Unspoken Promises – Part 4

Unspoken Promises – Part 4

The bookstore was quiet, the kind of quiet that wasn’t empty but full—full of words left unspoken, of stories waiting to be read, of hearts silently beating in the same rhythm. Arjun stood there, still holding the book Ahaan had given him, his fingers trembling slightly.

Ahaan’s eyes never left his. There was no urgency in them, no demand—just patience, just warmth.

"Maybe real isn’t so bad," Ahaan had said.

And yet, real was the one thing Arjun had feared his entire life.

He took a shaky breath. "Ahaan…"

Ahaan smiled, stepping back just enough to give him space. "It’s okay," he said softly. "You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that… that you don’t have to be alone in this anymore."

Alone.

Arjun had spent years feeling exactly that. Even in a crowded room, even in laughter, even in the presence of friends—there had always been a part of him locked away, unseen, untouched.

But tonight, for the first time, someone had seen him.

He looked down at the book in his hands. Call Me By Your Name. The story that once terrified him because it felt too much like looking into a mirror.

And now? Now, he wasn’t sure he was so afraid anymore.

Ahaan leaned against the bookshelf, his voice calm but sure. "Can I tell you a story?"

Arjun nodded, unable to find his voice.

Ahaan sighed, glancing at the ceiling as if gathering his thoughts. "There was a boy," he started. "He grew up in a house filled with love, but he never really knew if love would ever truly belong to him."

Arjun’s heart clenched.

"He spent years hiding," Ahaan continued, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of a book on the shelf. "Pretending, smiling, laughing—but never really feeling. And then, one day, he stopped pretending. He let himself feel, even though it terrified him. And you know what happened?"

Arjun shook his head, his throat tight.

Ahaan turned to him, a small, knowing smile on his lips. "He found love. Not in the way he expected. Not all at once. But slowly, in quiet moments, in stolen glances, in someone who made him feel like he didn’t have to run anymore."

Arjun felt his breath hitch, his chest aching in a way that was both painful and freeing.

"And?" he whispered.

Ahaan stepped closer, his voice softer now. "And it turned out to be the most beautiful thing that

had ever happened to him."

A hush fell between them. Arjun didn’t need to ask if this was Ahaan’s story. He already knew. And maybe, just maybe, it was his story too.

For so long, Arjun had believed that love was something he had to hide. That it was something he wasn’t allowed to have. But now, as he stood here in the middle of a bookstore, with Ahaan looking at him like he was something worth waiting for, something cracked open inside him.

Maybe love wasn’t about hiding.

Maybe love was about being found.

Ahaan reached for his hand again, his touch gentle, hesitant. "Arjun, I don’t need an answer tonight. I just need you to know that I see you. And whatever you decide, I’ll be here."

Arjun blinked back the sudden burn in his eyes. He had spent years waiting for something he couldn’t name. And now, he wasn’t sure if he hadfound it in Ahaan… or if Ahaan had found it in him.

But for the first time, he wanted to find out.

So, he curled his fingers around Ahaan’s hand and whispered, "Stay."

Ahaan smiled, his eyes shining with something unspoken. "Always."

And as they stood there, in a tiny bookstore in the middle of Mumbai, with the city buzzing outside and the scent of old books wrapping around them, Arjun knew one thing for certain—

Maybe love had been waiting for him all along.

To be continued…

Last part is coming soon...