Waited For You

Chapter 34

{ The Present} :-

Sanchi’s sobs had quieted—but not stopped.

They had only turned softer, more fragile, like something breaking in slow motion.

She lay curled into Nihanshi’s arms on the couch, fingers clutching her clothes as if letting go would make her fall apart completely. Nihanshi didn’t speak, didn’t ask anything anymore—she just held her, one hand gently running through her hair.

The door wasn’t locked.
It hadn’t been since Nihanshi arrived.
And then—
The handle turned.
The door opened.

Advik stepped in first, mid-sentence, “I’m telling you, you’re overreact—”
He stopped.
Atharv, right behind him, froze too.

The air shifted.
Sanchi.
Crying.
Broken.
Something inside Atharv snapped.

“Sanchi—” His voice came out panicked, almost breathless as he rushed forward, dropping everything else. “What happened? Are you alright? Sanchi, look at me—what—what is wrong?”
Sanchi stiffened the moment she heard his voice.
Her grip on Nihanshi tightened.

“Please…” her voice cracked, barely audible, “Please Atharv… please don’t do this again…”
Atharv halted, confusion and fear crashing together in his eyes.
“I won’t be able to handle it,” she whispered, shaking her head, tears slipping endlessly, “I will shatter beyond repair this time… so please… don’t do this.”
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.

Atharv swallowed hard, his jaw tightening as he glanced at Nihanshi and Advik.
“Can you… give us some time alone?” he said quietly, but firmly.

“No,” Nihanshi immediately responded, pulling Sanchi closer. “She’s not in a state—”

“Please, Nihanshi.” His voice broke just a little. “I need this… we need this.”

Nihanshi hesitated.
Her eyes flickered between Sanchi and Atharv.
“I don’t think this is a good idea—”

Advik gently touched her arm. “Let them,” he said softly. “We’ll be right next door.”
After a long pause… reluctance heavy in every movement…
Nihanshi slowly helped Sanchi sit properly before standing up.
“I’ll be in Atharv’s apartment,” she said, her voice firm but warning. “If anything—anything feels wrong, I’m coming back.”
Atharv nodded.

The door closed behind them.
And then—
A click.
Atharv locked it.
Sanchi flinched.
He noticed.
And it hurt more than anything else.

Slowly, he walked toward her… then instead of sitting beside her, he lowered himself onto his knees on the floor in front of the couch.
At her level.
Not above.
Never above.

He reached for her hands.
Sanchi immediately tried to pull away.
“Atharv, please—”
But he held on.
Not harshly.
Just… firmly.
“Look at me.”
“Atharv, please…”
“Look at me, butterfly.”
The word broke something in her.
Slowly… hesitantly…
Sanchi lifted her eyes.
Red. Swollen. Drowning.

Atharv inhaled sharply at the sight.
“Tell me,” he whispered, voice trembling despite himself, “what is the problem? What have I done so wrong… that you don’t want to trust me again?”
His grip on her hands tightened just a fraction.

“What did I do?” His voice cracked now. “I wanted to find out by myself… but I couldn’t. Please, butterfly… it’s killing me.”
Sanchi stared at him for a moment.

Then gave a hollow, broken laugh.
“You really want me to spell it out?”
“I do.”
Silence.
Then—
She did.

Every word came out like it had been waiting for years.
“How he never came back.”
“How she waited.”
“How every single day felt like a promise he broke without even knowing.”
She told him about the post.
About the silence.
About the absence.
She didn’t talk about the numbness.
Didn’t talk about how she had stopped feeling alive for years.