Maybe after everything that had happened, Ahana needed some time alone. So Vikram give her a few hours to sleep and to get recharge.
Then Vikram thought that he should confess his feelings as known by asking her out on a proper date. And Vikram could only hope and pray Ahana wouldn’t say no.
Ahana dragged herself out of the bed after five hours of sleep, determined to get back on a regular schedule since Ahana had day shifts scheduled after her day off. Her ankle was a little sore, so running was out of the question.
A bike ride would have been great, but Ahana quickly come out from thoughts of Vikram. Vikram was still struggling with everything that had happened with Kumar. The way he’d accused and threatened as she brought back terrible the memories of life in Goa.
Ahana hadn’t told anyone about the abused of her mother, which made had suffered. Ahana hadn’t mentioned the time in Goa had broken her arm, either, since that one injury had been nothing compared to everything 8n Goa had put her mother through.
She’d prayed for the strength to forgive Ganny, but seeing Kumar made her realize she really hadn’t forgiven Ganny. Kumar, who hadn’t hurt her physically but who’d tried to control her just the same way as Ganny.
And Ahana needed to forgive all of them.
Or she’d never be able to move on from her past.
When her buzzer went off, Ahana dragged herself over to the intercom. “Yes?”
“Ahana? It’s Vikram. Can I come up?”
Ahana hesitated but then say. “Sure.”
The apartment wasn’t too messy, and Ahana smoothed her hair back, wishing she’d put on a touch of make-up. When Vikram knocked at her door, Ahana took a deep breath and opened it.
“Hi.” Did Vikram look nervous or was she just imagining it? “I wasn’t sure if you’d be up yet.”
“I like to try and get back on a day schedule if I can.” Ahana closed the door and followed him into the living room. “Can I get you a soft drink?”
“No, thanks.” Vikram definitely looked nervous. “Ahana, would you go out to dinner with me tonight?”
His abrupt question caught her by surprise. “What made you change your mind about dating colleagues?” Ahana asked.
Vikram nodded. “You’re right, you deserve an explanation.” Vikram paused for a minute. “I dated Rubika, one of the nurses I worked with in Bela Nagar. I quickly figured out that we didn’t have anything in common; in fact, she made it clear the best thing she liked about me was my title only not me.”
“Your title?” Ahana frowned, not quite following.
“Doctor.” Vikram lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “You must know the type, the ones who only want to marry a doctor because they think we rake in the big bucks. Rubika didn’t even like being a nurse; she complained about it all the time. I broke things off, and that’s when everything turned ugly and boring.”
“Oh, Vikram... I love...!” Ahana murmured. Unfortunately, Ahana did know there were nurses out there who were only interested in marrying a doctor.
“I don’t blame you for keeping your distance,” Ahana assured him. “That’s a terrible thing for her to do to you.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ve it easy compared to others.” Vikram held out his hand, and Ahana couldn’t resist taking it and moving closer to him. “I understand now that the reason you related so well to Aisha is because you went through something similar, didn’t you?”
Ahana shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d figured it out. “My mother was married to an abusive man,” Ahana admitted in a low voice. “I saw the vicious cycle first-hand, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to stop it.”
His hand tightened on hers, and when Ahana met his gaze, his concern was obvious. “How did you escape?”
“My mother only cared about the abuse man when Ganny started hitting me. The night he broke my arm, she took me to the hospital, and from there, we went to a women’s shelter.”
Vikram groaned and pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through that again last night. Thankfully, God was watching over you. Over both of us.”
Her eyes pricked with tears. Ahana was being too nice; Ahana didn’t deserve his kindness. Here she’d convinced Vikram to go to temple, and Ahana was the one who was at a crossroad in her faith. “I can’t seem to find a way to forgive him,” Ahana whispered. “I thought I had, but last night after Kumar was shot, I immediately thought he deserved to die.”
“A perfectly natural reaction,” Vikram pointed out. Vikram leaned back, put his finger beneath her chin, and forced her to meet his gaze. “I thought the same thing.”
“But Vikram, don’t you see? God expects us to forgive our enemies.” Ahana said with sadness.
“Yes, He does.” Vikram’s gaze was intense. “But He also promises to help us learn how to forgive our enemies. He doesn’t necessarily make us figure it out on our own.”
Ahana wanted to believe him, but really, there was no way of knowing if she’d ever be able to forgive Ganny for what he did to her mother, or forgive Kumar for what he did to Aisha. And how could she find peace and love if she didn’t?
“Ahana, I’m falling in love with you.” Vikram murmured slowly.
