Part 9

Every step towards Vrinda's room turned heavier, much like his own heart which was throbbing with myriads of emotions. Thousands of possibilities played out in his tempestuous mind - one worse than the other and none appeasing his tumultuous mind.

A part of him, the friend of Vrinda in him, wondered if Destiny would choose to shower mercy upon him and she would regain her memory after reading through the book but he knew that it was a far-fetched dream of fading hope in his heart.

Another part of him, the lover in him, pondered on if she would crave to meet Vivaan, the man to whom she had dedicated the book in his quivering hands. Would the ardent amour splayed across the carefully chosen words ignite the same emotion in her?

The physical distance between them wasn't something that a long stride couldn't cover, but his actions had plunger her deep into an ocean of unfathomable depth. A demand to meet the one she had revered in her book would only leave him shifting on his feet and scrambling for words to chain them together into an excuse.

He scoffed at himself for the quandary he had tossed himself into as his twitching fingers ran over the elegant handwriting of the woman who had etched her name over his soul.

Several questions ran in his mind, and he found himself at a scarcity of answers, yet his conscience pushed him to go ahead with his decision of handing over her memories immortalized in her own words to her.

He decided to push the ball into her court. He would kneel with his head bowed in surrender for some miracle, any miracle, to occur, and for her memories to flood her confused mind. As for loving him as Vivaan or Vihaan, or not loving him either, he would respect her choice like every other choice in their past.

"Vihaan! You finally came! I thought you were caught up with something and you cannot make it today. I did not think I would miss you so much," she said, an exuberant smile playing on her lips while a sparkle of attraction twinkled in her eyes.

"Indeed. I was caught up with something but I did promise that I will meet you everyday. How would I break my promise?" he asked, the corner of his lips twitching upwards at her enthusiasm to meet him.

He had promised himself that he would uphold every promise given to her henceforth and not break her heart and the vows given to her in the heartless manner bearing any semblance to their past, and he had every intention to keep the promise.

"Who knows? I thought your girlfriend might have called you or you had a date," she asked, in a prying manner. Needless to say, her query shocked Vivaan and his eyes narrowed.

"My girlfriend? Why do you think I have a girlfriend? I don't have one," he replied, curbing the emotions which were trying to overpower him and the strain causing his voice to break. Her flared nostrils conveyed her envy with unmistakable certainty, and it warmed his heart as much as it broke the same heart.

"That day when you were helping me to walk, I had seen some young girl's picture as your phone's wallpaper. You don't have any sister so I thought it would be your girlfriend," she said, her smiling stretching itself after listening to his reply. Cheerfulness twinkled in her doe-like eyes and joy replaced the annoyance.

She could not understand why the realization that he is not committed made her happy but she just let the emotion drown her in itself. After all, many things lied at the floor of her subconsciousness that both confused and troubled her, but never gave her any answer.

Also, the man in question himself does not seem interested in answering any question about their former relationship status, leaving her without much of choice but to feel happy as her jealousy doused away.

An intent to tease her slithered into his heart and a faint smirk adorned his lips. "Oh, that! It's actually a picture of someone very special to me. Someone so special that the tag of 'girlfriend' would actually do no justice," he replied.

The jealousy, which seemed to vanish at his previous assurance, wormed its way into her heart once again as a frown marred her features.

"Who is she? You never told me about this 'Ms.Special' till now," she demanded, her flared nostrils and flushed face widening the smirk playing on his lips. He was about to reveal that it was her picture when he realized that it would only complicate the situation further, especially after the description he just gave.

"Forget that. I will tell you at a later time. I got something for you," he said, forwarding the book towards her as she grabbed it from his hands with a hint of anger.

"You love using the fact that I don't have any memories against me, right?" she reprimanded, looking away from him as she traced the intricate designs on the cover of the book.

"You have no idea," he sighed deeply with regret and disappointment. The smirk and the ghost of smile vanished and the corners of his lips twitched downwards with the burden of remorse and agony pulling them down.

She huffed at his answer and rolled her eyes. Vrinda opened the book, only to be shocked by the first line of the book.

"It is addressed to Vivaan. Why are you giving it to me?" she asked, looking at him and reading the sadness swirling in his eyes. The handwriting gripped her mind with a sense of familiarity while the name itself made goosebumps blanket her.

"Read the first page and you will understand," he replied, averting his eyes from her, scared that she would read into the situation wrongly.

She began reading the message and her expressions transitioned from those of surprise to those of shock and eventually to those of unexpressed agony. She seemed perturbed by the time she reached the end of the message but her tightened lip and grip over the book gave away her turmoil to the one beside her.

"Vivaan and I....we were lovers?" she questioned, anxiety and panic visible in her tone. The man himself could not express anything in words but only nod in affirmation.

"This note, it mentions this to be a wedding gift. Were we married?" she demanded, her eyes narrowed and stress lines forming over her forehead. The question made thousand other question run in her mind.

If she was married to Vivaan, it would mean that she was not alone and without family, but was married to her supposed bestfriend. But it would also mean that her newly developing feelings towards her new bestfriend were a sign of infidelity. The conflict between the past and present was rife and she wondered if she could ever be sure of the future.

"No, you weren't," he replied, guilt of refusing her washing over him and he knew that it would haunt him till infinity.

"Oh," she sighed in relief as she muttered under breath, "..I thought, you and me..."

She could not bring herself to complete her statement. She felt dread pool in the pit of her abdomen as every sign of enthusiasm seemed to vanish from her thoughts. She had always thought that the man beside her harbored feelings towards her and she labeled the budding emotions in her as the reciprocation for the same. But the news of loving someone, Vihaan's own cousin, in a manner so intense that the love letter addressed to him unleashed a sense of warmth, left her in an unimaginable quandary.

It seemed unjust to her that she had loved and had been loved so dearly in the past, and had no memory of the same. It also appeared unjust to the man, whom she had forgotten along with his love.

On the other hand, Vivaan was caught in a bigger quandary by listening to her words. He had managed to read the end of the book without reading the entire book, overcoming the burning need to relish every word written by his love, only to realize that she had written down every incident including the darkest night of their lives in that book, along with thousands of questions for him.

He had always been determined to reveal his identity only after Vrinda learns the complete truth and he decided that it was in the best interests of everyone that he sticks with the same.

Caught in the quandary he had himself weaved, Vivaan could not help but feel frustration course through him at his decisions. Whom could Vrinda choose - the one whom her heart had begun to worship or the one to whom she had addressed the heartfelt message?