They stared at each other for another long moment until his eyes finally shut. Only then did Mishti allow herself to cry, freely, replaying every word he had confessed in his drunken honesty.
He was not at peace. Neither was she. He called them a barbaad-coded couple, and that was exactly what they were.
She still could not believe it, that he had come all this way, to her room, just to open up his pain in the gentlest way he knew how. And now he was asleep on her bed. Would he even remember any of this in the morning?
The moment his breathing evened out, and the soft sound of his snoring filled the room, her sobs finally faded. She simply watched him, taking him in, then eased her hand out of his, careful not to wake him. Karan shifted restlessly, and she immediately understood why. She slipped his watch off his wrist and placed it on the bedside table, then bent down to remove his shoes and socks. Once done, she pulled the comforter over him, tucking him in with quiet care, all the while wiping her own tears. Karan moved once more, but this time, he settled into a deeper, calmer sleep.
Her fingers rose to his ruffled hair instinctively, then stilled. She could not let herself slip back into that tenderness, not after everything that had happened between them.
Mishti switched off the lamps, then moved to the couch, lying down there and pulling a small shawl around herself. Sleep wasn’t easy to come by even now, but having him before her eyes, looking at him resting on her bed, relaxed her.
***************
Next Morning
Mishti woke up as the light fully settled into the room. The curtains were still drawn. As memories of last night flashed in her head, along with the reason why she had slept on the couch and not her bed, she instantly looked towards the bed and sat up.
Karan was already awake, sitting on the edge of the mattress, elbows resting on his thighs, back straight, and shoulders squared, watching her. Since how long had he been awake? The softness from the night was gone. The vulnerability, the hoarse confessions, all of it had been sealed away in his expressions. She sat up immediately.
“How did I come here?” he asked.
Mishti stared at him, in disbelief first, then anger, because she knew he was lying. It was written all over his face. He knew how he reached into her room last night. Yet dragging the truth out of him was next to impossible. He would never let her see his vulnerable side.
She stood up. “You don’t remember?” she asked angrily.
Karan stood up too, and took a step closer. Then another. Too close. Close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body again. His gaze dropped to her lips, just for a second, before lifting back to her eyes.
“Should I?” he asked.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. The audacity of him. She crossed her arms instinctively, putting space where he refused to.
“How could I forget? Karan Wadhwa has a fragile memory,” she mocked. “It only remembers what is necessary, filtering out everything else. I’m sure whatever you came here last night for, or said to me, was unimportant. So, don’t think hard. Even I’ll pretend you never said anything.”
Karan saw the disappointment on her face. He knew exactly why he was there, and he knew what he had confessed to her the previous night. Facing her then had been easier, when alcohol had dulled his edges, and she could dismiss his words and his pain as the ramblings of a drunk man. But now, in clear daylight, fully in control of himself, he refused to open up or even acknowledge those vulnerabilities.
Karan Wadhwa guarded his heart fiercely. The walls around it were his to maintain. If anyone was allowed to touch his pain, it was him alone. Only him. No one else was permitted to step into that space. Not even Mishti.
Before he could say anything, a knock echoed through the room.
“Mishti?” Avni’s voice followed. “Are you in there, babes?”
Both of them froze.
Mishti’s eyes flew to the door in shock. If Avni saw them together in her room, she would be suspicious. But soon that fear was replaced with something else, a silent determination. Like it was high time Avni did.
Mishti turned back to Karan.
“Open the door,” she said.
Karan’s expression hardened instantly.
“Open it. Let her see you’re here. Let her ask questions. Let her know what relationship we share.” Her voice trembled only slightly. “This is your chance, Karan. To come clean withher. Tell her why you kept her away all these years. Because of whom.”
He stared at her, stunned.She knew?
Mishti nodded. “Rajat told me.” Her eyes welled up, but she wiped the tears away before they could fall. “All this hatred Avni throws at you,Ishould be the one receiving it, not you. It happened because of a Goel. Just tell her.”
Avni knocked again. “Mishti, are you inside?”
