BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES. Chapter-7.

“It turned into a physical relationship.”

“What? How can that happen? You loved him, he should’ve been in love with you, simple. How can this be possible?” Aditya asks, disturbed by Mehek’s answer.

How can two best friends, where one of them loves the other one and that other one knows about it, get into a physical relationship? But did he really know? Had he ever read the words written after “I can share” in Mehek’s diary? No, he did not.

Abhimanyu was unable to understand Mehek’s real feelings. He thought Mehek only wanted his care, support and those special nights from him. He had no clue that she wanted him to love her completely.

How can someone be that stupid? The answer is, confusion and situations forces a person to be that stupid. He was suffering from his own dilemma, at one side it was his childhood love Nandita and on the other side, it was the girl he told every secret to. The girl for whom he cared the way he never cared for anyone else. The girl who may be, was the most important person in his life.

Mehek was happy spending time with him. She was happy in holding his hand, in a crowded street. She was happy seeing him smile in his dreams, she was happy being his's.
The thought of being with him was enough to make her smile, and so, she was ready to share him with Nandita, she was ready accept Abhimanyu’s half love.

Sadly, neither of the two exactly knew what the other had in mind. They both were wrong about each others feelings. Abhimanyu never wanted to hurt Mehek, he never wanted to cheat Nandita but for him, it was the only way to keep Mehek happy. He didn't wanted to lose the chance.

Days passed, they both graduated. They were still together. Coincidentally, they both secured the job in the same city. They had to move away from their home, and so they decided to live together.

Mehek’s parents were aware that she’ll stay near Abhimanyu’s PG, they thought it would be better if Abhimanyu was around. Little did they knew that it was going to make things worse.

Abhimanyu and Mehek were staying together in the same apartment, they were together all the time. She used to make breakfast, he made lunch, she cooked dinner, he cleaned the dishes.
Slowly, their relationship took a turn in a way, that they weren’t friends anymore, they were more of a couple.

They had a routine of watching their favorite movie together, every Sunday.

That Sunday on 24 August, 2015 was also one of those many Sundays.

Mehek was preparing sandwiches for the breakfast, while Abhimanyu was standing behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Sometimes, I feels like we are married.” Mehek said.

“Hmm… but we are not.” Abhimanyu replied, kissing her cheek.

“Hmm… The fault in our stars.” Mehek said turning towards Abhimanyu.

“What?”

“I want to watch The fault in our stars today.” Mehek said with a smile, placing her hands on Abhimanyu’s shoulders.

Mehek was never ready to give up on Abhimanyu. She knew he won’t ever be hers but she wasn’t ready to live with the regret, that she never tried.

Abhimanyu’s phone rang, it was Nandita.

“Hi baby, I missed you. Where were you from past two days?” Abhimanyu said on the phone, removing his hand from Mehek’s waist, then Mehek’s from his shoulders and left the kitchen.

And Mehek, she was standing there looking at him with a smile.
She was habitual of it. She knew if she wanted him, she had to share him, she had to be okay with Abhimanyu’s love for Nandita. Because just like her, it was unfair for Nandita too.

“How can I take Nandita’s share of Abhimanyu’s love? She’s been with him forever. I can’t compete.” was the explanation Mehek used to give herself, every time Abhimanyu left her for picking up Nandita’s call.

There were times when she used to smile, looking at Abhimanyu blush, whenever Nandita blew a kiss on her laptop’s screen. He smile, she smile.

After a two hour call Abhimanyu returned with a relaxed smile on his face, afterall, he finally talked to his loved one after 2 days. He rested himself on the sofa, while Mehek played the movie that was on pause from last 2 hours.

She was lying with him, with her head on his chest and her warm hands in his cold ones. 
It's ironic how the condition of their hands were similar to their hearts. Hers, warm and tender towards him, and his, cold and strong.  

As the climax came, with tears in her eyes, Mehek said, “The pain of dying is easier than to see someone dying.” She looked at Abhimanyu.

