Sameera's POV:
Being home didn't feel like home anymore.
It felt like a place where every wall had ears… and every silence judged me.
A few days had passed.
Days that blurred into each other. Mornings started with taunts. Evenings ended with reminders.
"Four years of college and this is what you did?"
"So much money wasted."
"We trusted you."
Every word chipped away at me slowly.
I had stopped arguing. Stopped explaining. Stopped feeling, almost.
Because every time I tried to speak, my voice carried his name. And that only made things worse.
Today was no different.
I was sitting on my bed, staring at nothing, when Aai walked in without knocking.
"Get ready," she said.
I didn't respond.
My mind was too tired to even ask why.
She opened the cupboard, pulled out a dress, and threw it on the bed.
"Wear this."
I looked at it. Then at her.
Still silent.
Her tone hardened.
"Don't embarrass us in front of the guests."
Guests?
My brows furrowed slightly.
"What guests?" I finally asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"You'll see," she said, dismissively, already walking out.
Something in my chest tightened.
But I didn't have the energy to fight.
So I got up.
Got ready.
Draped myself in the version of me they wanted to see.
Quiet. Presentable. Acceptable.
By the time I stepped out into the living room…
I froze.
They were already seated. Smiling. Talking. Comfortable. As if they belonged here. As if I was expected.
My eyes landed on him.
Anil.
And suddenly, everything clicked.
My heartbeat louder.
"Aai…" I whispered under my breath.
But she was already beside me, her hand gripping my arm a little too tightly.
"Come," she said with a forced smile.
"Sit."
I walked forward mechanically. Every second felt like a trap closing in.
"Sameera beta," his mother said warmly, "we've heard so much about you."
I forced a smile. My hands were cold. I sat there. Listening. Nodding. Answering questions I didn't even process. All while one thought screamed inside my head—
They didn't even ask me.
Not once. Not even a hint. Just… decided.
"Go, take Anil to your room," Aai suddenly said.
My head snapped towards her.
"What?"
"So you both can talk," she added, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
I looked at her.
Hoping—just hoping—there would be some hesitation in her eyes.
There wasn't.
I stood up.
Anil followed me inside my room, closing the door behind him.
The same room where I had cried myself to sleep every night since I came back.
I stood near the window, not turning towards him. There was a moment of silence. Then—
"You don't look very happy," he said.
A small, humourless smile escaped me.
"Do I have a reason to be?"
He didn't respond immediately.
"I know this is sudden," he said after a pause. "But our families think—"
"Our families think a lot of things," I cut him off.
My voice wasn't loud. But it wasn't weak anymore either.
"They didn't think it was important to ask me."
He sighed lightly.
"They're just looking out for you."
I turned then. Finally looking at him.
"By deciding my life for me?"
Silence. Heavy. Uncomfortable.
I could feel it again.
That suffocating pressure.
That invisible cage tightening around me.
My mind drifted. To him. To the way he would have stood in front of me right now—
My chest ached.
I looked away quickly.
"I'm not ready for this," I said, more to myself than to him.
"But you said yes to giving it a try," he replied.
My head snapped back.
"What?"
"Our parents spoke," he said. "They told us… if things go well, we can take this forward."
Hearing this I stepped out of my room, Anil followed me behind. It felt like I was walking into a decision that had already been made for me.
Everyone looked up.
Aai. Baba. His parents.
Smiling. Waiting. Expecting.
Something inside me snapped.
"Since when?" My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Since when did I say yes to all of this?"
The room fell silent.
Aai's expression changed instantly.
"Sameera—"
"No," I cut her off, my hands trembling but my voice refusing to back down this time. "I have clearly told you I don't want to get married. Not now. Not like this."
Anil spoke up, trying to ease the tension. "Hey… calm down. I think they just want you to be happy," he said gently. "And honestly… I liked you and your family from the start. You all seem like really good people."
Something about that—really good people—made something ugly rise in my chest.
I laughed.
A broken, disbelieving laugh.
