63.
"Yug, what are you thinking, son?" my mum asked as the nurse wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm. She looked so small in that hospital bed—frail in a way that broke something inside me.
"Nothing," I said, too quickly.
"I need to talk to you about something, Yug. Will you please listen?"
"Of course, Mama."
I got up from the couch, sat on the stool beside her, and gently took her hand. She squeezed back, weak but warm.
When the nurse finally walked out, Mum exhaled and fixed me with that look—the one that always meant she'd already decided I was wrong.
"Whatever you did today, Yug... it was wrong," she said quietly. "You shouldn't have done that to Aarav."
I blinked. What the hell?
"Wait—what did I do?"
"You shouldn't have left his place like that this morning. You should have listened to him."
"Listen to what, Ma?" I scoffed. "Seriously, what is there to listen to?
For years, I've been with him—I've supported him through everything—and now he forgets all that like it was nothing?
"
The frustration climbed up my throat, turning into something bitter.
"And Shaurya—sorry, Ma, but I can't sit and watch him drag Aarav back into that world.
The world that never fails to break him. "
"Yug," she said calmly, almost too calmly, "you're being selfish."
"What?"
My voice rose before I forced it down. The last thing she needed was stress.
"You did all of that for yourself," she said. "You knew that one day I would leave, and you'd need someone. Someone to stay with you."
I swallowed hard.
"Yeah... I know that."
"But that doesn't mean you love him, Yug. You don't love Aarav."
She took a breath, her eyes softening.
"Not the way you think you do."
"Ma," I murmured, standing. "Let's not talk now. You need rest."
"No, I'm alright," she said firmly, tightening her grip around my fingers.
"Some things have to be said before it's too late, Yug."
I sank back into the chair, unable to hold my mother's gaze.
"You know," she began softly, "the first time Aarav spoke to me about Shaurya... he spoke with so much love." Her voice trembled with something like nostalgia. "That boy truly knows how to love, Yug. He carries it in everything he does."
I swallowed, my throat tight.
"Have you ever talked about Aarav like that?" she asked quietly. "To me? I'm your own mother."
I couldn't answer. I didn't have one.
"You didn't love him, sweetheart," she continued gently. "You tried to help him forget Shaurya... but those two?" She shook her head with a sad smile. "They aren't meant to forget each other. They need each other."
She reached out and cupped my face with her trembling hand, her thumb brushing my cheek in that familiar way that always made me feel like a child again.
"Baby," she whispered, "you deserve someone who will truly love you. Someone where there isn't a third person living between you. That's the only kind of relationship that survives."
She took a deep breath, steadying herself.
"And you know that better than anyone. That's what happened between your dad and me. He chose to marry me but he loved someone else".
"Yug, Aarav is a great person—he has a heart of gold. I know you're scared that he might forget you now that Shaurya is back... but he's not like that," my mother said softly.
I pushed my tongue against my cheek, suddenly exhausted.
"Ma, I'll meet you tomorrow. Take rest," I murmured, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. Then I walked out of the room before she could say anything else.
The moment I stepped outside the hospital building, a small swarm of reporters rushed toward me.
"Sir—Yug, sir! How is your mother doing? We heard she was admitted this morning!"
I slipped on my sunglasses and exhaled slowly, rubbing my stubble with my thumb.
"She's okay. She's resting," I answered, heading toward my car.
Of course, they kept following me. Times like this, I really regretted not bringing security—or at least someone to push the crowd back.
"Yug! Your pictures with Aarav sir have been circulating in the media recently. Would you like to comment on that?"
Right. Those pictures.
The ones my friends tossed around as a joke... and somehow ended up everywhere.
Not my fault—but try telling the world that.
I stopped walking and turned around.
"Would you people enjoy having your private moments splashed everywhere? Things you do inside your home with your partner—would you like that?"
My voice was steady, but it carried an edge. "If you're trying to make me uncomfortable, I can make you uncomfortable too."
A few of them shifted uneasily.
"My mum is in the hospital. So instead of asking nonsense, maybe pray for her recovery. Thank you."
