Four years ago, Akshita, who lost everything, is starting her new life with her son. Meanwhile, Akshat Khurana is a ruthless businessman and a playboy who hates the word love. Akshita is still paying the price for his hatred. What will happen when tw... Four years ago, Akshita, who lost everything, is starting her new life with her son. Meanwhile, Akshat Khurana is a ruthless businessman and a playboy who hates the word love. Akshita is still paying the price for his hatred. What will happen when two hearts that hate each other collide after four years? Will Akshat ever realize his mistake? Has Akshita truly forgotten her past? Will she ever forgive him? To find out, read Stubbornness of Junoon only on Story Mania.
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Ahead.
Germany:
"Yes, Baba, I'll be there on time. Just manage for another half hour, and I'll be there with Aksh."
"Aksh baby!"
"I'm here!"
A girl who was just talking to someone on the phone suddenly hears a cute voice that makes her lips curve into a lovely smile. She holds the phone close to her ear and looks in front of her.
From there, a small child, around four years old, comes running towards her. He's wearing his school uniform and has a bag on his shoulder.
"I'm taking care of it, baby, I'm coming," she says on the phone and hangs up.
The girl's face doesn't lose its smile. She has medium-length silky hair, and her loose strands keep touching her eyes and cheeks. Her face is so cute that anyone can get mesmerized. She looks way younger than 22. Her features are like a child's, but her eyes have a loneliness that she tries to hide with her smile.
Her golden eyes are beautiful, and her thick eyelashes add to her beauty. Her fair skin and white loose t-shirt and black jeans make her look stunning. That's none other than Akshita Sharma, who has changed a lot over these four years.
"Aksh baby, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the restaurant?" The little boy, Aksh, asks, holding his hands on his waist and scolding her.
"Isn't your Aksh baby happy to see you?" Akshita asks, sitting down beside him and lovingly pulling his chubby cheeks.
Aksh is Akshita's son, her whole world. He's a lot grown up and mature for his age. Unlike most kids, he doesn't like playing or making friends. He prefers to be alone, and his habits are not like Akshita's.
Aksh gets irritated by Akshita's actions and tries to get his cheeks away from her. "What's this, Aksh baby? You're a young girl; don't do childish things with me."
Akshita makes a face, narrows her eyes, and glares at Aksh. She thinks to herself, "He's so rude; he doesn't appreciate me."
"And besides, I'm not a little baby anymore, so don't treat me like one. I'm big now and can come home alone," Aksh says.
Akshita's attention shifts from Aksh's face to his eyes, which remind her of someone. For a moment, her face becomes sad again.
Suddenly, Aksh says, "I'm hungry."
He says it in such a cute way that Akshita's attention shifts again. She looks at Aksh, who is staring at her with his innocent face.
Akshita smiles lightly and stands up, holding Aksh's hand. "Let's go."
Meanwhile, on the other side:
"Boss, I've arranged the meeting as you said," his assistant says.
"Good, now tell them that Akshat Khurana isn't interested in their deal," Akshat says.
The assistant looks a bit shocked. "But, boss, you came to Germany for this deal, didn't you? So, why cancel it now?"
Akshat's steps stop, and he looks at his assistant with a stern expression. "I'm here for a deal, but not for Kapoor's."
The assistant gets another shock. "If you're not here for Kapoor's deal, then whose deal are you here for?"
"Khanna!" Akshat says.
The assistant's steps stop automatically. He looks at Akshat, who doesn't even glance at him and walks away.
The assistant watches Akshat leave and thinks to himself, "Has the boss gone crazy? Why is he making a deal with Kapoor's enemy? Doesn't he know that this might ruin his connection with Kapoor?"
Later:
"Thank you so much, Naina!"
Akshita holds Naina's hand and says, "For everything. If you weren't here, I don't know how I would have managed the restaurant and myself."
Naina smiles and asks with surprise, "Thank you for what?"
"For everything. If you weren't here, I wouldn't have been able to manage anything," Akshita says, her face becoming sad.
Naina notices Akshita's expression and says in her usual chill tone, "Don't say such things, you're my life, and I'll always be there for you."
Naina knows Akshita's past and has seen her struggle. She can't forget how Akshita was back then, pregnant and alone at just 18.
Akshita and Naina's conversation ends, and Aksh comes to them. "I'm bored; can we go home now?"
Akshita and Naina look at each other and then at Aksh.
"You know what, I think it's time for us to go home," Akshita says.
As they leave, Akshita's eyes become moist.
"You never realized what you did to me. I loved you, but you only cheated me."
Forward.
It was evening, and Akshu was preparing orders. Today she had to prepare a party order, for which she was extremely busy. Nearby, Aksh was sitting on the sofa, working very seriously.
"I don't know where Naina has gone. I told her to come quickly," Akshu said with concern while working, her face showing how tired she was. On top of that, she was worried about Naina. Naina had said she would be here in the evening, but she hadn't arrived yet.
A short while later, a large black car stopped outside the restaurant.
As the car stopped, the person sitting in the back seat looked at the restaurant from inside. It was neither too big nor too small, and its name was quite unique.
"Your restaurant?"
"What kind of name is this?" the person said to the driver in a stern voice.
Naturally, hearing such a simple name or having a restaurant with this name in a place like Germany was quite surprising.
The driver was startled by his voice for a moment but gathered courage and said,
"Boss, this restaurant is very good. I've heard people say the lady here has magic in her hands. Whoever eats her food becomes crazy about it." As he said this, a smile appeared on the driver's face.
"So, what should I do about that? Why are you telling me?" Akshat asked the driver in an irritated voice. Fatigue was evident on his face, and the driver's words were starting to annoy him.
Hearing him, the driver's face fell. What had he expected, and what had happened? He thought he would bring his boss here and let him taste the food, hoping perhaps his arrogant boss would mellow down. But here, the situation was reversed.
"Sorry, Boss, I thought you must be hungry. So, I brought you here," the driver said sadly. He had absolutely no expectation that Akshat would get so annoyed over such a small matter. Well, it wasn't entirely the driver's fault either; Akshat was just like that. Very few people Akshat spoke to normally, or rather, no one.
Akshat's attention was on his phone, but he was listening to everything the driver was saying.
"Whether I'm hungry or not, don't worry about it. Do your job," Akshat said rudely.
The driver nodded, then after a moment of thought, said in a low voice,
"Actually, what's the harm in trying it once?"
The driver fell silent after saying this because he could now feel Akshat's simmering anger. He knew that if he said anything further, whether Akshat ate the food or not, he would definitely become the victim of Akshat's wrath.
Before the driver could say anything more, or before Akshat could get angry at him, a sound reached both their ears, and they both turned their attention outside.
Meanwhile, on the other side:
"Oh my god, I'm late today. Akshu will be very angry," Naina said, walking quickly. She kept looking at her phone with annoyance.
"And on top of that, my phone had to die right now. She'll kill me," Naina said, trying to turn on her phone.
But her phone, which had fallen and turned off, had not turned on since.
"Now I have to do something about this phone. It's going to get me into trouble one day."
"And I can't find a taxi. I wonder where everyone has gone. Oh god, why do you do this to me?" Naina said irritably, looking back repeatedly. But since it was quite late, no one was visible. It wasn't very late, but the path Naina was on had very little foot traffic. Because of this, she was angry with herself for choosing such a route to get home quickly.
She couldn't see a taxi anywhere in the distance, and the restaurant was quite far away. If she walked, it could take a lot of time.
She continued walking irritably when suddenly her gaze fell ahead. She tried to steady herself just as a car hit her.
"Ah, Mom, I'm dead!" Naina, who had been lightly hit by the car, fell there due to not paying attention ahead.
"Are you driving blind? If you can't see, why are you driving?" Naina, still sitting, yelled at the car, her face looking like she was about to cry.
She had a slight scratch on her hand, and looking at it, she blew on it, saying, "It hurts so much." Though it was just a light scratch.
"As much as you're making a scene, it doesn't hurt that much," a stern, cold voice reached Naina's ears.
Naina raised her eyes and looked ahead, where a tall, well-built man stood near the car with a lot of attitude, staring at Naina. For a moment, Naina's gaze was fixed on the man. Although his face wasn't clearly visible due to the slight darkness, she could clearly see his build and his dark eyes.
"Seems like it's affected your brain?"
"What do you mean? What are you trying to say?" Naina said, glaring at him at his words.
"Just that if your drama is over, move away from my car. I don't have time," saying this, the man turned back towards his car.
He reached his car, but then his steps stopped.
"Do you want to build your house here?"
Akshat looked out the window. Outside, Aksh was standing, looking at him. Seeing Aksh, his expression soured, and he rolled down the window glass.
And before he could say anything to Aksh, Aksh spoke.
"Have you fallen in love with our restaurant? Or do you like it so much that you want to live here?"
"What?"
At what Aksh said, Akshat replied, slightly irritated.
"What are you saying?" Akshat said in a slightly annoyed voice.
Aksh, who wasn't one to back down, put his hands on his hips and said cutely in a very stylish manner.
"I'm saying the truth. If you don't want anything from our restaurant, why have you parked your big car here? Can't you see it's getting late? This is the time customers come, and you're blocking our way." Aksh was speaking like a grown-up at this moment.
His age was still young, but his mind and way of speaking were entirely like an adult's. Or rather, he was different from all children; he had less childishness and more understanding.
Meanwhile, Akshat, hearing Aksh, his gaze became fixed on Aksh. He was looking at Aksh very intently. His eyes, his face, his attitude - everything reminded Akshat of someone. Seeing his brown eyes, Akshat became silent for a moment. His eyes, his innocent face, in which he got lost.
"Can't you hear, handsome?" Aksh's voice broke his concentration.
Hearing "handsome" from him, Akshat's eyes narrowed, and his facial expression changed.
"What did you say?" Akshat asked Aksh.
"Can't you hear?" Aksh asked with some surprise.
"After that?" Akshat asked impatiently.
Aksh felt both surprise and annoyance, but he still made a face and said.
"I called you handsome. Now don't ask why? Because you look handsome."
Aksh had just said this when Akshu's voice reached his ears.
"Aksh, where are you? What are you doing there? Don't you have homework?"
Hearing Akshu's voice, Aksh immediately looked in Akshu's direction and spoke. Meanwhile, Akshat's expression changed, and his ears perked up.
"Uff, Akshu baby, I've completed my homework," Aksh said to Akshu.
Then he looked towards Akshat, who was watching him intently.
"Is Akshu baby your girlfriend? But from her voice, she sounds like a big child?" Akshat said, not holding back his question.
Aksh narrowed his eyes and looked at Akshat. "You're wasting my time here. It would be best if you moved your car from here, or Akshu baby will scold you."
Hearing Aksh, Akshat's eyes narrowed. Before he could say anything, Akshu's voice was heard again.
"Aksh, why are you outside? Come inside."
"Coming, Akshu baby."
Aksh said at Akshu's behest and quickly turned and went inside. Meanwhile, Akshat, whose gaze was on the main door where Akshu was standing, saw Akshu up to her waist because he was inside the car and Aksh was standing in front of him, so he couldn't see Akshu. But a restlessness awoke within Akshat to see Akshu. His heart was now beating fast, something he hadn't even realized.
Aksh had only taken a few steps when he stopped, thinking of something, and turned back to look at Akshat.
"And the first thing is, she's not my girlfriend; she's my mother."
Akshat didn't say anything at first, then, paying attention to Aksh's words, he quickly said.
"And what is the first thing?"
"The first thing is, you should leave quickly with your big car, or Akshu baby will get very angry."
Saying this, Aksh quickly went inside. He looked at Akshu, who was standing near the door.
"Who was it? Who were you talking about?"
"He was a handsome man. I was explaining to him that you shouldn't park a car outside someone's restaurant like this," Aksh replied directly to Akshu's question.
Hearing Aksh, Akshu looked at the car in front, inside which she could see a figure of Aksh, but she couldn't see his face either.
"Akshu baby!"
Seeing Akshu lost in thought, Aksh held her hand and shook it.
"Haanha!" Akshu removed her attention from ahead and looked at Aksh, who was looking at her with his chubby face.
"What happened?" Aksh asked.
Akshu smiled and replied, "Nothing. How many times have I told you not to talk to strangers?"
"But he's not a stranger, Akshu baby," Aksh replied immediately.
"Oh, so who is he? Tell me. Do you know him?" Akshu asked Aksh.
Aksh shook his head and said with innocence on his face.
"No, but he didn't feel like a stranger. He felt like one of us."
"I just don't understand you. What are you saying?" Akshu said, shaking her head dismissively at Aksh's words.
Then she glanced at the car and, holding Aksh's hand, said, "Let's go inside." Saying this, she held Aksh's hand and walked inside.
"Akshu baby!" Akshat, sitting in the car and looking at the restaurant, repeated Aksh's words. There was a smile on his face at this moment.
Forward.
Akshita was pacing nervously in the small living hall of her house. She kept rubbing her hands and said, "I don't know where Naina is? She should have arrived by now, I'm very worried. She said she would come by evening, but now it's almost midnight and she still hasn't come." Akshita kept looking towards the main door, her eyes fixed there.
"Moreover, the phone is showing switched off. What should I do? I'm so worried, is she alright?" Akshu was becoming extremely distressed. Tears started welling up in her eyes thinking about where Naina could have gone, and there was no news of her.
"No, no, I have to do something. I can't just sit here, but what can I do?" Then, after thinking, she said, "Yes, I'll inform the police." A glimmer of hope appeared on her face.
But then, after thinking again, she said, "But it hasn't been 24 hours yet. What if they don't file my report?" Her face fell again.
She sat on the sofa and started looking at the wall clock opposite, whose time was ticking away, and with it, Akshu's tension was also increasing.
After some time, she got up from her place. "No, Akshita, you can't sit here comfortably. Naina is missing, you have to do something. Sitting with your hands folded won't help. You have to think." Akshu told herself.
And then she started pacing back and forth again, lightly tapping her mobile phone on her palm and saying, "Think something, Akshita, think something?" As she said this, she bit her lower lip between her teeth. Her gaze kept shifting between the main door and the wall.
"What should I do? Should I go looking for Naina? But how? I don't know anyone here, and it's so late. And Akshu is also sleeping. How can I leave him and go?" Thinking this, she reached the main door and peeked out slightly, looking around. She could see nothing but loneliness around her.
She couldn't see a single person around.
"I have to go. Naina must be alone this late. Please, wherever Naina is, be well. I hope my worries are wrong," she said in a worried voice.
Then, coming back inside, she said, "I'll take my bag, what if I need it?" Saying this, she quickly went towards the room built in a corner.
That room belonged to Akshita and Akshu, and sometimes Naina would also come there. Akshu entered the room and as she picked up her bag, her gaze fell on Akshu, who was sleeping with his hair disheveled.
A big smile appeared on Akshu's face. She leaned down, kissed his cheek, and said, "My baby looks so innocent when he's asleep." And then she started stroking his silky hair.
"Mama will be back in a little while with Naina Masi," she said, kissing his cheeks again and covering Akshu properly with a blanket, she left the room.
Akshita hurried out of the room, saying, "I'll lock the house, otherwise the baby might wake up and not be able to get out. It's so late anyway." Akshu was moving forward, zipping up her bag.
Just then, a voice reached her ears, making her stop in her tracks. "Where are you going?" Akshu looked at Naina standing in front of her. Seeing her, Akshu's life returned to her, and she quickly went to her and hugged her.
"Where did you go? Do you know how worried I was? So many bad thoughts were coming to my mind." Akshu hugged her tighter.
