeting him with a smile. Why is she not complaining about anything?

" By the way, I have some complaints with you..." On hearing her words, Ansh comes out of his thoughts and looks at her, now she has come to the point.

" You shouldn't have done all that to me that you did... What would have been the harm if I had seen you at least once that day, I would not have stopped you that day." She says, to which he looks at her.

" But it's okay, you were right in your place, my actions were also such that it was natural for you to get angry, I can understand." She says and still he doesn't say anything but Advaita is now feeling a bit awkward with this one sided conversation.

Earlier at least he used to fight or get angry but today he is completely silent

" Well okay, now as I said I will not take much of your time, so before I leave, will you accept this small gift from me?" She takes out a packed box from her handbag and places it in front of him and says, to which he looks at it, and thinking something, with a pause he takes the gift from her hand but doesn't open it

"Won't you open it and see what's in it?" she says to which he looks at her and again, he doesn't understand why he is agreeing to everything she says, he opens the gift she gave him and sees that it contains a wrist watch

He looks at the watch and then thinks of something

" This watch is so that you can take some time out of your busy schedule and give it to me." His heart skips a beat at her words, Her pain is clearly visible in her words; it is clearly visible how she is longing for his time.

" At least if not the calls, you should at least reply to my messages." She adds to which he looks at her but still doesn't say anything and Advaita composes herself

" Well, for now thank you for giving me your valuable time, I am leaving now." She says to which he gets shocked, "I am leaving now." Did she come for a few minutes? She came all this way just to wish him a happy birthday? And now she's leaving ? He thinks.

" Where are you going at this hour?" He finally speaks now, to which she looks at him

" I have my return flight tomorrow morning so I will have to stay here tonight, so I am going to some hotel." she says and he is shocked, despite having a house here, she will stay in a hotel ? And maybe she is a smart and independent girl but if he was here, how would he let her stay alone in this unknown city and country

" Akele kaise rahogi ?" He asks, to which she looks at him and Ansh also realizes what he said

" I mean, iss anjaan jagah par akele kaise rahogi ?" He asks, to which she smiles a little, seeing the concern hidden in his words but still she doesn't want to ruin his day so she won't stay here.

She knows he doesn't like her presence so she doesn't want to stay here and ruin his day.

" Tumse pyar kiya hai akelepan ki aadat toh daalni hogi na......aur ye to fir bhi sirf ek raat ki baat hai...main reh lungi hotel me." She says, with a smile that clearly reflects her pain.

" So did you come here just for a few minutes?" Seeing her insistence to leave, he asks this question as well

" Yes, you were not replying to my calls and messages but today I did not want to wait for your reply and I just wanted to see you today so I just came." She says to which he looks at her

And after this both of them keep looking at each other silently but then Advaita turns her steps to leave from there but her steps stop when she hears his voice from behind.

" Stay here." He says to which she gets a little suprised and turns towards him again

" No, I don't want to ruin your birthday, I have already wasted your 15 minutes, I will not take any more time of yours." She says her words clearly

" And who told you that you ruined anything or wasted my time?" He says to which she looks at him silently.

" And yes, no further arguments, you are staying here." He says

"But...

" I said no, no arguments." This time he speaks in a slightly harsh voice, at which she looks at him

🦋🦋

" You sleep here." Ansh says while showing her the room in which he sleeps every day

Well, Ansh lives here in a 1bhk flat, so now that he has stopped her, it is obvious that he will have to give her his room and manage something himself tonight.

" If I sleep here, where will you sleep?" she asks

" I will sleep in the hall..." he says but suddenly she, who was acting decent till now, her mind starts running in another direction.

" But why would you sleep outside because of me, please you sleep here, I will sleep outside, don't trouble yourself because of me." She says

" There is no problem in this, I can manage it for one night." He says

" But I won't be able to sleep like this. I will sleep comfortably here and you outside...no no, it would be better if I go to a hotel." She says

" Look, I really don't have any problem sleeping outside and we don't have any other option." He says

" We have a option, I will sleep here on the couch and you on your bed." She points to the couch in her room and says she will sleep there

" But...

" No if and but....Now if I have listened to you then you should also listen to me... You also stay in this room and if not then I will go to some hotel right now." She says to which he sighs.

"Ok ok, but still you sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch." He says

" Can't we sleep together in the same bed? She blurts out suddenly to which he gives her a look and she realises what she said

" No, I mean, How will you sleep on the couch, the couch is small compared to your height...you will have trouble." She says

" You don't worry about that....and now it's the finals, you sleep on the bed and I will sleep on the couch." He says and she again opens her mouth to say something but Ansh silences her with a gesture of his eyes.

Later, she changes into her nightwear, in which, she wears a cream coloured satin shirt and shorts.

She changes in the washroom and comes into the room, And Ansh who was setting up his quilt and pillow on the couch, suddenly, a nice fragrance hits his nostril on which he turns back but as soon as he turns towards her he gasps a little when he sees her in that nightwear in which she looked breath taking.

His gaze falls on her bare legs from which he immediately averts his gaze.

He looks at her freshly washed face which looks as beautiful as it was before, and seeing her face he is forced to think whether she does not wear makeup? He looks at her open hair but before he could gaze at her for longer, he himself realises what he is doing, he is checking her out but why ? Why is he getting lost in her again and again today, and struggling with these questions, he quietly turns back and starts arranging his quilt again

Meanwhile, Advaita who just saw her man checking her out feels a lot of butterflies tickling in her stomach but she composes herself and behaves normally with him without making him feel awkward in any way

" Are you sure I can sleep in your bed." She says

" Hmmm." He says that without looking at her and then he sits on the couch and she walks towards the bed

She sits on the bed and looks at him who is about to lie down on the couch

" Good night." She says, to which he looks at her and suddenly remembers her good night messages every night to which he never replied

" Good night." After taking a deep breath, he says which brings a slight smile to her face.

Well, there are a lot of things between the two which need to be cleared but right now, maybe today is not that time and with this thought in mind, both of them lay down in their respective places after switching off the lights.

There is still a dim light on in the room and Ansh, who was unable to sleep for some reason, turns on the couch and he gets a little shocked seeing what is happening in front of him.

He looks at Advaita who's laying on the bed in front of him, she is also awake and she is caressing the empty space on his bed while lying on the bed and at the same time, she is holding his pillow in her arms and smelling it.

On seeing this act of hers, it is not difficult for him to understand what she is doing and this act of hers unknowingly brings a shy smile on his lips.

She was trying to smell his scent from his bed and the thought of it was making him feel something.

But then not able to see her doing this for long and the furtive glance with which he is looking at her may not get caught, he covers his face completely with the quilt.

To be continued.......