I didn't wait for a response. I got into my car, shut the door, started the engine, and finally drove away—leaving the flashes and voices behind me.
I turned on some music, hoping it would clear my mind as I drove down the highway. Mum wasn't entirely right about what she said back there... but she wasn't completely wrong either.
If I truly felt nothing, then why does it sting every time I see Aarav and Aarya with Shaurya now? Why does it feel like something is being pulled out of me? Of course I'm being selfish—maybe for once I'm allowed to be, if it means keeping the people I love safe.
And Shaurya... I don't care how good his heart supposedly is. He has always been the one to walk away. To leave Aarav behind when it mattered. So what guarantee do I have that he won't do it again? That he won't break him all over, like every single time?
[TIME SKIP: After Yug talks with Shaurya]
Yug ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tightening even as he avoided Aarav's eyes.
Aarav took a careful breath and spoke gently.
"Yug... I'm really sorry about everything I did. And I know one apology isn't enough to erase the hurt. But I need you to listen to me... please."
Yug didn't look at him. "Aarav, I said I'm not in the mood—"
"I know. And still... I need to say this."
Aarav shifted a little closer, but not enough to invade space. Just enough for Yug to feel the sincerity.
"You asked me a question," Aarav continued softly. "Whether I'm choosing Shaurya because I don't want to hurt him... or because I want him for myself."
Aarav swallowed.
"I'm choosing him for myself, Yug. I need him. I need him the way people need air when everything around them collapses. He's... he's a part of me."
Yug looked down at his hands, blinking rapidly, pretending like something in the room was irritating his eyes.
"But that doesn't mean I forgot you," Aarav said, his voice cracking a little. "You think I ever could?"
Yug's shoulders stiffened.
Aarav continued, his voice gentler now. "Yug, you have been the one constant in my life. For six years... every time the world felt too loud, every time I didn't know where to go— I called you. You were my home. You still are, in a way."
Aarav's breath shook, and he pressed his lips into a trembling line.
"I shouldn't have kissed you that day," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I was angry with Shaurya, and I reacted without thinking. You didn't deserve that. You've never deserved to be someone's... retaliation."
Yug swallowed hard.
"I'm asking you to forgive me," Aarav said quietly. "Not because I expect things to go back to how they were. But because I can't carry the guilt of hurting you. Not you."
Aarav wiped his eyes and looked at him properly for the first time.
"You know... me and Aarya—we're incomplete without you. That apartment... everything inside it—that's our life. Our memories. Our routine." He smiled sadly. "Our stupid inside jokes. You've been... the backbone of that home. I couldn't have managed to raise Aarya all by myself. "
Yug's throat moved, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"But I can't lie to you," Aarav whispered. "I couldn't love you the way you deserved to be loved. Not the way you hoped I would. And that's not your fault. That's mine."
He let out a soft, broken laugh.
"I tried, Yug. I really did. You're everything anyone would want. And still... my heart always found its way back to him. I don't know why. I wish I could explain it better."
Yug finally looked at him—eyes red, expression a mix of frustration, ache, and something like resigned fondness.
Aarav leaned forward just a little, not to touch him, but to make sure he heard every word.
"Please come home," Aarav said gently. "Not because I'm choosing Shaurya. Not because I need help. But because you're family. Mine... and Aarya's. We don't want to lose you."
Aarav's voice broke completely then.
"You gave me hope when I had none. You held my life together when I couldn't stand on my own feet. You have no idea how much of me exists because you stayed."
Aarav wiped his cheeks again, sniffling quietly.
"I'm sorry I can't give you the love you wanted," he whispered. "But I never wanted to lose you, Yug. Never."
The room fell silent—thick, aching, full.
Yug looked at him, breath unsteady... and for a moment, neither of them knew what to say next.
"And I promised you once and I'll promise you again. I'll never leave you in darkness alone".
"I'm sorry", Aarav muttered again.
Yug wasn't mad at Aarav. But how could he express how much protective he felt towards him and Aarya. If anything happens to that little child because of them, Yug would never forgive them.