Long time No see

Her pov

It's been a week since I suffered from that panic attack. All these days, I've been surrounded by my loved ones—my sisters, my brothers, both mine and Ahaan's parents, and our friends. Everyone has been there with me, making me laugh or always trying to make me eat something. I bet I must've gained weight in these days. I'm grateful that Ahaan didn't tell them the truth. He only said that because of weakness, I got unconscious, and obviously, everyone believed it as it was their golden boy's words.

In my family, everyone loves Ahaan. When he says something, my family doesn't even blink and just believe him no matter what. In all these days, Ahaan was always there. He didn't really show off his care for me in front of my family, but he was always there, standing in the corner of the room, looking at me. He knows my comfort and discomfort, which even my family doesn't know. I remember our fight—I told him so many things. Even though that episode of my life was horrifying, if I'm honest, the relief I'm feeling after getting it off my chest is so good.

In these days, so many things happened. I got to know that Shiv and Maddie had decided to get engaged, and I'm so happy for them. Even our families gave them permission. The date is still not decided. Shiv told me once I get strong and healthy again, they will decide the date, and Maddie agreed. This decision of theirs literally brings tears to my eyes as they are waiting for me to get better before they get engaged. Jason is so happy that he can finally enjoy another bestie's wedding. Kavya told me Mahek has been on holidays with her in-laws as they want to take her on a holiday before marriage to create some bond between her and her fiancé's whole family. I also got hints that something is going on between Tanu and Roy. I asked, but she told me when things settle, she'll tell me everything, so I didn't press her.

I've noticed Ahaan has been quite stressed all these days. I don't know what happened to him, but because everyone is always around us, I didn't get the chance to talk to him. Maybe he is stressed because of what I said to him before my panic attack—that I blamed him for everything. In reality, it was not all his fault; it was mine too. I was not strong enough to take a stand for myself. I should have learned that not always will people be there to protect you; sometimes you have to be your own hero. I always relied on others, which led me to worse things. It's my fault that I wasn't brave enough to complain or tell my parents about it. Instead, I just took it all, and how dumb that was.

From Ahaan, I learned that when you show yourself strong, no one would ever dare to touch you. I've seen him, the way he talks and how people bow in front of him, the power he emits. Even when we were in school, not many people could go close to him. He was very closed off. He speaks less, but when he says something, everybody feels the instant urge to do what he says and believe in his words.

I was sitting in the living room. It was 10 AM, and everyone had already gone home. Ahaan was still not home. For the last 2-3 days, he has been quite busy with work. Even Uncle told me how hard he is working. He sometimes even forgets the time. I called him, but he didn't pick up. I was getting bored, so I turned on the TV and decided to watch some shows. I was watching TV when I heard the door creak. I got alerted and looked back to see Ahaan coming in with his coat hanging freely on his hands. He still didn't see me, so I softly called him.

"Ahaan."

He turned around and looked at me. He started approaching me; he looked tired, I could tell from his face. He came and sat beside me. The TV was still on. I got up and was about to get water for him, but before I took a step, he stopped me, holding my wrist. I looked down at him, and he looked up at me. He pulled me in front of him, and before I could say anything, he hugged me by my waist. His head on my chest, I hugged him back, putting my hands in his hair. I know he's been stressed lately, so I gave him a little massage on his head.