Chapter 19 — "I Was the Golden Child… and I Hate It"
Neel sat on the edge of the couch, hands clasped tightly.
"Arin…" His voice was small, shaky.
"I… I need to say something."
Arin, sitting across from him, arms folded, eyes cautious, didn't speak.
"Go ahead," he said finally.
Neel swallowed hard.
"I was… I was the golden child," he admitted, voice barely above a whisper.
"And… I hated it. I hated that you were invisible, that you suffered, that I got the love I didn't earn while you… you were everything I should have been protecting."
Arin's jaw tightened, eyes narrowing slightly.
"I know."
Neel's voice cracked.
"I didn't speak up. I didn't fight for you. I let you vanish… and I stayed safe while you had to disappear. And… I can't ever take that back."
Arin's chest rose and fell slowly.
"You're telling me now," he said quietly.
"Years too late, Neel. But… I hear you."
"I want to help," Neel said, desperation in his voice.
"I want to be better. For you. For our parents. For… Nivaan."
Arin studied him for a long moment. Then, finally, he let a small, almost imperceptible nod escape.
"Then start by listening. By learning. By not making the same mistakes."
Neel exhaled, relief mingled with sorrow.
"I will. I promise."
For the first time in years, two brothers sat together without walls between them—small cracks of understanding forming where only silence and guilt had lived.