Mahira and Ayaan had already returned from their trip, yet the memories of those days still lingered deeply within their hearts. Those moments refused to fade away; instead, they kept replaying in their minds again and again, as if the trip had never truly ended.
Even after coming back, Ayaan found himself trapped in a single question that echoed relentlessly in his thoughts: Why did Aarshi hug me?
But that question was not confined to Ayaan's mind alone. The same question was haunting Aarshi as well. She kept asking herself why she had hugged Ayaan so suddenly, and the thought left her constantly drowning in regret.
After the trip, Mahira's life slipped back into its usual routine — the endless cycle of office work and home responsibilities. One afternoon, while sitting in the living room, Ayaan sighed and complained,
"Momo, I'm so bored."
Mahira glanced at him and replied calmly, "What can we even do about it? None of our cousins are free right now for us to spend time with."
All their cousins lived in their hometown, while Mahira stayed in the city with her parents. Her brother worked out of town as well.
To someone hearing this for the first time, it might sound like the story of an ordinary middle-class family — a family where the younger generation was busy working and building their lives. But the truth was completely different.
Mahira belonged to a royal lineage. She came from a family so wealthy that the concept of financial shortage had never even been spoken of within their household. For centuries, her family had enjoyed elite power and influence — privileges that had practically become their birthright.
Yet despite all that, none of Mahira's cousins ever liked to indulge in those privileges. Even Mahira's father had chosen to abandon the comforts of that aristocratic lifestyle. Instead, he had accepted the responsibility of serving the city as a judge, carrying out his duties with honesty and integrity.
At that moment, Mahira and Ayaan were sitting together in the house, quietly missing their cousins and her brother.
Ayaan spoke again.
"Momo, we're so bored. It would be so much better if we just went to our hometown. We could have so much fun there."
Mahira shook her head slightly.
"Mom and Dad are already planning to go. But I can't go with them. I have too much pending work at the office. I've already taken so many leaves during the trip, and now I can't afford to take any more."
Ayaan felt a pang of sadness for her.
Later, when their parents offered both of them the chance to travel with them, Mahira politely refused and explained her work situation clearly. Although Ayaan wanted to visit their hometown very badly, he chose to stay back with Mahira instead.
The following week, their parents prepared to leave for their hometown.
Late on a random Friday night, Mahira's phone rang. The moment she saw the timing of the call, she instantly knew that it had to be something important. She picked up the call.
"Hello, Mahira," Jihan greeted her warmly, just as he always did.
After the greeting, he asked a simple question.
"Are you free?"
Mahira frowned slightly in confusion.
"Why are you asking that?"
Jihan hesitated for a moment before replying.
"If I ask you to take care of something very important to me… would you do it?"
Mahira didn't hesitate even for a second.
"Yes, of course."
"But at least tell me what the work is," she added.
Jihan explained that he needed to travel out of town for the shooting and production of his new song. Because of this, he wouldn't be able to stay at home for several days. However, he had something extremely important that he couldn't leave alone at home — and he couldn't take it along with him either.
Mahira suggested casually, "Why don't you ask your mother to take care of it?"
"That's the problem," Jihan replied. "My mother isn't at home right now. She's in the village, and everyone there has chickenpox. It's viral. If I send my important thing there, it definitely won't be safe."
Mahira paused for a moment before asking softly,
"You're talking about Aarshi, aren't you?"
Jihan answered quietly, almost in a whisper.
"Hmm."
Mahira smiled faintly.
"Well… that's actually good news for me."
Jihan sounded puzzled.
"What do you mean by that?"
Mahira explained, "From my side, it's good. My parents are also going to the hometown for some urgent work. Ayaan and I will be alone here. I'll still have to go to the office every day, which means Ayaan will be alone at home. If Aarshi stays with us, then neither of them will feel lonely."
Hearing this made Jihan feel slightly uneasy. The thought of his sister staying in the same house as a boy for several days felt strange to him. But then he reminded himself that Ayaan was a gentleman, and above all, he trusted Mahira completely.
Even so, Jihan remained deep in thought late into the night. He kept wondering whether sending Aarshi to Mahira's house was the right decision or not. Finally, he closed his eyes and reminded himself of one thing.
Mahira and Ayaan were people who would never abandon their responsibility — not even with their last breath. If they had given their word, they would keep it no matter what.
Eventually, Jihan decided that he would drop Aarshi at Mahira's house the following week.
Mahira also asked her parents for permission regarding Aarshi's stay, and they happily agreed.
However, Mahira didn't tell Ayaan anything about it. She wanted to surprise him.
Soon the next week arrived.
On the same day Aarshi was supposed to arrive in the morning, Ayaan's parents were preparing to leave for their hometown that very night.
Finally, the day came.
Early in the morning, Aarshi got ready and Jihan brought her to Mahira's house. Mahira's parents welcomed Jihan warmly, and Aarshi greeted everyone politely as well.
