Hello my dear readers,
This is the first chapter and you will be surprised when I tell you that 'second chance' is not the title of this story. Haha! Yes, it is not. This story just occurred to me and started writing. I finished the first chapter and I just have to share it with you guys. I had written this chapter out of fluke and I'm quite proud of it myself, after a long time.
I'm still aware of my writers block and trying to get rid of it for a long time now. This is the best romance after a very long time I'd written I think.
And to be honest, I haven't yet thought of the rest of the story how I want to proceed with it. I have some ideas though.
Anyway, Read and let me know what you think.
P.S: Mature content at the very end. Only for 18+🫣🤭
***

Chapter 1

Arnav joined his hands and nodded at the man, who stopped in front of him to give his condolences. He doesn't know who he was, but his heart churned as he heard the man praise his father.

How he wished to hear his father's voice for one last time? But no. He couldn't.

His father, Arvind, passed away. He had a Cardiac arrest when he was at work.

He couldn't bring back the time he missed with his father. His parents begged him not to go to the USA, leaving them. He wanted them to come with him. But they did not want to leaving their home. He left selfishly thinking about himself, he thought with guilt.

A voice echoed in his head.

You are not a selfish person, Arnavji. And so are your parents. In order for them to send you wholeheartedly and live peacefully here without worrying about you, you have to give them a strong assurance. They should understand your love.

That familiar gentle voice. He inhaled deeply and wondered. He never realized how that one sentence has given him strength all these years.

Oblivious to himself, his eyes searched for a familiar figure.

She was nowhere to be found. She was here when he first arrived. Holding his mother's hand and giving her strength, which he should have been doing. He never thought he'd say this, but he was glad for her presence.

He glanced next to him and stared at his mother, standing with him and looking dead. He held his hand and she looked at him. The tears she was keeping at bay started to flow again and she hugged him.

He hugged back and inhaled deeply as he patted her back.

He looked up when he felt eyes on him and met a pair of familiar brown pools gazing at him with a mix of sadness and longing.

Kushi.

She immediately averted her gaze, brushing the tears that escaped her eyes.

She went inside the kitchen and he did not see her again until later when the last visitor exited their house, except for Kushi and her parents, Shashi and Garima.

Shashi placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. 'You have to stay strong, Arnav. For your mother.'

Arnav glanced at him but did not respond.

Shashi nodded. 'I took care of everything. Don't worry now about the ambulance and other expenses. You and your mom try to eat something and rest. It is hard but you should try.'

'Thanks, Uncle. I'll come tomorrow and pay you for-'

Shashi cut him off. 'I told you so that you'll be informed. Not to pay me back. Anyway, we will talk later.' He patted his back. 'Kushi,' he called, looking over Arnav's shoulder.

Arnav turned around and saw her, standing a few feet away from him.

When did she come? He thought as he stared at her, not meeting his eyes.

'Are you staying?' Shashi asked.

'No, Papa. I'm coming with you guys,' Kushi said.

This was the first time he was hearing her voice after he arrived.

Shashi looked surprised but did not question.

'Take care of yourself, Ratnaji,' Garima said as she squeezed Ratna's hand.

Ratna pressed her lips to hold a sob. But couldn't respond to Garima.

'You guys go ahead. I'll be behind you,' Kushi said, as she came to stand in between Arnav and Shashi.

Arnav watched Kushi as she stared at her parents retreating backs and then turned to him.

The usual warmth he was used to seeing in her eyes was missing. In fact, her eyes looked... dull.

'There is food on the table. Please make her eat. Her tablets were in her table drawer. They are labeled so... it shouldn't be hard for you to know which one should be given,' she said.

He nodded. For a moment, he thought she was going to cry. But no.

She hesitated for a moment and said almost painfully, 'You too please eat. You haven't touched a morsel since you came.'

He shouldn't be surprised. But he did.

When it comes to Arnav, Kushi was extremely observant. He knew that for years.

'I'm leaving aunty,' Kushi said to his mother.

'Why don't you stay, beta?' Ratna said, as she leaned on her son's arm.

'No aunty. I should go. But I'll be in front of you in minutes if you need anything. You know I'm just a house away,' Kushi said, trying to sound cheerful.

Ratna nodded, not having any more energy.

'See you,' Kushi said, staring into Arnav's eyes and then swiftly turned around to leave.

'Thank you Kushi,' Arnav said, stopping her.

Kushi paused but did not turn around. She nodded looking over her shoulder and walked out.

He watched from the door as she opened their gate and crossed the road to go to her house in front of his.

They were neighbors. When he was ten, and Kushi was six, they moved into the house opposite to his. She grew up in front of him, a timid girl. But he never gave heed to her.

It all changed when he was twenty one. She confessed her love for him. It was a shocker and he immediately rejected her. His goals were different. He never saw her in that way. He didn't want to be in a relationship that time. He explained it to her.

But she hung on to him. She told him that she'd wait for him.

