HARI'S POV (Continuing):
And the second the cupcake touched her tongue,
She froze.
Her face changed.
The realization hit.
Then horror.
Then devastation.
Her eyes grew wide, and her excitement crumbled so fast it physically hurt to watch.
"Oh no…"
She looked at the cupcake.
Then at me.
Then back at the cupcake.
Her lips trembled.
"I messed up again…"
Her voice was so small it stabbed right through me.
I immediately set the plate down.
"No. No, you didn't."
"I used salt, didn't I?" she whispered, looking like she might actually cry.
I panicked.
"No! It's still good!"
She stared at me.
I grabbed another bite and shoved it into my mouth like a complete idiot.
"Look," I said while chewing the crime against humanity, "I'm eating it. See? It's too yummy. Still."
She looked at me with fragile hope.
"Really?"
"Yes," I said without hesitation. "It's delicious."
Another lie.
Another one I'd die protecting.
"Thank you for this," I added softly. "I really love it."
That made her smile again.
A small one at first.
Then a brighter one.
And just like that, the world felt right again.
A second later, she reached into her bag.
"Oh! Wait, there's more."
She pulled out a tiny gift box and held it out to me with both hands.
"For you."
I blinked in surprise.
"You got me a gift too?"
She nodded, suddenly shy again.
I took the box carefully and opened it.
Inside was a watch.
Simple.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
I stared at it for a moment before slowly looking back up at her.
"Why did you spend money on something like this for me?" I asked quietly. "You didn't have to."
Then, before I could stop myself, the old bitterness slipped out.
"I'm not worth that much."
The second the words left my mouth, her expression changed.
She stepped closer.
Not joking.
Not awkward.
Not flustered.
Just… sincere.
"Because you matter to me," she said softly.
My breath caught.
"And when someone matters to me…" Her fingers tightened slightly around the strap of her bag. "I give them everything I have."
Silence.
Heavy.
Warm.
Overwhelming.
No one had ever said something like that to me before.
No one had ever looked at me like I was someone worth celebrating.
Worth remembering.
Worth loving.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled.
A real smile.
Not forced.
Not guarded.
Just real.
"Thank you," I said, my voice almost rough. "For all of this."
She smiled gently and nodded.
For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.
My heart pounded so hard I could hear it.
This was it.
This was the moment.
The one I had imagined a thousand times and still wasn't ready for.
I hesitated.
Then swallowed.
Then finally said, "C-can you give me something else… something even more precious than this?"
She blinked.
"More precious?"