A big smile appeared on Naina's face. She knew her Akshu, who would get worried over every little thing. Although she showed herself to be very strong from the outside, she was as soft as wax from the inside, getting so tense over small matters that it was beyond words. And today, it was justified, after all, Naina hadn't come home so late.
Naina smiled slightly and, hugging Akshu from behind, said, "Uff, my scaredy-cat, I'm fine."
Akshu moved away from her irritably. "If you're fine, then why are you so late? Weren't you supposed to come before evening?" Tears were in Akshu's eyes. Naina understood why they were there; she always had a fear of losing her loved ones.
Naina looked at Akshu, then extended her hand and wiped away the big tears from her eyes, saying, "Nothing happened to me, a donkey just hit my car."
"What?" As soon as Naina said this, Akshita looked at her with surprise.
And then, checking Naina, she started saying in a worried voice, "Show me, where did you get hurt? Is it too bad? Are you okay? Come on, let's go to the doctor. Please, tell me you're not hurt anywhere?"
Akshu was speaking in one breath. Seeing her so worried, Naina held Akshu by both shoulders. "Shhh, calm down, baby, calm down. I'm fine, nothing happened. It's just that the donkey stopped the car at the right time, so I was saved, otherwise your Naina would be taking her last breaths in the hospital today," Naina said humorously.
Hearing her words, Akshu narrowed her eyes and looked at her, then hit her shoulder and said, "Shut up, what are you saying? God forbid anything like that happens." Akshu became emotional again and hugged Naina.
"Don't say such things. You know, besides you, I and baby Akshu have no one. You are our entire family. Without you, we are incomplete." Akshita's eyes welled up, her throat choked. She didn't want to cry, but tears were flowing on their own.
Hearing her, Naina also became a little emotional and hugging Akshita tightly, she continued, "And you also know that you and Akshu are the whole world to me. You both are my entire family." And then, pulling Akshita away from her, she looked at her with a slight smile and said, "We will always be together. No one can ever separate us, nor will we ever be. And we will stay together like this. Right?" Akshita nodded in agreement.
"Uff, these ladies, how much they cry," Akshu said from behind, placing both hands on his waist and looking at them.
As soon as Akshu's voice reached their ears, both of them turned and looked ahead, where Akshu was standing, looking very cute. Because he had just woken up, his cute face had become even cuter. On top of that, his light brown silky hair was disheveled on his forehead. And above that, the night suit Akshu had put on him made his look even more adorable.
Naina looked at Akshu, then wiped her tears and said, "Look, the man of the house has arrived." And she smiled. Akshu also wiped her tears and looked at the baby.
Akshu glared at Naina's comment, putting both hands on his waist, and said, "Don't you people look at the time? You start crying wherever you meet. I'm thinking, do you both have tanks fitted in your eyes?" Akshu said.
Hearing his words, Naina walked towards him and said, "You're right, little devil. My Akshu's eyes really have tanks, that's why they make me cry too. Otherwise, you know me, I'm as strong as you are." Naina said with a smile, pulling his chubby cheeks.
Akshu was annoyed by her actions. Meanwhile, Akshita's eyes widened in surprise at Naina's words.
Before she could say anything, Akshu said, "Very bad, Masi, you're calling my Akshu baby weak. Akshu's mother is very strong, just like Akshu, that's why Akshu is also strong." Akshu looked at Akshu, whose face had lit up with a smile hearing his words.
Naina narrowed her eyes and glared at Akshu. Although this was not the first time. This was always the case; whenever Akshu said something and Naina said something about Akshu, Akshu would immediately support her. He absolutely couldn't bear anyone speaking ill of his mother. He always liked to see a smile on Akshu's face, and hearing his words, that's what happened.
"Oh, how clever you are, Akshu." Naina pretended to be angry and turned her face away, pouting. Akshu looked at Naina's behavior and shook his head, hitting his forehead with his hand and saying in a very cute way, "Whose tantrums should I handle? I am a small, innocent child, and these two ladies have troubled this innocent child. I don't know when they will grow up."
Hearing Akshu's words, Naina narrowed her eyes and glared at him as if she was looking at how old the child was who was calling them children.
Anyway, their banter continued, and seeing them, Akshu shook her head and said, "Akshu, you didn't sleep, why did you wake up?" Akshu said, moving towards him.
Akshu saw him coming towards him and raised both his hands in the air. "I was sleeping, but you know Akshu can't sleep without Akshu baby, so I came to see you." Seeing his hands, Akshu understood that he was asking to be picked up. Akshu smiled, came to him, and picked him up in her arms.
Akshu quickly wrapped both his hands around her neck and looked intently at Akshu. He found his mother very beautiful. He always looked at Akshu as if he were looking at the most beautiful thing in the world. Meanwhile, Akshu felt him looking at her. "What happened?"
Akshu said nothing, and touching Akshu's cheeks with his small hands, he kissed her cheeks. "I love you, Mumma." Akshu smiled.
She kissed him back and said, "Love you too, baby."
"Oh, how mean you both are, you forgot about me." Naina, who had been watching everything, stood up from her place and looked at them with both hands on her waist.
Hearing her words, Akshu and Akshu both looked at her at the same time. Where Naina was standing with a pout, seeing her, Akshu and Akshu looked at each other again and then together, with a smile, spread out their hands.
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Naina's face too, and she ran towards them, hugging them both and saying, "Love you both."
Akshu and Akshu also held her tightly and said, "And we love you, Masi."
And then the three of them walked towards the room, talking to each other, and fell asleep.
Forward.
The next morning:-
"Don't do anything mischievous today, baby. Otherwise, I'll get scolded by your teachers," Akshita says while tying the knot of Aksh's tie. Aksh was sitting on the bed eating his sandwich, and Akshita was standing below, explaining to him.
"I don't do mischief. They always bully me," Aksh says with an innocent face upon hearing Akshita. Akshita lifts her face and looks at Aksh's chubby and puffed-up face.
Hearing Aksh, Akshita understood. So, she gently placed her hand on Aksh's cheek and said lovingly, "How many times have I told you to ignore their words?"
Looking at Akshita, Ak says in a baby voice, "They speak ill of you. They say their mothers consider you a bad woman because you are alone with Aksh and Aksh's dad is not with Aksh. They say I am illegitimate." Before Aksh could finish, Akshita put her finger on his mouth.
"Shush."
"Don't say such things." And then she hugs him to her chest. "You are not illegitimate, I told you, you have a dad. He loves you very much. From now on, if anyone says anything like this, just ignore them. Your dad and my relationship was pure and always will be," Akshita's voice choked up as she said this.
Pain flashed in her eyes. She hugged Aksh tightly, closed her eyes, and a scene flashed before her eyes.
Where a girl was in a wedding dress, and a man stood before her, yelling at her. "Is this what you wanted? To marry me, to come close to me, that's why you did all this? Then here, I've fulfilled your wish." Hearing his words, the girl was sobbing and crying. She wanted to say something but couldn't. She stood there helplessly, shedding tears.
The man then put his hand in his pant pocket and took out a wad of notes, throwing them at the girl, whose eyes closed. "This is what you wanted, money? That's why you played games with me. Now take your price for one night. And speak up, I have more. For girls like you, this will be less anyway." And with that, he took out another wad of notes and threw it at her. Akshita was crying.
"You... you are misunderstanding."
"Shut up, just shut up." Akshita tried to say something with her gaze lowered, but hearing her voice, the man yelled at her in his angry voice, making Akshita flinch, and her words got stuck in her throat.
The man then moved forward and grabbed Akshita's jaw in anger. "Listen carefully, marrying you was my compulsion. So don't make the mistake of considering yourself my wife. I married you, yes, but you will never be my wife, nor will I ever give you that right. Do you understand?" The man's voice was getting harsher. Akshita felt pain in her jaw but stood there silently with her gaze lowered.
Seeing that Akshita wasn't saying anything, the man's anger intensified, and he roughly pushed her away, causing Akshita to fall face-first onto the floor.
"Pick up this money and leave. And forget about this marriage. Or if you try to take advantage of it, remember, Akshat Khurana can do such a thing to you that not only you, but your entire soul will tremble. So it's best for you to never come before me with that face and your tricks." Akshat's anger was blazing, his eyes were red, and his face was cold and stern, like a volcano about to erupt.
Akshita lay there face-down on the floor, tears dripping onto the floor. In one night, her life had changed. The man who was once her crush had become her husband, or rather, a husband out of compulsion. The one with whom every girl dreams of being, even Akshita, was now bound to him in a sacred bond. But for Akshat, that relationship had become a mere insult.
She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream. But in front of Akshat, she was broken. His words had shaken her to her core. She just wanted to remain silent now. Akshat looked at her standing there, then directly left the room.
"Mumma." Aksh's voice brought Akshita back to her senses. She opened her eyes, which were red and filled with tears. She quickly wiped her tears and moved Aksh away, looking at his innocent face.
"Hmm!"
"What is illegitimate? Is it a curse? And does my daddy really not like you? Where is he? Why isn't he with us?" Akshita remained silent for a moment at Aksh's innocent question. Aksh calling himself illegitimate pained her. She couldn't answer his question. The tears in her eyes wanted to escape, but...
She knew how to hold them back. She looked at Aksh for a moment, who was waiting for his answer. Then, holding his face in her hands, she said, "How many times have I told you, baby, daddy has a lot of work, he's busy, that's why he doesn't come to meet you. And as for his love, he loves you very much."
"And you?" Aksh interrupts Akshita. Akshita's smile disappears in an instant hearing his words.
"Tell me, Mumma, doesn't Daddy love you? If he doesn't love you, then he must not love me either, right? Is he very bad, Mumma? Did you fight with him?" Aksh becomes sad. He didn't like that his dad wasn't with him.
At school, seeing all the children with their parents, Aksh often became sad. He also wished that his Mumma and Daddy would drop him off like everyone else and be with him like a happy family.
But it wasn't like that. Because of this, Aksh often became sad and used to ask Akshita where his daddy was. But Akshita always used to evade the question by saying he had work.
Akshita lovingly kisses Aksh's forehead. "Your daddy loves you very much, and never forget this. And your daddy is the best daddy in the world, so how can he be bad? He is very good." Akshita says to Aksh with a painful smile. She could never instill hatred for his dad in Aksh's heart. That's why whenever Aksh asked, she always spoke well of his dad and always told him not to hate him.
"Will Daddy never come to meet us? I want to meet my daddy too, talk to him, and complain." At this question from Aksh, Akshita becomes speechless. This was a question that Akshita would probably never be able to answer.
At first, she thought she could handle everything, but with time, answering Aksh's questions was becoming difficult for Akshita.
Aksh looks at Akshita, who seemed lost somewhere. Aksh also understood the pain and sadness on Akshita's face. He was young, but he understood that his question had hurt Akshita. And he could never see Akshita sad, so he quickly kissed Akshita's cheek and said,
"Uff, Akshu baby, you've made a sad face again. Now your baby will be late."
Hearing Aksh's innocent and baby voice again, Akshita comes to her senses and looks at Aksh, who was now normal again. And he was brushing away the hair from Akshita's face. Akshita smiles.
And while fixing Aksh's hair, she says, "My baby."
Aksh puts his arms around her neck and kisses her face again. "My Akshu baby."
Naina, standing far away, was watching this moment between the two of them. Her eyes were moist with a smile on her face. "I hope the person who gave you so much pain never comes into your life again." Naina had seen Akshita over the years, how she had pieced herself back together after breaking. Or rather, she was still broken, but she had made herself strong in front of Aksh.
Whenever Naina thought about Akshita's past, she became very angry. That's why she leaves from there now.
Next.
Akshat sat in his cabin, taking drags from his cigarette while reading some papers. His facial expressions were utterly dark, or rather, he always looked like that, which is why everyone thought a hundred times before talking to him.
He was reading the files with some anger. He stood up, threw the file onto the table, and said, "What the hell." He grumbled and pulled his phone from his pocket, calling someone. "Are you out of your mind? Why did you leave that land? You know I want all the land there, no matter what." He was very angry.
Something was said from the other side. "I don't care who is doing what there, who is living there, whether anyone has a house or not, it doesn't matter to me. All I know is that your stupidity will cause me a loss, and Akshat Khurana cannot tolerate any loss at any cost." Every word of his was filled with pride, and his eyes held the desire for acquisition.
And that's how he was; whatever he wanted, he got, whether through honest means or otherwise. He absolutely couldn't stand others having a claim over his possessions.
"Did you understand or not? I didn't come here to live my whole life. I have to go back to India too. You have one day. Come to Germany and handle everything." Akshat said this, hung up the phone in anger, and slammed his hand straight onto the glass wall in front of him.
"Useless." He got out of his cabin.
Akshita had dropped Aksh at kindergarten and arrived at the restaurant. She was a little late today, so she was quickly managing everything. Naina had some work, due to which she was going to be a bit late.
Akshita brought her restaurant's board outside and started cleaning it. "I'm quite late today, and Naina, too. Whenever there's a lot of work, she gets busy." Akshita said to herself as she walked inside.
Then she tied her hair into a bun. Akshita's hair wasn't very long; it reached a little above her waist and below her shoulders, but it was incredibly beautiful. At this time, she was wearing a full-sleeved white top and bell-bottoms.
She was so beautiful and fit that she didn't look like the mother of a four-year-old child at all. She still put girls of 18 or 19 to shame. Without makeup, her skin was so glowing, as if it belonged to a small, soft baby. Some people even came to her restaurant just to hit on her and check her out.
And sometimes, they would behave rudely with Akshita, but Akshita had learned how to handle all of that over the years.
Akshita tied her hair into a bun and picked up a cloth to clean the tables. "I have to pay Aksh's fees, the restaurant rent is due, and I haven't even received the monthly rations. This month has been a huge loss." Akshita was calculating by herself while cleaning the table.
"Of course, there's a loss when you keep feeding random people for free," Naina said to Akshita as she arrived, just as Akshita was talking to herself.
Akshita pulled her attention away and stood up straight, looking at Naina. "What are you looking at like that? I'm speaking the truth. How many times have I told you to stop feeding people for free, but you don't understand." Naina said, seeing Akshita looking at her.
Akshita, hearing her words, replied in her usual melodious voice, "I don't feed everyone. I feed those who don't have money, who are hungry, or helpless."
"No one is helpless or hungry; they are all fooling you, that's all. They take advantage of your innocence and come to eat," Naina said as soon as Akshita finished speaking. Akshita looked at her with her light golden eyes.
Seeing Akshita, Naina took a deep breath. "Look, Akshu, I'm not saying you shouldn't help the needy or feed the hungry, but I'm saying you should stop trusting everyone. This is the world; people here take advantage of others in minutes, and you won't even realize it. And if you keep donating like this, how will you grow this restaurant, which is your dream, the one you wanted to take very far? For the last three years, you've invested not only your hard work but also money in it, but darling, no work progresses unless you get some benefit from it. How will you take it forward?" Naina was explaining calmly and lovingly to Akshita.
Although this wasn't the first time, she always used to explain it to her. But Akshita, whose heart melted at the sight of anyone sad, and some people who came here took advantage of that. Sometimes, someone would pretend to be sick and eat for free, sometimes they would claim to be helpless, and sometimes they would say their mother or sister was ill at home. And Akshita, whose heart was always ready to help others in their troubles, would fall for their stories.
And Naina quietly watched her do all this. She felt angry at her actions and also loved her naivety. She could stop Akshita if she wanted to, but she never wanted Akshita to feel that she wasn't capable of running her restaurant if she said anything to her in front of others. It was only after Aksh came that she gathered the courage to start her own business. Somehow, for the last three years, Akshita had been supporting herself and Aksh, along with the expenses of the restaurant.