Seemed like that wasn't the story anymore... not after what he did, he thought guiltily as he stared in the direction of her home.

***

Much later around ten in the night, Kushi rang the doorbell of Raizada's house. She held herself firm to stay within her limits and not come here, but she had this need to check up on Ratna and... Arnav.

She waited for a few minutes and she was going to go back when she heard a crash from inside. She panicked. What was that? She held onto the door and was about to knock when she realized the door wasn't locked.

Without a second thought, she pushed open the door and came inside. It was pitch dark inside and she moved to switch on the lights when she heard an anguish scream from upstairs.

Arnavji!

Worried she ran to the stairs, climbing up and her heart racing as she felt a dejavu. She hesitated standing in front of his door. She could hear his whimper from inside.

Her heart squeezed and she opened the door without thinking about anything else. She saw him sitting on his bed, in the dimly lit room, and holding his head looking down. He was shaking, seemingly trying to get rid of unpleasant memories.

'Arnavji.' She called, standing at the threshold.

His head shot up and he stared at her with his bloodshot eyes.

'Kushi?' He was stunned and squeezed his eyes with his hands. 'What are you doing here?'

He gazed at her unblinking. She was still in the morning clothes like him. She looked like an angel in that white saree.

'I came to check up on aunty,' Kushi said. And you. She wanted to say but she did not.

He nodded, inhaling deeply and straightening up as he looked at her. 'She slept. It was hard so I slipped her some sleeping pills to rest.'

'Did she eat?' She asked, still standing outside his door.

He nodded.

She bit her lip and asked, 'And you?'

He stared. Like always, his gaze caused butterflies in her stomach. Feeling ashamed, she was about to leave, when he spoke up.

'How could you?'

She turned to him confused. 'What?'

'How could you be nice to me after what happened between us?' He asked, as his eyes pooled with tears.

She gulped hard. 'What did you expect me to do?'

'Anything,' he snapped, almost frustrated, 'Mocking, angry, rude... but not this.'

'I love you too much to be angry with you, Arnavji,' she whispered, staring into his eyes.

He was shocked. Though he shouldn't be. She was never ashamed to speak out loud or announce her love for him. Even to him.

Again she turned to go away when she heard him.

'Can you stay?'

She glanced at him, shocked by his request.

'Please... sit with me,' he said, patting the place next to him.

Could she say no to his plea? He looked so vulnerable. This was the second time she saw him like this.

She entered his room and closed the door. She walked toward him, his eyes making her painfully nervous, and sat next to him. On his bed. She made sure to leave a good two feet distance between them, not trusting her weak heart when it comes to him.

She wanted to leave. But at the same time she couldn't leave him.

They sat in silence. He resumed to stay in his thoughts as he stared at the floor, leaning forward and interlinking his hands over his knees. While she sat next to him, alert and aware of his presence, she gazed at him with sadness, longing and admiration.

'I never thought you'd see me in this state... vulnerable... after that night.' He said after some time.

She bit her lip, not knowing what to say to that.

'I never thought I'd go through the pain of losing someone I love again.'

'Nobody would, Arnavji,' she said softly.

'The guilt is eating at me, Kushi,' he said painfully, as he turned his face to look at her.

Her heart squeezed seeing the pain in his eyes.

She closed the distance between them placing a hand on his shoulder and holding his linked hands with the other.

'Please, Arnavji. Don't be.'

'I should have gone in the first place. Then I wouldn't have met Chandni. I wouldn't have fallen in love with her. I wouldn't have left my parents to live with her in a strange country and then lose her. Now, I lost my father too. I did not get to hear his last words,' he said as he closed his face and cried.

Kushi could never bear his tears. She didn't know how to console him. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to hear his sobs.

She placed her hands around his shoulder and hugged him. He didn't push her away. In fact, he hugged her tight, placing his head on her bosom and cried his heart out.

In between, Kushi whispered, 'I'm sorry, Arnavji. Because of me you did not stay with your parents. If I hadn't done like that... that night... you wouldn't have thought to leave...'

He lifted his head but he did not make any move to leave her embrace at any moment.

He cupped her face with one hand as he held her with the other around her waist and brushed her tears away with his thumb. 'I'm equally at fault that night, Kushi. Only if I had been sober, we wouldn't have been in this situation.'

She sobbed, closing her eyes and bowing down, as his words from that night echoed in her ears.

Shameless bitch!

More tears ran down her face as she thought of his furious words.

Arnav didn't understand what happened to her suddenly. She was a crying mess as she hid her face and bawled.

'Kushi?' He called, shaking her in his embrace.

'I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Arnavji. I never wanted to cheat you. Not like that. I couldn't bear how heartbroken you looked as you held my hand and wouldn't leave. I needed to make you feel you safe. And it happened. I couldn't control it. I should make sure you were fine. I didn't cheat you.' She blabbered between her sobs.

