Realization

Eshana's POV:

As it was almost dark and the beautiful moon peaked through the clouds, I sat next to my window as the guilt was written all over my face. I shouldn't have done that but I couldn't help myself. I was afraid to face the truth, afraid that I'd fall in love. But certain someone told me something that had me realize.

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Flashback~

"Bhai, I'm so happy that you're finally back home! Go freshen up, until then I'll prepare something for you." I began rambling as I barged into his room which startled him and he turn around to look at me as I continued to question him.

"What do you want? Coffee or juice? No wait, I'll prepare cold juice since you had a long journey. What else do you want? Do you want something to eat? I guess you want-" And he cut me off,

"-a hug" is all he said which had me staring at him with a confused look on my face.

"Huh? What?" I asked before I realized what he meant. I ran towards him and hugged him as tight as I could as though I'm afraid that if I let him go, he would disappear. And finally, I felt content, I felt home.

After a while, we pulled apart and he caught my hand,

"Before anything, we need to complete the task I'm here for. We need to talk to our family about canceling your marriage" He said sternly as he held my hand and took me downstairs but all I could think was that my brother whom I had been waiting for 3 years is finally back, just to save me from the life I loathed.

I know his boss gave him a vacation for a week but deep down I knew that my brother always wished to return home soon but there was no choice since he's the pillar of our family. He has to work hard and sacrifice to keep our company and our family strong.

Before choosing to take over dad's company, he first chose to work in a topmost company around the world. Though I hate the thought of him being away from me, I'll always be proud of him.

As I shook my thoughts away, I realized that we already reached the living room. I notice that there is everyone including my brother Shreyas, uncle, aunt, and my cousins Priyanka, Vivaan, and Ayaan. That's when I knew it is time, it is finally time to talk to our family about it.

I saw the look on our parents' faces before looking at my brother who was already looking at me with a weird smile that said 'you do the talking, I'll back you up'.

No matter how people fear my brother, he's still a feared cat in the eyes of my parents.

"Ahem. Mom! Dad! Bhaiya wants to say something" I said and took a step back not before smirking at my brother who widened his eyes at me.

"Oh? Amar, what's it?" My dad asked as he stared down at my brother.

"Um...That..I-I.." He began mumbling and was cut off by my mom.

"Amar beta? What is it? Did you find a girl for yourself?" She asked and the horrified look on my brother's face as he shut his mouth was enough for me to control myself from laughing like a maniac.

He began shaking his head as he stared at her, "What mom? Nooo! You know I don't-" And she cut him off,

"What? You know we're not getting any younger! You're about to reach 26 and you haven't found anyone yet. Are you waiting until you get old? By then you might only find older women." She said with an amused look and we all began laughing so hard until someone stomped on my foot which had me stop laughing and glare at my brother.

"No mom. And that's no- wait, why are we talking about me right now? That's not why I am here. Why didn't anyone tell me about Eshana's marriage? If not for Eshu's friend informing me, I would've been in dark. Did you at least ask her if she's okay with this marriage?" He questioned as he stared at them trying not to show his anger. The tension was clearly felt around the room.

"But son, she was the one who agreed to this-" My dad answered but was cut off by my frustrated brother who began yelling,

"She will agree to everything if that is to make others happy dad, you all should've known this by now. But what guarantee do you have that the Mehra family is going to keep her happy? Not to mention she's so young. What about her dreams, her wishes? If this marriage is to save our company from going down, then in that case-" He paused, but his next words shocked everyone present in the room,

"I'm ready to take over the company. And I know what you are thinking right now but I have 4 years of experience. So don't worry about that. Just...just cancel the marriage plans as soon as possible." He concluded.

"Are you sure, Amar?" Dad asked, hesitantly.

"I'm sure, Dad. Don't worry about the company, I'll handle it" He assured and went back upstairs and ran into his room. I still had no idea about what happened, so I just went behind my brother.

I peeked into his room and found him pacing around talking to someone on the phone. I tiptoed and sat on the bed as I waited for him to end the call. After a while, he hung up and turned around to find me patting the empty space next to me. He came forward and sat beside me.

"Why?" That is all I could ask him.

"Because I wanted you to be happy, to fulfill your dreams. I wanted you to be with someone you love" He said as he stressed the last sentence which had my body go still for a second.

"Hehehe w-what do you mean?" I asked as I looked around anywhere but him.

"Yeah Eshu, I know you like someone. Heard that you wake up early in the morning to have a talk with him?" He asked with a teasing smile.

'Ridha!' I screamed internally as I knew she was the only one who knew about this.

"Enough muttering curses on the person who told me about this. Now fill me the details on what and how all these happened" He said and I had to tell him the entire story and also about my ignorance of Zach's calls.

"So, Zachery what?" He asked.

"Uh... Ashford" I said as I stared at him, confused as I found him smirking.

"Uh oh. Zachery Ashford. Hm, not bad" He mumbled which had me more confused. But before I could ask him,

"Eshu, listen to me. I want you to answer some of my questions honestly" He said and I nodded my head.

"First, do you think of him when you wake up, when you're alone, while you're sad, happy, or when you're about to sleep?" He asked and I hesitantly nodded again.

"Alright, did he ever hurt you?" He asked again and I shook my head.

"Okay. Do you trust him?" Again I nodded my head.

"Did you ever imagine what would happen if one day he just gets out of your life?" He asked as he looked at me and I widened my eyes in horror.

"Hm..also you had once said that he's like a friend to you, so take Rohan, your friend from college, and Zach. What do you feel when you see Rohan in love with someone else?" He asked.

"Nothing", I said as I looked at him.

"Okay, then what would you feel when you see Zach in love with someone else?" He asked and I couldn't react. The thought of him with someone else....no no.

"There you go, Eshu. You've got your answer. Now listen to me carefully. Put those nagging feelings of self-doubt aside, and look at the relationship as a whole. If you respect this person and think he might be a great fit for you, don't push them away just yet. You might just need more time to know you can trust them with your heart, so don't drive them away from your life. If you feel that our parents or anyone else won't support you, then remember that you need to fight because, in the end, it all matters if you be happy. If you push him away, remember that in the end, you'll hurt yourself as well as him too. Anyway, you don't have to force yourself into anything, but while you give this a thought, don't think about others. For once, just think about yourself too" He said as he got onto his feet and left the room leaving me in a daze.

Flashback ends~

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As I recalled my brother's words, all I could think is of one thing, I'm in love with Zach and strangely I felt giddy at the thought of it.

Third person's POV :

As she held the phone at the thought of calling him before canceling as she recalled the time difference.

She kept her phone beside her before staring back at the sky getting lost in her thoughts.

On the other side was him sleeping soundly with a determined smile on his face.