She could not sleep the entire night. Every time she closed her eyes, the memory of that accidental kiss returned, replaying endlessly in her mind like a cursed scene she could not escape from. Exhausted and irritated by her own thoughts, Aarshi finally walked out into the hall around five in the morning.
Ayaan was still lying on the sofa, fast asleep. The sight of him somehow annoyed her even more. In frustration, she lightly kicked him, but he did not wake up at all. He looked so deeply asleep that for a second, she wondered if he had completely lost consciousness.
Too tired to care anymore, Aarshi sat beside him and picked up his iPad. Curiosity slowly took over her embarrassment. She wanted to know more about Ayaan's personal life, without even realizing that she herself had already become one of the closest people to him.
First, she checked his photo gallery. There was nothing unusual—only group pictures with friends, random selfies, and photos of his classmates. Then she opened his contacts, expecting to find something interesting, but there was almost no one except Momo, his parents, his brother, a few friends, and even his homeroom teacher's number.
Later, she checked his blocked list and was shocked to find almost a hundred numbers there. Even the unknown number that had called him the previous night was blocked. It felt as if Ayaan spent his whole life avoiding people.
Strangely, Aarshi felt relieved knowing there was no sign of any girl in his life.
As she continued scrolling through his gallery, sleep slowly overcame her. Without realizing it, she lay down on the opposite side of the same sofa, facing him. Within moments, she drifted into sleep.
Around eight in the morning, Momo returned home. The moment she opened the door, she froze at the sight before her—Ayaan and Aarshi sleeping on the same sofa, facing each other.
The scene felt unbelievably strange to her.
She tried waking Ayaan up, but he was sleeping deeply. After several attempts, he finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Aarshi sleeping right in front of him. Startled, he immediately stood up and asked,
"When did you come?"
"Just now," Momo replied, still staring at them suspiciously. "But what is going on between you two? You've been getting way too close these days. If this continues, her big brother is definitely going to misunderstand. And honestly, I still can't understand how you both suddenly became this close."
Ayaan silently listened to everything she said.
Then Momo teasingly placed a hand on his shoulder and asked with a grin,
"Do you like her?"
For a moment, Ayaan went completely blank. He never expected his sister to ask something like that. He could not even form a reply.
Momo laughed softly and continued teasing him.
"I know you're fond of her, and I don't really mind it… but you're still too young for feelings like this."
Finally, Ayaan spoke, clearly irritated.
"Are you done? I seriously don't care about what you're saying because there's nothing like that between us. And I honestly don't even know how she ended up here. I slept alone on this sofa last night. I had taken painkillers for my headache and fell asleep immediately."
Then his expression darkened slightly.
"And if you really think of me like that, then please don't think about me at all. Otherwise, you'll end up misunderstanding me just like big brother does."
After saying that, he walked away to his room, clearly upset about the entire situation.
Meanwhile, Momo sat quietly in her own room, blaming herself. She felt guilty for bringing up such a topic in front of him. Deep down, she knew Ayaan was not the type of person she had made him sound like.
Ayaan truly did have feelings for Aarshi, but now he refused to admit them—not even to himself, and definitely not to Momo.
When Aarshi finally woke up around ten in the morning, the hall was completely empty.
She first went to her room to freshen up, but the moment she remembered everything from last night, embarrassment washed over her once again. Then she remembered that she had unknowingly fallen asleep beside Ayaan.
At that moment, she felt completely doomed.
Countless negative thoughts rushed through her mind.
What must Ayaan think of me now? Did he misunderstand me? How could I fall asleep next to him like that?
Unable to calm herself, she stepped outside again, only to find the hall still empty. She went upstairs to check if Momo had returned. Momo's room door was slightly open, and when Aarshi peeked inside, she saw her sleeping peacefully.
"She probably came home in the morning and stayed awake all night," Aarshi thought. "It's better not to disturb her."
After that, she walked toward Ayaan's room. He was not there either.
Certain that he would eventually return, she decided to wait for him inside his room. She sat quietly on the edge of his bed.
A few moments later, the bathroom door suddenly opened.
Ayaan walked out, freshly bathed, wearing only a pair of trousers.
The moment Aarshi saw him, she screamed loudly,
"Not again!"
Ayaan was startled too, confused about why Aarshi was once again inside his room. However, he quickly calmed himself down.
Aarshi immediately began apologizing in panic.
"I wasn't here to see you like that! I just came to check if you were home because I couldn't find you anywhere!"
Ayaan sighed softly and replied,
"Calm down. I'm not interrogating you."
"I-I'll go outside so you can change," Aarshi said hurriedly.
"Hm. Just go," Ayaan replied casually.
Without wasting another second, Aarshi quickly rushed out of his room, her face burning with embarrassment once again.