The unfinished promise

Nidhaan

Ten years on, and I am once again in the land which I had left behind, pursuing dreams that I had believed were important. But I had forgotten—while my body went ahead, my heart was stuck in time, rooted to the very location where I had made that vow to her. My spirit was still stuck on the banks of Fateh Sagar Lake. where maybe, even now, she had been waiting for me. Or perhaps—perhaps she had long ago given up, called me a liar, a traitor, and left me to drift away into nothing.

But I was mistaken.

I emerged from the car, my breathing caught. There she was—standing beside Garvit. I thought I must be dreaming. It must be a dream—wearing a black silk dress, she seemed nothing short of divine. The same blue lake eyes, the same ones that led me to wonder if such perfection existed in this world. Her messy bun, an unspoken admission that even after all these years, she still hated to let her hair down. Seldom any makeup, yet break-your-heart lovely. A familiar constriction closed in around my chest—my eyes locked on hers, and the rest of the world became insignificant.

My heart whispered, It's her…

But the mind—oh, the mind is a heartless, logical monster.

It can't be her, it insisted. She was only a child at the time—eleven, whereas I was seventeen. Faces change.

But feelings don't.

And it was that same feeling that cried out in rebellion—It is her. The pendant on her neck—the very same one I had given her—was mute witness. She vowed to me… she swore she'd never take it off. Never… never… And then, that laugh—irrepressible, unblemished by time.

"Aashvi, this is my best friend, Nidhaan. And Nidhaan, meet my secretary, who never fails to take umbrage with me."

Aashvi.

The name hit me like a wrecking ball. My brain fought back in its final battle, but it was too late—I knew.

This was my Aashvi.

Or at least, she was.

A piercing pain spread across my chest as reality scratched its way into my mind. I wished I could forget everything—Saanvi, Garvit, the extravagant party—just bridge the gap between us in an instant. To embrace her in my arms, to wipe away the years of alienation with a hug. To confess how much I had longed for her, how life in America had been a kind of punishment.

But then…

There stood my fiancée, right by my side.

And there stood Aashvi—who previously never averted her gaze from me, now unwilling to look at me.

The same eyes wherein I had previously read raw, unadulterated happiness now expressed nothing but feigned indifference.

I would jokingly tease her, "Aashvi, you can't be my sister. You've been switched at birth, I suppose."

And she would jab my arm, frowning, *"I am your sister

But the reality was… Aashvi was never my sister.

And in those momentary glimpses, I caught it. The short flash of happiness in her eyes—at beholding me again, at beholding the promise being kept. And then… just as rapidly, it disappeared. The instant Saavi entwined her fingers with mine, that happiness was supplanted by something else.

Disappointment. Heartbreak. Acceptance.

She had matured. She had learned to cover up her emotions. To conceal her hurt. To paint her face with insensitivity.

The face that had glowed so brightly at the mere sight of me… now, she had learned to numb its radiance.

"Let's go in? Everyone's waiting for you," Garvit said, placing his hand on my shoulder, jolting me back into reality.

Reality. The hard, unforgiving reality standing right in front of me.

The party was lavish—just like Garvit himself. We had met in college, when we were doing our MBAs, and over the years, he had turned into one of my best friends. When you're living abroad, meeting someone from your own nationality forges a connection that cannot be broken. And this connection had made us stay close all these years.

I envied him—his free spirit, his willingness to live life in his own way. Unlike me, who had always sacrificed his needs for other people, he possessed an effortless charm, a reckless abandon which I found exciting. And so it was why, when he asked me for a share of his hotel venture, I had said yes in a heartbeat.

It wasn't merely about the business—it was about letting chance have another crack at it.

And now. destiny had brought me to her.

Leaning against a corner, lost in her own turmoil, she hadn't budged an inch for the last half hour. She held an empty glass, blankly staring at the people around her. She hadn't once glanced my way.

How severely had I shattered her. that the same eyes that wouldn't leave mine once now couldn't even meet them?

The party was at its peak. On stage, a singer was crooning a love song, but my attention was solely on her—the girl who wanted nothing more than to disappear from my sight.

And then…

My heart stopped when she finally moved.

She was walking toward me.

I steeled myself, attempting to steel myself for the talk. What would I say? How would I tell her why Saavi was at my side? What would I come up with to excuse it? And more than that… how would I keep from spilling the truth—that she was still the only one my heart ached for?

I breathed in deeply, calibrating myself.

But then…

A subtle whiff of roses drifted by.

And she passed by me.

I flung my eyes wide open.

"Sir, the party is winding up. I just got a call from home—an emergency situation. May I leave?"

Oh…

She hadn't come for me. She had come to request Garvit.

A cutting, plummeting sensation came into my chest.

"Fine, no issues. Wait, let me tell the driver to take you home," Rakshit replied, worry creeping into his voice. "All right, Aashvi? Everything okay?"

"Yes, sir. Everything's okay. My mother just phoned," she answered, her hands automatically folding together.

I recognized the motion. She made that whenever she was covering something. Whenever she was lying.

Within minutes, I saw her leave the party. I couldn't resist. Abandoning a slightly drunk Saavi in her room, I fabricated an excuse and took my car.

The driver was familiar with the city, driving through its narrow streets. But when he pulled up in front of a dark alley and informed me, "Sir, from here you will have to walk," my heart thudded.

Was Aashvi living here now?

I got down, taking cover behind a tree, spying on her from a distance. And then I spotted it.

A drunken man stumbling towards her, mumbling something incoherent.

My fists curled. I nearly stepped out.

But then…

She caught him. Not only prevented him from falling, but took him into her house, gently.

Who was he?

Who was this man my Aashvi was inviting into her home?

And then… she shut the door behind her.

But first… she hesitated. She glanced around, as if aware that someone was watching her.

My heart thudded against my ribs.

I wanted to dash to her. Bang on the door. Demand to know—

Who is he? What entitlement does he have to come near you?

But then. a darker truth bound my feet down.

What entitlement did I have to query?