Akshita lowered her gaze. "What can I do? It's not that I don't know when the other person is lying to me, but the way they say it and show their helplessness, I can't refuse them. I get scared, I feel anxious, thinking that if they are not lying and are truly in trouble, and I don't help them, what if their curse befalls me?" Akshita's voice became heavy.
Naina, who could sense it well, understood that Akshu was about to cry. She extended her hand, lifted Akshita's face, and saw tears welling up in her eyes.
Akshita looked at Naina with her teary eyes and continued, "You know, four years ago, I was also helpless. I had nothing to eat. I was wandering aimlessly on the streets, and no one even asked if I needed a drop of water. It was you who gave me support, who stood by me at every step, every decision. So how can I not help someone if one of them turns out to be another Akshita? What do you want? Should I always live under this burden, that when I had the means to help someone, I didn't, and someone else left a helpless, defeated Akshita like me alone?" Akshita's voice choked terribly as she spoke. She was remembering her past once again.
How she had spent so many nights on the streets, no one was ready to accept her, her family had abandoned her. She was hungry and thirsty, wandering from door to door for days. If Naina hadn't helped her and stood by her, who knows where she would be today.
Would she even be alive?
Naina had supported Akshita when she herself was a college girl, barely managing her own expenses. Despite that, she took care of Akshita for a full year. There was even a time when Akshita wanted to die and had tried to do so, but when she found out she was pregnant, her world turned upside down.
She couldn't believe it, but she could feel Aksh in her womb. Aksh's breaths had somehow given Akshita a reason to live. From then on, Akshita's life became Aksh; her living, her smiling, her happiness was all for Aksh. Otherwise, she had long been finished from the inside.
"Okay, now don't get too sentimental, my dear, you'll make me cry too," Naina, who had also become emotional, quickly composed herself and said to Akshita.
Akshita looked at Naina, wiped her tears, and gave a slight smile. "Good girl. If Aksh saw this now, he'd scold me for making his Akshu baby cry," Naina said, making a face.
Akshita looked at Naina, then smiled and went inside the restaurant. "Please, God, give Akshu the happiness that is his due, or else you and I will have a big fight," Naina said, looking up as she watched Akshita leave.
"Oh, listen, okay, sorry, dear. I won't say anything to you now. Even if you donate your entire restaurant, I won't say anything," Naina followed Akshita.
Forward.
Akshita and Naina were both looking at the customers. They were the only ones working at their restaurant; they hadn't hired any staff. There were two reasons for this. First, Akshita, who previously had no interest in cooking and didn't know how to make anything, decided three years ago when she decided to open her restaurant that from then on, the restaurant would be known by her name and her work.
And over time, she started to enjoy doing all this, and now the magic of her hands had touched everyone's tongues and hearts. The second reason was that she was barely making ends meet, so she didn't have enough money to hire someone and pay them. She was happy with what she had.
"Akshu, I'm going to pick up Aksh. You handle things here for a while," Naina told Akshita as she came out of the kitchen. Akshita nodded in agreement while editing the menu.
"So, Mr. Khurana, do you have time?" a girl said on the phone.
Akshat, who was sitting in the passenger seat of the car at that moment, was using a tablet in his hand and said with earbuds in, "Shut up, I didn't call you."
Hearing this, the girl's face fell. "Yes, I know, but the person you called is taking a shower." Akshat listened to her, and before she could say anything else, he hung up the call.
"Arrogant, he'll never change."
***
Her Restaurant:
"Hey, hey, where are you guys going inside? If you want to order something, please wait at a table outside," Akshita said, seeing four or five people entering, and stood in front of them. The people looked Indian and were quite well-built.
One of the men came forward and handed Akshita a red file. Akshita looked at the file with confusion.
"This is a notice."
"No... what notice?" Akshita looked with a surprised expression, glancing at the four men one by one, then at the file.
"This is a notice. You have two days to vacate this place," the man told Akshita.
Akshita was stunned by this news. Surprise was clearly visible on her face.
"Vacate? Did the owner send you? How could they do this? I pay them rent on time. It's just two days late this time, and they're sending a notice like this," Akshita's voice was low and shaky.
"One minute." Akshita then went to the counter and returned in a few minutes.
"Here, this is the full rent. I was just about to send it today. It's good you came. Please give this to them and accept my apologies for the delay. I will make sure to pay attention to this from now on," Akshita offered the money in her hand.
The men looked at Akshita, then at the money in her hand, then at each other. "Look, it's an order from AK. You have to shut down this restaurant."
"AK? I think you're mistaken. The owner here is Mr. Bajaj, not AK."
"We are telling you the same thing. This land now belongs to our boss. The entire surrounding area is in his name. So, vacate this place as soon as possible," the man told Akshita.
Akshita, with a bit of anger, said, "How can I vacate? How is this possible? Mr. Bajaj can't do this."
"He has done it. Perhaps you don't know, he has left Germany. You are a lady, so we are talking to you politely. If you don't vacate this in two days, you don't know our boss. He has no respect for women."
"What nonsense are you talking? Is this some kind of joke? How can you say this?" Akshita didn't know what to do. The man placed the file on the table and gestured to another man, who nodded in understanding and moved towards the kitchen, then put a large lock on it.
Seeing them do this, Akshita quickly went to them. "What are you doing? Why are you locking it?"
"Sorry, madam, but you are not allowed to do anything here now." And then all the men left.
Akshita watched them go. She couldn't understand what had just happened. She was in shock. She held her head. "Is this a dream? How can this happen? No, no, three years of hard work cannot be ruined in an instant." Akshita's eyes welled up. She mumbled to herself, her steps faltered, and she sat down on a chair behind her.
She was going crazy thinking about what she would do if this were true, where would she go. How would she fulfill the dream she had seen? How would she start anew? Many thoughts were swirling in her mind.
Akshita sat there for a while, then with heavy steps, she approached the table and picked up the red file. "One file cannot snatch away my dream, my everything. How can anyone do this?" Akshita said, looking at the file. Just then, her phone rang.
She took her phone out of her jeans. Naina's name was displayed. Without wasting a moment, she picked up Naina's call. "Don't bring the baby to the restaurant. I'm going home. We'll meet there," Akshita said and hung up without waiting for Naina to speak.
A little later:
"Akshu!"
"Akshu, where are you?" Naina entered the house quickly, holding Aksh's hand.
"I'm in the kitchen." Akshita's house was quite small, or rather, sufficient for the three of them. This house was Akshita's own. She had built this small Taj Mahal with her hard work, which she, Aksh, and Naina loved dearly.
Akshita came out of the kitchen. "You're here. Let's have lunch together." Then she looked at Aksh, who was looking at Akshita with a chubby face.
Akshita knelt down and touched Aksh's cheeks and hair, saying, "Baby, Mommy made something delicious for you today. Today, we will all sit together and have lunch."
Hearing Akshita's words, Aksh's face lit up. "Really? Are you telling the truth? We'll all have lunch together, at home?" Aksh became very happy.
And why wouldn't he be? There were very few occasions when Aksh, Naina, and Akshita had lunch together. Yes, they often had breakfast and dinner together, but Aksh usually had lunch with Naina at the restaurant. He wished he could have it with Akshita too, but Akshita was so busy that she didn't have time to breathe. And there were very few opportunities when Akshita had lunch with Aksh.
And whenever the three of them had lunch together, Aksh would become the happiest, and rightly so. Seeing his mom eating peacefully gave him peace too, as she was always in a hurry.
And whenever Akshita got the chance, she would make Aksh's favorite paneer biryani. With mint chutney. Which Aksh ate with great joy and enthusiasm.
"Tell me, Mom, will we all have lunch together at home today?" Aksh confirmed, asking. Akshita smiled and nodded.
"I'll be right back after changing. You two wait for me." Saying this, Aksh quickly took his bag and ran towards the room. Akshita smiled, watching Aksh go. Then she looked at Naina, who was looking at her with a serious expression. As Akshita looked at Naina, the smile disappeared from her face.
She got up from her place. "You wash your hands and face too. I'll set the lunch table in the meantime."
"Leave that. First, tell me why the restaurant is closed today and why you're at home? This never happens," Naina asked Akshita with the same seriousness.
Akshita looked at Naina. "And beware if you try to hide anything. You can fool others, but not me. So, tell me frankly, has something happened?" Hearing Naina's question, Akshita didn't know what to say, as she couldn't trouble Naina.
Naina was already stressed about her job, and she didn't want Naina to be stressed about her too. Akshita looked at her with her usual innocence. And Naina was staring at her.
(Guys, please give comments and reviews.)
Next.
"What are you saying? How can this happen?" Naina is shocked after hearing everything Akshita says.
Akshita was sitting on the sofa. "I don't know." Akshita looked very disappointed. Naina quickly goes to her, sits beside her, and puts her hand on Akshita's hands, saying, "What will you do now? You know this was your dream."
"It wasn't just a dream, it still is." Akshita interrupts Naina and looks up at her. "I still want to take my name and my restaurant very far, so far that no one questions my failure." Akshita's tone had become very low.
She was disappointed, her dream, all her hopes, seemed to be shattering.
"But what can we do? I said earlier that we should go back to India."
"No." Naina says this as Akshita immediately gets up from her place. Naina also gets up behind her and starts looking at Akshita.
Akshita, looking at Naina. "No, I will never go to India." Akshita seemed nervous.
Naina puts her hand on her shoulder from behind. "Four years have passed, Akshu. How long will you travel in a foreign country?" Naina's voice was soft. Akshita turns to look at her.
"This foreign land has given me courage all these years, otherwise India had rejected me. Four years ago, that country took everything from me. I have no one there who is my own or waiting for me. And I never want to meet those who are." Akshita's eyes had become moist. There was pain in her face and eyes that Naina could see.
"I know, but how long will we struggle here? Look, my job isn't permanent here either. There's so much competition for things."
"So if you want to go, go. I will stay here with Aksh. Anyway, your family is there, everyone is your own." Akshita gets a little angry hearing Naina repeatedly suggest going to India.
Naina listens to her and looks at Akshita, who had turned her back to her in annoyance. She turns her towards her. "What did you say? Should I leave you and Aksh and go to that family, the one I always put below you, the family that only loved money, not me?" Naina's wounds had also become fresh.
She hated her family, hated them immensely. For her, Akshita and Aksh were now everything, who had accepted her as she was, loved her so much that her own family probably never had.
Akshita realizes what she had just said in anger. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Akshita places her hand on Naina's.
Naina looks at her, then angrily shakes her hand off. "But you did. How could you think that? After all these years, do you think I am selfish enough to leave you and Aksh here alone?" Naina was extremely angry.
She felt hurt by Akshita's words. She had lived for Akshita and Aksh for so many years, and for Akshita to say that she should leave alone did not feel good. Although she knew Akshita didn't mean to hurt her, Naina understood very well how much Naina panicked and feared the mention of India. Akshita had lost everything there. Apart from Aksh, she had lost everything in India, even her own identity.
She couldn't forget how much people had said when she was pregnant, how much they had defamed her. People had treated her as badly as possible, due to which Akshita had locked herself within the four walls of her home. She was already broken and couldn't bear people's taunts anymore. That's why after Aksh was born, to keep her away from people's taunts and the world's criticism, she thought it best to leave India.
But she didn't know that some people wouldn't stop taunting and blaming her here either.
Akshita looks at Naina, who was angry. Akshita quickly hugs Naina. "Please don't be angry, I am sorry. I don't know what happened, it just came out of my mouth. I know, I know how much you love me and the baby. Whatever you have done for me and the baby, I can never repay your favor. But you know, don't you, that I can never go where you are talking about going?" Akshita's grip on Naina tightened, and she started crying.
Seeing Akshita cry, Naina takes a deep breath and pats her back. "I know your fear isn't India, it's someone else. You are not afraid of going to India, you are afraid you might run into the person who used you years ago and left you, and never looked back at you or Aksh. You are afraid that if he comes in front of you, how will you bear his hatred, right?" Naina spoke in a calm and clear tone. Hearing Naina's words, Akshita's sobs stopped. She became quiet.
Naina holds her by both shoulders and pulls her away, looking at Akshita's face, which had become red and cute from crying. Her nose twitched like a cherry. She had lowered her gaze.
"I cannot face him. He must still hate me today. For him, marriage was just revenge." Akshita says in a low voice, her eyes downcast.
"Then why he ruined your life, I still don't understand. He married you, I understand, but why did he force himself on you? After that, he would leave you, he didn't think even once about what would happen to you afterwards. He married you, spent the night with you, and left you the next day." Whenever Naina thought about the past, her anger would skyrocket. She wished she could get her hands on Akshat as soon as he appeared in front of her and tear his face apart.
"Because he thinks his life was ruined because of me." Akshita says, sobbing.
"But that is a lie." Naina immediately says. Akshita lifts her face and looks at Naina, making eye contact, and says, "But in his eyes, I am a liar." Her voice was filled with pain as she said this.
Naina looks at Akshita. She never understood this girl. Even after all that happened, she didn't speak ill of Akshat. Yes, Akshita hated Akshat, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She wanted Akshat to hate her, to blame her for what he had done to her, but she couldn't.
It wasn't easy for her to hate the person she had loved and dreamt of for so many years. So how could she hate him? How could she blame him?
Naina looks into Akshita's eyes, which still held the pain of her hatred. "So what have you decided?" Naina's voice softens immensely.
She listens to Naina and then, with a deep breath, says, "I will meet him and understand him. For him, it will just be land, but for me, it is my dream."
Naina says, "And how will you do this? You don't know anything, do you?"
"No, they will be staying in Germany for some time. And I have also taken his office address, look." Akshita takes out her phone and shows it to Naina, which had the address of AK Group written on it.
"I will come too."
"No, you stay with the baby. I am going this evening. We have absolutely no time to waste. Just pray that what I am going for works out." Akshita stops Naina.
Naina, encouraging her, says, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. But how can you go alone? What if you start getting nervous?" Naina worries about her.
Akshita smiles. "Don't you worry, I won't get nervous. This time, I will say what I have to say without fear." Akshita says with confidence. Often, she would get a little nervous in front of strangers, but this time she had gathered courage, which made Naina happy too.
"Best of luck." Naina says to Akshita. "Thank you." Akshita replies with a smile.
Forward.
"Momma, where are you going?" Ak asks innocently, watching Akshita comb her hair near the mirror.
Ak was doing his homework at the moment, his things neatly arranged on the bed. Ak did not like any mess or untidiness around him.
After brushing her hair, Akshita places the comb on the dressing table and comes to Ak. "Baby, Momma has some work, so Momma has to go. You stay with Naina Auntie and don't bother her at all. And yes, I've made chocolate milkshake and kept it ready, Naina Auntie will give it to you, don't fuss too much." Ak makes a strange face upon hearing the name of milkshake.
"No Momma, you know I don't like milkshake at all. I'm not a little baby anymore." He stands with his hands on his hips.
Akshita, pulling his pouting cheeks, says, "For me, you will always be a baby, so drink it quietly, okay." Akshita kisses his cheeks affectionately.
Ak really didn't like milkshake, especially the chocolate one. But he didn't feel like drinking it when Akshita forced him, yet he wouldn't refuse Akshita much, thinking his momma might feel bad, and thus he would fall silent.
For Akshita, Ak was a four-year-old baby. But she didn't know that he was just a baby for her; otherwise, his maturity level would have surpassed even Akshita's.
To please Akshita, Ak reluctantly nods, "Okay Momma."
"My little baby." Akshita kisses his cheeks again. Ak also smiles and hugs Akshita's neck, kissing both his cheeks one by one. "My innocent Momma."
