My throat dried up and a strange sensation swooped in my stomach as I took in the scene before me. My head swam with a million different thoughts.

Siddharth was passing the microphone to Angad with a smile on his face and a friendly pat on his back. 

I blinked once and then twice still not trusting what I was seeing. 

The audience cheers grew louder and it was Orientation day all over again. I was in the audience looking at Angad Mehra on stage while the crowd chanted his name. 

It was only when Smriti yelled a very excited "Meera!" next to my ear that I became certain I wasn't hallucinating from exhaustion and hunger. 

Angad raised his hands and gestured for the audience to silence their cheers. An obedient hush fell over the crowd and he leaned towards the mic to speak. 

"It's really great to be here guys," he said, "And usually I am here solely to entertain you all and connect with you via music but this time I have a special purpose."

The crowd listened on intrigued. 

Angad's eyes searched the room and my heart skipped a beat when they landed on me. It was quite a distance from the stage to where I was standing at the back of the crowd. And yet we both just knew.

"There is a special someone I need to apologize to. For being the biggest idiot ever."

There were mixed reactions from the crowd. Some people cheered supportively, some booed, and some stood passively. 

All the while Angad didn't look away from my gaze. It was like no one else mattered. 

"I need to tell her that I love her. That she has become one of the most important people in my life. That running away from her was the stupidest mistake I ever made and every day I spent away from her was hell." 

I realized tears were running down my face at this point.

"I need to ask her for another chance. No mistakes this time from any side. This time we will do it right. I also need to promise her that I will never be the ass that runs away without a rational conversation."

I laughed through my tears at the last line. 

Smriti placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and I leaned toward her. 

"Meera this is the song we wrote together." Angad said, "And I must tell you now that I wrote the last stanza with you in mind."

I wiped my tears away and nodded at him. 

"This is for you," he said and then everyone else backed away from the stage. 

Shreyas handed his guitar to Angad who slung it around his neck and strummed the beginning chords of our song. 

"Broken and hurt, our hearts were wounded, infirm.

We were ready to give it all up, give it all up.

It could've been the end of it all,

If you hadn't let yourself fall.

You are my sunshine,

You are my lifeline,

You are my reason to be,

My hope, my life, my everything

Can't you see? "

He held the last note for a second before opening his eyes and looking at me. 

What happened next could only be described as fate pulling me towards Angad because my legs started moving on their own accord. I moved past the crowd and stood below the stage. 

The others were standing there and Yug all but pushed me up to the stage. 

I almost stumbled and gave him a dirty look. He just gestured for me to get up there. Which is exactly what I did. 

Angad stood there waiting for me. I took shaky steps to close the distance between us and he clasped his hands around mine. 

The audience was hollering by this point. I couldn't care less. 

All the love, frustration, anger, and longing poured through me and I swatted his chest with tears in my eyes. There was a collective gasp from the crowd and Angad gave me a sheepish smile before turning to the crowd and speaking into the microphone,

"I deserved that."

Many people laughed. 

"So what is it going to be Meera?" he asked anxiously. 

"Yes, you dummy! You know I love you! You have a lot of explaining to do but for now, just let me be..." I said and buried my head in his chest. 

The audience cheered and hooted and clapped and for once I was grateful to the population of Maurya. 

***

I still wasn't convinced if this was a very good dream I was having and my alarm would wake me up at any second now. 

We were sitting under the tree in the garden behind the canteen. My back was against Angad's chest and his arms enveloped me in a warm embrace. I felt like I was floating, no, soaring through the skies. 

My grin had yet to fade and my heart was still beating erratically. 

All our friends sat around us in various states of recline. 

"Okay, I think it's time you tell Meera everything. She has been in the dark too long," Yug said.

"You guys were in on it?" I asked incredulously. 

"Yes," Deepani said, "And it was hell keeping it from you."

"How long have you been planning this?" I asked.

"Just a couple of days." 

"Thank you, everyone, for all of this but I think this conversation needs to take place with just the two of us," Angad said and then pulled me up to my feet with him.

"Allow me, m'lady, to take you out on our first proper date," he said. 

I giggled. 

"Yes, you may."

"I wasn't asking this time," he said as he led me away, "Can't risk you saying no like before."

We both laughed as we bid everyone else adieu. 

***

We sat in a pretty cafe with our cups of coffee. 

"Spill," I said finally, "I still haven't forgiven you for running away."

He sighed and leaned forward to cup my hand in his own. 

"I am sorry I ran away like that. I just couldn't take it. Remember how you said you couldn't bear seeing me with anybody else? I know exactly what that feels like but it's ten times worse in my case. Beware Meera you have a jealous boyfriend." he said and winked at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. 

"All of this back and forth between us just drove me crazy. Just when I thought everything would end up fine I see you with that ex of yours. It reminded me of him too much." he continued.

"Whom?"

"My father. This is how he would play with Mum. She was so in love with him that she bore it all smiling."

I sobered up pretty quickly picturing sweet Kirti aunty getting heartbroken over and over again.

"Angad I didn't-" I began.

"I know, I know. Yug told me everything. I was just being stupid and oversensitive."

"No your feelings were valid. But please next time just talk to me. You had me so worried. I thought we had lost you forever. Yug said you were looking at colleges in London to pursue MBA."

"Oh, that?" he laughed, "I just needed to appear interested so my father would stop breathing down my neck."

"Why didn't you answer anybody's calls? I get why you didn't want to talk to me but why not your mother or Yug?" 

"No excuses for that. I just wanted a break from everyone. I went to Mumbai first because I knew Yug would hunt me down in Delhi. I just assumed everyone would side with you. Just like Siddharth did. I realize now I shouldn't have fought with him."

"Wait you fought with him because he sided with me?" I said in shock. 

"Among other things, yes." Angad said guiltily, "I did make it up to him though. In fact, he was the one that insisted I do the apology during our performance."

I made a mental note to talk about this in-depth with Siddharth and thank him. 

"What made you come back? I mean you were basically unreachable. Did you finally read my million texts explaining everything?"

"It was actually my mother that made me come back."

"Yeah that makes sense," I said, "I met her actually. She is very nice."

"She told me when she called to give me a piece of her mind. She was very angry that I had made you upset by leaving. I don't know how but she deduced the reason I had taken off. It was an hour-long lecture on how all relationships don't have a tragic end and I shouldn't let them sully my image of love and marriage. She also told me to quit being a coward because 'that sweet girl deserves better'. She assured me that you liked me at least as much as I did if not more. Your coming to see her was indication enough." 

I listened to his tale open-mouthed not expecting that to be the reason.

"I was already having a terrible time there so I called Yug up and he gave me an earful as well. He explained what had happened and I felt like an absolute idiot. I left two days later much to the annoyance of my father."

"How can I ever thank Kirti aunty. She is an absolute angel," I said gratefully.

"You wouldn't be calling her an angel if you saw how she yelled at me during that phone call."

I laughed.

"It's not like you didn't deserve it though," I said. 

He just nodded sheepishly. 

"I love you, Angad Mehra," I said and felt a flutter of happiness spread through my chest. 

"I love you, Meera Sehgal," he smiled back and kissed my hand. 

If I could describe how I felt after that I would just say my heart felt full. You know, the way you feel after a hearty three-course meal? That's exactly how I felt, sated and happy. 

After all the drama, the separation, the pain and the misunderstanding we had made it. We were together. 

We walked out of the cafe with our hands entwined and then once we were seated in his car he pulled me in for a kiss. 

This was just as electrifying as before but it was also sweet and better by all proportions because I knew nothing would come in the way of our happily ever after.