The house felt strangely quiet after the others left.
The morning sun filtered through the windows, soft and golden, but it couldn't quite touch the tension still floating in the air like static.
"We'll be back in thirty!" Saachi had called over her shoulder, tugging on Rey's hand as they all piled into Aryan's car.
Meera gave Jaanvi a quick hug before leaving. "Don't answer any numbers that don't belong to us, okay?"
Ron added with a wink, "And try not to traumatize each other while we're gone."
Then... silence.
Just her. And Aditya.
Sitting on opposite ends of the couch. The same couch they'd woken up on.
Jaanvi curled her legs under her. Tried to focus on anything — her chipped nail polish, the way the light hit the dust in the air, the faint hum of the AC.
Aditya sat still, flipping through one of Siya's old psychology books he found on the coffee table.
Neither of them spoke.
But the quiet wasn't peaceful. It was... expectant.
Like the silence before thunder.
And then—
Buzz.
Jaanvi's heart dropped.
She didn't want to check.
She had to check.
9:11 AM
Unknown Number
"It was sweet, really. The way you smiled in your sleep. The way he pulled you closer. You looked like you actually believed it meant something."
Her throat closed.
Aditya looked up instantly. "What is it?"
She didn't answer.
Just handed him the phone.
He read the message slowly, his jaw tightening with every word.
Then — buzz.
"He always did like the way you curled into him. Even before. Even when he left."
Jaanvi pressed her hands to her temples. "I can't— I can't do this again—"
Aditya moved without thinking.
One step, two steps.
And then he was in front of her, gently taking the phone from her shaking hands and setting it aside.
"You're okay," he said, voice low, steady. "I'm right here."
She didn't fight it when his arms wrapped around her.
Didn't question it when he pulled her against his chest like a shield.
She just let it happen.
And for a second, everything in her stilled. The anxiety, the nausea, the racing heartbeat.
But then—
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
They both turned their heads to the phone.
The screen was flooding.
9:13 AM
"Look at you, running back to him."
"Does he know how much you need him?"
"Does he remember the way your voice broke that night when he left you?"
"Bet you'd still let him kiss you. Right now. Bet you want him to."
"Say the word and I'll send everything."
Jaanvi flinched, a small, strangled noise slipping from her throat.
Aditya reached for the phone again, but more messages came—faster now.
9:14 AM
"Don't stop him."
"Let him touch you again."
"Maybe this time you won't cry after."
"I could help you forget him. Wouldn't you like that?"
Aditya stood so fast the blanket around them fell to the floor.
"Enough," he muttered, gripping the phone.
His thumbs flew across the screen as he texted back.
Who are you? What do you want from her?
There was no reply.
Jaanvi sank into the couch, her face pale, hands shaking.
The silence buzzed louder than any phone.
And then...
9:15 AM
"I want to remind her.
What she gave up.
What she'll never get back."
She pressed her face into her hands.
"Why me?" she whispered. "Why can't they just stop—?"
Aditya crouched in front of her again, voice firm but gentle.
"They're a coward. And they want control. But they don't get to have it. Not while I'm here."
Her eyes met his — scared, glassy, but not broken.
Not yet.
He took her hand.
And this time, she didn't let go.
Some people hide behind screens.
Some hide behind silence.
But you?
You hold on anyway —
even when the words are poison.
Even when the fear feels louder than your heartbeat.
You hold on.
To him. To yourself.
To what's real.
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