"Oh, so a mother-son cuddle is going on here. Ask us too." Naina, standing at the door, who had been watching the mother and son for a while, says as she enters.
Ak and Akshita, who were hugging each other, smile at each other and then at Naina.
Akshita extends her hand, gesturing Naina to come closer. Ak says, "Our hug is incomplete without you, Auntie." A big smile appears on Naina's face, and she quickly goes and hugs them both.
There was peace and smiles on Akshita, Ak, and Naina's faces.
A little later:
Akshita gets out of the taxi and looks at the large building in front of her, which was designed in a very unique way.
Akshita looks at the building, then raises her hand to her chest, her heart beating very fast. "Don't panic, Akshu, calm down. Nothing will happen to you. Just put your point across, no one will eat you." Akshita, who was extremely nervous talking to people, was facing such a situation for the first time.
And this was the first time she had come to someone's office, her heart pounding intensely.
"Be strong, you have to do this, baby, for Naina." Akshita reassures herself, placing her hand on her chest.
After standing there for a while, Akshita calms down a bit and takes a step forward. As she reaches the main door of the office, two guards standing there block her way.
"Who are you?" one of the guards asks.
Akshita, startled by their sudden appearance, stammers, "Uh... I..." She stops mid-sentence, forgetting the name in her nervousness.
The two guards look at Akshita, then at each other, as Akshita trailed off and seemed lost in thought.
"Speak up, who are you? Do you have an appointment inside?" one guard asks Akshita, who is silent.
Akshita shakes her head quickly in negation with innocence. "No, I need to meet AK, yes, the boss of this office." Akshita says quickly.
"You cannot meet him," the other guard replies.
"Why?" Akshita blurts out suddenly, then looks at them both and says in a low voice, "Uh... I mean, why can't I meet him? It's very important for me to meet him, please let me go, just five minutes, and then I'll leave." Akshita didn't know how to say it, she just spoke as she felt.
She had no experience in presenting her case or handling such situations.
"Look, you cannot meet him right now because the boss is not in the office."
"No problem, I'll wait," Akshita says.
"No, ma'am, you cannot meet him without an appointment, and even if you had one, you would meet his manager, not the boss. He doesn't like meeting people at all," the guard tells Akshita.
Akshita listens to them and mutters to herself, "The boss doesn't meet people? What a strange boss, the owner of such a big company, and he doesn't even meet his employees? I wonder how the people here manage." Akshita's voice was very low.
But the guards looked at Akshita muttering to herself as if she were mad. Both looked at each other in confusion.
"Are you saying something?" one guard asks her.
Akshita quickly comes to her senses and shakes her head in negation. "No, nothing."
"Then please leave from here. If the boss finds out, he won't spare us."
Akshita hears them and starts feeling disappointed. "When will he arrive?"
"We don't know, ma'am."
"Okay, so you're not letting me in. Should I wait outside?" Akshita asks hesitantly.
"As you wish, but please wait across the road. No one is allowed near the office," the guard says respectfully.
Akshita just had to meet AK somehow. So, she agrees to this as well and says okay, leaves from there, crosses the road, and sits on a bench on the other side.
The two guards also return to their posts. There was still some time before evening, so there was a light sun, and the weather outside was warm. Akshita, sitting on the bench, felt the heat.
To shield herself from the sun, she takes out a stole from her bag and covers her face with it. The area was completely open, so expecting shade was futile.
Akshita, sitting, kept looking towards the office. Seeing every passing car, she thought that perhaps this car would stop and AK would come out of it, but that wasn't happening.
"I don't know what kind of boss he is, he hasn't arrived yet." Akshita checks the time on her phone; it was nearing 6 o'clock.
Her phone rings. "Hello!"
"Yes, Akshu, where are you? Haven't you arrived yet? Did you meet AK? Did you talk to him? What did he say?" Naina bombards her with questions in one breath.
Akshita replies with a disappointed voice, "The conversation will only happen when I go inside and he arrives."
"What do you mean?" Naina asks, confused.
"It means the guards didn't let me in, and on top of that, AK isn't in the office right now, so I'm waiting outside." Akshita was distressed, and fatigue was evident on her face.
Hearing her, Naina immediately says, "Okay, don't worry, I'm coming. Wait there."
Akshita stops Naina on hearing her. "No, you don't come. You just take care of the baby. I'll manage here. It's been a long time; maybe he'll be here any moment. I'll tell you as soon as he arrives." Naina doesn't argue with Akshita and concedes, "Okay, but be careful, and let me know as soon as he arrives."
"Hmm, okay." Akshita cuts the call.
Slowly, evening turns into night. Akshita was still sitting there. The office had also closed, and people were leaving with time.
Seeing the people coming out of the office, Akshita stands up. "Everyone has finished their work, so why hasn't he arrived yet?" Akshita becomes even more worried.
She was still standing, looking towards the office. Some employees were walking towards the road, talking amongst themselves.
"Hey, did you know the boss went to a success party today? I heard big businessmen are coming there." a girl says.
"Oh, that's why the boss didn't come to the office today. Ever since he came to Germany, he hasn't missed a single day. It's good, at least everyone was relaxed today." another girl says.
"Yes, man, I just wish the boss goes back to India soon. We are happy working in his company, but we can't stay with him," the first girl says sadly and leaves.
"Party?" Akshita overhears their conversation.
"You mean I've been wasting my time here for so long?" Akshita's face falls in despair.
Move on.
"Oh, finally, you have arrived, Mr. Akshat Khurana. We didn't think a celebrity like you would attend our party," a middle-aged man says with a smile as he approaches Akshat. He is about to hug Akshat when Akshat takes two steps back and looks at him.
Akshat's eyes are filled with burning anger. "Don't make this mistake again. I don't like it when anyone touches me without my permission," Akshat says in a stern and cold tone.
The man feels the chill of Akshat's words. "You know why I'm here, so focus on that," Akshat says sternly and walks away.
After he leaves, another man arrives and says to the first man, "He's even more arrogant than I thought."
The first man looks at him and then says, "His arrogance will be broken. Let him enjoy himself for now. If he hadn't refused to shake hands with me, I would have taught him a lesson." The first man's voice is filled with anger and hatred as he looks in the direction Akshat went.
"Akshu, where are you? It's getting late. Aksh has troubled me enough. Now, come and manage him," Naina says to Akshita over the phone.
Akshita, who is sitting in a cab, replies, "Just a little more. He's at a party tonight. I've got the address, and I'm heading there."
"What?" Naina exclaims in a loud and surprised tone. When she realizes her voice is too loud, she lowers it and says, "Are you mad? You're going to a party? Don't be crazy. Come back home."
"No, every minute counts for me. If I don't meet him today, I might not gather the courage again. Please let me do this today. I've mustered up a lot of courage," Akshita says in a soft and persuasive tone. Naina finds Akshita's words somewhat convincing.
Naina has never seen Akshita with so much courage. When a person is broken beyond repair and their dream is their only support, they are willing to do anything to achieve it, even fight with their loved ones. Akshita's courage is giving her the strength to do it. Naina thinks Akshita's words are somewhat right.
After a moment of silence, Naina says, "Okay, fine. But come back soon."
"Hmm," Akshita replies, and the phone call ends. Akshita looks out the window, feeling the wind in her hair.
As she approaches her destination, she feels an strange sensation. "What's happening to me? What's this feeling? Why is my heart racing?" Akshita puts her hand on her heart, which is beating rapidly.
She rests her head on the window, closes her eyes, and a tear drops from her eye. "Please, today, be with me. You know I have only this left. If this dream also shatters, I don't know if I'll ever be able to pick up the pieces. This restlessness is scaring me, like a storm is about to hit and destroy everything," she says to herself, her hand still on her heart.
Akshita slowly opens her eyes, which are red and filled with tears. She takes her hand off her heart and puts it on her top, then subtly takes out a mangalsutra from her necklace. She always wears it hidden from everyone.
She looks down and sees the mangalsutra in her hands. "I hate you. But I don't know why I couldn't get rid of it. It hurts me so much. I don't want to keep any symbol of you with me because it reminds me of you. But I remember that the biggest symbol of you is my Aksh, whom I couldn't separate from myself even if I wanted to. He's my reason for living, my existence. I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to, but I could never forgive you either," she says, her voice trembling, her eyes filled with unwanted pain.
Whenever she's alone like this, she feels like crying a lot about her fate. Why did she come into Akshat's life? Why did she sacrifice everything for him? These thoughts only give her pain.
She often thinks that if she had never met Akshat, if the accident hadn't happened, if he hadn't misunderstood her, maybe her life wouldn't be like this. But whenever she sees Akshat, she feels a sense of peace. Despite her life taking everything from her, Akshat is her biggest gift, more precious to her than her life.
Akshita is still looking at the mangalsutra, feeling Akshat's touch on it. She remembers the moment he gave it to her.
She rests her head on the window again, holding the mangalsutra, looking outside. The night lights give it a soothing glow, but Akshita feels restless because she doesn't know what's going to happen.
On the other side:
"Aksh, baby, let's go home," Naina says.
Aksh runs around the garden, saying, "No, Masi, I won't go until Momma comes. I have to protect her."
Naina is exhausted from running after Aksh. "Baby, you're good, don't be stubborn. Let's go home. It's getting late, and Momma will be here soon," she says.
Aksh runs and says, "But I said Momma is outside, and I need to be with her. She'll be scared at night without me. And you're not here, and I'm not there." Aksh is drenched in sweat, his white shirt transparent.
Naina's hair is messy, and some strands are stuck to her face due to sweat, making her angry.
"Baby, Momma will be here soon. I just spoke with her," Naina says.
"So, why didn't you make her talk to me? She's alone, and I need to protect her. You won't stop me," Aksh stands a little distance away, looking serious, his hands on his waist.
Aksh looks cute and serious with his chubby face and stern expression.
Naina, who is also exhausted from running, stops and says, "I'm telling you for the last time. If you don't listen to me, I'll call Akshita and tell her how much you're troubling me. She'll scold you, and you won't be able to talk to her."
Aksh looks at Naina with narrowed eyes and says, "You're threatening me, Masi?"
"Yes, if you don't listen, I'll make it happen. Call her, and I'll tell her that her son is showing me attitude," Naina says, her hair fluttering behind her, her expression stern.
Aksh glares at Naina, as if to say, "I won't back down. You're trying to scare me with Mom's name." But unfortunately, he can't say that right now.
"Call her. And I'll also tell her that her son is giving me attitude," Naina says, seeing Aksh's glare.
Aksh's eyes narrow further. "Very bad. I won't forgive you," he says and starts walking away.
Naina's face lights up with a big smile. After all, she managed to make Aksh go home. "Yes, yes, let's see who's the big one and who's the little mouse," Naina says, following Aksh.
This banter between them always happens, which used to trouble Akshita. (If you read the novel, please support and share it with your friends. Tell them about it. I don't know what I can do with so many bad views.)
Ahead.
"How will I get inside? There's so much security here." Akshita was standing outside a very large hotel. It was Germany's most famous and expensive hotel.
Akshita had never been here before; she had only heard about it.
She was looking at the entire hotel, which was incredibly large and beautiful. And the security was so much that words failed. Today, because of the party, there was even more.
Akshita was watching the people coming and going, who had passes that they showed to get inside. And Akshita, who had nothing, hadn't even thought about these things before coming. She just had to meet AK and she came.
"How will I get inside amidst so much security?" Akshita was rubbing her hands together. She was already nervous, and now with so many obstacles, she couldn't understand anything.
"Excuse me, ma'am!" Someone called out to her from behind. Akshita got a little startled and quickly turned around.
"Could you please step aside? Important people will be coming and going, and it might cause them a problem." He was managing the hotel's operations. He had some boxes in his hands, probably heading inside the hotel.
Akshita heard him. "Sorry." She quickly started to move aside. The man also started to leave when suddenly, Akshita didn't know what came over her, and she stopped him.
"One minute."
"Yes, please?" He asked very politely. Akshita didn't know what to say at first; she was silent. "Ma'am, please speak. What happened? I don't have much time," the man said, seeing Akshita's silence.
Akshita gathered her courage and said, "I need to go inside." Her voice was very soft.
The man looked Akshita up and down. She looked very nervous, constantly rubbing her hands, which clearly showed how anxious she was.
"Do you have an entry pass? Because today there's a very big success party, and no one without one is allowed entry." Akshita heard him and then nodded her head.
"I don't have one," she said, then looked up at the man and said, "But it's extremely important for me to go inside."
"Sorry, ma'am, rules are rules." Hearing him, the man started to leave.
Akshita, who had gathered her courage with such difficulty, now saw her hope shattering.
"Please, it's very important for me to go. If you don't help me, a lot will be ruined. My dream will be shattered. Please let me go inside. I promise I'll only stay for five minutes, not a moment longer. You can keep an eye on me if you want, but please, let me go." There were lines of worry on Akshita's face, her expression was full of despair, and her eyes held hope as if it could break at any moment.
The man initially started to refuse Akshita, but then he looked at her—her frightened and timid face, the movements of her hands and feet, which clearly showed how anxious she was. Her voice was also very low and trembling.
How could she not be nervous? She was handling all of this for the first time. In one day, she had spoken to more strangers than she had in the last four years.
"Okay, but you must stick to your promise." Hearing him, Akshita's face lit up. She quickly nodded yes. "Don't worry, five minutes means five minutes," Akshita assured him.
The man took out a pass from his pocket. "This is a worker's pass." He extended it towards Akshita, and she took it.
Then the man handed Akshita a box. "Take this, so you'll seem like part of our group. Show this pass at the entrance. If there's any problem, I'm inside," the man explained to Akshita.
Akshita nodded yes, taking the box. "Thank you," Akshita said with a slight smile. The man left.
Akshita looked at the pass and the box in her hand. "Just a few more minutes, Akshu. You've come this far; a little more courage." Akshita closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then calmed herself down, and stepped forward.
As her steps moved forward, her heartbeats also increased. Her restlessness had started again. Her feet, which were refusing to cooperate, felt incredibly heavy. They didn't want to move, but Akshita couldn't stop.
Before she knew it, Akshita reached the entry gate and, with that, went inside without any hindrance. After entering, she saw the man standing a little further away. Then, handing him her pass, she said, "Thank you so much. You helped me a lot today."
"It's okay, but leave here quickly, otherwise, if someone gets suspicious, I'll be in trouble."
"Don't worry, no one will say anything to you." They spoke for a moment, and then Akshita proceeded towards her destination.
She moved forward where there was a large crowd. Many big businessmen had arrived. She had seen some of them on TV. There were also very well-dressed ladies.
Akshita's gaze scanned all around. The red file was still in her hands. "Now, how will I find AK here? I've never seen them before," Akshita said to herself, looking at everyone.
She had come this far, but now how she would meet AK, how she would recognize him, was the biggest challenge for her. Seeing so many people, she had become extremely nervous.
She had entered, but now she was scared. Scared that if someone asked her something, if her truth was revealed, what would she say? What would those people do to her? Thinking about all this, her throat went dry.
She looked around, then stopped a waiter, took a glass of water from his tray, and started drinking. She was so nervous that she drank the entire glass of water in one gulp.
"Thank you," Akshita said, placing the glass back, and spoke to the waiter. The waiter left.
"Now, where is AK?" Akshita started to move forward. She couldn't understand anything in the garden, so she went inside the hotel.
Inside the hotel, there was also a good crowd. Many people had gathered inside and were talking and drinking.
Akshita tried to calm herself and moved forward, listening carefully to people's conversations, hoping that perhaps one of them was AK.
