1:00 AM — At Aditya’s House
Aditya and Aniket were lying on a mattress they’d set up on the terrace.
The sky above was filled with stars. Between them — silence.
But somehow, this silence didn’t feel bad at all. They were smiling faintly, just staring up at the sky.
Breaking the silence, Aniket kept his eyes fixed on the stars and said, “By the way, aren’t you curious… whom I love? And why?”
Aditya replied calmly, “Like you said — you gave her butterfly-shaped earrings… and she returned them to you. That was enough for me to know it’s Saaniya. And as for why… I don’t want to know that — because love never really has a reason.”
Aniket sat up suddenly, shouting, “What are you, a mind-reader or a detective?! How the hell did you guess it so easily?!”
Aditya laughed. “Because Saaniya was really troubled by that.”
“What?!” Aniket asked in confusion.
Aditya smiled, sat up, and said, “She was worried about how to return your gift! And even after returning it, she couldn’t stop thinking about the question you asked her!”
Aniket grabbed Aditya’s collar, frowning. “What question?! And how do you know all this?!”
Aditya burst out laughing. “Wow… that’s new! Never seen this side of you before!”
Aniket stepped back awkwardly and turned his face away, mumbling, “Uh, well… I just… I mean… I was just—” He made a face, glancing back at Aditya, who was laughing. “Don’t tease me! Just tell me how you found out!”
Aditya replied, “Anamika told me. Like I said — Saaniya was upset because of you, and because of her, my mangaka got upset too! You know, when Anamika starts thinking too deeply, she goes so silent that no sound reaches her ears. I was scared for her.”
Aniket made a face. “So your gulabo told you, huh? You should be thanking me actually — indirectly, I helped you out!”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Aditya squinted at him. “Not really! She told me because she trusts me.”
Aniket narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Aditya quickly looked away and said, “Fine! Maybe you did help me a little! And thanks to your little gift incident, I also realized that Anamika actually believes in me and my words — which was always my dream.”
They both looked at each other and laughed.
After a few moments, their laughter faded, leaving behind a calm quietness.
Then Aniket looked straight into Aditya’s eyes and said softly, “There’s one more thing… something I’ve been hiding.”
Aditya exhaled deeply. “Well… same here. I’ve been hiding something too.”
Aniket blinked in surprise. “Wait, what?! There’s something I don’t know?”
Aditya scratched his neck awkwardly. “Well, you kinda know… and you kinda don’t. But first, you tell me.”
Aniket frowned. “No, you tell me first.”
Aditya smirked. “How about we settle this with rock-paper-scissors?”
Aniket’s eyes lit up. “Deal!”
After ten rounds, Aniket had lost every time..
He pouted and thought, "Is it your secret that you secretly practice this game every night?!"
“Anyway…” Aniket sighed, looking up at the sky. “I lost, so I’ll go first. That day — the reunion party — remember I said that Saaniya accidentally wandered into that graveyard because she was drunk? That was a lie. Her mother’s grave is there. And in that drunken state, she was actually talking about her past.”
Aditya frowned. “That’s it? That’s your secret?”
Aniket’s tone grew serious. “It’s not just that. That night, she said she killed her father.”
Aditya’s eyes widened. “What?!”
Aniket nodded slowly. “I didn’t believe it either. That’s why I started digging into her past. Her mother committed suicide — like she mentioned that night. Her father also died when she was ten… but it wasn’t a murder. I accessed the police reports illegally. According to them, it was just an accident. Still, something about that report felt off to me. I really think she did kill him — but she wasn’t alone. That night, she said she did it with the help of someone — a demon. I don’t know who that is. I tried to find out, but I couldn’t. She was adopted barely a month after her father’s death, but there’s no record of her adoptive parents.”
Aditya looked thoughtful. “That’s strange… and I’m sorry — I checked your phone yesterday. I read some of those reports too. From what I saw, it looked like a carefully planned setup. If that’s true… then Saaniya has gone through a lot. But we need to dig deeper into her past — because I’m starting to realize we really don’t know anything about her. What if someone from her past is still out there… someone who could hurt her?”
Both of them fell silent, lost in thought.
After a few moments, Aniket spoke up again. “So… what’s your secret?”
Aditya hesitated before answering. “Remember two years ago, when I told you I’d leave the underworld behind?”
“Yeah. And Mr. Shah quit his job because he didn’t agree with that decision.”
Aditya nodded slowly. “Well… I couldn’t actually do it.”
Aniket froze. “What do you mean, you couldn’t?! Adi… we got into the underworld only to find your parents’ killer… that psycho one! We wanted to know who was behind it — but we couldn't find it. After a year of hunting killers, we learned that the world isn’t ours! You promised to leave it! You said you wouldn’t keep chasing your parents’ killer anymore, because in this process you’d made too many enemies already! You know what it means to make enemies in that world!”
Aditya lowered his gaze. “This time… my reason is different. I know — it’s been six years since my parents died. Even if I find the killer and kill her myself, it won’t change what happened. I can’t erase the fear in my sister’s fragile heart, and I can’t bring my family back to what it was. I’ll have to live without my parents — but I’m still in the underworld… because now, I don’t want anyone else to end up like me.”
He looked up. His eyes — sharp and cold — carried the weight of pain and fury.
The air around them shifted, as if the night itself had gone still.
Aniket finally broke the silence. “Explain properly… what made you change your decision?”
Aditya’s voice turned low, almost a whisper. “Because…”
