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Author's Note: Hey girlies! I just had to pen this down, so here is the next chapter! This is the final chapter for Amicitia, btw. If you didn't know what that meant, it means "Friendship". And Virat needed to let Maanvi know everything before they actually become friends. Anyway ,those who don't know I DID get an offer from Uni. But I'm still waiting on my other three places. ENJOY! P.S. I am penning down my ORIGINAL story: if you want to check it out, then click here: Guzaarish
Virat sighed, not taking his eyes off Maanvi as he sat on her bed. This was going to be a long night. "It all started when I went to London to study. I was twenty, young and naive. Or should I say stupid?" He laughed slightly. "All I knew was that I needed to get away, from all of this." He looked up at the ceiling. "I didn't want to be Prince Virat, I wanted to be just Virat. You know, no more formalities nor Royalty. And there, I met Maya."
He stared into space. "She was the most popular girl, every girl wanted to be her, every guy wanted to be with her. I came a bit later than everyone else, and found myself with this new social attraction. Soon enough, I became the heartthrob at University." He laughed as Maanvi sat besides him. "One day Maya came over and soon enough we began to talk. I don't know how but we... had this friendship."
"Friendship?" Maanvi asked.
He nodded. "It was...complicated." He scrunched his forehead in thought. "It was a couple of night after we had first become friends."
"Come on Virat, are you seriously going to stay sober all night?" A laugh was heard.
"Have a little fun, yaar! Only for one night!"
"Virat, have a little bit." Maya edged on.
"What happened?" Maanvi spoke.
"I can't remember." He spaced out and looked at her. He began to think hard about that night, thinking deeply before finding himself holding Maanvi's hand. She looked down somewhat in awkwardness but pushed the feeling aside to encourage him to go on. "All I remember were my friends - well, I thought they were my friends - telling me to carry on drinking. I became drunk, so drunk. And I can't remember what else happened. I...I..." He sighed. "All I remember is talking to Maya and then everything went back." He looked away from Maanvi. "Next thing I know, we woke up together."
She slowly nodding, not needing him to go too into detail. She pressed on his hands as he looked at her. She gave him a smile of appreciation. "And that's how you two?" She didn't even need to finish her sentence off, he knew.
He nodded. "Yeah," He hesitated for a second before looking straight into her eyes. "I mean, I guess. I told you it was complicated." She smiled at his words. "I never really liked her at first. I mean I did but not in the relationship sense." He sighed, trying to get his words together. "Sure I thought she was hot but so did every other guy out there. I didn't even want to drink at first, nor did I wanted to wake up with her. But I don't know, it was like after everything that happened I thought it was my fault. That I was the one that took advantage of her." He sighed. "That I was the one in wrong." He shook his head. "I thought the best thing would be to make her mine, I guess."
"So you dated her because you slept with her? But Virat it wasn't even your fault! Maya was the one that wanted you to drink too!" Maanvi retorted, as he told her to quieten down in case her family members heard.
"Oh come on, you wake up with a girl who you just about know. Find out you've slept together, for the first time. What was I supposed to think?" Maanvi held onto his bare shoulders, letting her fingers touch his naked chest. He shivered slightly before staring at Maanvi. "I was wrong." He whispered.
Maya laughed as she listened to a few other's guys making blatant comments about their professors. She flicked her hair back, letting the soft wind blow it. Almost every male stared at her. She smiled, knowing what they were doing. Besides her stood Rahul, one of her long knowing friends. "So, Maya. What are you doing tonight?" He asked, pulling Maya in and putting his arm around her tiny waist.
