8:00 PM — At Aditya’s House
Aditya took a deep breath and unlocked the door to his home.
As soon as the door opened, he saw Aniket sitting right there at the entrance, waiting for him.
When Aniket noticed him, he stood up with a small smile.
But Aditya, as if unfazed, ignored him completely and went inside, taking off his shoes.
Aniket made a face and followed behind, saying, “Aren’t you going to ask? How did I managed to escape Dad’s clutches so early today?”
Aditya didn’t respond — treating him as if he were a ghost that didn’t exist.
He took off his suit jacket and placed it neatly on the couch, then rolled up his shirt sleeves.
Standing in front of him, Aniket continued, “Dad looked oddly chill today! Guess he felt guilty after making me walk all the way to the office this morning!
Anyway, lucky you — now I’ll help you clean this mess!”
Without replying, Aditya began picking up the scattered things around the room.
Aniket sighed and said, “Hey… I came here just to ask your permission, okay?
You said this morning that you won’t let me clean up the mess I made — that you’ll do it yourself.
But I can’t just sit and watch! I made this mess, so I should be the one to fix it. Come on—”
Aditya glanced at him once — a cold, hard stare — and then turned away to continue cleaning.
The house was in chaos. Some things were broken, others scattered everywhere.
Aditya started gathering the large, broken pieces into a pile.
When Aditya didn’t say anything, Aniket joined in silently, picking up the broken fragments of showpieces — the same ones he had smashed the night before.
But just as Aniket gathered them, Aditya deliberately scattered them again and began re-collecting.
Frustrated, Aniket shouted, “Why are you so angry?! I’m trying to help! What’s the harm in that?!”
Aditya ignored him again.
Aniket pouted and sat on the sofa, watching Aditya continue his silent cleanup.
It took Aditya nearly two hours to clean everything.
The damage was clear — the broken showpieces were enough to show how much had been lost.
After finishing, Aditya quietly walked toward his room.
Aniket stood up and followed, but before he could step in — Aditya slammed the door right in his face.
Aniket shouted angrily, “Come on, man! I already apologized! How many times do I have to say it?
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
I swear, I’ll never drink again!”
But there was no reply.
A few moments later, there was a soft thud.
A letter slipped out from under the door.
Aniket bent down, picked it up, and opened it. Inside, it said:
“I can clean up the mess you made… but I can’t fix the trust you broke.
And if you don’t trust me — then I don’t trust you either.
Also, if there’s a place that lends common sense, go borrow some.
Because clearly, you don’t even realize your mistake.”
Aniket folded the note and tucked it into his pocket.
Then he knocked on the door again and said softly, “Yeah… I’m stupid. Maybe even more now.
But you — you’re my sense, Adi.
How can you just ignore me like this? Please, open the door…”
Another note slid out from beneath the door.
“I need peace. Be quiet… for a while.”
Aniket sat down right beside the door and whispered, “Fine… for a while. But only for a while, okay? You know I’m scared of silence…”
Inside
In his mind, he murmured,
“I’m scared too… Not of silence — but of voices. Of screams. Of people calling my name. It terrifies me…”
He lay down, curling up, covering his ears tightly with his hands — as if he could block out every sound.
Meanwhile, outside
Both were haunted by their pasts — painful memories that refused to fade.
For Aditya, it was the day his parents died — the fire, the screams, the chaos all around.
His little sister, Ira, was crying out his name — but Aditya had frozen, unable to move.
For Aniket, it was the day his mother left.
While his father was away, she left a note and walked out — leaving him alone in a silent house.
The emptiness and darkness of that day still followed him.
And yet… despite their different pain, their stories shared one thing in common — each other.
During that horrific night, it was Aniket who had covered Aditya’s ears — shielding him from the sounds that haunted him.
And it was Aditya who had climbed through Aniket’s window that lonely night — bringing light into his silent world.
But tonight, a wall stood between them again.
A wall they could easily cross if they just opened that one door… but how to open it — that was the question.
Moonlight streamed into Aditya’s room — until dark clouds passed before it, blocking the light.
From her own window, Saaniya watched the clouds drift across the moon and muttered, “This is why I hate clouds.
They steal away the beauty of the night sky.”
She sighed, looked down at the open book in her hand, and said, “I don’t know why… but this part feels like the side characters just stole the spotlight from the main ones.
The writer really needs to work harder — after all, it’s the main characters who deserve to shine the most!”
She smiled faintly and turned another page.
Her house was silent — because she was alone.
Anamika hadn’t returned home yet.
Right now, Anamika was in Ruhi’s car — and Ira was with them too!
Ira was talking endlessly, like always, while Anamika seemed lost in thought, staring out the window.
Her thoughts were racing: “Aditya… he went home so early today.
Is he okay? He looked… upset. Did something happen?”
Noticing her through the rearview mirror, Ruhi asked teasingly, “So, Lady Boss, what’s got you thinking so hard?”
Ira stopped mid-sentence, turning toward Anamika.
“Wait — were you not even listening to me?”
Anamika stammered, “I-I was listening! I just… had something on my mind. Aditya left early today, that’s all.”
Ruhi grinned mischievously. “Aww, feeling bad that Aditya sir didn’t drop you home today?”
Anamika made a pouty face. “It’s not like that!”
Ruhi laughed.
“Yeah, yeah, I know! But he did tell me he had something important to discuss with Aniket sir — that’s why he left early.”
At that, Ira said, “Guess they’ll have to fix their morning fight then!”
Ruhi looked shocked.
“They fought?! Aditya sir and Aniket sir? That’s like the moonlight arguing with the moon itself!”
Ira giggled softly.
“They rarely fight — that’s why it sounds strange to you!
My brother’s only fought with Aniket bhai once before this.”
Anamika, curious, asked, “Why? What happened?”
Ira folded her arms and sighed.
“I don’t know. They never tell me the reason behind their fights. Not back then, not now.
But I do remember one thing — when they fought the first time, even Shekhar uncle and my dad argued too.
Aniket bhai stayed with us for a few days after that… Dad only let him go home after Shekhar uncle apologized.”
Ruhi gasped dramatically.
“Wait — did your dad kidnap Aniket sir?!”
Ira looked at her in disbelief.
“What do you think our family is?!
No! The fight that happened between my dad and shekhar uncle was because of Aniket bhai, and also aniket bhai didn’t want to go back home — so he stayed with us for a while!”
Anamika said calmly, “That’s not the point. The question is — we still don’t know what caused their fight this time. And how it’s going to end…”
Ira smiled confidently.
“Don’t worry, delicate flower! My brother’s Level One anger burns out quickly.
By tomorrow, or maybe the day after, they’ll be back to normal.”
“Wait, Level One anger? What’s that?” Ruhi asked, puzzled.
Ira shrugged.
“I’m not exactly sure. But once, Mr. Shah told me that my brother never gets angrier than Level One with us.
Level Two and Level Three — those are reserved for outsiders.”
Ruhi blinked in surprise.
“Mr. Shah?! You know him?”
Ira smiled mysteriously. “Of course!”
“How?” Ruhi asked eagerly.
And Ira answered with a playful grin, “Because he’s my brother’s—”
To be continued…