Arnav suddenly realized what triggered inside her. He recalled that night and he regretted the words that he used. He was furious and didn't had control over his tongue. He hurt her badly and deeply.

'Please... don't cry... Kushi,' he almost begged as he hugged her tight.

She circled his neck and hid her face in his neck as he held her against him and cooed soft whispers in her ears. How long she had ached to have this comfort from him? How many days and nights passed when she hadn't thought of being in his embrace?

Her sobs turned to light sniffles and her hands loosened around him. She pulled back, avoiding meeting his eyes, and whispered, 'I'm sorry. I kind of...'

'Shhh...' he whispered, placing a finger on her lips.

She looked at his face and was stuck seeing the regret with a mix of desire in his eyes.

He glanced at her soft lips briefly and she whispered against his finger, 'Arnavji...'

Then they don't know how it started. Eventually they leaned towards each other, meeting halfway, kissing hungrily.

Once his lips touched her, Arnav was goner. Her lips are soft. He kissed her gently, moving softly against her lips. But he wanted more from her. He wanted to feel more of her. He bit her lower lip and she gasped, feeling a delightful pleasure pass through her whole body.

He immediately swooped in his tongue and groaned as he touched her tongue. He mated with her tongue, tasting her sweetness, and sucking the light out of her as his rough hands traveled down her body.

Kushi, on the other hand, felt like she was having a marathon and flying in between the clouds at the same time. As he pushed his tongue in and out of her mouth, pausing to suck her lips, her tongue, she tried to match up to his rhythm. Her hands roamed over his strong, broad shoulders feeling his firmness as she felt his hands on her bare stomach. She moaned, as his hand gripped her bare waist, pushing her saree along with her in-skirt lower out of his way and pressed his fingers skin deep. She was sure to find his fingertips the next morning.

Hearing her moans, his blood rushed south. As he continued to kiss her and held her by the hip, he roughly pushed her blouse down and pressed her bare shoulder. He wanted to kiss her and feel more of her skin. He wanted to consume her.

Somehow he managed to pull her saree pallu down and saree pleats tucked into her skirt out, and messily scatter in between them.

Breathless, Kushi pulled back but his lips never left her. He continued to leave wet kisses along her jaw, cheek and neck, making her pant hard and whimper clutching onto him as they sat sideways facing each other.

Hearing her whimper, he gripped her left leg and pulled over his hip, bringing her soft body against his rough one in one swoop making her gasp as her core pressed against his hardness. Her saree, along with her in-skirt, bunched over her waist and she could feel his rough hands roam her legs, thighs and butt as he kissed his way along her neck to her chest.

He thrust against her reflexively and she felt the tip of his hardness despite the barrier of their underclothes.

That made her snap out of the stupor. She stilled though he tried to draw her more closer, if any possible.

She gasped. Not with pleasure. But with shock and shame.

Just as he pulled at the dori of her blouse, she pushed him off and scrambled away from him.

He growled as he looked up angry and confused, not having her in his arms. While she stared at him mortified.

She glanced down and saw how messy she was. Fresh tears formed in her eyes and she bent to bunch up her saree in his arms, covering her front, as she blabbered hysterically.

'I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Arnavji. I don't know how it happened. It'll never happen again. Don't be angry with me.'

Arnav, who had been clouded by desire and angry at not having her in his arms, realized what they had done. Hearing her words, he felt sorry. Both for her and himself.

As she hurriedly picked her saree and turned to the door, he immediately reached her, blocking her from her only exit.

'Arnavji?' She said confused as tears rolled down her cheeks.

'I'm sober today, Kushi. I know what is happening. What I'm doing,' he said urgently.

'Arnavji...'

'Let's not think about anything else,' he held her shoulders and pulled her closer, 'Give me tonight. I want to feel love. And only you can give me that.'

She couldn't believe her ears. Was she dreaming?

He kissed her. Softly and gently.

'Please, Kushi,' he whispered against her lips, 'Just tonight.'

If that is all he wants, she'll give it to him, she thought as she dropped her hands and let her saree pool around them.

***

A/N:
Hello again readers!
*fanning myself*
How is it?
*spoiler alert *
I wanted to continue but I kept the main mature part solely for the next chapter *giggling*.
Ok! I guess some of you might have felt Arnav as a selfish idiot and Kushi as a weak when it comes to Arnav. They both are fools for some decisions they made. No one is perfect at the beginning.
Love is blind. And you can see here how Kushi gives in when Arnav asks something.
This is not our regular story of a save-the-day with their sassiness and strong will hero heroine. This is the story of a simple middle class woman and man, finding love and forgiving their past mistakes.
I have a half-a-mind with these ideas:
1) add a baby or child to the story.
2) Kushi unforgiving toward Arnav as he attempt to woo her.
I'm open to requests. I don't say I can give everything you requested in a day. But I'll consider them.
Thank you for reading my story.
Give your feedback and please vote and comment whether I should continue with this story.
With love,
Revathi.