7:09 AM- Overthinking, Oversleeping, and Overdramatic Realisations
The next morning, Aradhya woke up way too early for someone who hadn't slept till 3 AM.
She lay in bed, one leg thrown over her blanket, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling fan like it held all the answers to her emotional damage.
Vedant's words from the night before were on loop in her head like a stuck playlist.
"Why the hell did I bring it up?" she mumbled to herself. "What was I trying to do? Apologize for something I didn't even regret? Reopen a chapter that ended years ago?Kr kya rahi thi main. If vedant would have said that yes he thinks I should have done things differently toh kya krti main, maine toh jo kiya pura soch kr kiya na, ab pyaar nhi krti thi main toh kaise accept kr leti uska proposal and agar kr leti aur phir usko hurt hota kyuki wo expectations rakhta jo galat bhi nhi hoti but main pura nhi kr paati kyuki I was not in love with him toh main kya krti....vedant ki friendship bhi toh matter krti h mujhe."
"Bhagwanji, why am I like this?" she muttered.
(Yeah she was talking to herself, screw loose ho gye h didi k thode)
Just then, the door creaked open. Mihika walked in, towel on head, fresh from her post-duty shower, holding two mugs of coffee and her trademark judgey-expression. (every bestfriend expression when they know ki unki friend kaand kr k aayi h).
Mihika glanced at her- "Oh good, you're awake and already spiraling."
Aradhya groaned again. "Please. Not now."
"No no," Mihika said cheerfully, handing her the coffee. "Let's unpack this nonsense before your brain writes five more alternate endings to last night's conversation ."
Aradhya sat up reluctantly. "He didn't even say anything dramatic. I did. I was the one who said, 'sometimes I feel I should've said yes'. Who says that to their best friend who confessed once upon a time and has moved on?"
"You," Mihika said, sipping. "You, who has a habit of digging up emotional graves for fun,khud ka mental peace barbaad krne me maja jo aata h aapko"
Aradhya glared.
Mihika softened a bit, sitting beside her. "Listen.....just because Abhay left doesn't mean the decisions you've made before him were wrong."
"But what if I rejected someone who could've actually stayed, like what if I would have done things differently".
"Aru," Mihika said gently but firmly, "you rejected Vedant for one very valid reason — you didn't love him. That's it. And you guys weren't random classmates, okay? You've known each other since first year. Pyaar hona hota toh ho jaata. Tumhe guilt me feelings generate thodi na karni thi, and wo pyaar nhi guilt me ki huyi daya hoti jis se kisi ka faida nhi hona tha"
Aradhya was quiet.
Mihika continued, "You weren't cruel. You weren't careless. It was just.....an unfortunate situation that you both handled way better than most adults could've. And you didn't break him. You two built something way more lasting instead, and Aradhya most importantly you were there for him when you knew that he is blaming you for his hurt jb ki teri koi glti thi bhi nhi but you stood by him, expecting nothing from it but just silently were there kyuki he was your friend, anyone else in your placr would have preferred to maintain silence because situation was turning kind of toxic,it was hurting both of you,everyone talks about one sided love,no one talks about a person's guilt and their feelings when they know that their friend is in love with them but they can't reciprocate the feeling, they are also somewhere somehow hurting. Ok accepted that the other person is hurting more but that doesn't make hurt of that person any less."
Aradhya stared into her coffee.
Mihika nudged her. "Also, let's be honest — you and Vedant in a relationship? Disaster."
Aradhya blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Oh please," Mihika rolled her eyes. "You both are the most emotionally constipated human beings. One argument and both of you would've ghosted each other for three weeks just out of ego,and than fight for three weeks over same issue."(because as every other man in world he feels....eventually, but like 3 business days later.)
"Wrong," Aradhya countered. "I would've confronted him three hundred times in three weeks. He'd have sent me sad Arijit lyrics at 2 AM, simultaneously ignoring my calls."
"Exactly!" Mihika grinned.
