BRIDGING HEARTS

{38}

VIHAAN

"You won't understand. You'll never understand bhaiyya-."

And then,
A loud crack shattered the silence.

My hand struck Aarav across the cheek, and his face snapped to the side. I hadn't meant to do it not like that but in that moment, I couldn't control it. His eyes welled with something deeper than just pain. Hurt. Betrayal. Shock.

This was the first time I had ever raised a hand on him. My little brother. The boy I would give my life for without a second thought.

But it was necessary.

I couldn't just stand there and watch him spiral-watch him throw away everything he was, everything he could be over one heartbreak. Over someone who, unknowingly, had become his undoing.

He needed to be shaken. Before it was too late.
Aarav stood there, stunned his hand slowly rising to cradle the side of his face where my slap had landed. His eyes were wide, not just with shock, but with something deeper. Hurt. Pain.

I didn't look away.

"What is all this, Aarav?" I snapped, my composure finally slipping as I watched my brother unravel before me. The sight of him like this broken, reckless was gut-wrenching.

"You don't ruin yourself just because someone doesn't feel the same. That's not love," I said, my voice firm. "That's self-destruction."

Ironic, isn't it? Me, talking about love when I don't even know what it truly feels like. What it means to fall for someone. But that doesn't change what's right.

"You're not only hurting yourself," I said, my voice cold but steady, "you're hurting everyone around you. Sameer your best friend do you really think he enjoys watching you fall apart like this? And me... I'm your brother, Aarav. Watching you like this it's unbearable."

I took a step closer. "How do you think Dadi and Pari will feel if they see you in this state? It'll destroy them."

I paused.

"And you're hurting her too."

His eyes lifted to mine, confused.

"Jeia," I said quietly.

"Don't you think she'll blame herself for not having those feelings for you?"

And she does blame herself. The guilt is evident in those dark brown eyes of hers unmistakable, raw. She thinks it's all her fault. That she's the reason he's unraveling like this. She never said it aloud, but she doesn't need to, her eyes speak for her. The guilt in them is deafening. I don't know how, but I see it. Maybe because I've learned to read silence better than words. But Aarav... he's too lost in his own pain to notice.

"You're not drinking because you're heartbroken," I said, my voice low, cold. "You're drinking to run. From pain. From reality. From responsibility."

A pause. A breath.

"But we don't run."

I took a final step toward him, closing the distance. He stood there shaken, confused, holding his cheek where my hand had landed.

"I don't care how you do it, but get your shit together," I said, my gaze unwavering. "You're a Singhania. You don't fall apart over unreturned feelings. Take the hit, breathe through the pain, and move forward. Got it?"

Without waiting for an answer, I turned around and walked away leaving him to sit with the weight of everything I said.

Some lessons have to be faced alone.
I saw him turn and head toward his room, slow and silent, like the fight had drained out of him. Good. At least he was moving.