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“I know you hate living in fear. That’s why I didn’t tell you until now. I don’t expect you to stay hidden until the end of the cruise, but I want you to be careful.”
She slowly nodded.
Her mind was still reeling with questions when he spoke.
“You haven’t answered me,” he said.
Her heart thudded because she knew what he was asking. Revealing the truth would unleash a whole lot of things she wasn’t sure she would be ready to deal with. But hiding it was also causing her more pain.
“Why did you leave me, Tara?” he asked grimly.
She sucked in a deep breath. When she closed her eyes, visuals that haunted her flashed in her mind. She opened her eyes again to look at him.
“Because you lied to me seven years ago,” she said. “I found out the truth.”
He became very still. “What truth?”
“You lied to me about going on regular Air Force training. But you went on a dangerous rescue mission. Again.”
He didn’t deny it. “How did you find out?” he asked.
Her chest tightened and she could barely breathe as she recalled those memories.
“I was there at the military hospital when you were in a coma.”
There was shock in his eyes.
“They called me because you had listed my number as the third emergency contact. The first two emergency contacts were your two friends who were injured along with you.”
He was silent.
“I remember sensing you,” he said. “I thought I was dreaming, but you were the angel who took care of me while I was in a coma.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I was there for two and a half weeks. I was told repeatedly that you might not make it. Your injuries were too severe and your lung got pierced. Terrified, I held your hand continuously for those two and a half weeks, praying and begging you to stay alive, while I made sure you didn’t stop breathing. When they told me your body began responding and you would wake up from the coma soon, that’s when I made a decision. I decided to leave you.”
He didn’t ask her why.
He knew how she felt about him joining the Air Force. She had lost her parents and brother to a terrorist attack, and she couldn’t live with the fear of losing another loved one.
She had fought and broke up with him several times asking him to choose between her and the service, but he somehow managed not to choose. He wanted both. And in the process, he had lied to her several times about not going on a dangerous mission.
“I knew that the moment you wake up from coma, you would come after me and convince me again to get back with you. I didn’t want to take the risk, so I asked Dheeraj to marry me.”
And right after she and Dheeraj got married, they went away to Europe to work on the initial stages of the highly confidential research.
He looked at her. “You deliberately left the country knowing I couldn’t travel at that time.”
Her eyes stung. She had known his injuries wouldn’t allow him to travel far. “Yes, I knew you’d come after me.”
His jaw clenched. “I did come after you and looked for you everywhere for two damn years. I wanted to kill my best friend and drag you back.”
Her heart ached. “It wasn’t Dheeraj’s fault. If anything, I feel guilty that I indirectly made him choose between you and me. Please don’t hate him. He loved you and cherished your friendship till the end. We-we didn’t cheat on you while you and I were together. I was never with Dheeraj before marriage.”
Aarav was quiet. “I know you weren’t with him while we were together. And I don’t hate him. Yes, I was angry. For the longest time, I made myself believe I was wronged by you both. But I always felt guilty about choosing to go on those missions even though I knew you hated it.”
She knew his parents and sister had died in a bomb blast like her family because of terrorists. He grew up being passionate about serving the country and getting rid of terror of any kind. It had been his dream and she had always hated the thought of killing his dream because of her irrational fear. But ultimately, her fear won and she had chosen to break it off with him so he could be free to pursue his passion.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you,” he said softly.
