chapter 60
Chapter 59 - The Fragrance He Couldn't Let Go.
Inside Petals Promise.
The soft chime above the entrance door rang every few minutes as customers came and went.
Kavya stood behind the counter, carefully wrapping a bouquet of white lilies with pale ivory paper. Her movements were practiced, gentle, almost effortless.
"Ma'am, the hotel order is ready."
She looked up.
Maya placed the printed receipt on the counter.
"The Grand Meridian Hotel. Suite 1807."
Kavya nodded absentmindedly.
"Did Rohan leave already?"
Maya's expression fell.
"He called. His bike broke down on the highway. He won't make it tonight."
Kavya glanced at the wall clock.
Nearly eight-thirty.
The lilies had to be delivered within the hour.
Another employee stepped forward apologetically.
"I still have three pending deliveries."
"And I have the wedding decorations," someone else added.
Silence settled for a moment.
Kavya looked at the bouquet in front of her.
"It's alright."
Everyone looked at her.
"I'll deliver it."
"You?"
"It's only one order."
Maya hesitated.
She lifted the bouquet with both hands with a light smile.
"And its not a rule that boss can't deliver things."
Maya sighed before handing her the invoice.
"Be careful."
"...Hmm"
---
The drive through the city was peaceful.
Streetlights blurred into long golden lines against the windshield.
The lilies rested on the passenger seat beside her.
Their fragrance slowly filled the small car.
She smiled faintly.
"Someone really loves lilies."
Not everyone ordered them anymore.
Most people preferred imported flowers.
Exotic arrangements.
Luxury bouquets.
Lilies had become rare.
But every now and then...
Someone still chose simplicity.
Someone who cared more about fragrance than appearance.
She wondered who it was.
A birthday?
An apology?
A celebration?
Or perhaps...
Someone simply trying to brighten an empty room.
The thought disappeared as she reached the hotel entrance.
A porter opened the door for her.
"Flower delivery?"
"Yes."
He directed her toward the reception.
The receptionist checked the order.
"Suite 1807."
She offered a polite smile.
Kavya thanked her and stepped into the elevator.
---
The doors slid shut.
Soft instrumental music filled the silence.
She shifted the bouquet slightly in her arms.
The lilies brushed against her sleeve.
Their scent lingered around her.
For some reason...
An old memory surfaced.
A rainy afternoon.
Someone standing in the kitchen.
Complaining that the entire house smelled like flowers.
She had laughed.
"You'll miss it one day."
The memory faded as quickly as it came.
She exhaled.
"Strange..."
Why had she remembered that now?
The elevator chimed.
Eighteenth floor.
The hallway stretched ahead in perfect silence.
Thick carpets muffled every footstep.
Warm yellow lights glowed against polished walls.
She checked the room number.
1801...
1803...
1805...
1807.
She stopped.
Balanced the bouquet carefully.
Raised her hand.
Knock.
Knock.
No answer.
She waited.
Then knocked again.
A few seconds later...
She heard slow footsteps approaching from inside.
The handle turned.
The door opened.
For a few seconds her heart stop beating.
Her eyes were wide open.
Her hands holding the lilies trembled wildly.
"No...."
Neither of them moved.
Time seemed to forget how to move.
The bouquet slipped from Kavya's fingers.
The paper rustled.
White lilies scattered across the floor.
The sound echoed through the silent hallway.
Her breath caught.
No...
It couldn't be...
Standing before her...
Wearing a simple white shirt with the sleeves rolled carelessly to his elbows...
His hair slightly messy...
Eyes shadowed by exhaustion...
Was Aarav.
He looked just as stunned.
His hand remained frozen on the doorknob.
The color drained from his face.
"Kavya..."
Her name escaped his lips almost like a prayer.
Barely audible.
Almost disbelieving.
Kavya felt the blood rush from her face.
Every carefully healed scar inside her heart cracked open at once.
Her fingers trembled violently.
For two years...