"Do you know AK is also at this party?" A girl dressed in very fashionable clothes, with heavy makeup, said to another girl.
Hearing her, Akshita's steps stopped, and she started looking in that direction. "Is she talking about the same AK?" Akshita thought to herself.
"Are you telling the truth?" The second girl, who was her match, said, surprised. Hearing her, the first girl nodded yes. Hearing this, a big smile appeared on the second girl's face.
"Oh my god, why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you know how handsome and hot he is? I've never seen him in person before. I've heard he's very attractive." The girl was lost in her own world. The big smile was still on her face.
Seeing her, the first girl said, "Oh madam, come back. Perhaps you're forgetting that your AK strictly dislikes girls, so stop dreaming.
Hearing her, the second girl, with arrogance, playing with her hair with her fingers, said, "He must have never seen a hot girl like me before. If he saw me, he'd fall for girls. Let's see how he stays away from me."
"Don't be crazy. You don't know his anger."
"I don't want to know. I just want to feel him."
Akshita, standing far away, heard all their conversations. Her face had strange expressions. "What are these people talking about, about someone who hates girls, yet they like him?" Akshita said. "Truly, girls have gone mad." She shook her head in disgust.
"Oh, there's Mr. AK?" The girl got excited.
Akshita was startled and quickly turned and looked ahead. Her heartbeats started racing just as fast.
Next.
Akshita, who turns upon hearing AK's name, her breathing and heartbeat quicken. She sees a person standing a short distance in front of her, whose back is visible.
"Is this AK?" Akshita questions herself. Then she looks at the girls who were praising AK a while ago. The girls who were looking at AK with various expressions, smiling and happy.
Akshita doesn't take even a moment to recognize from their gazes that this is AK. But she couldn't see his face; he was standing with his back to her at that moment, engrossed in his phone.
But his build was so attractive that anyone could tell how devastatingly handsome this man would be from the front.
Akshita, once again composing her racing heartbeat, places her hand on her chest. "What has happened to me today?" Akshita looks at her heart, then in front.
"Oh, they are leaving?" Seeing AK leave, Akshita quickly forgets everything and starts to move forward.
AK, who was heading towards the elevator, and Akshita followed behind him. AK's speed was fast, and Akshita couldn't keep up.
Moreover, there was a bit of a crowd there.
AK approaches the elevator area and presses the elevator button, about to enter when his steps halt.
"Excuse me." Akshita calls out to him from behind. Only she knew how difficult it was for her to say that; her breath was coming fast due to running.
AK stood there as he was. Akshita quickly goes to him and stands right behind him. Without wasting any time, she starts speaking, "I only need five minutes of your time." Upon hearing a girl's voice, AK's eyes turn red, the veins in his neck tense, and his face grows cold.
He hated girls so much that he couldn't even bear to hear their voices. He stood with his fists clenched; first, Akshita had stopped him, and on top of that, she was a girl.
Unaware of all this, Akshita gathers some courage and says, "W-why do you want to take the Masi land? If you want it, there's no problem, but I have one request: please don't demolish my restaurant there. I will pay you money for it; I won't take it for free, but please, that restaurant is extremely important to me." She was speaking in one breath, her voice very soft and calm. In her current state, it seemed like her breath might escape at any moment. Her heartbeat was so fast it felt like it would jump out.
AK still stood there, eyes closed, trying to control his anger. Akshita looks at the file she's holding. "Your men gave this file; please cancel it," she says. AK could no longer contain his voice; turning towards Akshita in anger, he smashes his phone against the wall in front of him.
Akshita gets scared and quickly closes her eyes, covering her ears with both hands.
AK, now standing facing Akshita, looks at her with anger. She has her head down, eyes closed in fear.
AK, controlling his anger, "How dare you follow me?" he says through gritted teeth. Akshita slowly opens her eyes; her gaze falls on his feet, which are moving towards her.
Akshita had just witnessed a demonstration of his anger. AK, who had thrown his phone with such force that it was now shattered into countless pieces on the floor.
Seeing him approach her, Akshita panics and starts to step back with her trembling legs. AK's gaze is fixed on her lowered eyes; he still hadn't looked up.
"Did I ask something?" His voice was so loud that Akshita's soul trembled. And despite not wanting to, tears started flowing from her eyes.
Akshita couldn't bear loud voices. Hearing someone's loud voice made her extremely nervous.
Akshita, with tears in her eyes, stammers, "W-well, I..." Her voice gets stuck in her throat as she raises her eyes and sees the person standing in front of her. Seeing him, her breath seemed to stop, and her heartbeat took a different turn.
It was none other than Akshat Khurana standing before her. Seeing him, so many old pains resurface for Akshita; the tears held back in her eyes spill out and stream down her cheeks. Akshita's gaze was fixed on Akshat, whose facial expression had changed slightly. But his gaze was fixed on Akshita.
"A-Aksh_Akshat!" Akshita's tongue faltered. She now understood that AK was none other than Akshat Khurana.
Her hands were trembling completely, causing the file she held to shake rapidly.
"Who are you?" Akshat, who perhaps didn't recognize Akshita, looked at her with suspicious eyes.
Akshita feels her heart break upon hearing Akshat's words. Didn't he recognize her? Akshita's heart ached with this thought.
Tears welled up in Akshita's eyes as she looked at him. Just as Akshat was about to say something else, Akshita says, "N-no, no, th-this can't be." Akshita's steps falter, and the file in her hands falls to her feet.
She was completely shocked; she had absolutely no expectation of meeting him again. She looks at the file, then fearfully raises her eyes to Akshat. He was the same today, or perhaps even more stern.
Akshat, after some thought, takes a step towards her. Akshita retreats; her legs were giving way. She starts to get scared, what if Akshat recognized her? Or had he recognized her? If so, she wouldn't be able to bear his anger and hatred. She was trembling, looking around. There was no one in sight where she was.
"What is your name?" Akshat continued to walk towards her. Akshita, once again breaking her gaze, looks at Akshat. She was still afraid of his presence, just as she had been four years ago.
Akshat was coming towards her. Akshita had no other option now; she turned and ran away without a word. AK's fists clenched, his eyes red and hard.
He looks at the file lying on the ground, picks it up, and then takes out his phone and calls someone. "I need all the information about Masi as soon as possible." And then he hangs up the phone.
Then he looks at the shattered pieces of his first phone lying a short distance away. "Things broken by my hands never get fixed," his voice was cold and harsh. He still stood there, looking at the red file.
On the other hand, Akshita leaves the hotel crying. Akshat's face from a while ago, his eyes, his entire face filled with hatred, kept flashing in her mind. He didn't recognize her, but the hatred in his eyes was the same.
Akshita was crying, running on the empty streets of Germany as if she wanted to run far away. "You will receive my hatred for your entire life. You were so eager to play with me; now your life will become a game." Akshita was running, and Akshat's voice echoed in her ears. She was crying continuously.
Trying to stop her tears, Akshita kept running. She would cover her ears sometimes, or try to stop her tears.
"You will burn in the fire of my hatred now."
"You wanted money, didn't you? Here's your price for spending time with me."
"Never try to come in front of me, or she will writhe in agony. You can't even imagine that Akshat Khurana neither forgets nor forgives." Akshita's wounds had reopened; she couldn't stop the voices in her ears even if she wanted to.
Her legs had given way, and her face was drenched with tears. She was running so lost in herself that she couldn't even hear the sound of cars passing by.
"Why isn't Akshu picking up the phone?" Naina was pacing back and forth, looking worried.
Ahead.
Akshit exits the party with a serious expression and gets into his car, sitting on the back seat.
As soon as he sits on the back seat, the driver starts the car. Akshit takes out his tab and his eyes are cold, it's impossible to read what's in his eyes.
Akshit looks at something on the tab, and suddenly a devilish smile spreads across his face. "Game begins." He closes his tab and starts looking outside with a silent intensity.
He's thinking about many things, only he knows what they are.
On the other side:
Akshita is still running on the empty roads, her eyes filled with tears that have wet her face. She's like a mad person, and the people around her are watching her.
Her breathing is uncontrollable, but she doesn't want to stop. She's breaking down as much as she's thinking. At home, Naina is pacing around the living room, worried. Akshita isn't picking up her calls, which is making her more anxious.
For the first time, she's alone, and she doesn't know how she is or what happened. Naina is worried about her.
Naina enters her room, where Aksh is sleeping on the bed, hugging a pillow with a large photo of Akshita and Aksh on it. When Akshita isn't with him, he sleeps like this, considering the pillow as Akshita.
Aksh looks very cute while sleeping, which makes Naina smile. She comes close to him, strokes his hair, and kisses his cheek.
"Masi mumma is going, take care of yourself. Masi and mumma will be back soon." Naina touches his cheeks with love and affection. Aksh turns around.
Naina isn't Aksh's biological mother, but she loves him like her own child. Aksh isn't just Akshita's son to her; he's also her son. Yes, they do have a Tom and Jerry-like fight, but there's a lot of love behind it.
Naina looks at sleeping Aksh and exits the room, taking her purse from the hall. She opens the main door, locks it, and puts a big lock on it.
So, even if Aksh wakes up, he won't be able to come out. "I know, Akshu, you'll scold me for this, but I have something more important than you right now." Naina says while looking at the locked door and then leaves.
"You are the most degraded and characterless girl I've ever seen."
"No!" Akshita falls on the road, covering her ears with her hands. The bitter words she heard four years ago are still echoing in her ears.
She falls like a lifeless body. "I didn't do anything; it wasn't a lie." Akshita screams while crying, her ears still covered.
Her voice is filled with pain, piercing the surrounding silence.
She's crying, and her tears are falling. "They've forgotten me; they don't remember me." She hits the road with her hands, saying this. When she heard Akshat's words, that moment was like a bad dream.
"They don't need me in their life; they still hate me. I saw it in their eyes." She's crying, her hands now bleeding because she unknowingly hit the road with them.
But she doesn't feel the pain; the pain in her heart is much bigger. Today, seeing Akshat, she can't explain the trouble she went through. Her eyes still have hatred for herself; it has shattered something inside her.
For a moment, she thinks she's dreaming, but Akshat's voice, which was scary and stern before, is still fresh in her memory. That night and that morning when she faced his hatred.
"Akshu!" Naina, who has been searching for Akshita, sees her on the road and runs towards her.
"Akshu baby, what's wrong?" Naina panics seeing Akshita's condition; she's never seen her like this.
Her hair is disheveled, her face wet with tears, her eyes swollen, her lips trembling, and her hands injured. Her whole body is sitting like a lifeless doll.
Naina can't understand what happened to Akshita, but she knows something bad has happened.
"Akshu!" Naina is extremely worried; still, she takes Akshita's face in her hands and turns it towards her.
Akshita looks at her with her wet eyelashes. "What happened? Are you okay? I'm very scared, baby." Naina's eyes are also filled with tears, but she can't let them flow in front of Akshita; she doesn't want to make her weaker.
Akshita looks at Naina and tries to speak. "He...he...he came."
"Who came?" Naina asks, not understanding.
Akshita tries to speak but can't. Naina holds her close and strokes her back.
"Shh, be quiet and tell me what happened. Why are you so scared? I'm here; tell me." Naina tries to calm her down.
Akshita holds Naina tightly. "He came; he still hates me. He's forgotten me; he doesn't remember me. He's there."
Naina understands her words, and it doesn't take her much time to realize who she's talking about. It's Akshat; his words, his memories, and his hatred are what make Akshita cry like this.
Naina moves away from Akshita and asks while seeing her crying face, "Who? Akshat?"
Akshita nods while sobbing.
Naina gets a shock. "No, this can't be. He's in India, isn't he?"
Akshita sits silently, shedding tears. Naina asks again, "Where did you meet him? You went to meet AK, didn't you?"
Akshita looks at Naina and remains silent. Naina tries to read her eyes for a few moments. "Shit, that means AK is not someone else but Akshat Khurana?"
Akshita nods.
"Why is he here? Will he take everything from me again?" Akshita asks Naina like a naive child.
Naina, who is also shocked, looks at Akshita. "He still hates me; I'm not remembered. But there's fire in his eyes that will burn me."
"Be quiet; don't think anymore. Nothing will happen to you; he won't do anything to you. He's done whatever he could; now, nothing will happen." Naina consoles her, holding her close. Her eyes also have tears, but she can't let them flow; she doesn't want to make Akshita feel weaker.
"And you said I don't remember him?"
"But how can it be? He said he'd never forget me; how did he forget?" This is still Akshita's pain.
Naina understands. "Are you more hurt that he's back or that he's forgotten you? Why do you cry for someone who never valued you, gave you pain and trauma?"
Naina says this while holding Akshita close. Akshita sticks to her and sobs; she has no answer to Naina's questions. She doesn't know why she can't hate that person; why she still has hope.
She's silent because she has no answer.
There are only tears, and she wants to cry. Naina doesn't want to stop her.
Move forward.
"Akshu, stop it, what are you doing?" Naina says as she enters the room behind Akshu.
Akshita, whose condition is still disheveled, with tears in her eyes, a red face, disheveled hair, and injured hands, says, "Slow down, baby."
Naina takes a glance at Aksh, who is sleeping peacefully on the bed.
Akshita moves ahead and goes to the small wardrobe there and takes out a trolley bag and opens it.
Naina follows her. "Akshu, what are you doing?"
Akshita says as she moves towards the wardrobe, "You also pack your bag, we are leaving."
"Where?" Naina doesn't understand the meaning of Akshita's words, and there are mixed expressions on her face.
Akshita takes out some clothes from the wardrobe and turns to Naina. Akshita says while looking into Naina's eyes, "India, we will go back to India."
And as she says this, she passes by Naina. She puts the clothes in the trolley bag.
Naina is stunned to hear her. She goes to Akshita and stands in front of her. "What does it mean? You were against it till yesterday, why now?"
Akshita says in a sorrowful voice, "Because he is here."
Naina looks at Akshita's eyes. Akshita says with a helpless voice, "I have no other option."
Naina holds her hand, makes her stand straight, and looks into her eyes. "You want to go back because he is here?"
Akshita looks at Naina with tears in her eyes.
Naina says to her in a stern voice, "Do you think this is the right way?"
Akshita remains silent. Naina looks at Aksh once, then at Akshita, holds her hand, and takes her out of the room.
Akshita is crying silently in the hall. Naina says to her in an angry voice, "Do you think your way is right? If you go back to India, will it be easy? You want to go back because of one person."
Naina is very angry. Akshita raises her eyes, looks at Naina, and says, "You also wanted us to go to India."
"Yes, I wanted to, but not now, and not like this. Do you think he won't come to India? How long will you keep running? If he recognizes you in India, then what?"
Akshita says with a filled throat, "He won't recognize me; he has forgotten me."
Naina says, "Exactly, if he has forgotten you, then why can't you forget him? Why are you running? I'm sure he will come here for some days and then go back."
Akshita is speechless. Naina says in a calm voice, "Look, move ahead in life. How long will you keep running from the past? How long will you not face your past?"
Naina holds both of Akshita's arms. Akshita bends her face and starts sobbing. "If he remembers, then he won't leave me. He said if I come in front of him, he will do very bad things to me."
As she says this, she suddenly remembers something, becomes silent, looks at Naina, and then says, "What if he hurts my Aksh? If he finds out, then he will hate him too."
Naina remains stunned looking at her. Akshita quickly wipes her tears and says, "No, I won't let anyone hurt my baby. He won't know anything; I have to go, otherwise, he will take everything from me."
Akshita is speaking like a mad person. Naina looks at her in shock.
Naina thinks, is Akshita scared for Aksh? Thoughts start running in Naina's mind.