Ayaan had absolutely no idea that Aarshi was in the house. She was sitting quietly in the hall while Ayaan was upstairs in his room, busy playing an online esports match with his friends.
Meanwhile, Mahira took Jihan to the garden because he wanted to talk privately with her.
For almost forty-five minutes, Jihan kept giving her instructions about Aarshi.
"She cries over small things," he said worriedly. "She's very sensitive. Her eyes get irritated very easily because of allergies. Please make sure she's okay…"
He continued listing small details about Aarshi, and Mahira listened patiently to every single one of them.
At the same time, Ayaan came downstairs for breakfast.
The moment he entered the hall, he saw Aarshi sitting on the sofa beside his father.
He froze completely.
For a moment, he genuinely believed he was still dreaming — or perhaps hallucinating.
Thinking it was just a dream, he casually walked over and sat beside her.
Aarshi felt extremely awkward. Although it was perfectly normal for Ayaan to sit anywhere in his own house, the way he suddenly sat right next to her made her feel strange.
Ayaan kept staring at her without blinking.
His father laughed and said, "Looks like you two missed each other a lot."
Ayaan smirked playfully. "Isn't that right?"
Suddenly, Aarshi pinched him sharply.
Ayaan blinked and rubbed his eyes.
Only then did he realize that none of this was a dream.
The embarrassment hit him instantly.
Without saying a word, he stood up and quietly walked toward the kitchen, disappearing from the hall.
He stood alone in a corner, feeling incredibly embarrassed. He had assumed Jihan had come only for a short visit and would leave with Aarshi after breakfast. He had never imagined she would stay there.
Later, everyone gathered at the breakfast table, but Ayaan remained upstairs in his room. They called him several times, but he kept replying that he wasn't hungry. Eventually, they stopped calling him.
Soon it was time for Jihan to leave.
Mahira, her parents, and Aarshi went outside to see him off. Ayaan also stood behind them quietly, still assuming Aarshi would leave with her brother.
But when Jihan shook Aarshi's hand, her eyes instantly filled with tears.
The next moment, she clung tightly to him and began sobbing uncontrollably.
At first, Ayaan didn't understand why she was crying.
Then suddenly the realization struck him — Aarshi was staying there.
It felt as if someone had shattered glass inside his mind.
Aarshi held onto Jihan tightly, her hands trembling so much that anyone watching could feel their heart melt.
Mahira and her parents tried to comfort her, but she refused to let go of her brother.
Even Jihan struggled to control his emotions. Despite fighting like cats and dogs most of the time, the two siblings loved each other more than anything in the world.
Finally, Ayaan stepped forward.
He gently held Aarshi's hand and whispered something into her ear.
Immediately, she let go of Jihan and stepped back.
Everyone was surprised.
After saying their goodbyes, Jihan left.
Inside the house, Mahira showed Aarshi her room. Aarshi placed her suitcase there and lay down on the bed to rest.
Outside, Mahira asked curiously, "What did you whisper to her?"
Ayaan only smiled.
"It's a secret."
When Aarshi later came out of her room, nobody mentioned the earlier scene. Everyone tried their best to make her feel comfortable.
Yet she stayed quietly behind Ayaan most of the time, keeping her gaze lowered.
Eventually, Ayaan took her to the kitchen.
He gently lifted her chin and asked softly, "How long are you going to keep crying?"
Only then did he notice that her eyes were swollen and red.
She wasn't wearing her glasses, yet she looked incredibly cute.
For a moment, Ayaan felt she might start crying again, so he quickly let go of her face to avoid making things awkward — especially since both of their cheeks had grown warm.
Within a few hours, Aarshi began feeling comfortable.
After lunch, she went to her room to rest while Ayaan returned to his.
But Ayaan still felt strangely uncomfortable knowing Aarshi was staying in the same house.
That evening, they all had dinner together.
Soon after, Mahira's parents left for their hometown, starting their long journey during the night.
Once they were gone, the house felt unusually quiet.
Mahira began worrying whether she would truly be able to take care of Aarshi properly.
Aarshi hadn't brought her personal phone, and her tablet was broken. Jihan hadn't given her another phone either because he assumed she could talk to him using Mahira's phone.
As night fell, Aarshi started feeling sad again.
Mahira noticed this and decided to give Ayaan the responsibility of cheering her up.
Ayaan walked up to her and asked, "Do you play esports?"
Aarshi nodded. "Yes."
"Two players are missing from our team tonight," he said. "Would you like to join?"
"But I don't have a phone."
Ayaan handed her his old spare phone while setting up his tablet for himself.
His teammates were surprised when a new member joined the team.
The game continued until two in the morning.
Although Ayaan played well, Aarshi played even better than him. She received a lot of praise from the team.
Everyone asked for her name, but Ayaan had logged her in with a fake account, so nobody discovered her real identity.
After the match ended, everyone was exhausted.
They finally went to sleep.
That night, Aarshi slept peacefully.
And with the arrival of the next morning, a new chapter of friendship was about to begin — one that would make their time together far more exciting and unforgettable.