The next morning, Aarshi woke up with a splitting headache, as if someone was drilling into her skull. Groaning in pain, she slowly walked toward the hall while holding her head.
In the hall, she saw Momo placing breakfast on the table. The moment Momo noticed her, she smiled warmly.
"Very good morning," she greeted cheerfully.
Aarshi looked absolutely miserable. "There's nothing good about this morning," she complained weakly. "I'm dying from this headache."
Momo immediately made a special warm drink for her. After drinking it slowly, Aarshi finally started feeling a little better.
And the very first thing she asked after recovering was—
"Where is Ayaan?"
Momo sighed lightly. "He must be in his room playing games."
"Has he had breakfast yet?" Aarshi asked.
"Not yet."
"Then why isn't he coming downstairs?"
Momo hesitated for a moment before replying, "He's upset."
Aarshi frowned. "Why?"
"Because I scolded him yesterday… because of the incident."
"What incident?" Aarshi asked in confusion.
Momo immediately avoided the topic. "Just let it go. You weren't in your senses yesterday."
Aarshi tried hard to remember something from the previous night, but her mind was completely blank. Honestly, it was probably better that way. Otherwise, living in that house afterward would have become impossible for her out of embarrassment.
"Let me call him for breakfast," Aarshi said while getting up.
"You should eat first. I'll go," Momo offered.
"No, I'll do it."
Despite the dizziness, Aarshi slowly climbed the stairs. Every step made her feel like she would collapse at any moment, but she still forced herself upward.
She reached Ayaan's room and knocked on the door.
No response.
She knocked again.
Still nothing.
After knocking more than three times, she finally opened the door herself.
Inside, Ayaan was sitting at his study table, deeply focused on an eSports match. His fingers moved skillfully across the controls while the bright screen reflected in his tired eyes. He looked unbelievably professional while playing.
Right before Aarshi entered properly, he eliminated the fourth player from the opposing team.
She stood beside him quietly for a moment, watching him in fascination.
Then suddenly, she pulled his headphones off his head and loudly screamed—
"BREAKFAST IS READYYYYYY!"
Unfortunately, his microphone was still on.
The entire team heard her voice.
Immediately, his friends burst into laughter.
"Your cute little friend came to invite you for breakfast!" one of them teased.
"Go eat first!" another joked.
Ayaan closed his eyes in annoyance for a second before muting the mic.
Then he looked at Aarshi expressionlessly. "I'm not in the mood for breakfast."
Only then did Aarshi properly notice him.
He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
His hair was messy, his eyes looked exhausted, and it was painfully obvious that he had not slept the entire night.
"Wait… you haven't even bathed?" she asked innocently.
Ayaan ignored the question completely.
"Why didn't you sleep all night?" she asked again.
"It's none of your concern," he replied coldly.
His tone stung her a little, but she assumed he was only irritated because she had interrupted his match.
So she spoke more gently this time. "Please come eat breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
Aarshi stood behind his chair and suddenly started shaking his shoulders dramatically just to annoy him.
At first, Ayaan ignored her.
But after a few seconds, he finally lost patience. He grabbed her wrists firmly and said in a low voice,
"Go eat your breakfast. I'm not in the mood."
Instead of listening, Aarshi snatched his headphones and immediately ran downstairs.
Ayaan instantly stood up and followed her.
But Aarshi, with her tiny legs and weak condition, barely managed to escape two steps before he caught her on the staircase.
"Can't you leave me alone for some time?" he asked irritably.
Aarshi looked at him with innocent puppy eyes.
"If you stay alone," she said softly, "then who will stay with me?"
For a moment, Ayaan went silent.
Still, he tried to stay distant. "Isn't Momo home?"
"She is… but she'll leave for work soon. After that, I'll be alone."
"You can join the match."
"No," Aarshi immediately refused. "I don't want that."
Then she added quietly,
"Please have breakfast. After that, you can sleep in the hall. I won't disturb you."
Ayaan frowned. "Why would I sleep in the hall?"
"So I won't feel lonely there."
"What's your problem with being alone?"
Aarshi smiled faintly. "I actually like being alone. But… I feel like this is the time to make memories. I don't want to stay alone right now. Even if you sleep in the hall, I'll remember that you slept there because I asked you to."
Ayaan stared at her silently.
"So you want something memorable?" he asked quietly.
Aarshi nodded.
Without saying another word, Ayaan handed her his iPad.
"Then keep this memory."
Confused, Aarshi looked down at the screen.
And the moment she saw the photo, her entire soul froze.
It was a picture of her kissing Ayaan's cheek while being wrapped in his arms.
The picture had clearly been taken hurriedly, yet somehow it looked painfully perfect—like a real couple's photograph.
Her jaw dropped instantly.
Meanwhile, Ayaan calmly walked downstairs, leaving her standing there in complete shock.
Her mind completely stopped functioning.
Downstairs, Ayaan silently started eating breakfast.
Momo looked at him suspiciously. "Why haven't you slept?"
Even though he clearly wasn't in a good mood, he still answered politely, "I was doing some work."
"What work?"
"Just some team work."
Momo didn't question him further.
Meanwhile, Aarshi remained frozen on the staircase, still staring at the photo on the iPad with burning embarrassment. She had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to face Ayaan after this.
Momo looked around. "Where's Aarshi?"
Without even looking up, Ayaan replied, "She's trying to remember yesterday's incident. I didn't disturb her."
Momo immediately became furious.
"How could you show her that?!" she scolded him. "If she remembers everything, how will she face you afterward?"
Ayaan took another bite calmly. "That's not my problem."
Momo sighed helplessly and immediately went upstairs to check on Aarshi.