After a few seconds, Mihika said, quieter now, "You've had to let go of love once. Don't beat yourself up over a maybe that never even existed."
Aradhya leaned into her. "You're annoying."
"I'm right," Mihika said smugly.
Aradhya-"Also annoying."
They clinked coffee mugs like war survivors and settled into the silence that only best friends could sit in without feeling weird.
6:37 PM- Ghosts Don't Always Stay Gone
It was late evening. Aradhya had just finished her rounds and was sitting alone
on the hospital stairs, sipping on a half-warm coffee from the machine no one trusted. The weather was sticky, her brain fried, and she was mentally planning her dinner — Maggi or emotional damage?
Her phone buzzed.
"Abhay"
Her heart skipped, stumbled, then full-on tripped.
Six months.
No calls. No texts. No "how are you"s. Just a clean-cut silence that stung every time she scrolled past his name in her contacts.
And now?
Just like that?
The message popped up before she could process the fact that he'd finally reached out.
Abhay: "Saw your pictures from last night. You looked beautiful......scratch that — hot?"
She stared at the screen.
Of course.
Of all the things he could've said- 'How are you?', 'Sorry.', 'I miss you.'- he chose to open with flirty text. (Typical Abhay, jo ho gaya, wo bhul jaao and never talk about it).
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a few seconds.
Then she typed:
Aradhya: "Hi. Wow. Six months later and you open with that?"
Abhay: "What? I'm just being honest. You've always known you turn heads, Aru."
She rolled her eyes. This wasn't new. The flirting, the cocky charm — this was Abhay 101. But there was something... off. Something restrained.
Then came the next message.
Abhay: "And I see Vedant's still around."
Ah. There it was. The jealousy.
Aradhya smirked.
Aradhya: "Yes. Like he always has been. Even when others disappeared."
There was a long pause.
Then the typing dots reappeared.
Abhay: "Look......I know I went radio silent. And maybe you hate me for it, and maybe we could've made it work if you weren't so dramatic sometimes."
Aradhya: (blinking at the screen,then typing slowly)- "Right. My fault, I was dramatic and also I don't hate you, Abhay. Hate takes too much effort."
Abhay- "That's not what I meant—".
Aradhya- "But that's what you do Abhay. You say things and didn't mean them. You loved me when it was easy and disappeared when it got slightly difficult."
Abhay- "It got too much, Aru. Too serious, too fast. Between PG prep, the pressure, expectations, I was suffocating. It felt like we were running into something we weren't even ready for."
She exhaled, fingers tightening around her coffee.
Aradhya: "So you disappeared?"
Abhay: "I needed space. Time. To breathe. I didn't know how to say it without making it worse."(of course typical man behaviour,when things get difficult just disappear).
Aradhya: "Newsflash Abhay, you made it worse."
He replied instantly.
Abhay: "I know. And I regret that. I really do."
She stared at the screen, jaw clenched.
Aradhya: "We were both under pressure, Abhay. PG entrance. Duty. Life. You think I wasn't scared? But I was still there.You just left."
Another pause.
Abhay- "I didn't stop caring. I just... couldn't handle everything. And seeing you last night — smiling, joking, looking like you've moved on — I don't know. It hit me."
Aradhya: "Moved on doesn't mean healed. And anyway, even if I did... isn't that what you wanted?"
Abhay(Typing.....then stopped. Then again)- "I just didn't think Vedant would still be that close."
She laughed bitterly under her breath. (obviously typical Abhay still stuck to that one point).
Aradhya: "He never left, Abhay. Unlike some people."
Silence.
Then Abhay: "I miss us. I miss you."
Aradhya didn't reply immediately. She stared out at the darkening sky, hospital lights flickering , and memories she wasn't ready to unpack swirling in her chest.
Finally, she typed, Aradhya- "I miss the 'us' I thought we were too. But we're not the same people anymore, are we?"
She didn't wait for him to reply, instead, she locked her phone, stood up, and walked back inside.