He tightened his arms around her and said “I know. And I don’t wanna lose my love.” His eyes were on a picture on the wall, the picture belonged to Nandita.

His one sentence, broke her into million pieces. Inside, she was broken but for him, she smiled.

That’s how love is, one sentence of your loved one either makes you, or, it breaks you into pieces which are too difficult to join.

That night too, they made love. He touched her body, but what about her soul? Within every sensation his frosty fingers created on her body, her mind discovered a new question for her, to answer. Was I just a material for his lust? Am I just body to fulfill his pleasure? Do he even love me?

Her emotions were spilling inside her heart. So, like every other night, with silent steps, she sat in front of the big glass window in her room. Like every other night, she cried her heart out.
Within the silence of the two sides of the window, her howls were the only one making noise.
"I want to be loved, I deserve to be loved" she kept repeating.

“Mehek, wake up.” Abhimanyu shrugged Mehek’s shoulder.

“Good Morning.” Mehek said with a smile.

Another layer of her beauty, she used to cry all night and wakes up with a smile. Those puffy eyes of hers, weren’t just because of the uneasy night. They were the result of a broken heart.

“Nandita called me and said that her parents called her yesterday to inform that they’ll visit her in Mumbai with my parents.” in his excitement Abhimanyu completed the whole sentence in one breath.

“So?” Mehek asked.

“So… after Nandita’s call, dad called me and said he wants me in Mumbai by tomorrow. Me and Nandita are getting engaged soon. Yeayyy!!!”

His sentence killed Mehek’s smile. This time, she was unable to make that fake curve on her face. She was stiff, emotionless outside, but inside, she was trying to swallow her pain, she was trying to breathe through the ocean of emotions that she created out of her tears, she was afraid, she'll sink.
But how could she cry in front of him? Why should her tears even matter to Abhimanyu? Did he ever promised his love to her? Was she ever more than Nandita?

No, she was nothing. She was just a friend he had a physical relationship with. A friend he cared and made love to. A friend he wanted to keep happy. A friend who gave him consent to use her body for pleasing himself and herself too.

She was broke inside, lacking words, she closed her eyes slowly, pretending to be asleep.

Abhimanyu shrugged her again, to check if she was really sleeping. “Lemme sleep.” She replied. Her voice was broken, tragedy was, her heart was in the same condition.

Abhimanyu left the room dialing Nandita’s number.
As soon as he closed balcony's door, Mehek covered her face with the blanket and cried. Her eyes were red in pain, but the pain in her heart was billion times more. She kept her hand on her mouth, in an attempt to made no sound, trying not to spoil the happiness of the guy standing in the balcony, the guy she loved. Slowly, she started loosing her breath, her hands were still clenching the blanket tighlty.

She kept crying but stopped when Abhimanyu entered the room. Her face was still covered from blanket, swallowing her saliva to feed her dry throat. She didn’t wanted him to know that she was crying. She took deep breaths to stop herself from sobbing.

“Mehek, I am going out for some shopping. Would you like to join?” Abhimanyu enquired. He knew her answer would be a no, but formalities, we have to follow them.

“Naah… You go.” Her voice was heavy. Abhimanyu knew something was wrong.

“Are you alright?” He asked from the corner of the bed.

“My throat. I got cold and cough last night. Don’t worry I took the medicines.”

“Let’s go to a doctor first.”

"Why he cares for her so much? Why is she so important?" was that one question, with whose answer was Abhimanyu never satisfied. "She is my best friend" never felt complete.

“I’m fine, seriously. You go shopping hone wale Dulhe Raja.”
Abhimanyu smiled and kissed her head from over the blanket "Take care my Angel".

Abhimanyu left for shopping, and Mehek left the bed to pack her stuff.

She wanted to leave the house before Abhimanyu could return.

Is this the end? What will Abhimanyu do when he’ll find out that Mehek is gone? Will this love, that crossed the boundaries of friendship, die like this? Or will the end of this friendship, be the beginning of something new?

Find out, in the last and final chapter of the story.