She found her still standing there motionless, holding the iPad tightly.
"What happened, Aarshi?" Momo asked worriedly.
Aarshi slowly looked at her. "What exactly happened yesterday?"
"You were just a little drunk," Momo replied casually.
In reality, Momo had absolutely no idea that Aarshi had kissed Ayaan while drunk. She assumed Aarshi was only embarrassed because of the chaos she had created the previous night.
"Forget it," Momo comforted her gently. "None of it matters."
Aarshi still wasn't fully convinced, but eventually she came downstairs for breakfast.
Sitting directly in front of Ayaan at the table made her feel unbearably awkward.
She couldn't even lift her eyes to look at him.
Momo smiled politely at both of them before leaving for work.
"I hope you two survive peacefully until I come back."
And with that, she left the house.
After she was gone, silence filled the dining table.
Ayaan looked distant now, almost uninterested. It was as if he had suddenly drawn strict boundaries around himself.
Meanwhile, Aarshi kept remembering that photo again and again, dying internally from embarrassment.
Finally, she gathered the courage to speak.
"I'm really sorry about… this."
Ayaan looked at her calmly. "What about the other things you did yesterday?"
Aarshi blinked in confusion. "What other things?"
"Forget it," he muttered. "The more you hear, the harder it'll become for you to live here."
Then he added quietly,
"I honestly don't care about what happened yesterday."
Aarshi looked at him carefully. "How did all of this even happen?"
For the first time, guilt appeared in Ayaan's eyes.
"It was my fault," he said in a low voice. "I let you drink with him. If it had been your own decision, none of this would've happened. I know you would never trust that guy… but you trusted me enough to trust him."
Aarshi immediately shook her head.
"Stop blaming yourself for that."
Then she noticed the bruise near his face more carefully.
"By the way… what happened to your face?"
Ayaan instinctively touched it. "Is it that visible?"
"It's obvious you fought with him."
"It wasn't serious."
Leaving the food untouched, Aarshi hurried off in search of a first aid kit. Tracking it down in another room, she rushed back, intent on tending to Ayaan's wounds.
But Ayaan stopped her. "Let me have my breakfast first," he mumbled. Aarshi gave a quiet nod, sitting back down to finish her own meal.
Examining the injuries closely, she couldn't help but ask, "How could Momo possibly miss these scars on your face?"
"She saw them," Ayaan replied flatly. "She knew I fought."
"And...?" Aarshi pressed.
"And what? She scolded me for it."
A wave of guilt washed over Aarshi. "I'm really so sorry for everything..."
Ayaan snapped. The tension broke as he erupted, his voice echoing through the room. "Can you please just stop apologizing?!"
Stunned into silence, Aarshi didn't say another word. Seeking an escape from the heavy atmosphere, she quietly suggested he take a bath. He retreated to his room without a protest.
When he finally came downstairs, fresh from the shower, he immediately began arranging pillows on the sofa.
"What are you doing?" Aarshi asked, watching him.
"I'm going to sleep. So please, just don't disturb me."
Refusing to let it go, Aarshi stood her ground. "First, tell me what you were doing the entire night."
"It's none of your concern," he muttered, turning away.
Stepping closer, Aarshi gently placed her hand on his shoulder, her voice softening into a plea. "Please... just tell me."
Ayaan sighed, the resistance draining out of him. "Me and Zayn were trying to hack someone's account."
A shockwave of disbelief hit Aarshi. "Did you... succeed?" she whispered.
Ayaan simply nodded, then collapsed onto the sofa, offering no further explanation. Watching him close his eyes, a strange sense of relief washed over Aarshi. He was exhausted, and he was reckless—but at the very least, she was satisfied knowing he wasn't angry with her anymore.
Aarshi had completely forgotten that she was supposed to apply ointment to Ayaan's injuries.
Noticing the first-aid box still lying nearby, she quietly picked it up and walked toward the sofa where he was finally resting. Without warning him, she leaned closer and gently dabbed ointment over the bruises on his face.
The very next second—
"IT STINGS!"
Ayaan jolted awake dramatically, almost glaring at her in betrayal.
"What is wrong with you?" he snapped, his exhausted voice echoing through the hall. "First you don't let me play peacefully in my room, and now you won't even let me sleep?"
Aarshi immediately glared back at him with equal frustration.
"ARE YOU DUMB?" she shouted. "I'm applying medicine on your face! Stop barking at me for no reason."
Ayaan grabbed her wrist weakly, looking as though he had already lost the will to argue anymore.
"Please," he muttered tiredly, "just let me sleep this time… otherwise my head is seriously going to burst."
Instead of becoming softer, Aarshi deliberately pressed the ointment more roughly against the cuts on his cheek.
Ayaan hissed in pain instantly.
"It stings," he complained under his breath like an exhausted child.
Ignoring his dramatic suffering completely, Aarshi stood up coldly and walked back toward her room without another word.
Meanwhile, Ayaan continued muttering complaints to himself for a few seconds before exhaustion finally defeated him. Slowly, his breathing steadied, his tense expression softened, and he drifted into a deep sleep on the sofa.
Almost half an hour later, Aarshi quietly returned downstairs.
This time, the hall was completely silent.
Ayaan was still sleeping peacefully, one arm resting carelessly over the pillow while faint strands of damp hair fell across his forehead. For the first time since morning, he looked calm. Completely calm.
The irritation, exhaustion, and frustration that had been weighing down his face all day had finally disappeared in his sleep.
Aarshi stood there quietly, watching him for a long moment.
And strangely…
Seeing him finally resting peacefully made her feel relieved too.