She had imagined this meeting in countless ways.
Sometimes she shouted at him.
Sometimes she walked away.
Sometimes she ignored him completely.
Never...
Not once...
Had she imagined this.
Not like this.
Not when she had finally convinced herself she had moved forward.
Aarav stared at the fallen lilies.
Then back at her.
The fragrance drifted between them.
Painfully familiar.
His chest tightened.
Of all the flower shops in the city...
Of all the delivery drivers...
Fate had sent her.
He wanted to laugh.
Or cry.
Perhaps both.
"Kavya..."
he whispered again.
She took one step backward.
Another.
The distance between them grew by only inches.
Yet it felt like an entire lifetime.
"I..."
He didn't know what to say.
There were thousands of apologies living inside him.
None of them seemed worthy enough to be spoken.
Kavya forced herself to breathe.
But even breathing was so difficult for her.
Her heart remembered the man she had once loved without hesitation.
Then another memory followed.
Lonely nights.
Silent tears.
Words that had broken her.
Promises that had turned to ash.
The warmth disappeared from her eyes.
She bent down without a word.
One by one...
She picked up the lilies from the floor.
Some petals had fallen loose.
It somehow reminds her of herself.
One stem had snapped cleanly in half.
She held it in her hand for a moment.
A strange ache spread through her chest.
Broken things.
No matter how carefully you held them afterward...
They never looked the same.
She gathered the remaining flowers, straightened the wrapping as best she could, and held the bouquet.
Her voice was calm.
But her eyes were foggy, she was trying her best to control her emotions.
As though he were nothing more than another customer.
A stranger.
Aarav looked at the bouquet but didn't move.
Instead, he looked at her.
Really looked at her.
And suddenly, the decision he had made only an hour earlier returned with crushing clarity.
He had promised himself he would not drag her back into his darkness.
Even if fate had placed her at his door.
Even if every part of him wanted to ask her to stay.
But..
His promise to himself start wavering.
He really want to have her by his side.
He want to see her smiling and happy by his side.
He want to apologize.
He can't take this heavy burden in his heart anymore.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
He slowly reached out to kavya....
The moment he step forward Kavya's body shivered like seeing a ghost and she immediately took a few step back and bump onto the wall of corridor.
"Hiss"
Aarav instinctively stepped forward.
"Kavya... please..."
He reached out, his hand trembling, desperate to stop her from walking away again.
The moment his fingers came close-
Smack!
The sharp sound rang through the silent hallway.
Aarav's head snapped to one side.
The impact echoed between the walls.
Silence followed.
Complete silence.
His eyes widened in shock.
A crimson handprint slowly appeared across his cheek.
Five delicate fingerprints stood out clearly against his pale skin.
He didn't move.
Didn't speak.
He simply stood there, staring at the floor, unable to process what had just happened.
Kavya's hand still hung in the air, trembling uncontrollably.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, but none fell.
Her voice, when it finally came, was barely above a whisper.
"Don't."
One word.
Yet it carried years of pain and struggle.
"Don't come near me."
Aarav slowly turned back to look at her.
His cheek burned.
But the sting on his face was nothing compared to the ache in his heart.
He knew.
He deserved this.
Perhaps even more.
Not once did he raise a hand to touch the mark on his cheek.
Not once did he defend himself.
Not once did he ask why.
Because he already knew.
The answer had been written in every tear she had once cried because of him.
Kavya looked at him one last time.
There was anger in her eyes.
Pain.
Betrayal.
And beneath it all...
The grief of loving someone who had broken her beyond words.
Without another glance, she turned around and walked toward the elevator.
Aarav remained rooted to the spot.
The white lilies lay scattered at his feet.
The fragrance that had once reminded him of home now felt unbearably heavy.
His fingers curled slowly at his sides.
The handprint remained clearly visible on his cheek.
He didn't wipe it away.
He couldn't.
He simply stood there...
Stunned.
Speechless.
Completely at a loss.