"The way she loves, what would I not sacrifice for something as beautiful as that?"

- HARSHAD MATHUR

^^^

Harshad stood there, glaring at the lady stumbling on her feet, attempting her level best to maintain her posture. His eyes averted to the stranger along with her. He took a furious step in their direction, "what the hell are you doing over here? If I stay a few hours away from you, you pull yourself into the mess." He was growling at her in frustration.

The minute he listened from Avni that Kiara had rushed out in a hurry. Harshad wasn't able to forgive himself. Why he had to let anger overpower him? Why couldn't he keep his jealousy aside and be there for Kiara? Hadn't she requested him to be there for her? What more was he expecting from her? She had made it clear that she won't be able to consider him more than a friend then why was he disappointed?

"Harshad," a smile reached her spirit. "You came back..." she muttered attempting to lean on his shoulder. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely in his arms. Shooting daggers at her companion. "I missed you so much..." she nuzzled her face further into her chest.

"Thanks for not leaving me like Dhruv." She kept blabbering, Harshad slowly leaned down and carried her in his arms in a bridal style not wanting a stranger to listen to her blabbering that was reserved for him. Only him!

"Hey," Jay protested. "You can't take her away like that." He objected and Harshad glared at him in rage. It was like Jay had thrown flue in the calming down fire.

"What will you do if I take her away?" Harshad challenged him making excitement shower in Kiara's eyes. She giggled softly, grabbing Harshad's attention from the annoying-stranger.

"What was funny?" Harshad groaned at Kiara in frustration.

Kiara had a heart-warming smile making Harshad anger on her melt away. She pinched his cheek, "hero is going to fight with the villain for his heroine."

"Villain?" Jay sounded offended but the rest two didn't pay any heed to him.

"You and heroine?" Harshad rolled his eyes, "my heroine is going to be way more beautiful than you." He muttered walking towards the car. Jay attempted to stop them but Harshad wasn't in the mood to concentrate on something else than his adoring-sweetheart.

"I am beautiful, way more beautiful than your overbearing girlfriend." Kiara turned her face from him in irritation.

"My girlfriend isn't overbearing, don't you dare spread such rumors about her."

Kiara spared a glance at him. "Do you love your girlfriend so much?"

Harshad orbs were fixed on the path. "Way than too much. She is my entire world." He confessed as a soft smile reached his spirit.

"Don't love someone to that extent, they might break you in such a manner that you won't ever be able to bring yourself together."

Harshad glanced at Kiara in concern, "not everyone broke you apart."

"They do, Harshad. Love makes us selfless but we forget to understand that world is selfish. We attempt to gain them through our selfless love but we can't even have an inch of it because the world around us understands only one language which is selfishness. The one who can love selfishly will gain it."

"The way Aditi won Dhruv but you didn't," Harshad commented as he opened the door of his car. "Why were you here?"

"Gaining confidence to ask him questions. I wanted answers to my pain. I wanted to hate him but this alcohol isn't providing me with it as well." Kiara groaned, "Aditi often cursed a loud after drinking alcohol. She used to express her anger on her parents so easily, why can't I hate him, Harshad? Why alcohol isn't helping me to hate him?" She sounded exhausted as if she was tired of the entire mess.

"Alcohol brings out the emotions suppressed under us due to our conscious spirit. Alcohol helps us to be subconscious, it doesn't help us to develop hate for another human being. Aditi had hate deep inside her. You don't process any hate towards Dhruv. If you did, you might have forgotten him by now."

"But I want to forget him. I want to leave my past behind. These feelings are killing me."

"You just think you want to forget him but if he comes before you... you won't take a second..."

"Dhruv..." Kiara's eyes enlarged at the person standing before her. Harshad heart ached at her words, he kept staring at Kiara with the pain his heart was undergoing. He wasn't any different from Kiara. He was acting foolish by allowing Kiara to break him repeatedly.

"Kiara..." Harshad heard the footsteps coming towards them. He pressed a sad smile at Kiara though her eyes were fixed on Dhruv. He stepped back and soon Dhruv stood in his position. Dhruv's eyes were staring at Kiara with concern, Harshad couldn't help but laugh at his faith.

"Are you fine?" Dhruv inquired, narrowing his eyes at her. "And from when you started drinking? You hated liquor?" He was glaring at her while Kiara was shooting daggers at him as well.

