Arsh didn't forget.
He didn't move on.
And this time—
He didn't walk away either.
The next few days—
He watched.
Not in an obvious way.
Not desperate.
Just… quietly.
Carefully.
It started small.
A mention here.
A post there.
A name he didn't pay much attention to before—
Now showing up repeatedly.
Aakrati.
One evening, Siddharth walked into the living room to find Arsh sitting with his laptop, unusually still.
Not working.
Just… staring at the screen.
"That's new," Siddharth said, dropping onto the couch. "You not working or you stalking?"
Arsh didn't look up.
"Come here."
That alone was enough to make Siddharth curious.
He leaned over.
And saw it.
A page.
Clean layout.
Minimal design.
But strong.
A company profile.
Portfolio images.
Hotel interiors.
Concept sketches.
Execution photos.
At the top—
Her name.
Siddharth's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Well," he said, impressed despite himself. "Didn't expect that."
Arsh leaned back slightly, his gaze still fixed.
"She built this."
Not a question.
A realization.
Siddharth scrolled a little.
"Not just built," he added. "This is actually good."
A pause.
"Like… really good."
Arsh didn't respond.
But something in his expression shifted.
Not jealousy.
Not exactly.
Something else.
Recognition.
"She didn't tell you?" Siddharth asked casually.
That got a reaction.
A small one.
But enough.
"No."
A single word.
Flat.
Siddharth glanced at him.
"Or maybe you didn't ask."
That—
Stayed in the air.
Arsh's jaw tightened slightly.
Because he knew—
That wasn't entirely wrong.
Siddharth continued scrolling.
"Looks like they're doing well," he said. "Multiple projects. Good clients too."
A pause.
Then, smirking slightly—
"And yeah… 'they.'"
Arsh's eyes flickered.
"Krish," Siddharth added unnecessarily.
Silence.
Heavy.
But this time—
Arsh didn't react impulsively.
Didn't jump to conclusions.
Didn't let that same sharp anger take over.
Instead—
He leaned forward again.
Focused.
Careful.
"Find out everything," he said.
Siddharth blinked. "Everything?"
"The company," Arsh clarified. "Projects. Clients. Structure."
A pause.
"Who does what."
Siddharth studied him for a second.
Then leaned back.
"And what exactly are you planning?"
Arsh didn't answer immediately.
His eyes still scanning the screen—
Every detail.
Every line.
Every piece of her work.
Finally—
He spoke.
Calm.
Certain.
"If she's building something…"
A slight pause.
"…I want to know how strong it is."
Siddharth exhaled.
Half amused.
Half concerned.
"You're not going to mess with her work, are you?"
That—
Got a look.
Sharp.
"I'm not here to destroy anything," Arsh said.
A beat.
"But I'm not staying out of it either."
Siddharth shook his head slightly.
"You know this isn't just about work."
Arsh didn't deny it.
"Still," Siddharth continued, softer now, "whatever you do—do it right."
A pause.
"I've got your back."
That—
Was simple.
But solid.
Arsh nodded once.
That was enough.
Because this time—
He wasn't reacting blindly.
He was thinking.
Planning.
Understanding.
And somewhere deep down—
For the first time—
He wasn't just seeing Aakrati as someone he lost.
He was seeing her as someone
Who had built something
Worth noticing.
And that changed everything.
Siddharth was still looking at the screen—
Scrolling through Aakrati's work, impressed despite himself.
"Okay," he said slowly, "this is serious."
Arsh didn't respond.
His focus hadn't shifted.
Not even slightly.
Siddharth closed the laptop halfway and looked at him.
"So what about our work, dude?"
A pause.
"You're acting like you've taken up a second job."
That finally got Arsh to look at him.
Calm.
Composed.
"Focus on that too," he said. "That's important."
Siddharth blinked.
"Too?"
He leaned back, throwing his hands up dramatically.
"Wow. So now I have to handle your curiosity project and our actual work?"
Arsh raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You're exaggerating."
"I'm not," Siddharth shot back. "You're literally making me work overtime."
A small smirk appeared on Arsh's face.
First one in a while.
"Nope, bro."
A pause.
"Balance."
Siddharth stared at him.
Unimpressed.
"Easy for you to say. You don't sleep anyway."
Arsh shrugged lightly.
"Adapt."
Siddharth let out a dry laugh.
"Unbelievable."
A pause.
Then he pointed at him.
"If I collapse, I'm blaming you."
Arsh leaned back, completely unbothered.
"You won't."
"How do you know?"
"Because you like this."
That—
Made Siddharth pause.
For half a second.
Then he scoffed.
"Don't psychoanalyze me."
Arsh didn't reply.
Just gave him a look.
A knowing one.
Siddharth shook his head, picking the laptop up again.
"Fine," he muttered. "But if I'm doing double work, I get double credit."
"Take it," Arsh said casually.
Siddharth smirked slightly.
"Deal."
A short silence followed.
But this time—
It wasn't heavy.
Because beneath the sarcasm, the complaints, the teasing—
There was something steady.
Support.
And Arsh knew—
Whatever came next,
He wouldn't be handling it alone.
Aakrati sat with her laptop open—
But nothing was getting done.
The same design had been on her screen for the last fifteen minutes.
Unchanged.
Shrisha noticed first.
Of course she did.
She rolled her chair closer, peeking at the screen.
"You've been 'working' on that line for a very long time," she said.
Aakrati didn't look up.
"I am working."
Krish, sitting across the table, raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he said casually, "mentally somewhere else."
Aakrati exhaled quietly, finally closing the laptop.
"I'm fine."
Shrisha gave her a look.
The don't lie to me look.
"Is this about him?" she asked directly.
A small pause.
Aakrati didn't answer.
Which was answer enough.
Krish leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
"Look," he said calmly, "whatever happened—happened."
Shrisha nodded immediately.
"Exactly. And we are not going to sit here and overthink it."
Aakrati glanced at them.
"But—"
"No 'but,'" Shrisha cut in. "You've already done the hard part."
"Yeah," Krish added. "You walked away. That's not easy."
Aakrati looked down at her hands.
"I didn't even explain…"
Her voice was softer now.
More to herself than to them.
Shrisha's tone changed.
Less sharp.
More real.
"Sometimes you don't have to."
A pause.
"Not everything needs closure from both sides."
Krish nodded slightly.
"And honestly? Right now—you've got bigger things to focus on."
He gestured around them.
"This. Our work. What we're building."
Shrisha leaned closer, nudging Aakrati lightly.
"We've got so much to do."
A small smile.
"Clients to impress. Designs to create. Money to make."
That almost made Aakrati smile.
Almost.
"And most importantly," Shrisha added dramatically, "my future CEO image to maintain."
Krish rolled his eyes.
"Please don't make that a thing."
"It's already a thing."
Aakrati let out a small breath.
Some of the heaviness easing—
Just a little.
Krish looked at her again.
More serious now.
"Don't stress about Arsh."
A pause.
"We've got this."
Shrisha nodded firmly.
"Yeah. We've got you."
Silence.
But a good one this time.
Aakrati looked at both of them.
Really looked.
And for the first time since that night—
Her thoughts didn't feel so loud.
She nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Shrisha clapped once.
"That's my girl."
Krish smirked slightly.
"Good. Now can you actually finish that design?"
Aakrati rolled her eyes faintly.
But this time—
When she opened her laptop again—
Her hands didn't hesitate.
Because maybe—
She didn't have everything figured out yet.
But she had enough.
And right now—
That was enough to keep going.