Close the door which hurt you, no matter how beautiful and comforting the view is.

Jagati

"Let's go, I will introduce you to my friends."I dragged Dhruv along with me to the stage but he is not moving he just stood still like a rock at the hall entrance.

I had so much to work to complete and couldn't make it to her wedding. I still have some work left but I promised that I will complete it from the India brach.

We landed here today 2 hours back after the horrible 20 hour flight, I didn't go home to meet my family. We changed in a hotel at the airport, using the Jumpsuit I loaned from Divya Di and started here which was an hour journey. God! I missed the traffic and honking sounds, this feels like home to me.

I was so excited to see my friends, so I ran to the stage as Dhruv was on call with everyone back.

I could see Kajal and Manju helping Nidhi as the photographer was making them pose weird, making fun of them. Aww..I miss my people, so went ahead and tapped on their backs only to greeted with a loud shriek making me go deaf. And the next thing they did was chase me out of the hall to the main gate in their heavy outfits.

"Guys, I can't run anymore. Can we please stop this?" I pleaded them as they were chasing me.

"We all thought you were dead, do you know the pain we went through? I hate you" Kajal yelled at me and hugged me tight, so did Nidhi and Manju.

She says she hates me but she is hugging me like there is no tomorrow. I love these people.

"How are you? How's your health?" Nidhi asked me breaking the hug.

"I am completely fine, My papa had to take me to US for treatment and made me live there. He thinks I made too big of mess with everything and cut my contact off with everyone here ." I told shrugging not wanting to remember the horrible days.

"Let's go in." Manju said that was the first time Manju spoke with me.

I told them and that would have to get Dhruv along with me as I couldn't leave him alone. He is my responsibility and with his baby attitude people will surely rob him blind.

As I walked back into the parking lot for Dhruv, I felt overwhelmed, there was a rush of emotions that I was starting to feel after a long time, which made me cry in Dhruv's arms. He is my emotional support, I had to thank him for everything he did to me so far.

"Did you even listen to me Moonshine? I am hungry! You didn't feed me since we landed and the flight food was yucky" He said with a pout nudging my shoulder.

"Meet them for 5 minutes and I promise to get you some food." I said and took him up to Nidhi, Samrat and my people.

As I reached them, everyone on the stage was literally gawking at this handsome hunk of meat, who screams rich beside me, which made him so conscious that he held my hand so tight, cutting my blood flow.

"Moonshine, I am wearing clothes right? Why is everyone looking at me like I am buck naked?" He mumbled making me laugh.

"Who's that handsome guy?"Kajal asked me as I reached them, with Dhruv constantly sulking about the stares he was feeling.

"He is Dhruv!"

"The reason for her happiness." He added shocking everyone around us including me.

"What? You told me that just a few minutes ago." He supported his previous statement.

Hungry Dhruv is human kind's worst enemy, he is doing this because I didn't make him eat first.

"Shut up Dhruv! Ignore his words. That's Kajal, Manjula and the star couple Nidhi and Samrat." I introduced them, while all the girls and Dhruv got talking I walked to Sammy who didn't say a word to me.

"Still mad at me huh."

"I deserve to be mad at you. I treated you like my own sister and you disappeared into thin air without a word. And you have the audacity to come back and ask me to talk to you." He mumbled smiling at the camera.

I hurt so many people by leaving this place.

"I didn't want to leave Sammy, I had too. I know what I did was wrong but I was not strong enough to face them back then. I am sorry." I answered him

"Yeah! Whatever. I can't be mad at my sister. Come here and give me a hug, I missed you." He said and ran into his arms feeling the oxytocin rush through my body.

I've got the best friends I could ever get, they are happy for me, stood my side after the pain I put them through and never stopped loving me.

"Nidhi, We will back with some food for you." Kajal asked me while I was updating Sammy on my life after I left.

With that, we left Nidhi and Sammy and reached the food counter. As soon as I stepped there I wanted to hide myself, everyone from my class was there.

I found Charan, Dev's friend who waved his hand at me and I mimicked the actions.

Is he here? I am not going there. I can't.

Dhruv held my hand as I was lost feeling like the same old girl who once lived among them happily, everyone was shocked looking at me, giving their weird fake smiles.

We settled in a table near by with our food and started talking to each other when a familiar voice called out Manju's name behind me.

"Anju, Your father wants to talk to you." Aarthav said handing his phone to her.

As soon as she heard him a scowl formed on her face, Why does she not look happy? Is everything okay between her and Aarthav? I have to kill this guy if he tried to hurt her not that she is not capable of killing him on her own.

I turned around to look at him and see what he turned into, and found the person I've been dreading about all along. My whole body started to give up on me, I felt paralyzed from the neck down. I wanted to run away but I couldn't move, I was not ready to face him and I am not.

