The quiet of the shop had settled like a blanket, wrapping itself around Anup, Samraggi, and little Nisha. Time moved slowly, the weight of the past pressing down on his chest, but for the first time in months, Anup didn't feel entirely crushed under it. There was a thread of hope now, fragile but undeniable.
But even hope couldn't erase the storm that still lingered in the back of his mind.
Days passed since Samraggi's visit, and with each one, a new layer of his heart began to peel away. He wasn't ready to face everything, not yet. The guilt, the anger, the ache for the life he once had—it all felt like too much to confront. But Samraggi kept appearing at the shop, sometimes with a coffee in hand, sometimes simply to sit in silence with him.
Nisha's laughter became the anchor. Her joy, even in the midst of the uncertainty that still clouded their lives, was the one thing that grounded him.
But the question remained: could he keep running from the past forever? Could he continue to hide behind a false name, a new identity, and a broken heart?
He didn't know.
It wasn't until one evening, as the sun dipped low and the light turned soft and golden, that the question of truth became unavoidable.
The bell over the door jingled, signaling someone's entrance. Anup glanced up and froze. The man standing there wasn't just any stranger.
It was Raj—his old friend, his old life.
Raj was the one who had stood beside him through the hardest days. Raj was the one who had shared secrets and laughter, the one who had witnessed Aarav's life before everything shattered. And now, he was standing in the doorway, looking at him like he was a ghost.
"Anup," Raj's voice was barely above a whisper. "I've been looking for you."
Anup's heart raced, the past coming rushing back in waves. He hadn't seen Raj since the day he disappeared. The day he left behind everything, including his name.
Raj stepped forward, his eyes scanning the shop, the daughter playing in the corner, the quiet atmosphere. The once-bustling coffee shop was now a shadow of its former self.
"I know what happened," Raj continued, his voice thick with guilt. "I know about the lies. And I know you didn't deserve any of it."
Anup swallowed hard, the walls inside him starting to crack. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected anyone to come looking for him.
Raj took a deep breath, as though gathering the courage to say something he had been carrying for a long time.
"I've been to hell and back, Anup. And I know what it's like to feel like you've lost everything. But running away from it... it's not the answer. I should've been there for you. I should've protected you from it all."
Anup couldn't speak. He just stared at his friend, a whirlwind of emotions tearing through him.
Raj stepped closer, his voice gentle but firm. "You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to keep pretending to be someone else. You can come back, Aarav. You can rebuild. You can make things right."
Anup recoiled, stepping back from his old friend, his chest tight with the weight of the words. He had spent so long running from that name, from the memories attached to it, that hearing it now felt like a betrayal. He wasn't ready to face it. He wasn't ready to be Aarav again.
"You don't understand, Raj," Anup said, his voice shaking with the emotion he'd buried for so long. "You don't understand what it feels like to lose everything. To lose her. To be accused of something you didn't do. People will never see me the same way. I'll always be that person they think I am. The liar. The villain."
Raj stepped closer, his eyes soft with understanding. "But that's not who you are, Anup. That's not who you were. I know the truth. And deep down, so do you."
Anup's breath caught in his throat. He wanted to run. He wanted to shout, to slam his fist against something, to drown out the overwhelming wave of guilt and grief that threatened to drown him.
"I can't go back," Anup whispered, his voice breaking. "I can't face the world again. Not as Aarav. Not after everything."
Raj placed a hand on his shoulder, a steady, grounding presence. "I know you're scared. But you're not alone anymore. And the world may have forgotten who you are, but I haven't. And neither has Samraggi."
Anup's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Samraggi's name. Her kindness, her quiet understanding—she was the one person who had seen past the walls he had built around himself. She had given him the courage to even entertain the thought of starting over.
"But Samraggi... she deserves better than this. She deserves a man who isn't broken, who isn't running away."
Raj shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "Samraggi doesn't care about your past, Anup. She cares about who you are now. She sees the man who's trying to move forward. The man who's trying to heal."
Anup stared at Raj, the weight of the truth crashing down on him. Could he really face the world again? Could he really let go of the identity he had created in the shadows and step into the light?
"I don't know if I can," he murmured, the fear still choking him. "What if they never forgive me? What if they never believe me?"
Raj's voice was steady, firm. "You don't need their forgiveness, Anup. You need your own. And you need to believe in yourself again."
For a long moment, Anup didn't speak. He just stood there, the room silent except for the soft hum of the world outside. And in that silence, he realized something.
He was tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of pretending.
Maybe it was time to face the truth.
Maybe it was time to be Aarav again.