Pain

Zacharie took Amélie's hands in his own and spoke, "But isn't it a good thing, that we already know the destined results, so that we have a chance to change it now?"

Amélie looked down at her toes, as she was about to cry again, but didn't want Zacharie to know. After the wave had passed, she replied "Zach...it is never a good thing to know about your own destiny beforehand, it never was and never will be. If, somehow, your story does not have a peaceful and happy ending, you will have to spend each and every moment in the shadow of fear, knowing that this time will pass soon; and then you will have to endure the pain that has been predicted to be a part of your life. Or, if you know that the future contains happiness only, then also it makes you anxious. Knowing that happiness is destined for you, but not the exact timing of events will cause you to spend your life in wait and impending anxiety. This is something I am saying from an ordinary person's point of view, because when it comes to me or Nitya, I know that everything is going to turn into reality, and she will also come across this fact soon. It is never an easy path to walk after that, knowing the curses that lie in wait within your destiny, looking around during the happy moments, with a reminder that they are going to end very soon, because you will be the person behind everything- it will kill you from within on a daily basis. I have died a million deaths daily, all inside me; a million battles have been fought inside me every waking hour, only then... then I have come to this conclusion. Only then have I become bold enough to decide that it will be better if they don't meet each other. If they-"

She was pouring her heart out, when Zacharie pulled her towards him all of a sudden and placed his lips on hers. He knew that it was the only way to make her quiet at that moment. He deepened the kiss, grabbing her waist and holding her closer. They broke the kiss after a few minutes and he placed one of his hands on her cheek and looked at her tenderly, saying, "Seriously, Amélie? You have been going through all this alone! Once- not even once did you think of sharing all this with me? Who was I to you? What am I to you...tell me, have I only ever been there for the happy moments, that you have dragged me out brutally in the time of sadness, making me whimper alone and hiding yourself to cry alone? After all these years, do I still need to prove my love for you? And if yes, then what do I need to do? Tell me, should I propose to you again, or do I need to jump down these mountains that you know I have always feared? Then, will you trust me and share the pain with me? Love is not only about giving happiness, it is also about sharing the pain with each other. According to me, sometimes the parameter of love or the deepness of love should be measured by how comfortably you can share your pain with your partner. And I had always been very proud about this, that I know my partner well enough to know everything about her- what is going on with her, what she is afraid of, everything! But the confession you just made has robbed me of all my self proclaimed pride and my trust in my love, or my claim of being your mirror image! Why did you do this to me? Don't you love me enough?" Zacharie broke down, crying, and fell to his knees due to the unbearable pain he was in. The pain which was never supposed to occur in the first place, but it had made its presence known after all these years! 

Amélie also knelt down to his level and lifted Zacharie's chin up. After cupping his face with her hands, she spoke "I never doubted your love, and this was the reason I never told you anything; because I know how important family is to you, how important I have been to you. So, I shall also choose you over everything, I do love you more than myself. And one more thing: stop crying, and let me remind you that I was the one who proposed to you, not the other way round; and likewise, Nitya will be the one to propose first, so you can stop blabbering."

Amélie smiled to make the mood lighter, trying to make the situation less stifling by cracking a joke, while also stating facts. Zacharie grabbed her back, pulling her towards himself and fell on the ground in the process, making her fall on himself. He smirked and said, "Just wait and watch! This time, Ji-hun will be the one to propose first; and even if he can't, then he will be the one to announce it publicly!" Saying this, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and he laid there, content, with his eyes closed.

Amélie smiled after the sudden peck and placed her head on his chest, closing her eyes as well...

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Nitya hurriedly opened her laptop and typed out his name on the search bar, to find out more about him. She wanted to find out who and where this person is from. Although she had already been served with the information of him belonging to Korea, still her brain wanted to cross-check each and every detail while her heart was thumping and her mind was going numb, thinking about the probabilities of her dreams being true! Thinking this, she opened one of the pages among multiple search results that had appeared in front of her. The page loaded, along with a video embedded through its link; she clicked on the video, while going through the details on the page. And this was when she heard his voice playing in the background- the exact same voice of the person from her dreams, dragging her attention towards the video itself. All of her concentration was now on the video of some interview, where he was telling the host about his likes and dislikes.

Nitya let out a deep breath, and grabbed a glass and the pitcher of water that she had thankfully brought along to her room. She gulped down the whole glass in one breath, asking herself how this was possible. She scrolled down a little farther, only to come across a signature. This was it, this was her limit- she definitely needed to call Surbhi, or at least message her.

She grabbed her phone and after erasing the drafted message four times, she finally shot a text.

"You up?"

She got a reply instantly.

"Yes! Why are you up? 

Everything alright??:! :!"

"Yes! 

Whose signature is this?"

*Sent an attachment.*

"Yours! How can you forget this?

Are you sure everything is alright?"

"Yeah, of course!!

Are you enjoying it there?"

"Hmm? Yes! But tell me if anything

is not okay?!"

"All good! Good night,

I am off to bed now! Bye bye."

Nitya tossed her phone to the side, trying to close her eyes. No sooner had the screen light gone off, than she felt like somebody was again trying to make her fall asleep like a toddler; by closing her eyes forcefully, yet delicately.

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