CHAPTER LVI
Outside the restaurant, Sita didn't say a word. She just grabbed my hand, led me straight to the car, and drove off in silence. My heart was pounding the whole time, and I could feel the storm in her mind, even though she hadn't spoken yet.
She finally stopped at a quiet park. The night air was heavy, and the faint rustle of the trees only made the silence sharper. She turned off the engine, looked at me with those steady eyes, and asked in a low, controlled voice, "What is this, Ved?"
I swallowed hard. "What is what? Sita… whatever happened back there in the restaurant, that was Sasha's plan. I didn't say anything to her. I didn't do anything."
Sita didn't flinch. She didn't even blink. "I don't care about what happened in the restaurant," she said firmly. "I want to know one thing. Who is Rama?"
The name hit me like a thunderclap. My breath caught, my chest tightened, and before I knew it, I had already taken a step back, as if the weight of that single word had pushed me away from her. My eyes stung, and tears threatened to spill out without my permission.
For so long, I had been afraid of this moment, afraid of this very question. And now, here it was, standing between us like a wall I couldn't climb.
Inside my head, my thoughts were screaming. Please, God, not now. Don't let this truth come out now. Not when I don't even know if she loves me. Not when I can't even tell if she'll stay if she hears it.
Sita was still waiting, her face calm but her eyes fierce, searching me for an answer. Every second of her silence was a blade cutting into me.
I wanted to speak, to tell her, but my lips trembled. Fear rooted me in place. The truth I had buried for so long was crawling to the surface, and I wasn't ready for it.
All I could do was look at her, helpless, my tears finally slipping down my cheeks, while she sat there, patient and unyielding, waiting for the answer I was terrified to give.
Sita's voice broke through the silence, trembling yet steady enough to pierce me.
"Ved, did you really think you could hide this from me? If I hadn't answered your phone today, I would never have known. Did you think I'd never find out? That you could keep such a huge truth from me while standing by my side?"
My throat tightened. Tears burned at the edge of my eyes.
"Sita, no… it's not like that. Yes, I made a mistake—I admit it. But never, not for a second, did I think about hurting you. I swear, I never wanted to hurt you."
Her gaze softened, but her words carried a weight that made my heart ache.
"Do you know what I discovered when I picked up that call, Ved? Mia had gone to the restroom after she thought she caught you with Sasha, and while you were still inside, your phone rang. It kept ringing, so I answered."
She drew a long breath, her voice breaking with emotion. "And that's when I found out. I found out that someone from your family is in a coma. That you've been carrying this unbearable weight all alone. And you never told me. Not once."
I froze. My secret was out, laid bare between us. My chest felt heavy, like the air had turned to stone.
Sita's eyes glistened. She shook her head slowly, a sad smile curling at her lips.
"Even with all that pain on your shoulders, you still thought about me. You still tried to bring me closer to the one I love, still tried to heal my broken heart instead of your own. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"
Her voice cracked, and her tears finally fell. "Sometimes, Ved… sometimes I feel like I should stop clinging to that old love, that massage of comfort from my past, and finally let it go. Sometimes I feel like I should give my heart a new chance… with you."
And before I could even react, she threw her arms around me and pulled me into a tight embrace. I felt her tears on my shoulder, hot and real, as her words melted into my ear.
"I love you, Ved. I don't care how it happened or why. I just know it's true. And now… now that I've said it, I can't lose you. Not ever."
My body shook as her words sank in. A rush of joy exploded in me—finally, she loved me. Finally, she said it. But at the same time, a deep sadness gripped me, because her love was built on a truth she didn't fully know. She believed in me, but I was still hiding pieces of myself from her.
Happiness and guilt clashed inside me, leaving me breathless in her arms. For the first time, I felt what it meant to be both complete and broken at once.
And yet, even through the ache, my heart whispered back the only thing it had been waiting to say: She loves me. She really loves me.
I wrapped my arms around Sita tightly, as if letting go would mean losing her forever. My voice trembled, but the words spilled straight from my heart.
"I love you, Sita. I love you so much! More than I ever thought I could love anyone. I want to stay with you always. The very thought of losing you terrifies me, Sita… I can't even imagine my life without you in it."
My chest heaved, and I pressed my face into her shoulder, clinging to her warmth as if it was the only thing keeping me alive. "Forgive me if I've ever hidden something from you. Forgive me if any of my secrets have hurt you. Hurting you has never been what I wanted. Not once. I only ever wanted to keep you safe, to protect your heart—even if it meant breaking my own."
I pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, my own wet with tears. "You don't understand, Sita. My love for you… it's not ordinary. It's not something you compare. It's so deep, so endless, that no one in this world has ever loved the way I love you. No one could."
My voice cracked, but I held her closer. "Every beat of my heart, every breath I take—it's all for you. If you asked me to walk through fire, I would. If you asked me to give up everything, I would. That's how much you mean to me."
The park around us was silent, the world itself seeming to pause. For a moment, it felt like there were no secrets, no shadows between us—just the raw truth of my love pouring out, binding me to her in a way that words could barely hold.
And as I buried my face against her again, whispering softly, I knew this wasn't just a confession. It was a vow. A vow that no matter what storms came, no matter what truths threatened to shatter us, my love for her would never break.
To be continue....