Because maybe some ghosts need to sit in the silence they created.
And maybe this time- she gets to choose whether they return or not.
11:02 PM- When the silence hurt more than the goodbye
The lights across the street had finally stopped blinking, the city was quieter, and the sky above their flat was heavy with monsoon clouds but no rain yet — just that sticky kind of silence that demanded conversations.
Aradhya sat cross- legged on a chaarpaai they'd dragged up, scrolling through her phone for the hundredth time.
Mihika emerged from the door holding two cups of hot chocolate (they need something to drink to survive deep conversations), hair tied in a bun, expression already suspicious.
"Why do you look like someone just texted 'I miss you' out of nowhere and now you're spiralling?" (best friends six sense- sb pata hota h unhe)
Aradhya looked up slowly. "Because someone did."
Mihika froze mid-step.
She sat down next to her, slid the hot chocolate into Aradhya's hand like she was about to deliver a TED Talk. (which she obviously was)
"Tell. Me. Everything."
Aradhya sighed. "Abhay messaged me. After six and a half months. Started with 'you looked hot last night.' Then got all sentimental. Said he needed space back then. That it was getting too much. That we weren't ready."
Mihika blinked. "Okay. So six months of radio silence and now he wants to throw flirty one-liners?"
"Basically." Aradhya sipped. "Also made a point to mention 'I see Vedant's still around.'"
"Ah, jealousy. The delayed symptom of immaturity and fragile male ego," Mihika muttered. "Go on."
"He said he didn't stop caring, just couldn't handle everything. And then ended it with 'I miss us.' Like this is some Zoya Akhtar film."
Mihika stared at her. "And how do you feel?"
Aradhya shrugged, hugging her knees. "Confused. Angry. Exhausted. Like.....why now? When I've finally stopped refreshing his chat, when I've finally stopped checking our old photos for hints of what went wrong... now he pops back in with 'I needed space.' Bro, you needed therapy."
Mihika put her arm around her. "Okay, listen. I'm going to say something that might be a little brutal, but you need to hear it."
Aradhya nodded.
"Just because someone comes back doesn't mean they deserve a place again. Him reaching out now says more about his guilt and timing than your worth."
Aradhya stayed quiet.
Mihika continued, gentler this time, "Tu uss time bhi thik thi. You were hurt, confused, shattered... but thik thi. You got up. You showed up. You didn't pause your life. He did."
Aradhya exhaled. "Sometimes I wonder.....what if I'd done something different? Been more understanding, more accommodating? Maybe he wouldn't have left."
"Stop right there," Mihika said, holding up her hand. "You're allowed to love someone and still have boundaries. You didn't do anything wrong, Aru. He got overwhelmed, and instead of talking, he vanished. That's on him. Not you."
There was a long pause.
Then Aradhya whispered, "And I keep thinking... I turned Vedant down. And now Abhay's gone too. What if I pushed away people who actually stayed?"
Mihika turned to her fully now, eyes fierce.
"You turned Vedant down because you didn't love him, Aru. And you both were grown-up enough to not mess up the friendship."
"And look at you two now," she added with a smirk. "Still close, still joking, still driving around like Dil Chahta Hai extras."
Aradhya chuckled, the heaviness on her chest finally starting to shift.
The ache hadn't vanished, but it wasn't echoing anymore.
Because sometimes, all it takes is a best friend, some brutal honesty, and a badly made hot chocolate to remind you — you're allowed to protect your peace.
Even if someone from the past finally decides to speak.
Mihika was now lying on her back on the chatai, staring up at the sky, while Aradhya sat next to her — legs pulled to her chest, the glow from her phone screen casting soft shadows on her face.
For a while, they just sat in silence. The kind of silence only two people who really know each other can sit in without needing to fill.
Then, Aradhya finally said it — the words she hadn't even admitted to herself in full.
"Tu jaanti hai, Mihika... mujhe sabse zyada kya chubha tha?"
