Love Finds a Way !!!

Chapter 65

How Kanak had managed the remaining couple of hours at the party before she finally got to say goodbye to Palak and leave for home only she knew. Her thoughts and emotions in knots. She was thinking in circles. And she had to stop doing that. Kanak climbed the last two stairs to the floor where her flat was. The elevator wasn't working. She was so tired. Her head was ready to burst anytime now. When was she going to stop overthinking things? Not in this lifetime she was sure. All the way home she had been wondering if Pratiksha had been wrong about everything she had told her. Aarav had left the city. He wasn't even here. What if it wasn't anger? What if the indifference on his part was really true? Then what of the emotion she had heard that day. Felt that day. No, that wasn't a lie. Maybe she should sleep properly tonight and start thinking afresh from morning. She turned the corner towards where her flat was and came to a standstill.

She couldn't move. Not that she tried. She just stood there staring at the man who stood outside the door to her flat. His one long leg bent and foot against the wall for support. His hands in his pockets and jacket hung casually on his forearm. Aarav. Kanak forgot how to breathe. Her headache gone. Just like that. After a few seconds when she felt the pressure build inside her chest she took in a deep gasp of air. Her numb mind registering that she hadn't gone mad just yet. He was here. He was really truly here. Especially when he looked up and saw her. He straightened to his full height. Under the dim light of the lobby Kanak drank in the sight he made. His hair was a bit disheveled, a day's growth of whiskers on his cheeks, the loosened tie. He looked disreputable if one was to ask her but she didn't mind. She walked towards him and when she did reach him she stopped, gazing up at him. She didn't care if he read the longing on her face. She didn't care if he saw the love she felt for him shining in her eyes. Hell, she didn't give a damn if he thought she was a nutcase for falling for him. All that mattered to her was that she had so wanted to see him and he had arrived. She was happy. So happy. And not even the somber very serious expression she saw on his face could dampen her spirit. As she gazed up at him she saw the tiredness. The strain lines around his eyes and mouth. And she furrowed her brows. He looked haggard. Why? Did he work too much? Was there a problem at his work? The angles of his face were somehow sharper. She peered into his serious eyes. He seemed disturbed. Weighed. As if he had a lot of things on his mind. She wanted to ease his worries. She wanted to take away all that seriousness out and put the glint he always had back. He wasn't allowed to look miserable. He wasn't supposed to look disheveled. She didn't care why it was supposed to be like that. Only that that was how it was. She loved him. It was more clear now than it had ever been before. It was stronger too. And she felt suddenly confident. All doubts that had clouded her mind for so long left her in that very instant. And in a long time she trusted her heart. For the first time both her mind and heart were in sync with each other. They both wanted one thing and one thing alone Aarav. Tall and proud. And yet humble.

"Hi," she said softly finding her voice somewhere in the middle of her spindling emotions and running thoughts.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Too quietly for her liking.

"How long have you been standing here?" Kanak asked keeping her tone gentle as she fished out the keys to her flat.

"You look nice," Aarav responded instead, "special occasion?" he asked casually.

"You could say that," Kanak said quietly, "Shilpa aunty officially announced Palak's pregnancy," she said and smiled wondering if he was aware about it.

"And that was today," he stated.

"Yes," Kanak replied as she pushed open the door and switched on the light before she entered, then held the door open for him to follow. He did. And she closed the door behind him. Then quickly switched on the other lights. He just stood there without moving an inch into the room and that made Kanak frown. She wasn't sure why he was here? Or even why he wasn't making a move to sit. And she was concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked worried.

"What have you been doing?" Aarav asked as he narrowed his gaze.

Kanak heard a hint of anger in his otherwise controlled voice. He was angry? Again? Why? She was flustered at that and didn't know what to say. So she shrugged before responding to him.

"Nothing much," she said.

"Then how come your eyes have shadows under them," he said his voice strained, "your cheeks more hollow. Haven't you been sleeping well? Did you lose weight?" he asked critically.

Kanak hadn't realized that she had lost weight. At least not as significantly for anybody to notice. But he had. She had of course tried to hide the shadows under her eyes by applying a concealer when she had done her make up today but it must have worn off. Or maybe he had sharper eyes. And why did he sound as if he was criticizing her for not taking better care of herself.

"I am waiting," he said arrogance evident in his tone and Kanak smiled. Broadly. "I don't think it was funny," he told her irritated.

"I know," Kanak answered. Her smile growing even as he tightened his jaw. "It has been a while since I heard you say that," she went ahead confident of how she felt for him. She had messed up last time she won't this time. Whether he would accept her or reject her was another matter. But she wouldn't shy away from showing how she truly felt for him. "I missed it," she said and saw his eyes widen just a bit, then getting a boost from the confidence she felt she told him boldly what she really wanted to say, "but most of all," she said and paused watching him carefully, "I MISSED YOU, Mr. Aarav Arrogant Singhania," she finished.

Where she found the courage to speak her mind she had no idea. But it felt good. It felt great. It felt...amazing. She saw his mouth open slightly at her bold confession. His eyes grow mischievous and then serious again. His lips twitch and then draw themselves into a firm line. But none of that was important. What was important was the way he was looking at her. There was that softness she could see in the depths of his eyes beyond the seriousness. The emotions she saw chasing each other within the folds of those very depths. It was a rarity for him to display how he felt. Mostly he hid behind his sarcasm and closed expressions. He never opened the gates to his emotions for anyone to view. Not today. Today there was a battle. He was fighting it. And she could see it. Clearly. She saw him swallow hard and she waited with abated breath to see what he would say to her. She hoped with everything she was that it would be something that would finally give a name to this mad tug of war they both were a part of but had never spoken. That he would voice what was left unsaid for so long.

Now that Aarav was here would he succumb to something far greater than him, something that bound people in an eternal bond? Something as powerful and as fragile as LOVE. Or would he walk away and be a victim to the false ties that bound people and restricted them from achieving the true beauty of life, dictated by SOCIETY.

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