By Chance

She is sitting in the coffee shop at Shivaji Airport in Mumbai waiting for her flight which got delayed by six hours. She checks on her watch as she looks around bored and there are people rushing to their gates. She sighs deeply as her thoughts fly to her family.

She got married to Aarush Khanna 6 years back and it was more of mutual agreement in the beginning. With time they turned into best friends and their bond grew deeper than they thought due to which she was blessed with a beautiful daughter Manisha Khanna and a son Tanmay Khanna.

Simmi Sabarwal who is known as Mrs. Aarush Khanna is a perfect lady who carried all her responsibilities of being a wife and mother. Simmi was in love with Varun Kapoor since childhood who was her neighbor and her feelings very deeply embedded for him as she didn't know why she loved him so much. Varun loved her back but couldn't commit as he had family responsibilities and Simmi was ready to wait even if it meant a whole lifetime as she dreamed of being with him someday. One day she came to know that Varun married some girl from the US and was moving away with her.

She was shattered and heartbroken. Before she could gather the courage to question him for betraying her in such a manner, he left leaving her back with all the questions unanswered. She tried to hate him as much as she can and, tortured herself to ease the pain but nothing could change her feelings for him. She planned to do her post-graduation in another city and that's where she ended up meeting Aarush.

Aarush lost his parents two years back and he owned a small house in Aligarh. His sister was married to someone in Italy so he used to stay all alone and he was a Finance Manager where she worked part-time. Aarush developed an instant liking towards Simmi who remained silent and carried out her job duties perfectly. Aarush offered her the proposal which she rejected in the beginning and this disturbed him. He continued to approach her but Simmi didn't give him a chance.

Soon Aarush convinced her to talk to him and when he found out about Simmi's past, he was upset and worried. No wonder he loved Simmi but he was doubtful if, ever she would be able to accept someone else as a love of her life. He had seen her shattered persona and tried to confront her to get married to him. Atleast, she will have someone who will love her honestly and wouldn't expect anything in return from her.

Simmi admired him with all her heart and respected him but never did she felt anything towards him. There was a liking that simply turned into a necessity of staying together. He always told her how much he loved her but Simmi would never reveal anything about her feelings and she knew that Aarush was waiting to hear the same from her. At times she would tell him 'I love you' just to make him smile and he would kiss her cheek with a small frown and whisper "Don't be formal. It's not required"

Aarush knew that Simmi is forcing herself and he didn' t want that. He continued to be her loving husband and at times Simmi wondered how he managed to love her so much and this increased her dilemma about her feelings for him. Wasn't she being selfish?

As her flight boarding gets announced, she rushes to her gate when someone walks past colliding in her and she tumbles aside. Her purse and passport fall from her hand and she hurriedly tries to gather them ignoring the person.

"I am so sorry" A familiar voice startles her and she looks up into a familiar face.

'Sim!" He gasps unable to believe his eyes.

"Varun?" That's all she could manage to say as they stood up.

"It's so good to see you after so long," Varun says with glistening emotions in his eyes. Something tugs her heart and the ache returns as she chooses to ignore him.

"Excuse me?" She walks past him. Her heart races like anything and she could feel herself shatter again into million pieces which reminds her that Aarush had somehow managed to rejoin her into a person again and healed her too.

"Listen to me!" Varun follows and steps in front making her halt. "I know you have been mad at me but you have to hear me out...Please Sim...You have to."

"I have managed to live my life without explanation Varun!" She almost yells at him. "I can continue further so thank you!"

"No!" He grabs hold of her arm forcing her to look in his eyes.

"Let me go!"

"I have to marry Maya and I had no choice!" He mumbles in a helpless voice. "My sister had an excellent proposal from the US but they had a condition that I marry their daughter who suffers from leukemia. They promised to pay for my Mom's operation and take care of our financial expenditure as long as we live."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Simmi asks through gritted teeth as tears burn the corners of her eyes. The hate that emerges for Varun out of nowhere made her realize what she feels for him now.

"Mom couldn't survive the operation and died soon after my marriage. Maya passed away six months back and I have inherited all her property." Varun went on letting Simmi go as she rubs her arm but he continues. "Sim, life has given us a chance to stay together."

"What?" She frowns unable to understand.

"I know you are married but you can break it so we can be together," Varun suggests. "I will accept your kids and we can live lavishly, our dreams will turn into reality."

"Excuse me? Why would I break my marriage?"

For a second Simmi couldn't believe what she is hearing. Breaking her marriage? Breaking away from Aarush? The idea didn't go well with her as it made her dizzy. She has waited all her life to be with this one person and now when life is giving her a chance....all she was thinking was – AARUSH!

She had restless nights thinking about Varun but Aarush is the person who brings peace to her mind. She would regret every single day for loving Varun but Aarush would love without any regrets. Varun was someone who resided in her heart but Aarush has weaved himself day by day in her soul and now parting from him is something she could never imagine.

"God brought us together again Sim, think about it," Varun went on. "Don't you love me anymore...Don't you?! I know you have been crazily in love with me and no one can replace me... I know you still have feelings for me..."

"I would be lying if I tell you that my love for you had died," Simmi answers after a long thought as tears slip through her eyes. "It was always there Varun."

"I knew it! I knew it!" He jumps happily in the air. "Even my feelings for you never changed Sim. I love you even now."

" It was always there because I was the one who believed it to exist," Simmi replies with a sigh as she wipes the tears from her face. "Now, I realize that what I believed to be love was nothing more than my anger towards you for betraying me."

"What?" Varun frowns in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"Varun, you lost me the day you married someone else without even letting me know," Simmi answers confidently. "At least you should have trusted me enough to tell me. I would have gladly let you go."

"But.....Sim..." He tries to confront her.

"Mrs. Aarush Khanna." She clears him trying to bring a distance between them. "And I have a very loving family so no way I am going to give them away for someone like you. "

"But?..." He didn't know what to say further. Still, he tries. "Life is giving us a chance dammit!"

"No!" She answers turning away from him and walking as he follows. "Life is giving you another chance... not me! So goodbye and good luck for your future!"

"Don't do this to me, Sim! I have regretted losing you once and going through it again......is like killing myself." He pleads in apologetic tone but Simmi doesn't stop.

"You lost me long back and you are deluding yourself that it's happening now....all you need to do is accept it. The way I accepted it. Good luck for your future!"

"Damn! Sim..." He mutters but she strides away leaving her past for good as he kept calling her name to stop her. A weird smile crosses her face and a feeling of triumph fills her inside as she feels victorious and happy.

Soon she reaches her destination where Aarush is waiting for her with flowers as she admires the way he anticipated for her. It always makes her realize his affection for her even though today it is different. She is soaring and happy to find her man as she glides towards him glowing with happiness and Aarush notices the difference.

"How was the trip, my love?" He asks taking her in his arms.

"Oh, it was wonderful!" She chuckles slightly as she had shed her old self somewhere in the journey and a sudden excitement of this new found love filled her.

"It's good to have you back here." Aarush smiles an adorable smile as he opens the car door for her. Simmi kisses him on his cheek and whispers 'I love you'.

It startles him for a while as he studies her because this is the first time her emotions matched her words.

"It looks as if you the distance made you realize a lot more than I expected." He says giving her a mischievous grin as she blushes and they drive to a new beginning with lots of promises to stay together.