Chapter-25 “The Kiss That Healed Five Years”

Aarohi: (with teary eyes)

"You're hurting me, Nirvay…"

Nirvay immediately lets go of her arm and angrily slams his hand on the table.

Aarohi: (in a rush, panicking)

"What are you doing? Let me see your hand! You're hurt!"

Nirvay: (coldly, pulling away)

"Just go, Aarohi. I'm fine."

Aarohi: (pleading, trying to hold his hand)

"Please… let me see…"

Nirvay: (firmly)

"I said I'm okay. Please… just leave."

Aarohi: (tears falling)

"I'm staying away because… because I'm not good for you."

Nirvay suddenly turns to her, shocked.

Nirvay:

"What? You're not good for me? How… how can you say that?"

Aarohi:

"Because I overreact… I never listen… not even to you.

When you were going through hell, I was trapped in my own thoughts. You needed me, and all I gave you was ignorance and pain. I still carry that guilt."

Nirvay: (taking a deep breath)

"That time and this time… they're completely different. We were young, immature, too lost to understand our own emotions properly. You agree, right?

Please, don't hold yourself hostage to that guilt. That doesn't define whether you're right for me or not."

Aarohi: (softly)

"Even if I try to forget that… Ayush's words still echo in my mind."

Nirvay: (confused)

"What words?"

Aarohi:

"That day… when Ayush exposed Shreya, I wanted to apologize to you. I went to him the next day to ask for your number, to check on you… to ask about Jai… to tell you I missed you…" (tears stream down her cheeks)

"But Ayush and Sukhi were talking in the canteen…"

Nirvay:

"You told me a little about this during our first office meeting…"

Aarohi: (interrupting)

"But I never told you the whole thing. When I reached the canteen, I heard Ayush say,

'Aarohi has no understanding. She's not right for Nirvay. She makes him weak. I've seen Nirvay handle so many tough situations, but I've never seen him cry. Yet, the day before leaving for London, he broke down at my place. He said — 'It hurts me so much when she ignores me. I just wanted to see her, to talk to her…'

Ayush then said — 'Aarohi didn't just make him weak. She shattered him.'"

Tears now glistened in Nirvay's eyes too.

Nirvay: (voice trembling)

"You don't make me weak, Aarohi.

Your absence makes me weak.

Your silence… breaks me.

When you stop talking to me, I feel helpless."

He continued, his voice steady but soft.

Nirvay:

"The first time I saw you at the school gate, I felt something. I kept denying it. I thought it was just a game, just fun like always. But day by day, that feeling grew stronger. I realized it wasn't infatuation. It was something more. I tried to figure you out, to understand what you truly were to me.

You always treated me as a friend, so I stayed as just that.

But the feelings… they kept growing.

Back then, life was a storm — misunderstandings, Jai's health, everything broke me.

For five years, I tried to forget you.

I told myself — 'I don't exist in her life anymore.'

But my feelings never changed.

Every time I returned to India, I would go near your college just to catch a glimpse of you." (Aarohi looks at him, shocked, still crying.)

Nirvay:

"I wanted to talk to you, but I was terrified you'd push me away again.

When I offered you the job, it was partly selfish. I just wanted to be around you. That's why I made you sign that silly agreement.

Now tell me…

Do you still think you're not the right girl for me?

Or are you the only one who ever was?"

Aarohi, overwhelmed, hugged Nirvay tightly, crying uncontrollably into his chest.

Aarohi:

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

She kept crying in his arms, and Nirvay's tears silently fell too.

After some time, he gently made her sit down, wiped her tears, and comforted her until they both calmed down.

The day quietly came to an end.

---

Next Day – Office – Nirvay's Cabin

Aarohi:

"You have an evening meeting today."

Nirvay:

"Okay."

Aarohi turned to leave, but before she could step out, Nirvay called her.

Nirvay:

"Aarohi…

It's time you answered me, don't you think?"

Aarohi: (playfully pretending)

"Which question?"

Nirvay: (teasing)

"Do I really need to repeat it?"

Before he could say another word, Aarohi walked up to his chair — close, really close — so close that Nirvay's heartbeat momentarily skipped.

Looking straight into his eyes, she softly whispered:

Aarohi:

"I love you too."

Without hesitation, she gently placed a soft kiss on his lips.

As she turned to leave, Nirvay caught her hand firmly.

He stood up, pulled her into his arms — it was the kind of hug that carried five years of thirst, five years of suppressed passion.

He softly kissed her hair — a silent thank you for finally confessing.

His gaze locked with hers. Her eyes were saying something, asking something.

He leaned in toward her lips, but paused — waiting for her silent approval.

Aarohi gave him a small, shy smile — her eyes giving him the permission he needed.

And then — he let go.

The kiss started softly but soon turned deep, intense, desperate — like years of longing were pouring into that one moment.

Aarohi matched his intensity, but Nirvay's kiss held a different kind of possessiveness — a silent claim that said, "You're mine."

His grip, his warmth, his pace — all declared his right over her.

Aarohi didn't even realize when she completely surrendered herself to the moment.

The distance between them melted away in an instant.

After a few breathless moments, Nirvay rested his forehead against hers — both of them still catching their breath, their lips still trembling slightly.

It was a moment neither of them would ever forget.