"You think this is a perfect family?" I looked straight at him, my eyes burning.
"That's what it looks like, right?"
Aai tried to intervene, her voice low but firm, "Bas, Sameera. Not in front of guests."
But I was done. Completely done.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Not this time. I'm not going to stay quiet and listen to you again."
My voice trembled, but the words kept pouring out, years of silence finally finding their way.
"You see a perfect family from the outside, Anil. But no one sees what it's like to be inside one like this. The weight… the pressure… the constant need to be what they want you to be."
My throat tightened, but I didn't stop.
"Parents say they sacrifice everything for you, and slowly… it turns into guilt. A trap you can't escape from. Here, children aren't raised with freedom. They're raised with rules."
I could feel my heartbeat picking up, my chest rising and falling faster.
"Hobbies are a waste of time. Dreams are too big. And every 'no' you say feels like betrayal."
Aai tried to stop me again, her voice sharper now, "Sameera, bas!"
But I couldn't hear her anymore.
"They compare you with the whole world," I continued, my voice breaking, "but they never see their own child breaking right in front of them."
Tears blurred my vision.
"They choose your education, your job, your partner… as if your life is their property. Not your journey."
My breath hitched.
"And when you cry, you're ungrateful. When you speak, you're rude. When you suffer... its normal."
The room felt like it was spinning.
"They reject the person you love…" my voice dropped to a whisper, "and then happily accept a stranger… just because society will applaud it."
Silence.
"They don't want a child who lives," I said, looking at Aai and Baba, my vision shaking, "they want a child who listens."
My voice cracked completely.
"But I want to live, Aai… Baba."
The words barely left my mouth before my body gave in. My knees hit the floor.
The panic came rushing back—faster, harsher. My chest tightened painfully, breaths coming out short and uneven.
Someone moved quickly—Anil.
He crouched down beside me, holding my shoulders, trying to steady me.
"Hey… hey, are you okay?"
I shook my head, gasping, my hands trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm not okay," I managed to say, my voice breaking between breaths. "It's… it's a panic attack…"
There was a pause.
A confused one.
"A panic attack?" Baba's voice came from somewhere above me.
I let out a weak, breathless laugh that didn't even sound like mine.
"Yes… panic attacks," I said, forcing the words out. "I've been getting them for the last two years."
"I didn't tell you," I continued, my chest still heaving, "because I thought you'd worry."
My eyes lifted to meet theirs.
"But now… I think you would have blamed me for that too."
That hurt more than everything else.
Slowly, I pushed myself up. My legs felt weak. My head heavy.
But I couldn't stay there.
Not anymore.
Not in that room.
Not in that house.
Without looking at anyone again, I turned and walked out.
I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know what I was going to do. All I knew was—
I couldn't breathe in there anymore.
---
The moment I stepped out of the building, the air hit me differently.
Like I had just escaped something.
Or maybe… like I had just lost everything.
My steps were uneven as I walked into the parking area, my chest still rising and falling too fast, breaths not quite steady yet—
"Sameera?"
I froze. That voice. I looked up.
Janvhi. And Aryan… standing beside her.
Janvhi's expression changed instantly the moment she saw my face.
"Oh my god—Sam…" she rushed towards me, grabbing my shoulders.
"What happened to you?"
I tried to speak, but my breath hitched again. The panic wasn't fully gone.
My fingers curled into my palms as I forced myself to breathe.
In. Out. In… Out.
Janvhi stayed right there, her hand gently rubbing my arm. "Hey… hey, it's okay. Breathe. I'm here."
It took a few seconds. Or maybe minutes. But slowly… my heartbeat began to settle. My breathing evened out. I swallowed, looking at both of them, confusion slowly replacing everything else.
"Why are you guys here?"
Janvhi exchanged a quick look with Aryan before looking back at me.
"Because you disappeared, Sameera," she said, her voice a mix of worry and frustration. "I've been trying to reach you for days. Calls, messages, emails—everything. Your phone is switched off!"