Akshita frees herself from Naina and runs towards the room.
"Akshu!" Naina chases after her, but by the time she reaches, Akshita has locked herself inside.
"Akshu, open the door, don't be crazy, running away is not a solution," Naina says in a calm voice.
Akshita is sitting on the floor, attached to the door. "He won't leave me, he will take everything."
"Do you think going to India won't make you clash with him? Don't forget, he found you four years ago."
Akshita keeps her head on the door and says, "I want to go far, very far, I don't want to face him."
Her eyes are filled with tears. Naina says, "Akshu, baby, open the door. Akshu, are you listening? Open the door; your health is getting worse."
Akshita opens the door with great difficulty. Naina enters without wasting a moment and sees Akshita, who is panting, has tears in her eyes, and her hand is on her chest.
Akshita is having a panic attack. Naina understands and hugs her immediately. Naina also starts crying.
"Please, Akshu, calm down, nothing happened, and nothing will happen; I am here with you, I won't let anything happen to you."
Naina's voice is filled with emotion. She says while patting Akshita's back, "If you ruin your health like this, how will it be? At least think about Aksh, manage yourself for him, baby, please."
Akshita takes deep breaths and sips water while crying. Her hands and legs are still shaking. Naina is holding her hair and pouring water for her.
Naina feels a lot of anger towards Akshat. If Akshat had never come into her life, perhaps Akshita wouldn't be the person she is today.
Akshita drinks water; Naina keeps the glass aside and places Akshita's head on her shoulder. "Just calm down, I am here with you, baby; he won't do anything to you."
Naina's eyes are filled with anger for Akshat.
Akshita remains silent; her tears have dried.
Forward.
"Well, tell me, why did you call me so late at night?" a man asks, standing before Akshat.
Dark eyes, thick hair styled very neatly, a black shirt, and formal pants – he was a perfect match for Akshat. He sits down opposite Akshat.
Meanwhile, Akshat was sitting in the middle of a hall in a large palace on a single king-size sofa, taking drags from a cigarette. All the buttons of his shirt were open, revealing his eight-pack abs clearly. His hair was messy, falling on his forehead, giving him a disheveled look. His face, as always, was stern and filled with anger.
"Are you going to speak now, or do you intend to spoil my sleep just like you've spoiled yours?" the man asks Akshat in an annoyed voice, picking up a cigarette from the side and putting it in his mouth.
The entire atmosphere was filled with smoke. Akshat straightened his face slightly and looked at the man sitting before him. "Has your tongue started wagging too much? Have you forgotten your place?" His words were laced with sarcasm.
Hearing this, the man sitting opposite him raises his eyebrows and glares at him. "Don't tell me about my place, understand? I tolerate your nonsense and your face because I am your friend. So, don't talk about my place again, you rude man."
Akshat looks at him at his words and then smirks crookedly. "You are my assistant." His voice made it clear that he was mocking the man sitting in front of him at that moment.
Hearing him, the man gets irritated. "Correct your words. I am your right hand. Without me, you are nothing, understand? So, stop flying high in the air and tell me why you called me. Besides seeing your face, I have other work to do. I don't spend the whole night high on cigarettes and beer like you." He was extremely irritated by Akshat's actions.
Akshat glares at his words and throws the cigarette in his mouth onto the floor. "You are doing me a favor, you..." saying this, he starts to stand up straight, but then he stumbles and falls back onto the king-size sofa.
The man looks at Akshat, then closes his eyes and says with a deep breath, "Nothing can be done with him." He shakes his head in displeasure, then gets up from his place and goes to Akshat, lifting him up and saying.
"If you can't handle it, why do you drink so much that you can't even manage yourself?" He tries to make Akshat sit up straight on the sofa.
Akshat, who was drunk, "You stay in your limits. Don't tell me whether I've drunk or not. It's my own money; I'm not poor like you." Akshat says in a slurred voice, sitting down on the sofa.
His face didn't show that he had drunk so much, but his words and actions indicated it.
Hearing him, the man glares and says in a low voice, "Yes, I am a beggar, and this is the king of some kingdom." He knew that Akshat would talk such nonsense when he was drunk.
He bends down once more and starts to lift Akshat. "Yes, brother, what right do I have to say anything to you? You can burn your money or throw it in water." He says this, taunting him.
Akshat, standing with his support, pushes him away and says, "Get away. Don't touch me." As soon as he moves away, Akshat stumbles, and the man catches him again. "You can't even walk, yet look at your arrogance," he says, grinding his teeth.
Akshat glares at him. "Did you say something?"
"No, what capacity do I have to say anything to you? I am your assistant, aren't I, Master?" the man says, pretending to smile. A big smile spreads across Akshat's face, and he pats his cheek and says, "Good, you learned very quickly."
"Thank you. I was dying for your praise."
And then, when he tries to hold Akshat, Akshat pushes him away and says, looking at him, "I told you, you don't have the authority to touch me. Don't touch me." And he starts to walk away.
Seeing him stumble, the man shakes his head in displeasure, then comes closer and supports him again, saying, "Hey, drunkard, I'm the only one here who can handle you. Do you see anyone else? You already have enmity with girls, and now you're getting irritated with me too." He was completely fed up with Akshat's behavior. This was a daily occurrence for him; every day, he would drink so much and then call him in his drunken state.
And when he came, he would hear so many things like this. Well, he had gotten used to it by now. Akshat glares at him at his words. "Don't you talk too much? You know I don't like people who talk too much."
"And you yourself become completely drunk when you drink. What about that?" he says in a very annoyed voice and starts to take him away.
Meanwhile, Akshat was walking with him, stumbling. What was walking? He was talking nonsense, and the other was tolerating him.
"Baby, I am not coming. We won't be able to enjoy today." The man says, making a call, and then hangs up.
Akshat stops walking with him. "You have a baby too?"
He gets frustrated at his words. "Yes, didn't you know I have 100 wives and 1000 children?"
Akshat narrows his eyes and glares at him. "What a pain, Akshat. Don't mess with my head. You drink so much that you ruin my every night. Perhaps you forgot that you have an issue with girls, but I don't. At least let me enjoy myself with them." He takes Akshat inside the lift and presses the button, and the lift doors close.
Meanwhile, on the other side:
Akshita was sleeping next to Aksh, and Naina, standing there, was watching Aksh and Akshita sleep. Akshita's face was not leaving her eyes.
She remembered how Akshita was crying and panicking. She knew how difficult it was for her to calm her down and make her cry.
Today, she had seen Akshita in such a state after many days. Not days, perhaps years, because she had never seen Akshita in such a condition before. It wasn't that Akshita's condition hadn't deteriorated before, but not so severely.
She could understand her pain, or perhaps not. Because she had not endured that suffering; Naina could only guess. But it had happened to Akshita, which is why she became so weak today.
Aksh, who was sleeping, holding his pillow, turned over and placed his hand on Akshita. As soon as he felt Akshita, he snuggled close to her, hid his face in her chest, and put his arm around her neck. "Mumma," Aksh said, asleep.
Naina stood there, watching everything. A faint smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Aksh baby, for coming into your mumma's life. If you weren't here, who knows what would have happened to Akshu. Because of you, she is living today; otherwise, perhaps her existence would have ended years ago. Whatever she is today is because of you, baby." Naina said, looking at Aksh, and then went forward, put a blanket over both of them, covered them well, and started stroking Aksh's hair.
Her gaze was also on Akshita, who was sleeping. "Your mumma is very good, Aksh. Never hurt her like your daddy did. Akshu lies to you, baby. Your daddy is not good at all. He doesn't love you or Akshu; he only hates you. So much so that if he finds out about you, he might even hurt you." Naina said, stroking Aksh's hair.
She used to get very angry at Akshita when she lied to Aksh about Akshat, just so that he would never hate Akshat. When Naina saw her lying, she would get very angry. She felt like telling Aksh the truth right away, that his mumma was lying to him, and his daddy was not a good person at all.
But she remained silent because of Akshita. She kissed Akshat's forehead and then gently stroked Akshita's head. "Good night."
Then she came to the other side of the bed and lay down next to Aksh. Today, she was going to sleep here. She was not going to leave Akshita alone in this condition.
Forward.
The next morning:-
Akshat was sitting on the bed, his head aching badly from last night. He was trying to open his eyes with great difficulty, holding his head with both hands.
"Are you up? Has the intoxication worn off or are you still drunk?" A taunting voice entered Akshat's ears.
He raised his head and looked ahead to see Mihir entering, placing a glass of lemon water on the side table, and standing with his hands folded.
Mihir was Aryan Akshat's friend and right-hand man. Akshat could tolerate anyone's nonsense, and that was Mihir. No one else dared to talk back to Akshat.
"What happened? Don't you have any other work? That you're staring at me like this?" Akshat said irritably, seeing him looking at himself.
Mihir, standing with his hands folded, continued to stare at Akshat and said, "I'm looking to see how much your beautiful body will sell for."
"What nonsense are you talking?" Akshat suddenly shouted. "Is your mind alright or should I fix it?" he said, gritting his teeth.
Mihir didn't react. A playful smile remained on his face. "Why? What happened? I spoke the truth." Akshat was still glaring at him. If his head wasn't hurting, he would have taught him a lesson.
"Now you drink so much without thinking about how your internal organs will get damaged. Do you have any idea?" he said in a chill voice. "Anyway, I think you'll be going to heaven very soon, so why not donate your internal organs to someone? The poor will receive some blessings."
"Blessings, my foot!" Akshat threw the glass of lemon water at Mihir's face, soaking his entire face.
"What the f**k! What did you do?" Mihir said, wiping water from his face.
Akshat got up from the bed. He was shirtless, wearing only black pants.
"I hope your intoxication has worn off. That's why you stay away from my business. It's my money, so I can drink as much as I want," Akshat said, standing in front of Mihir in a frustrated tone.
Mihir was also annoyed with him. "So what if you die? What's it to me? Improve yourself or ruin yourself." His voice was loud. Akshat glared at him as if he could eat him.
"Gate out," Akshat said and walked towards the bathroom.
Mihir was getting extremely angry at him, at his actions. "Yes, I'm leaving. From now on, when you're drunk and about to die, don't call me. I'm in a good mood, and it gets ruined because of you." Mihir said, looking at the closed bathroom door. There was no sound from Akshat inside; he had gone and stood under the shower.
"A mean person, he's not living himself and not letting me live either. It seems even alcohol doesn't affect him," Mihir was extremely irritated by his actions.
Then he looked at the floor where the glass and some lemon water had spilled. "He's made me a servant, the scoundrel."
"I'm not cleaning it. He'll probably have to clean it himself. I'll have to call him now. I can't handle this anymore." Mihir stomped his foot and walked out of the room.
On the other side:-
Akshita was in the kitchen, cutting onions. She was supposedly working, but her mind was elsewhere. Her hands were still, and she was lost in thought, staring ahead. Her dry eyes were still swollen.
Her face was completely drained. She had woken up quite early that day and had been trying her best to distract herself, but in vain.
"Akshu!" Naina's loud shout reached Akshita's ears. She got startled, and as a result, the knife slipped from her hand and fell.
Akshita stepped back, narrowly avoiding the knife falling on her feet. Naina quickly came and turned off the gas.
"What are you doing? Have you gone mad? Where is your attention?" Naina said to Akshita.
Akshita's eyes and tongue were completely silent. She listened to Naina and looked with her lifeless eyes towards the gas, where the milk had completely spilled and burnt.
"I'll heat up another one," Akshita ignored Naina and moved towards the fridge. Her voice was very low, devoid of any emotion today, sounding completely empty.
Naina watched Akshita go. She understood that Akshita must be thinking about something; she hadn't been able to get yesterday's events out of her mind.
Akshita took the milk carton out of the fridge and started pouring it into a steel pot. She hadn't said anything since morning; she was just quietly going about her routine.
"Akshu!" Naina said, going up to Akshita and hugging her from behind innocently. "What happened? Why are you upset? Are you still thinking about yesterday's events?" She raised her face and looked at Akshita's face, though due to standing behind, she could only see Akshita's side profile.
She was still hugging Akshita from behind. "I'm scared," tears welled up in Akshita's eyes, and pain flickered on her face.
Naina heard her, then let go and turned her to face her. Akshita lowered her gaze. "Scared of what?" Naina said. Akshita heard her, raised her eyes, and looked at her.
Then Naina asked her, "Why are you scared? Tell me. That person has forgotten you; he's moved on with his life. And you're still keeping his fear alive within you. He can't do anything; stop being afraid." Naina tried to explain.
Akshita looked at her and said, "You don't understand."
"I understand everything, but you're overthinking. You're not alone anymore; I'm here. Aksh is here, so what are you afraid of?" Naina said immediately after Akshita finished speaking.
"That's what I'm afraid of, that he might hurt you or the baby." Akshita started sobbing. Naina looked at her, seeing how scared she was.
Yesterday, she had only seen Akshat. Akshat hadn't even recognized her, and this was her state. If he had recognized her, who knows what would have happened to Akshita. She was so scared of his silence; who knows how much his words could have frightened her.
Akshita wiped her tears, sobbing. "Y-you don't know, he gets very angry. His anger is terrible; he probably hates me the most in the world. I've seen his anger; I've endured his anger. He told me never to come in front of him; he wouldn't spare me." Akshita looked like a small child crying. Her nose was red and soft, as usual.
Her glossy lips were creating an even more vibrant pink combination.
Naina cupped Akshita's face and, wiping her tear-filled eyes, said, "But you didn't go to him, did you? He came to Germany, not you."
Akshita was still crying. "B-but he won't understand; he doesn't like me."
"First of all, stop crying and let that man go to hell. I don't know if he's human or a devil; your life has been drained since yesterday seeing him." Naina started scolding Akshita. Akshita looked at Naina like a small, innocent child.
Seeing her, Naina said, "What are you looking at? You don't understand with love. I've been explaining since yesterday, but you're being more stubborn than Aksh." She then put the milk packet down and said, "Come on, let's go from here. I'll make breakfast. You've been crying your heart out since yesterday. Anyone would think you're a mother yourself, acting like a child. As if that person were a demon that you're so scared of." She took her out of the kitchen.
Akshita followed her silently. She wasn't crying anymore, but there were tears in her eyes.
"Now sit here quietly," she made her sit on the sofa. Before Akshita could say anything, Naina picked up her phone, put the earbuds in Akshita's ears, and said, "Just listen to your songs and stop crying. I'm here; I'll see that person. If he does anything to you, let's see." Naina was now Akshita's mother, and Akshita had become a little child.
Akshita still hadn't said anything, just looking at Naina intently. Naina played Akshita's favorite song. Akshita's eyes naturally closed in peace, and she leaned her head against the sofa's headrest.
Akshita loved listening to songs, and Naina knew there was no better way to calm her down at this moment. She knew only songs could bring out her pain and give her peace.
Naina stood watching Akshita, who was now sitting with her eyes closed. "I'll do whatever I can, but this time I won't let you lose, never," Naina said, looking at Akshita, and then went into the kitchen.
She first cleaned up the spilled milk and then started making breakfast.
Next.
Aksh, Akshita, and Naina were all sitting and having breakfast. Aksh, who was drinking milk with a grimace, kept looking at his mother sitting next to him. She seemed unusually quiet today.
Akshita, whose mind was still somewhere else, not on her food. Aksh looks at Naina, as if asking what happened to his mother. But how to ask in front of Akshita?
Naina sees Aksh looking at her. Naina signals him with her eyes, and Aksh understands. He then puts down the milk glass and says with a grimace, "I won't drink this, it's not good." Akshita, hearing his voice, turns her attention to Aksh and looks at him sitting there with a strange expression.