"Why are you here?" She shouted at him. "Just walk away, don't you dare come before my eyes. Are you even aware, of how much you made me cry? How much have you made me miss you? I hate you..." she screamed at him. "Do you know I have a much bigger issue to deal with but my mind keeps revolving around you?" She jerked his hand away when he attempted to touch her. "Just walk away, get away from me."

She pushed him, and Dhruv glanced at Harshad. "Keys..." he muttered handing Avni's car keys to Harshad. "She left it in the bar," Dhruv clarified making Harshad frowned his brow. "Drop her safely home..." he requested, sparing a last glance at Kiara before turning himself from her.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kiara yelled seeing Dhruv walking away. "You aren't allowed to walk away. You can't constantly keep doing it. You can't! Do you hear me? You simply can't!" Kiara was yelling as tears kept rolling down her cheek.

Harshad stepped towards her for support, "Kiara calm down. He won't listen to your plead."

"He has to..." Kiara cried out. "He can't live in peace providing me with pain for a lifetime. He can't be that selfish! I hate him! I hate him!" She shouted holding her forehead in her head. Leaning her head more into the knees, "why is this hurting so much?" She moaned in pain and dried a laugh. "I am not able to understand what is hurting me more, my head or my heart?" She groaned. Harshad pulled him towards his chest.

"Stop grieving over him. Stop giving him so much importance, he doesn't deserve it, Kiara. He doesn't deserve you."

"He does, Harshad. My heart says he does." Kiara kept on blabbering and as always Harshad allowed her to unbottle her painful feelings. "Or he wouldn't have rushed here."

Harshad wished he could help her in the dreadful process but he was aware that she was alone on the journey. She had to go through it alone. He couldn't help her in any manner than constantly providing her with the love that she was in need off.

He had promised her long back that he would be there for her, each time she was in need of him. To wipe her those tears, to pick her up, to wait for her while she heals from her past wounds. He wished from the depth of his heart that Dhruv gets rewarded for his deeds.

____

"Why you allowed her to walk away?" Aditi sounded annoyed, "she had come in search of answers, Dhruv. And as her friend, I think she deserved those answers."

"Her life will be better if she is deprived of those answers," Dhruv muttered starting the engine. "Don't you think, you're dating a fool?" He commented finding Jay waving at Aditi.

"Don't get jealous and don't try to divert the conversation. Here we are talking about Kiara and you." Aditi seemed determined to not let the topic slide away.

Dhruv groaned, slowly massaging his forehead in exhaustion. "There isn't anything like Kiara and me."

"If there isn't anything like such, she wasn't constantly talking about you in her drunken state. You won't have rushed here on my mere call." Aditi pointed out sounding annoyed.

"I would have rushed if it was about anyone." Dhruv attempted to doze it off.

"Why do you want to keep pointing out that she isn't someone special to you? Why do you keep assuring your heart that there isn't a thing?" Aditi groaned in frustration. "We are no longer together, there is no demand led by your dad as I broke the relationship. Then why all this mess? Why keep acting like you're well-off without her?"

"Because I don't want to lose her," Dhruv confessed, punching the streeling wheel. "I don't want us to spend the rest of life like a mere strangers." Dhruv pointed out, and Aditi stared at him in confusion. "You saw how devastating it was between us. We were on the verge of hating each other if you hadn't decided to break free of the trap, the relationship label had planted on us. It had imprison us, Aditi. And relationship among friend is going to have the same result. I can't afford to lose her. The notion itself breaks me into pieces."

"Just because we didn't work out doesn't mean..."

"I am not ever experimenting with our friendship. I had hurt her enough I won't ever be able to forgive myself if a tear escape from her eyes." Dhruv concluded, "and your few-found boyfriend had mentioned that she had started liking Harshad."

"Keep convincing your heart with those fake reasoning," Aditi shook her head. "The real problem is you're scared of getting into a relationship because you're scared that you will treat her the way your father did," Aditi commented but Dhruv kept his mouth shut.

"You wanted to change my view on relationships but you are..." Dhruv interrupted Aditi.

"It will be better if we shut the topic," Dhruv muttered with a stern feature. Aditi rolled her eyes glancing out of the window, as she ended the call, a sad smile playing on her lip.

___

"You seem lost, son." Senior Mathur commented on finding Harshad losing his mischievous nature.

