Chapter 47 The Secret They Hid #2
Comfort became dependence.
And somewhere along the way...
Dependence quietly became love.
---
Back in the present...
Rohan folded his arms.
"So basically..."
"You two were dating before you even admitted it."
Kabir blinked.
"...When you put it that way..."
Shanaya laughed.
"It actually sounds true."
Naina smiled knowingly.
"I've never seen either of you happier than during those months."
Dev looked at Kabir.
His voice was calm, but his eyes softened.
"I don't think we realized when friendship changed into something more."
Kabir smiled at him.
"I did."
Everyone looked at Kabir.
"You did?" Arjun asked.
Kabir nodded.
"The day I realized I stopped looking forward to weekends..."
"...because every day felt better if Dev was in it."
The room fell silent.
Even Siddharth, who was usually the first to crack a joke, stayed quiet.
Aadhira smiled softly.
She glanced at Arjun.
For some reason...
Kabir's words reminded her of herself.
Of how life had slowly become brighter whenever Arjun was around.
She didn't say anything.
But Arjun noticed the smile she tried to hide.
And he smiled back.
The flashback...
Wasn't over yet.
The flashback continued....
"You started smiling every time you looked at me."
The group immediately turned toward Arjun.
Rohan pointed dramatically.
"Sounds familiar."
Arjun glared at him.
"Don't."
Too late.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Aadhira lowered her head, trying to hide her smile.
Naina leaned closer to her and whispered,
"Looks like smiling at the person you love is contagious."
Aadhira's cheeks instantly turned pink.
Arjun pretended not to notice.
He failed.
Completely.
Kabir laughed before continuing.
"But I was terrified."
"Terrified?" Shanaya asked.
Kabir nodded.
"I've never been afraid of expressing myself."
He glanced at Dev.
"But I was afraid of losing him."
The laughter slowly faded.
"I didn't know whether he felt the same."
"So I decided to keep my feelings to myself."
Dev smiled faintly.
"You lasted exactly twelve days."
Kabir groaned.
"I was trying."
"You were failing."
Everyone laughed again.
Rohan folded his arms.
"So..."
"Who confessed first?"
Kabir and Dev looked at each other.
Then, at exactly the same time-
Both of them pointed at Kabir.
Kabir sighed dramatically.
"I knew this question was coming."
The entire group leaned forward.
Ready to hear the confession that had changed both their lives forever..
Kabir leaned back against the couch and let out a dramatic sigh.
"It was raining that day."
Rohan immediately interrupted.
"Of course it was."
"Every love story has rain."
Kabir rolled his eyes.
"Will you let me finish?"
"No promises," Rohan replied.
Everyone laughed.
---
Twelve Days Later...
The rain poured steadily outside.
Kabir stood beneath the small roof outside Dev's apartment building, staring at the bouquet in his hands.
White lilies.
Dev's favorite.
He had been standing there for nearly ten minutes.
"You can do this," he muttered to himself.
"No, you can't."
"Yes, you can."
"No..."
Before he could continue arguing with himself, the apartment door opened.
Dev stepped outside, holding an umbrella.
He looked at Kabir.
Then at the flowers.
Then back at Kabir.
"Were you planning to stand here all night?"
Kabir scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I've been rehearsing."
"For ten minutes?"
"...Maybe."
A small smile appeared on Dev's face.
"Come upstairs."
A few minutes later, they were sitting in Dev's living room.
The rain tapped softly against the windows.
Neither of them spoke.
Kabir had rehearsed his confession hundreds of times.
Now...
He couldn't remember a single word.
Dev quietly placed two mugs of coffee on the table.
"You've been unusually quiet."
Kabir laughed nervously.
"That's because I'm trying not to ruin our friendship."
Dev looked at him carefully.
Kabir took a deep breath.
"I don't know when it happened."
"I don't know why it happened."
"But every morning, you're the first person I want to talk to."
"Every good thing that happens, I want to tell you first."
"And every bad day somehow becomes easier because you're there."
He looked down at the bouquet in his hands.
"I told myself I wouldn't say anything."
"I was afraid."
"Afraid that I'd lose my best friend."
His voice became softer.
"But I think..."
"I've fallen in love with you, Dev."
Silence filled the room.
Kabir's heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Dev didn't say a word.
Kabir forced a smile.
"I knew this was a bad idea."
He stood up quickly.
"It's okay."
"Forget I ever said-"
Before he could take another step...
Dev gently caught his wrist.
Kabir turned around.
Dev was smiling.
Not the tiny smile Kabir had become used to.
A real one.
Warm.
Soft.
Beautiful.
"I was wondering..."
Dev said quietly.
"...how much longer you'd make me wait."