"What happened?" Akshita asks Aksh. Aksh immediately says, "Mom, I won't drink this. Am I a small child that you give me this every day? I've grown up now." Aksh says with a pout, looking at Akshita, who was looking at him the same way she always did at his antics.
Naina seizes the opportunity, looks at Akshita, and says, "Are you seeing your son? He's gotten too big. Listen to him, I think we'll have to get him married." Naina teases Aksh.
Aksh, looking at Naina, replies to her comment, "Auntie, I won't get married. I'll stay with my mom." He then goes and hugs Akshita tightly and looks at Naina with an innocent face.
"Then you'll bring a bride, won't you? No one will take you."
"No, girls are bad. What if she fights with my mom?" Aksh hugs Akshita even tighter. Akshita quietly watches, sometimes Aksh, sometimes Naina.
Naina responds to his statement, "Oh really, and how do you know she'll fight with your mom? She might love her, just like you do."
"No, my mom is only mine. Mom will only love her baby and no one else. I saw it on TV, they all fight. So, Aksh's mom is only Aksh's." He then lifts his face, looks at Akshita innocently, and asks, "Right, Mom? You'll only love your baby, won't you?" He looked incredibly cute and innocent at this moment.
Akshita lowers her face, looks at Aksh, nods her head, smiles slightly, and kisses his forehead. "Momma will always love her baby." Hearing Akshita's words, a big smile appears on Aksh's face, and he looks at Naina.
"But Mom will be angry if the baby doesn't finish this," Akshita says, moving Aksh away from her and pushing the milk glass towards him.
Aksh shakes his head no and quickly says, "No Mom, I don't like it. You drink it. I've grown up." Aksh insists.
Akshita lovingly strokes his cheek and says, "You're still small for me, so please drink it for me." Akshita speaks to Aksh very lovingly. Aksh looks at Akshita; he couldn't refuse her, so he reluctantly starts drinking the milk from her hands.
And in a few seconds, he finishes the milk. "Good boy," Akshita says, wiping his mouth.
Aksh, making a face again, says, "But honestly, it didn't taste good."
"If you drank it with your heart, it would taste good," Akshita says to Aksh. Naina, who was having her breakfast, says to Akshita, "Akshu, you take Aksh to school alone today. I'm not feeling very well." Hearing Naina's words, Akshita becomes worried. "What happened? Are you okay?" She now worries about Naina.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a slight headache," Naina says, holding her head.
"Okay, you rest. Call me if there's any problem," Akshita tells Naina. Naina nods her head yes.
Akshita and Naina always used to go to drop Aksh at school together. It was very rare for one of them not to go, otherwise, they were always together.
"Let's go, baby. You'll be late." Akshita says to Aksh. Aksh nods his head yes and stands up from his seat. Akshita also gets up from the sofa and takes Aksh's bag, extending her hand.
Aksh takes her hand with a smile. "Are you really okay?" Akshita asks, looking at Naina.
"Yes, I'm fine, you go." Naina's words make Akshita feel a bit strange today, but she says nothing and leaves with Aksh.
As soon as she leaves, Naina looks towards the door. "She's gone." Taking a deep breath, she gets up from her seat and quickly picks up the breakfast plates and heads towards the kitchen.
"I have to be back before Akshu arrives." Naina quickly washes all the plates and leaves the kitchen, picking up her phone and purse.
"Today I have to meet this Akshat's child. Let me see who this top is. He's going to break our restaurant, I'll see how he breaks it. Today I'll teach him a lesson," Naina says boastfully, zipping up her bag.
And then she starts to leave. "How dare he come to Germany? What does he think of himself? First he did wrong with Akshu, and now he's keeping her scared." Saying this, she walks out and locks the door.
"I have to leave quickly, otherwise if Akshu finds out, she'll go herself and won't let me go. I can't see her dream breaking like this. I have to talk to her." Naina locks the door and then leaves.
Naina was going to the restaurant today. Because the restaurant was going to be broken today. Naina had explained it to Akshita, but Akshita had refused Naina. She said she couldn't do anything anymore. If it were someone else, she would have made one last effort, but she couldn't go in front of Akshat, nor could she let Naina and Aksh go.
That's why when Naina said this, Akshita clearly refused, saying she would think of something else, but now she wouldn't think about the restaurant again. But Naina, who had been with her for the past four years, knew that the restaurant wasn't just a restaurant, it was Akshita's dream, the reason for her smile, which she lived every day by going there. And Naina couldn't bear to see her dream shatter.
Akshita was standing at the bus stop, waiting for the bus. Aksh stood beside her, repeatedly looking at Akshita, who hadn't spoken to him at all. Normally, Aksh and Akshita would talk the entire way to and from school.
But today Akshita was completely silent. She had responded to Aksh's words with almost nothing, as if Akshita was here, but her heart and mind were elsewhere.
"Naina, you'll see, one day I'll have a very big restaurant where I'll cook for free for the needy. I'll feed my food to many other people. And then I'll fulfill all my baby's needs, whatever he wants." Akshita says happily to Naina. Hearing her, Naina says,
"And then you'll forget me."
Hearing Naina's words, Akshita looks at Naina and then hugs her from behind, saying, "You'll be with me on my journey towards my dream, so the destination will also be yours. My dream is only for Aksh and you, so that I can keep you both happy. So never say that I can forget you." And then, looking at the entire restaurant, she spreads her arms and says,
"One day my name will be known, and then we will get everything we have dreamed of."
"My dream is to see you happy, Akshu," Naina says to Akshita. Akshita's eyes well up. No one could love her like Naina did.
"I love you so much, Naina," Akshita hugs Naina. "Love you too, my baby," Naina says, holding Akshita. Both had smiles on their faces.
Akshita stood there remembering old memories. How she had dreamt so many dreams with Naina, and today her restaurant was going to be taken away from her forever. And she considered herself so unlucky that she couldn't even see it.
Akshita's eyes welled up, but she couldn't let the tears fall. And absolutely not in front of Aksh.
Forward.
Naina quickly leaves the place and reaches the restaurant's location. She stands some distance away from the restaurant and looks ahead, where the restaurant was being demolished, or rather, the entire front part was broken.
Standing there, Naina watches the dream, the restaurant, being destroyed. A restaurant that Naina and Akshita had been living in for years and were very happy. Seeing it destroyed before her eyes today, Naina's eyes well up for some reason.
Sadness spreads across her face. She knew what this restaurant meant to Akshita. Akshita, Naina, and Ak had decorated every wall, every single thing together.
For them, this was their second home, where they spent 13-14 hours out of 24. Naina and Akshita had shared so many moments in this restaurant.
They had shed tears of pain here and celebrated happiness too. They hadn't just spent every moment here; they had lived it. And for Akshita, this was everything. It was her first dream that she truly wanted to fulfill and live.
But today, Naina stood there watching it crumble. Every moment spent there flashed before her eyes – their laughter, their tears, their playful joy.
She could feel how much pain Akshita must be going through seeing this. She hadn't come here, but her heart and mind were here. She had been seeing sadness on her face since morning.
Which was due to her restaurant being demolished today.
"It was good, Akshu, that you decided not to come here. You wouldn't be able to see this. It's truly very painful." Tears welled up in Naina's eyes and trickled down her cheeks.
The sound of every part of the restaurant breaking echoed in her ears. A sound that must be causing Akshita immense pain. That's why Naina was here today, witnessing everything.
She wipes her tears. "Today, I won't spare this child of Akshat. He's made me cry enough since yesterday." she says, gritting her teeth, and immediately moves forward from there.
Anger and pain were both on her face. She moved forward with red eyes.
"Hey madam, wait! Where are you going? Don't go further, you might get hurt." Seeing Naina moving forward, a laborer stops her.
"I've already been hurt long ago. Now, it's time to fix it." saying this, she looks at the laborer. "I need to meet your boss."
"Boss?" the laborer asks, a little confused.
Naina nods. "Yes, the boss who ordered you all to break this. I'm talking about that boss. Tell me, where is he? I need to meet him right now." Naina was getting very angry. As the sounds reached her ears, she was struggling to control her anger.
She knew how hard she was holding herself back. She felt like smashing the face of that child of Akshat.
Seeing the laborer standing silently, Naina gets furious. "If you don't want to tell me, fine. But let me go, I'll find him myself."
"No, no, don't go from here. You might get hurt. Go from there, he's over there." seeing Naina move, he stops her and says. Naina listens carefully to his words, then nods. "Okay." Saying this, she leaves from there.
"Sorry Akshu, forgive me, I'm late. Your dream is broken. But don't worry, I'm here. I'll teach this person a good lesson." Naina says, standing some distance away, looking at a person standing far from her.
Some distance away, with his back to her, he was doing something on his phone. Naina watches him from behind and says, "Look how happy he seems, after snatching our peace." Naina hated him to the extreme.
As much as she looked at him, she remembered Akshita's crying, disappointed face. How much Akshu had suffered just because of this person. She had held herself together and made herself capable. Otherwise, this person had already ruined her life.
And he had come back to ruin it again. Naina stood there cursing him. And she took steps towards him.
"Excuse me." Naina says, standing right behind him. There was no respect in her voice. Her voice indicated that she didn't even want to be in the same vicinity as him. But it was a compulsion.
Hearing Naina's voice, he pulls away from his phone and turns around.
"You?"
"You."
As soon as they see each other, both are stunned. Naina's mouth hangs open, and her expressions become mixed.
"What are you doing here?" Naina says to Mihir, who is standing in front of her. Her voice was loud.
Hearing her, Mihir removes his sunglasses and raises his eyebrows, saying, "That question should be mine."
"Oh, shut up." Naina interrupts him. Standing straight, she says, "Couldn't you find peace after causing my accident that day, so you've come here too?" Naina says to Mihir.
Yes, Mihir is the same person whose car Naina had walked in front of that night, and her accident was narrowly avoided. But for Naina, it was an accident that had happened, and she had scolded him severely for it. And Akshita at home was quite worried about her.
Mihir's expression clearly showed that he looked irritated seeing Naina here. How could he forget Naina, who had made such a scene that night when the accident didn't happen, as if Mihir had killed her?
And on top of that, blackmailed him and made him treat her like a driver to drop her home. All that was running through his mind was what drama she had come to create now?
"Are you following me?" Naina says, squinting her eyes. Mihir looks at her with a strange expression. "Excuse me?" He was shocked to hear her words. Is this girl crazy?
Naina puts her hands on her hips and says, "Yes, I know boys like you very well. But listen closely, I'm not one of those girls. Yes, okay, you caused my accident that day and dropped me home. But that doesn't mean you'll follow me too." Naina glares at him, making faces, and throws all the accusations she could.
"Are you crazy?" Mihir says, frustrated. Hearing her words, Mihir felt like crushing her right there along with this restaurant.
"Are you out of your mind? What is this nonsense?"
As he says this, Naina speaks, "It's not nonsense, it's the truth."
"I'm not following you here. In fact, I think you're following me." Mihir says rudely and looks Naina up and down.
She was wearing a pink crop top and flat jeans. Her hair was in a ponytail, with two strands framing her face and behind her ears. She looked quite beautiful with nude lipstick on her lips.
Seeing her, a voice arose from Mihir's heart, "The girl looks amazing." Then, when he looked at Naina's face, he made a face and thought to himself, "Only her tongue is bitter. When she meets, she talks nonsense."
Seeing Mihir staring at her, Naina snaps her fingers and says, "O hello, can you tell me here, if not following, then are you here to apologize to me?"
"Apology? What apology?" Mihir says, irritated by her words.
Naina quickly says, "Yes, an apology for the day you had an accident with me in your car."
"That wasn't an accident."
"But it could have happened, right? Were you waiting for me to die before stopping the car?" Naina replies instantly.
Mihir could no longer argue with her. "Whether you have work or not, I have a lot. Move aside and let me work, and go waste someone else's time." Saying this, Mihir walks away from there.
Naina's mouth hangs open. "He called me worthless? How dare he?" Naina makes a face and stomps after him.
Ahead.
"Aksh!"
"Bebi kaha ho Aksh!" Akshita was frantically running on the streets, she was more than nervous, her eyes had tears, and she was crying.
Now she was getting angry with herself, how could she make such a big mistake? She got lost in her own sorrow and couldn't pay attention to Aksh.
Akshita, who was standing with Aksh and waiting for the bus, was so lost that she didn't notice when the bus arrived and Aksh got on, thinking that Akshita was behind him. But Akshita had no idea what was happening; when she came to her senses, she looked around and saw that she was alone, and Aksh wasn't with her.
And since then, she had been searching for Aksh here and there for who-knows-how-long. "Bebi Aksh beta kaha ho, please Mamma is getting scared." Akshita was saying loudly, looking around for Aksh.
The people around her and those passing by were looking at her. Her condition was very bad; she was scared for Aksh and her eyes were bursting to see Aksh.
This was the first time this had happened to Akshita; otherwise, she had never let her eyes be out of Aksh's sight.
"Aksh mera bachcha." Akshita was having a lot of pain in her heart; she held her heart and looked around. "How could I be so crazy and foolish? Where would my child be? Where should I search for him? How could I not pay attention?" Akshita was complaining to herself, holding her heart.
She was continuously crying. Barely four years had passed since she had been living here, but even today, this country was as alien to her as it was before. She didn't go out much; her world was limited to home, the restaurant, and Naina Aksh.
Most of the outside work was done by Naina. The reason was Akshita's foolishness and innocent heart, which melted for everyone. If she went to buy something, she would buy expensive things and donate more to the poor.
"No, Akshu, you have lost your restaurant today, but you can't lose your baby." Akshita composed herself and started cleaning her tears.
And she quickly went to people and asked, "Haben Sie hier ein kleines Kind im Alter von etwa vier Jahren gesehen?" (Have you seen a small child about four years old here?) She asked a book stall owner in German.
Akshita knew German quite well; she had learned German very well in four years because most of the people who came to her restaurant were German, and she talked to them in their language.
"Nein." The stall owner clearly denied it.
Akshita became hopeless. "Kaha ho Bebi?" Akshita now held her hair. Her mind was getting blank; she didn't understand what to do or where to search. She was very tense about Aksh.
(Hast du meinen Sohn gesehen? Er ist noch sehr jung. Er trug eine.) "Have you seen my son? He's very young. He was wearing a school uniform?" Akshita asked a German lady, stopping her.
"Nein." She denied it and walked away.
Akshita looked around with her tear-filled, red eyes, hoping to see Aksh. "Kaha ho mera Bebi, what's happening to me?" Akshita started blaming herself.
And she sat on her knees, covering her face with her hands and crying. "Come back, Aksh, Mamma can't lose you. Mamma made a mistake, please Bebi, Mamma is very scared." She was crying; her heart was getting restless thinking about Aksh.
It seemed like something was wrong; she was scared that something might have happened to Aksh.
She sat there on the road, covering her face and crying for a long time. People passing by were looking at her and talking to each other. But Akshita was helpless.
It seemed like troubles were coming one after another in her life; first, she couldn't save her restaurant, and now she had lost Aksh.
"Mamma kaha hai, now how do I search for her?" Aksh stood at a bus stop, looking around.
He got on the bus thinking that Akshita would also follow, but when he realized that Akshita wasn't around him, he searched the entire bus and when he didn't find her, he understood that Akshita didn't get on the bus, so he got off at the next stop.
He got off, but now he didn't understand the way back; he was just a four-year-old child.
"Aksh must be looking for Mamma and getting worried, but how do I go back now?" Aksh was scared, but not for himself, for Akshita; worry lines were on his face.
