Season 1, Episode 14 of "Before She Knew My Heart"
Some moments don't arrive with drama.
They come quietly.Like a glass of water.Like a question asked casually.Like a truth that has been waiting for years to be noticed.
Aarav had been to Ayla's house thousands of times.
He didn't ring the bell anymore.Never had to.
The gate creaked the same way it always did, and the smell of evening tea drifted out — cardamom, warmth, familiarity. This house had watched him grow. Watched him wait.
Ayla wasn't home yet.
Her mother sat in the living room, folding freshly washed clothes, the TV murmuring in the background — something she wasn't really watching.
She looked up and smiled when she saw him.
"You look thinner," she said gently. "Are you eating properly, Aarav?"
He smiled — that careful smile he had perfected over the years. The one that said I'm fine even when he wasn't.
"College work," he replied. "It's been a bit much."
"Hmm," she said knowingly. "It's always 'a bit much' with you."
She gestured toward the kitchen."Go drink some water first. You always forget."
He always did.
He walked into the kitchen, poured himself a glass, and leaned against the counter.
As he drank, memories flooded in without permission.
Standing there with Ayla at thirteen, fighting over who drank last.Midnight snacks after exam results.That one night she cried at the sink because she thought she wasn't good enough.
This kitchen had heard everything — except the one thing he never said.
From the living room, her mother spoke again.
Casually. Almost playfully.
"So, Aarav," she said, still folding clothes, "do you have someone special in your life now?"
His hand tightened around the glass.
He hadn't expected that.
"N-no," he replied immediately.
Too quickly.
She smiled to herself.
"You boys," she said softly. "Always say no… even when your eyes say otherwise."
The words landed gently.But they hit deep.
He walked back into the living room, glass still half-full, heart suddenly heavy.
She finally looked at him then — really looked.
The way mothers do when they already know the answer and are just waiting for you to catch up.
"There is someone, isn't there?" she asked.
Silence filled the room.
Not awkward.
Honest.
Aarav stared at the floor.
He didn't plan to say anything.
He never did.
But something about that room — the safety, the years, the way she had treated him like her own son — broke the dam.
"Yes," he said quietly.
Her hands stopped folding.
"She's… very important to me."
Her breath stilled.
She didn't rush him.Didn't interrupt.
"Does she know?" she asked gently.
He shook his head.
"No."
Another pause.
Then, in the softest voice, she asked the question that had been waiting for years.
"Is it Ayla?"
His throat closed.
He couldn't speak.
He didn't have to.
His silence was louder than any confession.
She stood up slowly and walked toward him.
Placed a hand on his shoulder.
Not questioning.Not judging.
Just… understanding.
"You know," she said, "love doesn't always come loudly. Some people love by staying. By choosing the same person every day… even when it hurts."
His voice cracked.
"If I lose her," he whispered,"I lose my entire world."
It wasn't dramatic.
It was just true.
Her grip tightened slightly.
Then she smiled — not teasing, not playful — but proud.
"She's lucky," she said. "Even if she doesn't see it yet."
Tears burned behind his eyes, but he didn't let them fall.
He nodded.
That was enough.
Later that night, as Aarav walked back home, the glass of water forgotten on the table, his steps felt heavier.
Not because he was tired.
But because for the first time…
Someone had seen him.
Someone had said it out loud.
And suddenly, his love didn't feel invisible anymore.
From her bedroom window, Ayla watched him leave.
She didn't know what had been said inside those walls.
But something about the way he walked — slower, quieter, deeper — made her chest tighten.
It felt like something had shifted.
Like a page had turned.
And somehow…
She felt it too.
End of Chapter 14
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✍️ A Love Story by Saathwik