Chapter 36 -:34:The Weight of a Name
I didn't know why, but Arin was creeping into my thoughts—slowly, steadily, like ink bleeding through paper.
That evening, I sat alone in my room, the faint hum of music curling around me like a warm breeze. The melody was soft, almost haunting, threading through the stillness.
"Dil ki daali mein kaliyan khilne lagi... jab nigaahein nigaaon se milne lagi..."
The lyrics sank into me, delicate yet heavy, tugging at something I couldn't name. Eyes shut, I swayed to the rhythm, letting it pull me under. But beneath the notes, beneath the flicker of my bedside lamp, one thought pulsed louder than the rest.
Arin.
His name slipped into the cracks of my mind, unbidden but stubborn. The way he'd cut through Suhina's noise with a single line, the weight behind his silences, the pull of his gaze when it lingered just a beat too long. I couldn't shake it.
My eyes snapped open. I huffed, dragging a hand through my hair.
"Aira, get a grip," I muttered. "Arin? Really? You're losing it."
But my cheeks burned anyway, a traitor's blush I couldn't will away.