Anaya-His heartbeat

CHAPTER -17 APOLOGY

Sitting in my room after the engagement, my heart still raced. It had been a whirlwind of a day, one I wasn't sure how to process. My mind kept wandering back to Shivarth. He looked so...different. Handsome, if I'm being honest—way more than I had expected. His golden-black outfit suited him perfectly, and I hated how my breath caught when I saw him standing there. Ugh. What a mess of emotions.Despite feeling flustered, there was still that nagging hurt from everything that had happened. His harsh words still echoed in the back of my mind. But then, when he knelt down to exchange rings—when everyone was hooting and cheering—it was like something clicked. In that moment, all the anger and hurt I'd been holding onto just... disappeared. I'm not sure why, but it felt like, for a brief moment, we weren't just two strangers being forced into this. It felt more genuine, like maybe there was hope for us.That's when I remembered the letter he'd handed me earlier, tucked away in the midst of all the chaos. My curiosity got the best of me, and I quickly went to my cupboard, pulled it out, and sat back on my bed. My fingers trembled a little as I unfolded the letter. I had no idea what he'd written, but my heart pounded as if it already knew it was going to change something.The letter read:*"Anaya,I'm not good with words when I speak, but I hope I can be better at writing them. I owe you an apology, not just for my harsh words, but for making you feel less than you deserve. That day, I said things I shouldn't have, things I didn't mean. I was angry—at myself, at this situation—but you didn't deserve that.I've seen you. I've seen your strength, your grace, and your beauty—not just in how you look but in how you carry yourself I am not the perfect kinda guy I am hella grumpy i know its bad but thats how I grew up but atleast I promise not to hurt you again I Know trusting is hard but I'll try to earn yours, if you'll let me.Shivarth"*I didn't even realize I was crying until the tears started to blur the words. His apology felt so raw, so sincere. For the first time since this whole engagement was announced, I felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought. Maybe Shivarth wasn't just the grumpy, short-tempered guy I'd imagined. Maybe there was more to him.After wiping away my tears, I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of my ring. I posted it to Instagram with the caption, *"Engaged."* It wasn't just a declaration to the world—it felt like a declaration to myself. A small, silent promise that I'd give this a shot. But before I could even catch my breath, the door burst open, and in stormed my entire crew—Sam, Rohan, Annie, Manav, Vaani, Hardik, Chavvi, and Mahi. The room was instantly filled with laughter and excitement, and just seeing all of them together made me feel lighter than I had all day."Look at you, all fancy with your ring!" Vaani teased, grabbing my hand to inspect the sparkle."Forget the ring! We're more interested in what's happening between you and Mr. Kaala Billa," Rohan grinned mischievously, causing everyone to burst into laughter."Please, do you really think I'd let him win me over that easily?" I shot back, rolling my eyes, but even I couldn't deny the smile creeping onto my face.Manav, ever the sarcastic one, chimed in, "Right. That's why you're blushing like a tomato right now.""Am not!" I protested, but my face betrayed me as I tried to hide my smile.The room was filled with their teasing, but it was exactly what I needed. My gang—my safe place. We joked, reminisced, and shared stories, just like old times. It felt like nothing had changed, even though everything in my life had. And somehow, between all the laughter and chaos, we ended up sprawled across my bed and the floor, limbs tangled over each other, drifting off into sleep. It was the kind of night that reminded me why I could survive anything—as long as I had these people by my side.In that moment, I felt so unbelievably happy. Despite everything—the confusion, the emotional rollercoaster of the day—I had my people, and somehow, that made it all okay.

SHIVARTH'S POV

I was in my room my head still filled with the memories of the day it was beautiful but I felt myself changing which made me smile and frown at the same time how can me? the shivarth oberoi is apologizing to someone I barely know It was strange I just wrote the letter from y heart but I made a promise not to hurt her and I will not I will never hurt her agian I dont want anyone to be in atoxic atmosphere I was surounded with