Please let this be a dream, a dream preparing for my future. But deep down I know that life is too cruel to let this be a dream.

Dev, no my dev is dead. Devansh Raghuvaran is right behind me, standing beside Aarthav. Looking at him brought back thousands of memories that I have been holding in box in the back of my mind.

"Are you Aarthav? Manju's fiancé." Dhruv asked Aarthav, and that's when he looked at me.

How can he look so handsome after all he did to me?

He looks may be a little bit bigger and more handsome if that can happen, his clean shaven face showing off the glassy skin, that killer looks and his perfectly carved Dorito body. Those black eyes which attracted me in the first place are now blood shot red, like he didn't sleep for months.

His eyes and the way he looks at me used to made me feel like I was the beautiful person in the room. But now, I couldn't understand the emotion his eyes are showing.I want to run into his arms, cage him in mine and  never let him go. I miss warmth and happiness he used to give me, my skin and soul are burning in agony at the distance between us.

What the heck is wrong with you?

Oh my god! You are alive, you are talking to me.

Duh! I am.

You didn't talk to me for the last 3 years, so I thought you left me like everyone else.

Firstly those doctors tried to killed me and then with everyone I didn't have any reason to talk to you. But now, you are going into a wrong track and I want to put a leash on you.

I am so happy that you are back but I am not a dog to put me on a leash.

You are acting like one before him.

It's so hard to not go back, I missed him a lot. Wait a minute you loved him too.

I did, but that was the past. The day he ignored and pushed me was the last day of my relationship. I have some self respect unlike you, .

That was mean, I do have self respect

If you did you wouldn't be thinking like this. Let me take over the situation and you sit in the back.

"He is, and we can't do anything about it." Nidhi said making a weird face at Aarthav coming to our table.

Kajal kicked Nidhi with her leg and gave Aarthav a pity smile. What is happening here? Why is Nidhi mad at Aarthav? What did I miss?

"Why don't you guys join us? Till Manju comes back." Kajal asked them while they uncomfortably settled down beside us.

I was now between Dhruv and Devansh. He was on the corner of his chair, one tap on his shoulder and he would definitely land on the floor.

Will touching me give him a contagious disease?

Was I that horrible?

No he is. Ignore him

Dhruv held my hand and pressed it assuring me that it's going to be okay, but no amount of assuring and convincing was gonna calm down the lava of pain and hurt bubbling in my heart.

Sitting with him was my solace but now it feels different knowing that he didn't love me enough to listen to my explanation. He hates me, he wanted me to end up alone, I did try being alone and live a life paying my dues for lying to him, but Dhruv and the whole family happened.

"So, How did you meet this monkey here? What's your story Dhruv?" Sammy asked Dhruv trying lighten up the mood, breaking the tension.

"Did you ever have a crush on your teachers ?" Dhruv asked out of the blue, while all the guys nodded answering him.

What did Sammy ask and what is he answering? This guy is crazier than Amaya di.

"I got my fantasy fulfilled, she was my professors teaching assistant.  I was behind her for months just to get her talk to me and notice me. After She started talking to me, I didn't wanna waste my time, so I introduced her to my family and got to know hers and we've been going strong ever since. Look at her face, how can anyone not fall in love with this, and so did I," Dhruv completed his perfectly fabricated story  by pulling me cheeks and wrapping his arm around me.

Everyone at the table was gaping at what he told, Devansh was continuously tapping his feet clearly annoyed by my presence beside him.

"What are you doing?" I whispered yelled in Dhruv's ear.

"Payback for not giving me food Moonshine!" He replied with a smirk on his face.

"You are such a baby Dhruv! Don't mind him, he is aspiring to be a part time writer, creating stories is his job. We are not together, His story is correct, we do love each other but this idiot forgot to mention that he is literally 3 years younger than me and he is like my brother." I corrected myself before everyone could believe that he was my boyfriend, slapping on Dhruv's shoulder.

"More like brother-in-law. She is engaged to my brother Arjun, he was supposed to come but couldn't make it, so he sent me here to take care of her. He is an Emergency Medicine Doctor doing his resi.." I covered my hand over his mouth before could give everyone some more of his made up stories.

This little brat licked my hand which was on his mouth, making me shiver at his gross actions.

"Eww...Dhruv! What that heck is wrong with you? You licked my hand eww... yuck..." I jumped around looking for a paper towel to wipe his saliva off me. When I couldn't find one I just rubbed my hand on his shirt.

"You are so annoying Dhruv, wait till we go home. I am so gonna tell on you." I whined rubbing my palm on his shirt.

"You love me too much to do that Moonshine." He tried to butter me up making me roll my eyes at him while everyone at the table laughed at us.

I sat down cursing him, not wanting to fight with him before all my friends.

