The room was quiet, but the air was charged enough to be cut by a sharp tension.
Rajesh stared intensely at Arjun, who sat frozen, holding his phone in a light grip. His fingers were shaking, his lips were trembling, and his throat was parched as if his words were caged inside him.
"Arjun." Rajesh's low voice broke the silence, heavy but soft. "Show me what's in your hand."
Arjun did not stir. His chest heaved and fell in jagged breaths, his eyes shifted between Rajesh and the shimmering screen. He paused as if he was guarding a secret that no one should ever learn.
But Rajesh lost his temper. He snatched the phone from Arjun's shaking hands in one swift action.
A look at the picture on the screen,and Rajesh's brows furrowed. He raised the phone. "Who is this girl, Arjun?" His voice was cutting, commanding answers.
Arjun swallowed hard, his voice a mere whisper, shaking like a lost kid.
"U-Uncle… sh-she's… A-Aditi."
Rajesh looked at him, aghast, then looked at the photo again. His voice cracked slightly, nearly betraying his fear:
"Aditi! Arjun, are you saying this girl is the one Aarav loves?"
For an instant, silence engulfed the room. Arjun's lips quivered, his eyes wet, but at last he nodded. Tears on the brink of spilling.
"Yes, Uncle. Aditi Meher. Aarav's love for whom is greater than his own life."
Just then, Sunita, mother of Aarav, leaned forward eagerly.
Her eyes sparkling with hopes. "Show me our future daughter-in-law."
She eagerly reached for the phone, her face radiant. "Listen. Is she looking so beautiful? I know my son's choice. I am proud of him."
Then, smiling, she continued,
"Let's do one thing — tomorrow we'll go with a good marriage proposal to her family. When they see our Aarav, they will definitely agree."
For half a second, her joy colored the whole room. But before anyone could react, Rajesh said in a firm, final, and uncustomary could, "This marriage can never happen."
The room came to a standstill.
Sunita's smile dissipated in an instant. Her brows furrowed in confusion, her voice jumping in incredulity.
"What do you mean it can't happen? Look at this girl! Rajesh! She's perfect! Aarav will be so thrilled with her! Why would you even—"
"Sunita, listen to me," Rajesh attempted to say, but she interrupted him, frustration pouring out.
"No! You listen to me! You're still trapped in those same orthodox thoughts, are you? Just because she's a Meher, belonging to a different caste, you're rejecting her? Mr. Rajesh Malhotra, this isn't the old world anymore! Stop dragging us back into the past!"
Rajesh's jaw locked, his fists knotting as he struggled to maintain his calm. His tone grew serious, verging on pleading.
"Sunita, please. It has nothing to do with caste. It's something far worse. Something larger."
But Sunita's fury deepened. "Then tell me!" she spat. "What's so bad about her that you'd destroy our son's heart? Aarav's happiness means more to us than your ancient fears! Rajesh! Tell us something!"
Rajesh had not replied. He turned the phone over to her and presented the photo once more. His eyes were weighted, shadowed by something unsaid.
Sunita furrowed her brow, bewildered, then turned to Arjun, who was already crumbling in silence.
"Arjun," she whispered softly, "what is this? What are you telling us?"
Arjun closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and at last allowed the tempest within him to release.
"Yes, Aunty, all that you've thought is true. Aarav loves Aditi. And she loved him more than her own life."
His voice shook, each word cracking under the burden of memories.
"She was not a cheater. She did not cheat him. She never lied. Aarav and Aditi's love… it was pure, so pure that even words can't describe it."
A single tear rolled down Arjun's cheek as he clenched the edge of the sofa.
"But…" he gasped, struggling to catch his breath, "destiny wasn't with them."
Sunita's mouth opened in dismay, her heart racing. "Arjun! She…"
Arjun's eyes dropped to the ground, his voice cracking into fragments. "Yes… she's gone. Aditi is gone. Forever."
The words lingered in the air like broken glass.
Rajesh shut his eyes, his fists tight, but Sunita's face paled, her breath catching.
"N-No… that's not possible," she whispered, shaking her head furiously.
"You're lying! This can't be true! Aarav never said anything! If this was true, he would've told me!"
Arjun's tears finally fell, his voice croaky.
"Aarav couldn't… because he saw it happen. Aunty… when he was there, he watched the accident with his own eyes. At that moment… Aditi…"
He halted mid-sentence, choking on his words. He couldn't find the words to explain it.
The room fell silent, deaf as the din created by Sunita's shallow breaths. Rajesh leaned back slowly, putting his hand over his face, concealing the turmoil of pain he had suppressed deep within himself.
Arjun wiped away his tears and spoke in hushed tones.
"Uncle, Aunty… I've tried so many times to make him forget. But how can one remove his true love from his heart? Aarav smiles before you, but in his heart, he's shattering day by day. And I… I am helpless to do anything except sit back and watch him suffer. He became a living dead body."
Sunita eventually fell onto the couch, her hands on her mouth, the tears streaming uncontrollably.
"My poor boy," she whispered. "He's been going on his own all this while."
Rajesh looked at the photograph a final time, his face somber, inscrutable. No one spoke for a very long time.
Then, softly, Arjun said something that stopped all of them cold:
"But… there's one thing I'm sure of."
He stopped, looking at both Rajesh and Sunita, his gaze blazing with an odd intensity.
"Aditi's gone… but this isn't the end of the story. The way things were, the things I've seen… I know that there is more to that day than we comprehend."
Rajesh glanced up sharply, his tone low but tense. "What are you saying, Arjun?"
Arjun paused, his voice barely a whisper.
"Sometimes… I feel like the past isn't done with us yet. And somewhere… somewhere Aditi is still linked to Aarav's fate."
The room was quiet once more, but this quiet was different — heavier, darker, with questions one would not dare to ask.
Somewhere inside the house, Aarav's footsteps closed in, unaware of the storm ahead of him.
To be continued…