"I don't know, Virat is taking me out somewhere. It's a surprise date, he said." She laughed at her boyfriend's romance style. Sure, she liked him but she wasn't the type to be held down to one man. She wanted to be free, not stuck in some endless relationship, or marriage for that sake. It wasn't that she was despised by him, she loved him somewhat but didn't want to admit it. Romance was not her thing. For any girl, Virat was the perfect gentleman but she wanted something else. She wanted someone who was wrong for her, rude, dark, someone who would make her blood boil yet someone who with her, their chemistry would be above heavens. Virat was not that. He was just the happy, go-lucky man who wanted good for everyone. He would always be around the campus, laughing away with his guitar besides him, making everyone smile.
She loved him but she didn't love him. HE was perfect for any other girl than her, but yet she wanted him. Whilst she was shallow, and spiteful, he was happy and optimistic. She couldn't change herself, she had gone too down. She needed to change him. At first it was just an accident, she didn't mean to sleep with him but in that moment when he had become so overwhelmed by his unconscious, drinking those shots of alcohol, she saw a different Virat. A Virat who was angry inside. She saw him. And he intrigued her. But he hid his other side pretty well, no one ever saw that side except when she saw it that one time. And one thing led to another: they woke up together. Maya wasn't always the spiteful girl, sure she had some humane characteristics. She noticed just how bad he felt knowing what they did. But she couldn't do anything because it wasn't her. She knew that she was at fault and accepted his wish for her to become his girlfriend in a split of a second because she wanted to make up to him. She wanted that mysterious Virat to come out but he was too gone, gone in her love.
He loved her. Too much than she could ever love him.
"Surprise date?" Rahul smirked. Maya nodded. "Interesting. But listen! Tonight, this well known photographer is coming over." Maya's heart skipped a beat. "AND you can show him your portfolio, and who knows maybe some pictures as well..." Maya shrieked before jumping into Rahul's arms. She had always wanted to become a model, it was her life long dream. The catwalks, the A-list celebrities, she wanted this life of fame and fortune. Nothing was going to stop her.
"Rahul!" She giggled as she hugged him tight before getting too overwhelmed in her happiness that she kissed him, her lips touched his. Lingering for more than a second. She pulled out, biting her lip at what she has done. He smirked as she pulled herself out of his arms. She knew how much he had liked her, after all they were an on-off couple before.
"I'd do anything to see you happy." He spoke softly into her ear. She looked away with no response, making her way across the campus to her apartment where Virat was. As soon as she opened the door, she walked into the living room where Virat was reading a book. She smiled looking at him before taking a deep breath.
"Virat?" He looked at her, jumped up and walked to give her a hug. She stopped him and pulled away. "Virat, do we seriously need to go out today?"
He gave her a dejected look. "Maya, I've been planning this for weeks. You know that. Besides, we haven't gone out in a long time."
"I know that, but look not tonight. Tonight, Rahul said a photographer is coming." She placed her hands on his cheeks and caressed it. "Photographer, Virat." She smiled. "I finally have a chance to become a model, can you see how important tonight is for me?" Virat pulled her away and shook his head.
"No, I don't." He pulled her towards him. "Maya, come on. I've been planning this for ages and just one word from," He took a deep breath, trying to contain his anger. "From Rahul, that you agreed? That you're willing to drop everything?"
"What?" She asked in confusion. "What has Rahul got to do with anything? I'm dropping this date for my career, Virat! Why don't you understand that?" She growled. Even if she did like Virat, or even loved him, she loved her aspiring career more. After all, for a girl like Maya, men would be lining up. But for modelling, there's only one chance.
"I do understand that, Maya. It's just Rahul that I can't stand!" He retorted. "I see the way he looks at you."
Maya became angry. She couldn't believe that Virat would do anything to stop her from gaining fame, Rahul was her only way to get there. "So what?" He looked at her in shock. "SO WHAT?! What will that achieve Virat? If he looks at me a certain way, what the hell is your problem? It's not like you were my only boyfriend!" She spat out. Virat staggered down, his heart skipped a massive beat as the hard truth hit his ears. The past few months that he had been with her, he had thought he was the only one. He had felt so guilty at thinking that he had taking advantage of her when she was playing a bigger game with him. Maya took a deep breath and looked him hard in the eye. "Yes, Virat. Rahul...Rahul was my boyfriend once. And so was a few others. Virat, did you honestly think you were the only one?" She laughed a little before rolling her eyes. Maya walked into the room to get a few clothes out and placed them in a side bag. "I'm sorry but I have to go to this shoot, Virat. It's the question of my life."