"OMG! You guys fight like true siblings." Kajal said laughing it off easing the room, while everyone tried to talk to each other.

"Hey! Look the college dropout Jagruthi is here." I heard a screeching voice pass by pointing me.

And here comes the founder of the I-hate-Janu club Karan, with the co-founder and first member Sharath.

Dhruv was about to get up and punch the life out of Karan but I held his hand and pulled him down, not wanting to create a drama at Nidhi and Sammy's celebration.

"Ooh! She found a rich man leaving out the poor farm boy Devansh." He laughed at his own joke making me glare at him.

"Mind your own business and leave before I kick you out Karan." Devnash yelled at him seething in rage.

My Dev was always so calm and chilled out, but this guy beside me is getting mad for such a small comment on him.

When did he turn this way?

Is this the destruction my lies and secrets left behind?

"Truth always hurts bro! You should stop defending her atleast now. She doesn't deserve it, she is a bi...." Sharath was stopped with one swift punch right on his face, and his nose started bleeding like water from a tap.

They both scurried away in panic while the table was filled with dead silence and confusion.

"Is this how you are gonna protect her? Letting everyone talk shit and while you sit behind doing nothing." Devansh asked Dhruv, annoying the hell out of me.

How could he ask that question?

When he hurt me more than anyone in this world? When my body replicated heart attack because of him? When I lived like a living corpse consuming anti depressants without feeling any emotion because of him?

He promised me that he would never hurt me but he did the most damage to my heart and body.

And now he wants to play the savior card, huh!

"Nope! We did one better. We taught her how to stand up for herself, we taught her to not let anger over power other emotions and hurt people." Dhruv said with a smirk on his face, and Devansh turned furious.

I shushed Dhruv with my eyes before he opened his mouth to talk again because I know that he will listen to me unlike Devansh.

To my luck my phone blared with Nelson's name on it, shocking me to the core.

"Who is it?" Dhruv asked me at my shocked face.

"Nelson, I have to take this. Excuse me." With that I walked away from the table dragging Dhruv with me before he makes another mess.

"Hello Mr. Pears! Are you missing me so much, that you wanted to talk so early in the morning?" I asked him as soon as I picked up the call because it was just 8:30 back there.

"Don't get too cocky Ms. Jagati or should I say Jagruthi." He said to me butchering both names.

Jerk! Incandescent jerk!

He knows about my past now, did he run a background check on me? I am going to kill him.

"What do you want now?" I snarled at him.

"I just called to tell you that your happy days are over now. Enjoy your friends party while you can, and I have a surprise waiting for you which will be on your desk tomorrow morning. Have fun with a blast from your past." He said and cut the call on me.

What's with everyone from my hate-club today?

Dhruv raised his eyebrow at me at confused face, and I shrugged at him not wanting him to worry.

"How are you feeling? Do you want to go home?" Dhruv asked with concern for me as I looked at the table where Manju came back,  Aarthav and Devansh were about to leave.

"I wasn't ready to face him today Dhruv, but I guess I did have a small hope that he would've forgiven me and we could pick up where we left off, but after seeing him today and him acting like that made me feel that I shouldn't care anymore, I am tired of feeling sad and explaining myself to him."

"When everyone else there forgave me why couldn't he? I get that he had more importance in my life than others but shouldn't he be the first one to accept me and my reasons or atleast listen to me?" I let out my feelings to him while he just kept listening.

Why should I cry every time I think of him? Why should I care when he doesn't? I have been hurting myself hanging on to him.

Maybe what Divya Di said is true, there is not just one person in this world to love, maybe I will find somebody else who can make me happy or I don't need anyone to make me happy, I can be happy with me.

I went from a girl who was homeschooled all her life with below average GPA to COO of Global at the age of 23. I had a family of 8 before this but now my family is so big that I need both my hands, toes and some more fingers to count on.

"I still love him Dhruv, I probably always will even though we might not have a happy ending. But this time I am moving on and will try my best to be happy with myself and with the people I have and people who want me, rather than obsessing over someone who doesn't." I ended my monologue telling myself that I am moving on.

"Moonshine! A happy ending doesn't always have to be with a guy. It's you picking up your pieces, leaving your pain, starting over and opening up for something better. And now I sound like Arjun..Gross...."He ending making me laugh.

He can turn any serious situation into a comedy, I seriously love this guy.

"Let's go, tell them bye and meet Uncle, Aunty and Karthik before I turn into a philosopher because of you." He said and dragged me with him to my friends.

Sometimes a happy ending to a story is moving forward, and I promise myself today that I will never cry for him.

And that's end of this chapter.

I am sorry if you are disappointed that they didn't talk to each other but I couldn't make them.

I just wanted her grow a bit more personally and know her worth.

I will add more of Dev and Janu in the next chapter, so please wait for that.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

Love,

Sneha