I looked away.
"Yeah…" I said quietly. "I switched everything off."
"Why?" she asked softly.
I let out a hollow laugh.
"To get away from him."
The words felt heavier now. Because even saying them hurt.
"If he texted… or called…" I continued, my voice dropping, "I wouldn't be able to control myself."
Janvhi's grip on my arm tightened slightly.
"You don't have to control yourself, Sam."
I frowned, looking at her. "What?"
She glanced at Aryan.
"Aryan has something to tell you."
My chest tightened again.
"What?"
Aryan shifted uncomfortably, running a hand through his hair before stepping forward.
"I'm sorry, Sameera," he said, his voice low. "I should've told you all this earlier… but after seeing you in the hospital that day… I just—"
"Aryan," I cut him off, my patience already thinning, "just say it."
He nodded. Took a breath.
"You've misunderstood Saharsh."
Something inside me snapped again.
Of course. Of course this was about him.
I turned instantly, ready to walk away. But Janvhi grabbed my wrist.
"Sameera, please. Just listen to him once."
"I've heard enough," I said coldly.
"No, you haven't," Aryan's voice came, firmer this time. "Because I was there that day."
My steps halted. Slowly… I turned back.
"What do you mean… you were there?"
"I was in one of the rooms nearby," he said. "You only saw a part of what happened."
My heart started racing again.
Not panic this time.
Fear.
"What part?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Aryan looked straight at me.
"Gauri confessed to Saharsh that day. She told him she likes him. That he should leave you," he continued. "But Saharsh… he kept arguing. He kept telling her that they're just friends. That he loves you."
My eyes stung.
No.
No, I—
"She said she was there before you," Aryan went on. "That you just came into his life suddenly. That it must be infatuation. But Saharsh didn't budge," Aryan's voice softened. "He kept saying the same thing again and again…"
My heart was pounding now.
"What… what did he say?"
Aryan didn't break eye contact.
"That it was always you... That you're the only girl he's ever had a crush on. The only one he's ever liked… ever loved," he said. "It has always been you, Sameera. Only you."
Tears blurred my vision.
Everything inside me started breaking all over again—
"But Gauri…" Aryan's jaw tightened, "she was manipulating him. And when she saw you coming…"
My chest tightened painfully.
"…she leaned in and kissed him. She stopped him from going after you," Aryan continued. "He tried to push her away and come after you, but she—"
He paused, frustrated.
"She went crazy, Sameera. I don't know where she got it from, but she had a knife. She threatened to hurt herself if he left."
My eyes widened.
"What…?"
"That's when I stepped in," he said. "I came out, took the knife away from her. Held her back. And told Saharsh to go find you."
A tear slipped down my cheek.
"But you were already gone," he finished quietly.
"We found you straight in the hospital after that," Aryan added. "And he… he told me not to tell you anything until you got better."
My legs felt weak.
Everything I thought I knew—
Everything I believed—
It was all… wrong?
Janvhi stepped closer to me, her voice softer now. "Sameera… Saharsh has been trying to reach you non-stop."
I didn't look at her.
I couldn't.
"The last two days have been really bad for him," she continued. "Daksh and I couldn't even find him."
My heart clenched.
"We finally found him here… under your building… yesterday."
My head snapped up.
"What?"
"He had a fever," she said quietly. "He was just sitting there."
Guilt hit me like a wave.
"We took him to the hospital," she added.
Janvhi glanced at Aryan, shaking her head slightly. "And that's when this idiot finally told us everything."
Aryan gave an awkward nod. "Yeah… I went to see him after I heard, and… I couldn't keep it in anymore."
Janvhi sighed.
"So we came straight here to find you," she said. "Daksh took him home."
Everything inside me felt… shattered. From the realization—
I had broken him too.
My hands trembled. My heart racing for a completely different reason now.
"Saharsh…" I whispered.
And suddenly… nothing else mattered.
I looked up at Janvhi, my voice shaky but certain—
"I want to see him."