Forever... (Chapter - 4)

############ Chapter - 4 ###########
Seeking Forgiveness... 

This is the story of Meera and Nikhil. They were about to be married, when Meera left Nikhil at the altar when she realized she didn't love Nikhil, but the idea of happy and stable marriage with him. But she realized it when she was in the car with her father and the car reached the front of the church where all the guests were waiting for the bride to come. Her father told her, he would take care of everything, and asked the driver to take her back home. 

Meera knew she did Nikhil wrong, and after 1 week, she found courage to talk to him and explain. She came to his house and knocked on his door. 

Nikhil opens the door and sees Meera standing. 

Meera: "Can we talk?" 

Nikhil: "What are you doing here?" 

Meera: "How are you?" 

Nikhil: "How should I be doing?" 

Meera: "Awful, I know." 

Nikhil: "Then don't ask stupid questions." 

Meera: "Right. It was dumb of me to ask. I'm sorry. I just didn't know... what to say." 

Nikhil: "Then why'd you come?" 

Meera: "To say I'm sorry." 

Nikhil is frustrated at how could she think saying sorry would make it ok, nothing she could do could erase the bad past he has faced, but he didn't want to look at her face any longer, so he says, 

Nikhil: "You're forgiven. You can go now." 

Meera: "No, no, no...Please listen to me. I know I messed everything up. I know." 

Meera: "I just... I couldn't get married without being 100% sure that I was... in love with you." 

Nikhil: "Did you have to wait until I was at the altar?"

Nikhil: "I asked you a thousand times! You had many chances to tell me. Why didn't you? You know what, you're a bad person."

Meera: "Let it all out. Seriously. Send me to hell. I don't know. Say whatever you have to say. I know, I deserve it. I just. I want you to know I never meant to hurt you." 

Nikhil: "Ohh, please... Don't come to me with that crap! You only think of yourself. If you had thought of me, you wouldn't have done something like that. You don't care what happens to me." 

Meera: "No, it's not true. I was scared, okay? I was afraid. You've always been so caring. We've been together for an year and it seemed to me like marriage is the next step. I somehow was in love with the idea of a safe and stable marriage with you. For me, it felt like, you would never leave me and will forgive me even if I make mistakes, you will love me even if no one else does, even if there is no chemistry between us. Leaving you wasn't easy." 

Nikhil: "You left me a long time ago. You fell out of love a while back, but you never had the courage to tell me. I'm an idiot for never realising it. I didn't want to realise it."

Nikhil: "Do you realise how humiliated I am? Do you know what it's like to be waiting and waiting.... at the altar for the love of your life? I kept waiting and waiting, and you never showed." 

Meera: "Enough, ok, I can imagine..." 

Nikhil: "You can only imagine, right? I actually lived through it..." 

Nikhil: "You don't know what that's like, but I do. I know how it feels to be left at the altar. I felt it in every bone in my body. It's horrendous. It's the worst thing that ever happened to me. And you did it to me." 

Meera has tears in her eyes, she doesn't know how can she make it all better. 

Nikhil: "You know what I would've preferred? For you to look me in the eyes and say, "I don't want to marry you." But you couldn't do it. You sent your father instead."

Meera: "It would have been worse, if I came!" 

Nikhil: "Worse for who? For you! Right. You only think of yourself. It would've been less painful for me. Can you understand that?" 

Meera: "I'm sorry..." 

Nikhil: "Please leave..." 

Nikhil pulls the door to close it. 

Meera: "Please. Listen..." 

Nikhil holds the door for a moment and looks  at Meera's face with disappointment. 

Nikhil: "I don't want to... I don't want to see you. I never want to hear from you again." 

Nikhil closes the door completely ignoring whatever more Meera had to say. He falls on his knees at the door and cries.