Mihika turned her head slightly. Aradhya's voice wasn't cracking — it was steady. Too steady.
"Usne mujhe 'breakup'nhi bola. He said 'it's not working out, I need space'. Jaise koi subscription cancel kar raha ho."
Mihika sat up slowly, sensing the shift in mood.
Aradhya continued, "Aur sabse worse part? Mujhe relationship khatam hone ka itna dukh nhi hua tha. It was already dying. We both knew it. Messages became shorter. Calls became rare. Woh emotional connection tha hi nahi hamare beech.
She paused, taking a deep breath. "Par usne kab ye bola.....that's what broke me."
Mihika didn't speak, just watched her with full attention.
"Preparation ke time, when I was hanging by a thread...... jab roz subah uthte hi lagta tha bas ek aur coaching ka test kharab hua,main chorr dungi sb....... that's when he said, 'Let's take a break.'"
Her voice got quieter.
"I didn't need him to solve anything, Mihika. I didn't need motivational speeches or grand gestures. I just wanted him to be there. To say 'tu thik hai?', to maybe just sit on a video call while I cried. That's it."
Mihika's eyes softened.
"Wo jaanta tha I was spiralling. Ki main pressure mein thi. Ki har baar koi puchta tha which branch you want and agar nhi hua toh back up h, I'd go numb. Because mujhe pata tha — agar yeh nahi hua, toh next option jaisa kuch nhi hai mere pass?"
Aradhya looked up at her, eyes shining but still no tears.
"Main kaise papa se kaise kehti ki mujhe 1.5 crore chahiye? We're comfortable, yes. But we don't have that kind of money, Mihika. I can't burn that on a private medical college seat. I knew I couldn't afford failure. I was carrying that in my head 24x7,And he knew all of this."
A long silence.
Mihika placed a hand gently on her knee. "Aru..."
Aradhya laughed bitterly, brushing her hand across her cheek even though there were no tears. "Tu bata, yeh sab jaankaar bhi agar koi aese time pr chhod kar jaaye... toh phir dard break-up ka nhi hota,dard timing ka hota hai. That the one person who knew everything decided to disappear exactly when I needed someone to stay."
Mihika let out a long exhale, voice firm, "You didn't deserve that, Aradhya."
Aradhya shrugged. "Kismat and timing bollywood type ho gyi h na?"
Mihika muttered- "Bollywood mein toh aakhri moment pe ladka aa jaata hai station pe bhagta hua, Yahan toh bhai sahab ne aakhri train chhod bhi di aur signal bhi block kar diya."
That made Aradhya snort- a half-laugh-half-cry sort of sound.
Mihika pulled her into a side hug. "Listen to me, and listen hard. Usne jab jaana tha, chala gaya. Tu ruk gayi, but tu toot ke bikhri nahi. You stood up, cracked PG, aur ab tu yahan hai — saving lives, looking hot, and eating my fries."
Aradhya sniffed, chuckled. "I earned those fries."
"You earned a lot more than his half-baked closure. Screw his timing. You carried yourself out of your worst spiral, Aradhya.Teri jagah koi aur hota toh shayad bikharta. But not you."
A beat passed.
Then Mihika added, "Also, let's be real — that man thought 'I need space' was a personality trait. Emotional constipation ka walking-talking ad tha wo banda."
Aradhya laughed, full and free this time. "Tu kabhi serious reh sakti hai?"
"Main fries serious hoon.."
In that moment, with old wounds finally aired and sarcasm back in the air — Aradhya felt lighter.
Not healed, maybe.
But heard.
And sometimes, that's the first step.
(Sometimes we don't need people to solve problems, we just people to hear them).
-2.9k words
-End of chapter.
-How was it.
-I know thoda twist ho gaya, you people must be thinking male lead aane wala tha,bollywood movies k villain ki masi ke bhatije ka chahera bhai kyu aagya.
-Male lead bhi aayega, itna wait kr liya toh bs thoda aur.
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