The silent Vows

5 days ago

Tooktook

@Tooktook003

Akshara's POV


It had been eight long years since I first boarded that fateful bus. The memory of that day still lingered vividly, like a painting etched in stormy skies. I was broken then—pregnant, abandoned, accused and facing the world alone. But fate had other plans for me, for us.

That day, I met Abhinav. He wasn't loud or flashy; he didn’t walk into my life like storm. No, he came as a shelter, a quiet refuge when my world was spinning out of control. The ticket he bought me was more than just a way out of a dire situation—it was a passage to a new life. One I didn't know I needed, one I didn't know I deserved.

When Abhir was born, the storm was still raging. The world outside felt as chaotic as my insides, but he was calm. He held my hand, whispered that everything would be okay, and for the first time, I believed it. Abhir wasn't his by blood, but he loved him more than life itself. That little boy had his eyes, his quiet strength, and as the years passed, I realized that Abhir loved him more than he loved me. And that was okay. I wanted my son to have that—an unwavering love, a father who stayed, who protected, who didn’t leave when things got hard.

Abhinav was everything I had once thought impossible. He wasn't just a good man; he was myhome. He never demanded anything, not even the intimacy that a husband might expect. Ours was a marriage built on quiet respect and a deep understanding. Whenever needed to say the words—he loved me, and I knew it. I loved him, too,though it took me a long time to realize it.

For eight years, we lived together in our little house in Kasauli. Abhir grew up with the kind of love that was simple yet fierce, surrounded by the kind of happiness that others envied. But love wasn’t easy. I was fire, and Abhinav was water.I’d get angry at his silly antics, and he’d just smile, calm as ever, driving me mad. But beneath the banter, the frustration, the silent gazes, we were building something precious. So many disasters happened, Abhimanyu’s return,Abhir’s illness and that heartbreaking custody case when someone literallysnatched our Abhir from us. But he remained my constant.

And then oneday, he almost slipped through my life.

An accident—one that could have stolen him from me forever, one he barely escaped. It shook me to my core. The thought of losing him? I couldn’t breathe.I couldn’t imagine a world without his quiet laughter, his steady presence, his unfailing kindness.

Since that day, even after returning to Kasauli with Abhir and Abhinav, I had been restless, plagued by nightmares of a life without him. Tonight was no different. Tonight, Our Eight Anniversary,And I can’t able to find him.

I searched everywhere in the house for him, my heart pounding faster with each step. I called him a dozen times, each unanswered ring fuelling my anxiety. Where was he? Why hadn’t he told me where he was going? I felt the storm rise inside me again—panic, anger, worry all swirling like the night Abhir was born.

And then I heard it—a rustle in the backyard. My heart leaped as I rushed to the door,praying it was him. And there he was. My Abhinav, standing amidst candles and flowers, a sly smile tugging at his lips. He knew I was worried. Of course, hedid. He always knew.

Before I could yell at him, the relief hit me like a wave. I rushed toward him and threw my arms around him, hugging him so tightly I thought I might break. Tears came unbidden, streaming down my face as I clung to him, terrified of what could have been. “Dobara aisa kabhi mat kijiyega Abhinav, Please!!” I whispered, myvoice breaking. “Main aapke ke bina rah nhi paungi..!”

He gently broke the hug and wiped my tears away, his touch as soft as ever, and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Akshara, Main toh yahin hun naa, Aapke paas, dekhiye toh sahi, please!" he said, his voice like a balm to my ragged nerves.

That’s when I noticed what he had been up to—our backyard had been transformed into something magical. Candles flickered in the cool evening air, their soft light dancing against the flowers he had carefully arranged. It wasn’t much, but it was everything. And then he pulled out a small box—a gift. Diamond earrings!! I smiled through my tears and wore them immediately, feeling like the luckiest woman in the world.

“Aur mera tohfa,Akshara?” he asked with a mischievous grin, his boyish charm melting away the last of my worries.

I leaned in closer, my lips brushing his ever so softly. It was a kiss that said everything I had never been able to say. His eyes widened in surprise, and I could see the awe in them. Before I realize, I was in his arms, pulling me closer, his kiss deepening as he lifted me off the ground. Our kiss never broke. And we felt a sudden need of intimacy.

He carried me inside, into our bedroom, and it was then that he noticed my surprise for him. The two single beds that had always been there, a silent reminder of the distance we’d maintained, were now gone. In their place was one large bed—ours.He looked at me, his gaze filled with unspoken love, and I tugged at his collar, pulling him closer.

“Akshara, I love you!” I remember him saying when we were done exploring each other.

This was it.This was the moment we became one in every sense of the word. And as I held him that night, feeling his heart beat in time with mine, I knew—this was what love felt like. Quiet, slow, but powerful. We had fought for this love. We had fought with each other and for each other. And now, we had finally found our way home.

A Night To Remember…… wasn’t just about intimacy. It was about everything we had built together, the trust, the respect, the unwavering devotion. He, an orphan, had finally found the family he had always dreamed of.And I? I had found the man who stood by me when the world turned its back.

When I asked him once what he got out of all this—what he got from saving me, from loving me—he had smiled that quiet smile of his and said, “My life… and you.”

That Unspoken "you" held everything. I knew it then, and I knew it now.

We were each other's forever. And in that moment, as we became one, I knew that nothing—no storm, no accident, no past—could ever take that away.