đ± 12:47 AM
Rohan Malhotra was half-asleep, curled into his blanket with one sock on and the other mysteriously lost in his sheets, when his phone buzzed. Once. Then twice.
He blinked into the darkness, annoyed.
Unknown Caller ID
He almost let it ring out. But something made him pick up.
"Hello�"
All he heard at first was soft breathing. Then a sniff.
"Rohan?"
A whisper. Small. Fragile.
"Ishita?"
"YeahâŠ"
He sat up. Fully alert now.
"What happened?"
She didn't answer right away. He could hear cars in the background. Wind. Maybe a soft honk. She was outside.
"Where are you?"
"Near Carter Road. I didn't know who else to call."
"Stay there. I'm coming."
đ 1:15 AM â Bandra Seaface
Rohan found her sitting on a sea-facing bench, hugging her knees, hair messy and eyes red. Her phone was loosely held in one hand like she forgot she was even using it.
She didn't look up until he sat beside her.
"You didn't have to come."
"You knew I would."
A soft, bitter laugh escaped her.
"Yeah. I think I did."
For a moment, she just stared at the waves. They crashed and rolled in the dark, like they didn't care who was hurting.
"He proposed," she said flatly.
Rohan stiffened. "Your⊠ex?"
"Yeah."
"I thought you two broke up."
"We did. Ages ago. But he showed up tonight. At my apartment. With a ring."
She wiped her eyes.
"My dad still likes him. My mother practically already calls him 'beta.' I told them all it was over. But no one listens."
Rohan didn't know what to say. So he just listened.
"You know the worst part?" she whispered. "There was a momentâlike a tiny, poisonous momentâwhere I almost said yes. Just to make the noise stop. Just to be done."
He turned to her.
"But you didn't."
"No. I didn't."
"That counts."
She looked at him. Really looked at him.
"Why are you always so⊠solid?" she said. "Like some kind of emotional wall that doesn't break."
"Because I've already broken once," he replied quietly. "Now I just try to stay standing."
There was a silence. Not heavy. Not awkward. Just still.
Then she shifted closer. Barely an inch. But enough.
"I feel safe with you," she whispered.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears.
"I'm not sure that's a good thing," he said.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know what this is."
She turned her face toward him. Inches away now. Her breath still shaky, but her eyesâsteady.
"Me neither."
And then, without warning, without logic, without planningâ
She kissed him.
Soft. Searching. Honest. The kind of kiss that didn't ask for anything back but offered everything anyway.
Rohan kissed her back.
For a second.
Then he pulled away.
"IshitaâŠ"
She looked away immediately.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "That was stupid. I didn't mean toâ"
"Don't," he said gently. "Don't say it like that."
"It was a mistake."
"Yeah," he said after a beat. "Maybe it was."
And that hurt more than he thought it would.
đŻïž 2:10 AM
He walked her to her car.
They didn't speak much after that. She promised she'd text when she got home. He promised he wouldn't think about the kiss.
They both lied.
As she closed the door, she looked up at him one last time.
"Thank you, Rohan."
"For what?"
"For answering the call."
And then she was gone.
Rohan stood alone by the sea.
Still unsure what that kiss meant.Still unsure what she meant.Still unsure why it felt like he had just started something he wouldn't be able to finish.
But he did know one thing.
He was already in too deep.