Kabir blinked.
"What?"
"I've loved you for weeks."
"I just didn't know how to tell you."
For a few seconds, Kabir simply stared at him.
Then he laughed.
A laugh filled with relief.
"You mean..."
Dev nodded.
"Yes."
Before another word could be spoken, Kabir pulled him into a tight hug.
Dev froze for a second.
Then slowly wrapped his arms around Kabir.
"I was so scared," Kabir admitted against his shoulder.
"I know."
"I thought I'd lose you."
"You never were."
The rain continued outside.
But inside...
Two hearts had finally found the courage to choose each other.
---
Back in the present...
The entire group had gone unusually quiet.
Naina discreetly wiped the corner of her eye.
Arjun smiled.
"That was actually... really sweet."
Rohan dramatically pretended to wipe tears.
"I'm not crying."
Siddharth looked at him.
"You literally are."
"It's dust."
"We're indoors."
"It's emotional dust."
The room burst into laughter once again.
Dev looked at Kabir with the same quiet smile.
Even after eight months...
Nothing about that day had faded from either of their memories.
But there was still one question...
The one everyone wanted answered.
Arjun folded his arms.
"If you both were happy together..."
"Why did you hide your relationship from all of us?"
A comfortable silence settled over the room.
The smiles slowly faded.
Kabir glanced at Dev.
Dev gave him a reassuring nod.
Kabir took a slow breath.
"It wasn't because we didn't trust you."
Everyone listened quietly.
"It was because... we were scared."
Rohan frowned.
"Scared of us?"
Kabir shook his head.
"Not exactly."
He looked down at his hands.
"You all know me."
"I joke all the time."
"I flirt."
"I act like nothing bothers me."
"But this..."
"This was different."
His voice grew quieter.
"We knew what people outside our circle would say."
"They'd judge us."
"They'd call us names."
"They'd question us."
"They'd think our relationship was something to gossip about instead of something to respect."
The room fell silent.
Kabir continued,
"I didn't know if I was ready to face all that."
He smiled bitterly.
"And I definitely wasn't ready to lose the people I consider my family."
Dev gently placed his hand over Kabir's.
"So we decided something."
Kabir looked at him and smiled.
"We promised each other that we'd protect our relationship first."
Dev nodded.
"We wanted time."
"Time to understand ourselves."
"Time to build something strong."
"So that when the world eventually questioned us..."
"...we'd already know what we meant to each other."
Shanaya's eyes softened.
"So that's why only Aadhira, Naina and I knew?"
Kabir nodded.
"Naina and Aadhira found out by accident."
Naina smiled sheepishly.
"I saw them holding hands in a café."
Rohan gasped dramatically.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You would've announced it to the entire city in five minutes."
"...Fair enough."
Everyone chuckled.
Kabir continued,
"After they found out, they promised to keep it a secret."
Shanaya smiled.
"I found out because Naina couldn't keep the secret alone."
Naina immediately defended herself.
"I only told one person!"
"Exactly," Siddharth replied.
"That's literally how secrets stop being secrets."
The room erupted into laughter again.
Kabir smiled before looking around at everyone.
"The truth is..."
"I never doubted your love."
"I doubted your acceptance."
His words hung in the air.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Arjun stood up.
He walked over to Kabir and Dev.
Without saying a word, he pulled both of them into a brief hug.
When he stepped back, he looked directly at Kabir.
"You really are an idiot."
Kabir blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
Arjun smiled.
"You thought something like this could ever make you lose us?"
Kabir looked down.
"I wasn't sure."
Arjun shook his head.
"You should've been."
Siddharth walked over next.
He lightly smacked dev's shoulder.
"I'm offended."
Kabir frowned.
"Why?"
"You've known us for years."
"And you still thought we'd judge you before supporting you."
Rohan joined them immediately.
"I'm only angry for one reason."
Dev looked nervous.
"What reason?"
Rohan crossed his arms dramatically.
"I missed eight whole months of teasing."
The room burst into laughter once again.
Naina wrapped both Kabir and Dev in a hug.
Shanaya joined her.
Soon everyone was laughing, teasing, and talking over one another.
Dev looked around at the people surrounding them.
Friends.
Family.
The very people they had been afraid of losing.
Kabir smiled as relief washed over him.
Perhaps...
They should have trusted them sooner.
Laughter slowly filled the lobby once again.
The heavy atmosphere disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
Kabir clapped his hands together.
"Alright!"
"Enough emotional speeches."
"I'm getting hungry."
Rohan immediately stood up.
"Finally!"
"Someone said the magic words."
Siddharth rolled his eyes.
"You've been hungry since breakfast."
"I burn calories by existing."