"Things are troubling me, dad." Harshad wasn't taken aback by Mathur's assumptions as he had always read him like an open book. Harshad eyes were rooted on the beautiful creature, sleeping peacefully on the bed as he softly whispered to his father on the phone.

"Is it related to the girl, you are with?" Mathur inquired making Harshad have a sad smile.

"Yes, dad." Harshad softly brushed the hairs from her face. "I feel that I won't ever be able to offer the love she deserves." There was displeasure hidden behind his sweet smile. Mr. Mathur wanted to reject his statement but waited patiently allowing his son to unburden his thoughts. "I think that I had come between two madly-in-love friends. I had destroyed their beautiful bond. I am no better than Aditi," he scowled. His hands moved away but a small moan from Kiara made him place them back in their place. Caressing her soft skin, slowly.

"No one comes in between, Harshad." Mathur seemed patient to explain. "Two people can be in love with each other yet not meant to be for one another."

"How can it be possible?" Harshad was annoyed to listen to it. His orbs were fixed on Kiara's sleeping figure. He wanted to express his frustration, wanted to unfold his deep-seated insecurities as well as desires. Flashes of her crying in his arms returned to him, knocking his breath out. His hand reached to her cheek, tears strain was still visible. "She loves him, dad. Far more than any human is capable of." He sighed, withholding the pain emerging in his chest. "And I just realized that intensity is the same from both sides." He whispered softly as if he uttered a hint louder it would make him break apart. "If they love each other if they can't live without each other why they are punishing each other with the separation?" He sounded confused.

"Sometimes, love isn't enough. Harshad!" Dinesh voiced out appropriate words to make his son understand.

"How it can't be enough?" Harshad argued back. "Love is enough for survival. I won't need anything else," he confirmed. His orbs locked on Kiara's peaceful face. "If I can offer her with love, it will be enough for me."

"You can't decide it for her." Dinesh's voice raised, guessing where the conversation was shaping. Harshad was planning to scarify for Kiara.

"I know, where her happiness lies." Harshad's voice trailed away, "I will do my level best to provide her with the love of her life."

"Do you really think, her love can provide her with happiness?" Harshad was going to interrupt but Mathur continued. "If that was the case won't the guy that loves her have done the same years back? He knows they aren't a match."

"There isn't anything like that," Harshad grumbled. "There aren't perfect matches, people need to work with one another to make it work. These all are excuses, for not wanting to work on a relationship. I just don't get how a person can't love someone enough to work hard to make the relationship work. How can someone give up on someone so easily?" Harshad shook his head, as he leaned further to Kiara's forehead. "Only if she had asked me once. I would lend my universe in her hand if it means I got to spend the rest of my life with her." Her warm breath was fanning his cheek, their heartbeat syncing together.

"Only if you knew dad the intensity of her love for him." He whispered extra softly as he didn't want to disturb her sleep but at the same time not want to leave her side, a fear that she might disappear from his sight. "The way she loves, what would I not sacrifice for something as beautiful as that?" He pressed a kiss on her forehead. "That man is damn fortunate to have it!" He muttered some curses in between his breath.

"I don't share the same opinion, my child. He is damn unfortunate to not able to cherish it." Mr. Mathur commented making Harshad silent for a minute.

"Do you believe in destiny, dad?" He inquired getting curious about the response. "Are people destined for each other?"

"I don't know my child," there was some stuffing happening on the other side. Maybe Mr. Mathur was busy completing some file work. "Your mother believed in those concepts. Destiny, soulmates, happily-ever-after." He chuckled, "but why the sudden interest in the concept?"

"She is the same, dad." He paused, keeping his head beside her. Pressing a soft kiss on her cheek, "she too believes in soulmates, destiny, forever." He chuckled, his orbs admiring her. "The way you described mom. The same innocence, kindness, weirdo. She makes me believe in mom's presence, dad." A tear rolled down from the corner of his eyes. He shook his head, raising his head from the pillow.

"You are making me more curious. I am desperately waiting to meet her." Mathur expressed his eagerness and Harshad stopped himself from laughing.

"Soon, dad," he promised. "You are going to be proud of my choice." He had a beautiful smile. "She is the most beautiful woman, you would have ever seen."

"None can compete with your mom, son," Mathur argued back sounding irritated.

"I am sorry to break your expectation but she wins the list for me." He stood from the chair he was sitting on and walked out of the room, so he couldn't disturb Kiara's sleep with his conversation.