Chapter 7 – The Hidden Truth
The following days were quieter between them. Though Adrian and Aruna still met, the air carried an unspoken heaviness. Aruna smiled, she laughed, she talked about her sketches and clients, but there were moments when her gaze drifted away, as if she were somewhere he couldn’t reach.
Adrian noticed, but he didn’t push. He had promised himself he would wait until she was ready. Yet the silence weighed on him. He longed to understand the shadows behind her eyes, the reason she hesitated every time their closeness deepened.
One evening, they met again at the café where it had all begun. The rain had returned, tapping gently against the windows, filling the room with its steady rhythm. Adrian sat across from her, his coffee untouched, watching her stir her tea though she hadn’t taken a sip.
Finally, he asked quietly, “Aruna… what is it that you’re afraid of?”
Her hand froze, the spoon clinking softly against the cup. She didn’t meet his gaze at first. For a long moment, she simply breathed, her shoulders rising and falling. Then, slowly, she lifted her eyes to his.
“I wasn’t going to tell you,” she whispered. “I didn’t want you to see me differently. But maybe… maybe it’s unfair to keep hiding it.”
Adrian leaned forward, his heart steady but heavy. “Whatever it is, just tell me.”
She closed her eyes briefly, as if gathering strength. When she spoke, her voice was fragile but resolute.
“There was someone before you. Someone I gave my heart to completely.”
The words struck him, not with surprise, but with the ache of inevitability. He stayed silent, letting her continue.
“We were together for years,” Aruna said, her fingers tightening around her cup. “He was my world, my anchor. I thought we would build a life together. But it ended… and it ended badly. There were promises, broken trust, words I can’t forget.”
Her eyes glistened, though she didn’t let the tears fall. “When it was over, I told myself I wouldn’t let anyone close again. I couldn’t bear the thought of being hurt like that a second time. And now… now you’re here.”
Adrian’s chest ached. He wanted to reach for her hand, to ease the tremor in her voice. But he sensed that touch now might break her resolve.
“Aruna,” he said softly, “I don’t want to replace your past. I only want to be part of your now.”
Her lips trembled at his words. She shook her head slightly, as though torn between belief and fear. “You don’t understand, Adrian. The deeper I feel this… the more terrified I become. What if it ends the same way? What if I lose myself all over again?”
He breathed deeply, his voice steady. “Then let’s not think about the ending. Let’s think about today. Right here, right now. That’s all I want.”
Silence stretched between them, thick with the weight of truths finally spoken. Aruna’s eyes searched his, looking for something — certainty, safety, maybe even forgiveness for her fear.
And in his gaze, she found no judgment, only quiet patience.
She lowered her eyes to the cup, then set it down with a trembling hand. “I don’t know if I can promise you anything, Adrian. Not yet.”
He nodded slowly. “Then don’t promise. Just… stay.”
Aruna’s lips curved into the faintest, most fragile smile. She didn’t speak, but she didn’t leave either.
Outside, the rain fell harder, as though echoing the storm between them. But for the first time, Adrian felt that the storm had a name.
Her past was no longer hidden. The truth was painful, yes, but it was real. And he knew he wanted to face it with her.
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