"I just watched her leave, she never even looked back once." He looked at Maanvi with solemn eyes. "She went that night, to see this photographer. I don't know what happened but she came home the next morning, happy that she had been accepting. God, Maanvi she was so happy." Maanvi pressed his hands again, taking his fingers into hers. "I thought that whatever happened was in the past, for now Maya was mine. I told her that I would forget everything and that I was sorry for trying to ruin her dreams." He gave a saddened smile. "We got back together, and everything was perfect."
He sat quietly for a few seconds. "You know, I told her about me. That I was this Prince. Prince of Chandrilasia. It was silly at first, she obviously didn't believe me. But then she did, then she realised who I truly was and I wanted her to know because I thought we would always be together."
"Did she accept you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, she did. She was actually pretty excited to come to Chandrilasia. The last few months that we were together..." He said with an upset expression. "Everything seemed too perfect. She was always talking about how she would become the Princess of Chandrilasia one day. But then I told her that I didn't want any of this, that if I could I would resign from my title."
"And then?"
"She seemed to get quiet. It was as if she didn't want to speak to me any more. I thought I was wrong. And I loved her so much that I asked her to marry me but she obviously didn't want to, not at that moment." Maanvi nodded, remembering what Virat had said before. "The next thing I know, we start to get further and further apart. I would go days without seeing her even if we lived in the same damn apartment." He said bitterly. "I would find myself in bars alone whilst she would be out with Rahul and who knows what else." He softly laughed, shaking off the flashback. "And then we broke up. Well, she dumped me. I guess I wasn't her ideal man was I?"
Maanvi watched the tear fall from Virat's eyes and quickly wiped it away. He looked at her as she did, and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. No speaking. No thinking. It was like time had stopped for that split second. As her fingers touched his face, Virat felt a shock of electricity hitting his skin, he looked at her wondering if she felt it too.
Maanvi took a deep breath before replying. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
Virat shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. Maya was a conniving bitch. All she wanted was money. As soon as she realised that I would do anything to give up my title, she wanted nothing to do with me, but stayed until she was sure that she was a step from being famous."
She gave him a slight smile. "Well lucky you got away from the witch's clutch, huh?" He smiled at her attempt to cheer him up before falling through.
"I wasn't that lucky..." She scrunched her forehead at his reply.
"Meaning?"
Virat didn't speak. A few minutes went by as he looked away from Maanvi, wondering how to tell her the biggest truth of his life. Something that not even his brother knew. It was something that ruined his life so much that he just had to relapse. He began more drawn to himself, he hurt everyone because he was even more hurt himself. Everything thought it was just about Maya. It wasn't. It seriously wasn't. "Have you ever wondered how I know your district so well?" She looked at him confused.
"Because you practically own this country, duh." She gave him a blatant reply that he couldn't help but smirk. Behind the smile was the dark hidden truth that he had hid extremely well for the past three years. He wasn't going to tell her. He didn't know why, but he was going to tell her.
"...Because there's someone here whose drawing themselves to me." She looked at him confused.
"Meaning?"
He didn't say anything but simply stood up and quickly wore his shirt before holding her hand tightly. "Virat, where are we going?" She whispered as he stood near the window.
"Do you trust me?" He asked her.
She closed her eyes before opening them right back up. "Yes." She knew that she did. No matter how he was, he would never let anything happen to her. She knew that.
"Then come with me."
