Season 1, Episode 15 of "Before She Knew My Heart"
Some people fall apart when love hurts.
Others stay standing —but quietly build walls inside themselvesso the pain has somewhere to rest.
Aarav chose the second.
Nights slowly became his world.
Not because he loved being awake when everyone else slept —but because nights didn't look at him like they expected answers.
During the day, he smiled when needed.Spoke when spoken to.Showed up.
But at night, alone in his room, he could finally be honest.
The blue glow of his laptop replaced the warmth of conversations he no longer had. The ticking of the clock replaced the sound of her laughter through the wall. And somewhere between code and caffeine, he learned how to exist without asking why.
He told himself it was discipline.Focus.Ambition.
But deep down, he knew.
It was how he kept himself from breaking.
Her playlist played softly in the background.
He never changed it.
Never skipped a song.
She had shared it casually once, months ago — sitting on his bed, scrolling through her phone, saying,
"These are my comfort songs. Don't laugh."
He hadn't laughed then.And he didn't now.
Each song carried a version of her —the carefree one who sang along while brushing her hair,the quiet one who listened with earphones in, staring at nothing,the emotional one who sent lyrics instead of explanations.
Now those songs played while he worked.
While he built.
While he tried to move forward without leaving her behind.
The idea for the startup had lived in his head for years.
He had always been like that — noticing problems others ignored. Thinking quietly. Planning endlessly. Never talking about it unless he was sure.
Now, the idea finally had shape.
A product.A system.Something meant to help people — quietly, efficiently — without demanding attention.
Just like him.
Some nights, things worked perfectly.
Other nights, nothing made sense.
Bugs appeared out of nowhere. Errors refused to resolve. Screens froze, progress vanished.
But he didn't slam his laptop shut.
Didn't curse.
He simply leaned back, closed his eyes, took a breath, and tried again.
Broken things didn't scare him.
He was used to fixing them.
Across the wall, Ayla noticed the change.
His lights stayed on longer now.Later than before.
Sometimes until two.Sometimes until three.
She noticed because she checked.
Not consciously.
Just… instinctively.
The wall between their rooms felt thicker now — not because of distance, but because of everything neither of them was saying.
She'd hear faint music sometimes.
Her music.
And that confused her more than silence ever did.
Some nights, she opened their chat.
Scrolled.
Stopped at old messages where everything was easy.
Where conversations flowed without effort.
She typed.
Deleted.
Typed again.
Then locked her phone and placed it face-down on the bed, like it had betrayed her.
She told herself she was giving space.
But space didn't feel peaceful.
It felt empty.
One night, Aarav's phone lit up.
Her name.
Typing…
His heart jumped — just slightly.
Then steadied itself.
He didn't open the chat immediately.
Not because he didn't care.
But because he cared too much.
Because if he read something that sounded distant, it would undo everything he had spent weeks building inside himself.
The typing disappeared.
No message.
Just like that.
He stared at the screen for a long time.
Then locked it.
And went back to work.
Ayla stood near his door one evening.
Longer than she meant to.
Lights on.Keyboard clicking softly.Music low.
Her song.
She leaned her forehead against the door for just a second.
Didn't knock.
Didn't walk away immediately either.
Somehow, knowing he was still there — still awake, still fighting his own battles — made her chest ache in a way she couldn't explain.
Back in his room, Aarav leaned back in his chair and removed his earphones.
The song ended.
Another began.
He stared at the ceiling, exhaustion settling in.
"I'm building something," he whispered to the empty room."I don't know if it'll work…but it's the only way I know how to keep moving."
Outside, the night listened.
Between playlists and progress bars,between missing her and finding himself,Aarav wasn't just waiting anymore.
He was becoming someonewho could stand even if the world didn't return what he gave.
End of Chapter 15
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✍️ A Love Story by Saathwik