The apartment stayed quiet long after the door closed behind Aarav.
At first, Anaya told herself she liked the silence.
It was peaceful.
Orderly.
Very… Singapore.
But by mid-morning, the stillness began to feel different — not uncomfortable exactly, but noticeable in a way that made her more aware of every unfamiliar corner of the apartment, every distant sound drifting up from the city below.
She had been brave about coming here.
She had meant it when she said she wasn't made of glass.
Still… being alone in a new country had a weight she hadn't fully expected.
Anaya stood near the large window for a long moment, watching the neat streams of traffic far below, the people moving with purpose along clean sidewalks, everything in this city seeming to know exactly where it was going.
Except her.
She exhaled slowly.
"That's enough," she murmured to herself.
She hadn't crossed continents just to sit inside and overthink.
Nearly forty minutes later, she stepped out of the building for the first time alone, her phone clutched lightly in her hand, her eyes alert but curious as she took in the unfamiliar streets that somehow felt both intimidating and strangely welcoming at the same time.
The air was warm.
The sidewalks spotless.
And everyone around her moved with quiet confidence that made her straighten her shoulders just a little more.
You can do this, she told herself.
She started small.
Just the nearby street.
Just one turn.
Just one café she had spotted earlier from the car window yesterday.
But step by step, something inside her began to settle.
Not completely.
Not yet.
But enough that her breathing eased.
Enough that the city started feeling less like a stranger… and more like a place she might slowly learn.
Inside a small café, Anaya ordered carefully, double-checking the currency before paying, her fingers still adjusting to the unfamiliar notes, but when she finally sat by the window with her drink in front of her, a quiet sense of accomplishment warmed her chest.
First solo outing.
First small win.
If Aarav could see her now, he would definitely give that small approving nod of his.
The thought made her lips curve faintly.
Without fully realizing it, her fingers moved to her phone.
She hesitated.
Then typed.
Reached the café safely. Don't worry.
She stared at the message for two seconds.
Then hit send.
Across the city, Aarav's phone lit up during a meeting.
His eyes flickered down for the briefest second.
The tension in his shoulders eased almost immediately.
A small, almost invisible exhale left him before he locked the screen again.
No reply.
But the message had done exactly what it needed to.
Back at the café, Anaya watched the city move past the window, her reflection faintly visible in the glass.
She looked…
Different.
Not because of clothes.
Not because of the city.
But because somewhere along the way, the girl who had once entered a contract marriage carefully guarding her heart was now standing in a foreign country, quietly building something real, one small brave step at a time.
And for the first time since arriving in Singapore…
She wasn't just waiting for evening anymore.
She was starting to belong to the day.