He knew Akshita very well; taking tension was like his favorite hobby. He had seen Akshita getting worried all the time. And today, from morning, he had seen her getting worried. Akshita didn't say anything, but he knew her worries.
And he knew how sensitive Akshita was for him; he felt that surely Akshita would be worried more than anyone for him.
Aksh thought for a while and started walking back slowly. The roads there were very straight, so Aksh thought he would walk to the next stop.
"Mamma, don't get worried, Bebi is coming to you, don't cry for a little while." Aksh was saying and moving forward; he was worried only about Akshita. If Naina were with him, he wouldn't be so worried because she would take care of Akshita.
But now she was alone, and it was all on him in Aksh's case.
Aksh was moving forward, saying this, when suddenly his steps stopped, and he turned his face slightly and looked at some distance. "Why is this little cat sitting on the road?" Aksh looked at some distance and saw a small kitten sitting and meowing.
One could estimate that it was just a few days old. "How small it is; what if some car hits it? Mamma says we should help voiceless creatures."
Aksh looked at the cat and said this.
And then he thought for a while and moved towards the cat. Akshita had always taught Aksh good things; from the beginning, she had made him understand that whenever someone was in trouble, we should help them and not hurt anyone.
And we shouldn't trouble anyone unnecessarily. And Aksh had seen Akshita doing this from the beginning. Akshita thought of others before herself; many times, she would give others the things that were her share.
Even when she was hungry. Aksh grew up watching Akshita's goodness; she thought of others before herself. So he also helped others, even if he didn't want to; otherwise, the blood was Akshit's.
He was moving forward when his eyes fell on the other side, where a car was coming, and it was heading straight for the cat. "O no, this car is heading straight for the little cat."
Aksh looked at the coming car and then at the small cat, which was meowing just now. Maybe it was hungry or asking for help.
"This car is heading straight for it; I have to do something; otherwise, it will climb onto it and die; it's very small." Aksh became worried for it.
Now the car had come very close; Aksh saw only one way. He quickly took off his bag and ran towards the cat and lifted it in his lap. But by the time he picked it up, the car came very close to him.
"Mamma!"
"Aksh!" Akshita suddenly sat up and screamed; she held her heart. "It felt like Bebi called me?"
Akshita quickly stood up from her place.
And held her heart, which was beating very fast. "I feel like something is wrong."
Akshita started feeling very strange; her legs and hands were trembling; it seemed like she could give up at any moment.
(Will Aksh be okay? Will Akshita find him?)
Forward.
"o hello, where are you going by ignoring me?" Naina stops Mihir by coming in front of him. Mihir's expression was rude.
Naina stood with her hands on her hips. "And what did you call me? That I seem useless to you? So listen carefully, I am much busier than you. I have a lot of work." Saying this, she flicks her hair back with great flair.
Mihir narrows his eyes at her antics, looking at her as if he had never seen a more foolish girl. "That's evident, how busy you are."
Naina pouts. "I can see how busy you are too."
"You are blocking the path, not me. Now move aside." Mihir walks past her.
Watching him go, Naina makes a face and says, "Hooo, rude."
"One minute, one minute." Suddenly something hits her. "What is he doing here? Nobody is allowed here except these workers and that obvious person..." As she says this, her eyes widen.
And she immediately turns back to watch Mihir leaving. "Th-this means he is Akshat Khurana?" Naina's voice seemed to fade away.
And she stands there, watching Mihir, who was currently talking to the bulldozer driver and explaining something.
Naina, who had mistaken Mihir for Akshat, fixed her gaze on him. Looking at him with anger and hatred, Akshita's four years of pain began to appear before her eyes. Her false smile, fear, anxiety, and crying alone in the dark of night remembering Akshat, everything flashed before her eyes like a reel.
As if it was all playing out again before her eyes.
"How can a person be so at peace?" Naina says to herself, watching him.
"This person has no guilt on his face, no remorse for what he has done? And on top of that, he is destroying our restaurant so happily." There was extreme hatred in Naina's words, she was looking at him with that kind of gaze.
She stood there, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth.
All the anger and hatred within her was yearning to come out. When she couldn't bear it anymore, she walked up to Mihir with long strides, yanked him around, and slapped him hard across the cheek.
The slap was so loud that the entire atmosphere echoed with its sound. The footsteps of the nearby workers stopped on their own.
And Mihir, whose face had turned to one side due to the sudden slap, had his eyes turned red with anger. His face was cold, and his fists were clenched.
The veins on his neck, bulging, indicated his rage.
"What kind of person are you? Do you even have a heart, or is it stone? Do you have any idea that you are a devil in human form, a devil." There was hatred in Naina's voice; there was no fear or remorse on her face for slapping him.
Mihir, who rarely got angry and usually controlled his temper, could not tolerate being disrespected. And here, Naina had slapped him; how could he tolerate that?
He didn't want to, but he couldn't forget the echo of that slap. Grinding his teeth, he straightened up in anger and, without looking left or right, directly screamed and grabbed Naina by the throat.
And pushing her back, he slammed her against the bulldozer. Naina couldn't recover from Mihir's jolt and hit him directly, her back hitting the bulldozer. Her eyes closed in pain.
"Ahhhh!" Her voice indicated how hard she had been hit.
Mihir, whose eyes were red with rage, veins in his hands and legs about to burst, and his face looked like a living devil. He was as angry as he was usually calm.
Everyone present was terrified by his anger. They were well aware of Mihir and Akshat's temper, as they always got the contracts.
Sensing the atmosphere, everyone present quietly left. They knew that if they stayed, Mihir wouldn't leave them in peace.
"You've gotten too bold? Listening to your nonsense doesn't mean you have permission to lay a hand on me." His voice was extremely cold.
Naina, who had closed her eyes in pain, opened them upon hearing his words. As she opened her eyes, her moist eyes met Mihir's dark eyes, which were now red as blood.
Mihir's grip on her neck tightened. "Ahhhh, let go of me." She placed both her hands on Mihir's hands and tried to free herself.
But her action only increased Mihir's anger, and his grip tightened further.
"Aaaahhh!"
"How dare you touch me? You don't know what I am." His grip on Naina remained just as tight.
"I know you are a despicable person. You are not human; you don't deserve to be called human." Naina said, still trying to free her neck. Her voice was barely coming out.
The intensity of Mihir's grip on her was evident from his anger and the bulging veins on his hands and wrists.
Hearing her words, Mihir's anger flared up further. "You know me very well, huh?"
"Why wouldn't I? After all, I've heard so many praises about you. You are quite praiseworthy." Naina taunted him with bitter words. She had forgotten her pain and was looking directly into Mihir's eyes without fear.
Mihir, whose eyes were burning like embers at that moment, could not tolerate anyone disrespecting him, and here, she had even hit him, that too in front of everyone. And any person, when treated like this by someone they don't know, wouldn't react well, and this was Mihir, after all.
It wouldn't be wrong to call him Akshat's shadow.
"Ahhh, let go of me." Naina started having trouble breathing. She pushed him with both hands on Mihir's chest.
Mihir, noticing Naina's face turning pale, realized how tight his grip was and that if he continued to hold her, she would be dead in a few seconds.
He let go of Naina. Naina immediately put her hand on her throat and gasped for deep breaths, sweat on her face.
Mihir, whose anger had somewhat subsided, or rather, he had controlled it. "Are you okay?" Mihir moved forward seeing Naina's condition.
But Naina, who had become weak, suddenly found so much courage from somewhere that she pushed him away once more. "Stay away, understand?" she yelled loudly.
Mihir looked at her. "I have never seen a person like you. You are an animal, an animal. You seem to have no heart, that's why you don't feel bad even when you do bad to others." Naina was shouting.
Mihir looked at her with a stern expression, narrowing his eyes. He saw Naina as a madwoman because he couldn't understand her words. Suddenly, what had happened to this girl? Why and for what reason was she saying all this to him when he didn't even know her?
Did she know him? These were the questions running through Mihir's mind as he looked at Naina.
"What nonsense are you talking? What have I done? Do you know me?" Mihir asked, looking at Naina angrily.
Naina stood there, clenching her fists, looking at Mihir with anger. "Very well, you... someone's..." she said, grinding her teeth, when her phone rang.
Looking at Mihir, she took her phone out of her jeans. "Akshu?" Naina said, looking at the name flashing on the phone.
Then, looking at Mihir, she answered the call. "Yes, Akshu, what happened, tell me?"
She was still looking at Mihir with anger, but suddenly, upon hearing Akshita's words, panic flashed across her face. "What are you saying? What happened, Aksh?" she became worried.
"Okay, okay, don't cry, I'm coming, I'm coming right now." Naina quickly hung up the call.
And she looked at Mihir, who was trying to understand. "Any problem?" he asked Naina, looking flustered.
"It's you. All this is happening because of you." Naina said and immediately left. Mihir stood there watching her go.
Forward.
"Akshu!" Naina calls out to Akshita, who is sitting on a hospital bench in front, from a distance.
Akshita, who was sitting and crying, quickly stands up upon seeing Naina and rushes to her, hugging her tightly and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Akshu!" Naina says, placing a hand on Akshita's back.
"My b-baby Aksh." Akshita's grip on Naina tightens. She can barely speak, crying excessively.
Naina pulls Akshita away and holds her face in her hands. "What happened to Aksh? Where is he?"
Akshita looks at Naina crying and, still holding her hand, says, "I-I don't know. All I know is the baby is here. Something happened to the baby. No one is telling me anything." Akshita continues to weep.
Naina understands Akshita's state. Aksh was her life. "Shhh, calm down, stop crying. You went to drop Aksh at kindergarten, right?" Naina asks Akshita.
Akshita nods. "It's m-my fault. It happened because of me. I wasn't paying attention to the baby, that's why the baby went missing from the bus stop. I looked everywhere." Akshita begins to tell Naina everything while crying.
Naina listens to her quietly and attentively, holding her close. "Okay, just stop crying. I'll find out where Aksh is."
"Verzeihung" (Excuse me). A nurse walks up.
Naina and Akshita pull away from each other and look at the nurse.
"Sie haben nach Ihrem Sohn gefragt, richtig?" (You were asking about your son, right?) the nurse asks Akshita.
As soon as Akshita found out that a child had been in an accident at the next stop, her heart sank, and she ran all the way to the next stop. Her heart kept praying that it wasn't her Aksh, that nothing had happened to him.
But as soon as she arrived, she heard some people talking. Akshita held her heart and listened to their conversation, not wanting to believe it. But when her eyes fell on Aksh's bag lying on the road, she completely broke down.
When she asked the people there, she learned that he had been hit by a car, and the car had taken him to the nearby hospital. Hearing this, Akshita rushed to the hospital without looking back or thinking. She had also called Naina.
When she arrived at the hospital, she asked everyone at the reception about Aksh, but no one said anything. Everyone's answer was the same: no one named Aksh had arrived. The hospital was huge, with countless buildings and corridors. Moreover, Akshita's mind had stopped working.
She was extremely panicked, her whole body trembling. So, she sat down right there. She had asked the nurse who, seeing Akshita's condition, told her to sit down and went to inquire about Aksh.
Hearing this, Akshita wipes her tears and says, "Ja, wo ist mein Aksh, geht es ihm gut?" (Yes, where is my Aksh, is he alright?) Akshita stands before the nurse.
The nurse was German, so Akshita was speaking to her in German.
The nurse nods. "Ja, vor einiger Zeit kam ein Mann mit einem kleinen Kind, ich habe die Adresse herausgefunden. Er ist im zweiten Stock des VIP-Boards." (Yes, a man came with a small child some time ago, I've found out the address. He is on the second floor of the VIP block.)
Naina steps forward and asks, "Geht es ihm gut?" (Is he alright?)
"Das Kind hatte einen Unfall, es ist viel Blut ausgetreten, es wird wahrscheinlich operiert?" (The child had an accident, a lot of blood was lost, he is likely going for surgery?) The nurse tells them what she knows.
Hearing this, Akshita is shocked and stumbles back two steps. "Akshu!" Naina quickly supports her from behind.
Akshita, as if all life had drained from her body, places a hand on her chest and cries, "My Aksh, my baby." Her hands were trembling.
Naina supports Akshita. "Akshu, please calm down. Our Aksh will be fine. Stop crying." Naina was also scared, but if she cried, Akshita would cry even more.
Naina's eyes were moist. She was giving Akshita courage, but she was also scared.
"My baby won't be harmed, right?" Akshita asks Naina, crying. Naina looks at Akshita. "I have no one besides my baby. If something happens to him, I will die." Akshita clutches her heart, crying.
"And if something happens to you two, I will die. I have no one besides you two," Naina says emotionally. She was holding Akshita because Akshita was standing there lifeless. If Naina let go, she would collapse onto the floor.
"Akshu, stop crying. Let's go to Aksh," Naina says. Akshita gathers her courage, stands up with support, and nods.
"Thank you so much," Naina says to the nurse standing there and leaves with Akshita.
Within a few minutes, Naina and Akshita rush to the second floor. It was the VIP block, so there weren't many people. Or rather, it was completely empty. They run towards the OT.
Just then, a nurse stops them and says, "Wohin geht ihr? Das ist der VIP-Bereich." (Where are you going? This is the VIP area.)
"Mein Baby ist da drinnen, es ist schwer verletzt, ich möchte es kennenlernen." (My baby is inside, he's severely injured, I want to see him.) Akshita immediately tells the nurse.
The nurse, hearing her, says, "Sie sind also die Mutter dieses Kindes?" (So you are the mother of this child?)
Akshita nods. "Bitte wartet einen Moment, drinnen läuft gerade seine Operation." (Please wait a moment, his operation is ongoing inside.)
"Operation?" The word makes both Akshita and Naina's hearts sink. Their restless hearts become even more restless upon hearing this.
"Was ist mit ihm passiert? Warum wurde er operiert?" (What happened to him? Why is he being operated on?) Naina asks her.
The nurse looks at them. "Sie wissen es nicht. Sein Vater hat Ihnen nicht erzählt, dass er einen Unfall hatte, bei dem er eine schwere Kopfverletzung erlitten hat. Er hat viel Blut verloren und wird deshalb operiert." (You don't know. His father didn't tell you that he had an accident where he sustained a severe head injury. He lost a lot of blood, which is why he's undergoing surgery.)
"Father?" Naina focuses on her words, her attention caught by a single word. Akshita, who had gone into shock, sits down lifelessly on a nearby bench. Tears were in her eyes, but they didn't fall. Perhaps she wanted to cry but couldn't.
Her heart sank just thinking about it. Her Aksh had an accident, whom she had never let get even a scratch, and today he had an accident, due to her carelessness.
And today he was undergoing surgery? The thing Akshita feared the most.
"Tot, was hast du gesagt? Vielleicht hast du es falsch verstanden." (Dead, what did you say? Perhaps you misunderstood.) Naina asks the nurse with confusion.
The nurse shakes her head. "Nein. Wir hatten keine Fehlgeburt, die ihn hierher gebracht hat. Er ist tot. Deshalb haben sie das Operationsformular ausgefüllt und die Vaterschaftsoption unterschrieben." (No. We didn't have a misunderstanding that brought him here. He is dead. That's why they filled out the operation form and signed the paternity option.)
Naina is quite surprised by the nurse's words. "How can this be?" The only thing running through her mind was who could have brought Aksh here.
"Sehen Sie das? Und er hat ihr sogar sein Blut gespendet, weil sein Blut mit ihrem übereinstimmte." (See this? And he even donated his blood to her because his blood matched hers.)
After the nurse says this, Naina doesn't know what to say. She was astonished by the nurse's words.