He stepped out of the window and held her hands as she did the same. They stood near the edge, using a drain pipe to hold themselves up before carefully jumping onto a tree. It was an old oak tree that overshadowed Maanvi's room. It was the very same tree that he had climbed on every time he had entered her bedroom. Virat held Maanvi in his arms as he carried her down. He was extremely careful not to drop her. He couldn't let anything happen to her.
Without a second thought, they walked quickly towards the end of the street. The night was turning even more dark as the occasional stars twinkled in the pitch black sky. Maanvi shivered in her light pink night top and trousers. He rubbed her arms to make her warm before taking her hands into his and walking into the darkness. He led her towards the edge of the district, where there were many trees. On the far edge of the other side was the seaside. Maanvi had been here before, with Shiv. She remembered how he was teasing her about Daboo's impression of her. But Virat didn't take her there. In fact he took her on the other side where it was dark and murky.
She hadn't been here.
As they entered past the old, rusty gates, Maanvi began to feel scared. She knew what this place was instantly. He led her past through the bushes of trees. On the ground, the browning leaves fell off from the nearly bare trees. Maanvi looked on to see the numbers of gravestones placed in the ground.
This is what it was.
A graveyard.
A place where those who had died are buried. She looked at him confused. Who would be buried here? She wondered. Virat didn't reply. In fact, he looked on with a hard stare as it suppressing each and every emotion. He stopped, looking at one particular grave. It was fairly new than the others, only a few years old. She looked at it, reading the name of the gravestone.
R.I.P Little Angel - 2009
She gasped, reading it. "Virat?" She didn't look up at him. She didn't know what she was expecting to hear.
"My daughter." He spoke, breaking down into tears. Instantly Maanvi looked up and pulled him into her arms. He held her tightly, letting his tears fall. "My beautiful daughter."
Maanvi wiped his tears as she consoled him. "Maya?" She whispered. He nodded.
"I didn't know that when she broke up with me that she was pregnant. She didn't even know." He sniffed. "She told me a month after. And also said that she was going to abort her." Maanvi gasped. "I...how can you let your own child die when you know that she could live on?" She rubbed his back, calming him. "I gave her money. So much money. So that she would let my daughter live. And guess what? That cruel hearted cow accepted. But only because of the money. She wanted nothing to do with her, blaming my daughter for ruining her modelling career." He let out a short cry.
"One day, I get a phone call of Maya being in the hospital. Everything was wrong. She wasn't meant to go in labour until a month after. I ran, I ran to her, I wanted to see my daughter. But," Maanvi held him in her arms. "But she didn't have a chance. Her lungs were too weak, her organs were not fully functioning. My baby was in pain. I...I held her for an hour before she simply became quiet. She died in my arms. My little Angel. Maanvi, she did in my arms." He whispered the final line.
Maanvi looked to her right, seeing a small bunch of violet flowers on the side. She picked them out before leaning besides the gravestone. She knelt down and placed the bunch of violets on the grave before smiling at Virat. She held his hand. "Who says this is the end? Your Angel is looking above us every day, do you know that?" She looked up at the night sky. It no longer looked evil but a mesmerizing night. He looked up to see a star shining brightly over them.
She was right. This wasn't the end. "Thank you, Maanvi." He whispered. "I'm sorry for everything."
She shrugged. "It's okay." She gave him a smile as they looked above, at the shining star.
He sighed, feeling like weight has been lifted from his shoulders. "Maanvi?" She looked at him. "You've helped me so much, even though you didn't need to. I treated you bad at first, I..."
"So did I!" She interrupted, laughing.
In that second, Virat felt like he was the happiest he had ever been. He felt like he was someone new. No burden, nothing. "True that. Let's start afresh." He suggested. He placed his hand forward. "Hey, I'm Virat. Virat Vadhera. Friends?"
She smiled at his words. "Hey, Virat. Maanvi Chaudary." She shook his hand. "Friends." They laughed, before looking back at the starry night.
This was Amicitia. This was truly a new beginning.
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