🌟 Chapter Twenty Three 🌟

                                    

                                          
 The Determined Pursuit
Abhi couldn’t let go. No matter how many times Akshu had pushed him away, no matter how vehemently she denied him, he was determined to win her back. The year apart had only solidified his resolve—he knew he couldn’t live without her. But every time he tried to reach out, he was met with cold resistance. She had built a wall around her heart, and he was determined to break through it, no matter what it took.
But Akshu had other plans.
She knew Abhi wouldn’t give up easily, that he would keep coming back, trying to pull her into the life she had left behind. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She had spent too much time healing, too much effort putting the pieces of her life back together. She needed to show him, in no uncertain terms, that she had moved on and that there was no place for him in her new life.
So, when Abhi appeared unannounced at her doorstep one evening, she was ready. She had rehearsed this moment in her mind, prepared herself for the confrontation she knew was inevitable. But when she opened the door and saw the raw determination in his eyes, her heart clenched painfully.
“Akshu,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “We need to talk. Please, just listen to me.”
Akshu took a deep breath, steeling herself. “There’s nothing left to say, Abhi,” she replied calmly. “You need to move on.”
“I can’t,” he said, stepping closer, his eyes pleading. “I love you, Akshu. I know I messed up, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you.”
But before he could say more, Akshu stepped back and opened the door wider, revealing the man standing just behind her. Dr. Ajay Singh, a respected child specialist in Mussoorie, looked at Abhi with a calm, confident smile, his arm slipping around Akshu’s waist in a gesture that spoke volumes.
“Abhi, this is Ajay,” Akshu said, her voice steady. “My husband.”
The words hung in the air like a bombshell, and Abhi felt the world tilt beneath his feet. He stared at Ajay, then at Akshu, disbelief and shock coursing through him. This wasn’t possible. She couldn’t have moved on—not this quickly, not this completely. 
Ajay extended a hand, his expression polite, though there was a hint of something more—a silent warning—in his eyes. “Nice to meet you, Abhimanyu. Akshu has told me a lot about you.”
Abhi ignored the hand, his gaze locked on Akshu, searching her eyes for some sign that this wasn’t real, that she was just trying to hurt him, to push him away. But all he saw was a calm determination that shattered his heart all over again.
“You’re married?” Abhi finally managed to choke out, his voice hoarse.
“Yes,” Akshu replied, her eyes never leaving his. “We’ve been married for a few months now. I’ve moved on, Abhi. I’m happy, and I need you to respect that.”
Abhi felt like he had been punched in the gut. The idea of Akshu with someone else, of her building a life with another man, was too painful to bear. “You don’t mean that,” he said, his voice desperate. “You can’t just erase what we had, Akshu. I know you still love me.”
Akshu shook her head, her expression resolute. “What we had is in the past, Abhi. I’ve moved forward, and so should you.”
Ajay, sensing the tension, gently squeezed Akshu’s shoulder. “Maybe we should go inside, Akshu,” he suggested, his tone firm but kind. “There’s no need to drag this out.”
But Abhi wasn’t ready to give up. “Akshu, please,” he begged, his voice breaking. “I know you don’t love him. You can’t love him. You belong with me.”
Akshu felt her resolve waver for just a moment, the pain in Abhi’s eyes piercing through her carefully constructed defenses. But she knew she had to stay strong. She couldn’t let herself fall back into the trap of their past, no matter how much it hurt to see him like this.
“I’m sorry, Abhi,” she said softly, though her words were like knives to both of them. “But this is my life now. Please, don’t make it harder than it already is.”
With that, she turned and walked inside, leaving Abhi standing on the doorstep, his heart shattered into a million pieces. Ajay followed her, but not before giving Abhi one last, measured look—one that told him in no uncertain terms that he was the one in Akshu’s life now, and that there was no room for anyone else.
As the door closed, Abhi stood there, his mind reeling, unable to process what had just happened. The woman he loved, the woman he had been searching for, was gone, replaced by someone he no longer recognized. She had moved on, and he was left alone, holding onto the ashes of a love that had once burned so brightly.
But as much as it tore him apart, Abhi knew one thing with absolute certainty—he wasn’t going to give up. Not now, not ever. No matter what it took, he would win Akshu back. He would show her that their love was stronger than any betrayal, that they belonged together. Even if she had moved on, even if she had built a new life, he wasn’t ready to let her go.
And with that, Abhi turned away from the house, his mind already plotting his next move. He would give Akshu the space she needed, but he wasn’t going to disappear. He would find a way to prove to her that they were meant to be, that no matter what happened with Sona, his heart had always belonged to her.
But as he walked away, a deep sense of dread settled in his chest. Akshu was no longer the woman he had known—she was stronger, more determined, and clearly ready to live a life without him. The challenge ahead was greater than he had ever imagined, but he was prepared to face it head-on.
Because losing Akshu wasn’t an option—not then, not now, not ever.