Vihaan's POV:
Her voice softened ever so slightly, though the fire in her eyes still lingered. I could feel her chest rising and falling faster, her breath catching on the anger that had defined these past few moments.
She took a step back, still glaring, but her hands relaxed. I would be lying if I said she was not looking like a cute, angry Pikachu. Wearing a yellow hoodie, with that cute angry face, and then lifting her hand with a sling was a step that almost made me laugh. She was using her sling as a weapon.
I made her sit on a chair beside while still reading her face, in case she again flared up.
Noah shifted towards me, being terrified of her.
"Why don't I have a girlfriend?" he muttered.
I smirked, secretly loving every chaotic second of this. Ama may be mad, dramatic, and armed with a sling, but she was also alive, fierce, and utterly… my favorite disaster.
She turned her head slowly toward Noah, and for a second I was sure he'd combust on the spot.
"You know, Noah," she said, her voice soft but her eyes wide enough to scare a lion, "you're breathing too loudly."
"Sorry," he stammered, pressing himself flatter against the wall. "I think I should stop breathing for now."
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. The poor guy looked like he wanted to phase into another dimension.
Then her gaze snapped to me. "What?" she asked, her expression instantly sharpening.
Before I could even open my mouth, she spoke again.
"You know what?" she said, her voice no longer angry but heartbreakingly steady. "I shouldn't be here."
The room felt suddenly smaller. Her words weren't a weapon anymore; they were a wound.
"Even if you wanted me to be protected, it wasn't the right way you did it," she went on, her tone soft but cutting deeper than any shout.
"You wanted to protect me from physical pain…" she swallowed hard, "…but at the cost of inner pain. Pain I can't even define."
A tear slid down her cheek, glinting in the dim light. She didn't wipe it away.
I sat there, silent. All the explanations I'd rehearsed, all the excuses, felt useless now. Watching her hurt because of me was the one thing I'd been trying to avoid — and here it was, anyway.
"Ama, I—" The words barely left my mouth before she cut me off.
"Let me complete," she said, her voice trembling but fierce. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to even breathe in that air."
Each syllable landed like a blow.
"I trusted you," she went on, tears brimming in her eyes. "And though you never broke it, that's a relief, but that day… You tore me apart."
The tears spilled now, streaking her cheeks, and I just stood there — frozen. My hands twitched at my sides, wanting to reach for her, to pull her close, but I didn't dare. Nothing I could say would undo this.
"You know how much that hurt me," she said, her voice cracking as she wiped her tears. "When you called me 'Amara.' It broke me. It felt like you never knew me — as if I was a stranger to you suddenly."
Her words were quiet, but they echoed inside me louder than a scream.
I opened my mouth again, but nothing came. Just a hollow ache in my chest. I'd tried to keep her safe, but in the process I'd become the person who'd hurt her the most.
"The way you looked at me with cold eyes, no emotions. It hurt, Vihaan, more than anything in this world," She continued, while still wiping her constant tears.
"How can you be so sure that keeping me away from you will do some good to me? If you really wanted to protect me, then why were you selfish? You just thought about yourself, that you needed to feel heroic, saving his girl while continuously hurting her feelings." Her every word made me realise how wrong I was."
I finally found my voice, but it was low, almost a whisper, more for myself than for her.
"Ama… I never wanted to hurt you," I began, my throat tight. "Every choice I made… it was for you. I thought… if I kept you away, if I built walls… maybe you'd be safe. I was wrong."
Her eyes flicked up at me, wide, a mix of disbelief and raw emotion.
"I thought I was protecting you," I continued, each word trembling. "But I see now… I was only protecting myself—from losing you, from facing what could happen if anything went wrong. And in doing that… I lost you in the process anyway."
She stayed silent, letting my words hit. Her chest heaved, tears still brimming.
Every word she spoke pierced me deeper than I thought possible. Her tears, her trembling voice, her hurt… it tore through the carefully constructed walls I had built around myself. I wanted to reach out, to gather her into my arms and never let go. But I froze, because I knew my touch could be misread, could shatter her trust even more if I moved too quickly.
"Ama…" I whispered, my voice cracking slightly despite my best efforts to stay steady. "I… I never meant to hurt you. Every choice I made… every moment I pushed you away… it was to keep you safe. But seeing you here, seeing your tears… I realize now, I failed. I failed you in every way that matters."
She looked at me with those burning eyes, hurt and love tangled together, and it was more than I could bear. My chest ached; I could feel the raw weight of my mistakes pressing against me.
"I… I wanted to protect you, yes, but not at the cost of your heart. And now, seeing how much pain I've caused… I'd do anything to take it back. Anything to make it right."
A shudder ran through me, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I let my vulnerability show. My hands, which always stayed steady for work, for everything else… now trembled slightly at my sides. My eyes, usually guarded, were bare and open, reflecting every ounce of regret and love I had for her.
"I am nothing without you, Ama. I don't care about everything else—my pride, my control, even my life… without you, none of it matters," I admitted, my voice barely more than a whisper, as if saying it too loudly would shatter the fragile moment.
Her soft intake of breath, the way her lips quivered, the faint catch in her voice—it was all I needed to see. She understood, even if she couldn't forgive me yet.
And in that instant, I realized something terrifying and beautiful at the same time: my entire world—every bit of strength, every plan, every guarded secret—was meaningless if I couldn't have her safe, and near, and aware that my heart had never left her side.