The corridor echoed with the cheerful voices of students passing by.
But for Ayushi, everything felt quiet.
As if she were swimming alone in the middle of a deep ocean.
For a moment, she stayed silent.
Then finally—
"I didn't mean that," she said softly.
Hriday replied in a tired voice.
"It's okay. I understand what you're feeling right now."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And about the condition… it's for your own good."
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Hriday quietly said,
"People always wanted the truth."
"But nobody wanted to stay after hearing it."
He looked directly at Ayushi.
"So… are you sure you still want to know?"
Ayushi hesitated for a moment.
Somewhere deep inside, she already felt that whatever Hriday was about to say would change the way she looked at him forever.
"I still don't know whether you're responsible for someone's death or not," she said quietly.
"But if I want to understand who you really are…"
"…then I need to know the whole truth."
Hriday stayed silent for a few seconds before replying,
"Fine."
"But don't interrupt me halfway."
Hriday looked away for a moment before adding,
"Because if I stop halfway… I don't think I'll be able to continue."
Ayushi's expression slowly turned serious.
Hriday continued from where Aarav had left off.
"On 27 March 2022…"
"When Vicky called me, he said—"
"We'll just scare him with numbers."
"We're not even planning to fight him."
"He's not worth it anyway."
"After hearing that, I agreed."
"Because as long as there was no violence involved… I didn't really care."
"School ended."
"I got on my friend's bike, and we headed toward Sector 16 school."
"But the moment I reached there…"
"I saw a crowd of students standing in the middle of the road."
"Some of them were recording something on their phones."
"At first, I couldn't understand what had happened."
"So I pushed my way through the crowd."
"And then…"
"I saw him."
"Blood was spread across the road."
"A boy was lying there with his uniform completely soaked in red."
"He was trying to say something…"
"…but blood kept flowing from his forehead onto the street."
For a few seconds, Hriday stayed silent.
As if he were forcing himself to continue.
"I looked around for Vicky…"
"But he wasn't there."
"Then suddenly…"
"I heard police sirens from far away."
"Students immediately started running."
"And I wasn't an exception."
"I ran too."
"Because that day…"
"I witnessed something no one should ever have to see."
"The moment I reached home, my mother looked at me and said—"
"You're late."
"Look at the time. It's already three."
"I lied to her."
"I was with Aman."
"We stopped to eat something on the way."
"Then I told her I was heading to tuition."
"I waited for Nakul at the crossroads."
"I needed someone to talk to."
"And more than that…"
"I needed to know what I was supposed to do next."
"Nakul was coming from the direction of his house."
"And the moment he saw me, he immediately ran toward me."
"Did you hear what happened today?"
"A boy died outside Sector 16 school."
"I know," Hriday replied in a cracking voice.
"I was there myself."
Nakul froze for a moment.
Then he quietly asked,
"Did you see the guy who killed him?"
Hriday shook his head slowly.
"No."
"I reached there after everything had already happened."
"I still don't know exactly what happened."
Nakul stayed silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Vicky got into a fight with a boy from his class."
"He threatened him to meet after school."
"But when they met outside the school… Vicky called someone for support."
"I don't know his real name."
"But everyone calls him 'Lathar.'"
"That guy started acting too cocky."
"He started the fight first… but ended up getting beaten pretty badly."
"I heard his face was messed up."
"And when everyone started laughing at him…"
"He lost control."
"He took out a gun…"
"…and shot him straight in the forehead."
"Someone showed me the video afterward."
For a moment, Hriday couldn't say anything.
Before he could properly process everything—
a familiar voice suddenly came from the opposite side of the road.
"Hriday…"
Hriday looked up.
It was Vicky.
His face looked pale.
And for the first time—
he actually looked scared.
"What should I do now?"
"I'm really scared."
"Help me, Hriday…"
Hriday himself was terrified.
But at that moment—
Vicky looked even worse.
So somehow, Hriday forced himself to stay calm.
"You need to hide for a few weeks."
"Don't come to tuition."
"And don't come to school either."
Vicky agreed with Hriday's decision.
For the first time since hearing the story, Ayushi finally spoke.
"Then… you didn't actually do anything wrong."
Hriday stayed silent.
That silence alone made Ayushi's expression slowly change.
Then Hriday quietly said,
"That's what I wanted to believe too."
Hriday looked down at the floor silently.
"But things didn't end there."
"After that day… Vicky came to tuition again."
"I immediately took him to a corner and asked—"
"I told you to stay hidden."
"Why did you come here?"
"You don't have to worry anymore, Hriday," Vicky replied casually.
"I asked him why."
Then Vicky smiled and said,
"The one who fired the gun is already in jail."
For a moment, Hriday felt relieved.
"Really?"
"Thank God the police caught him this early."
But Vicky simply laughed.
"Yeah… but they caught a fake one."
Hriday's expression froze.
"A fake one…?"
Vicky nodded.
"Lathar's mother is a police officer."
"And the gun he used belonged to her."
"She arranged for someone else to go to jail instead of him."
Hriday stood there silently.
Shocked.
Then suddenly, Vicky said,
"Come. I want to show you something."
The two of them walked toward the front gate of the tuition center.
Vicky took out his phone and opened a video.
It was the recording of the incident.
While watching it, Hriday slowly glanced toward Vicky's face.
And for the first time—
he noticed something disturbing.
Vicky didn't look guilty at all.
If anything—
he almost looked excited.
As if he enjoyed the attention the incident had brought him.
Then suddenly, a boy standing nearby spoke.
"He was my childhood friend."
"We were like brothers."
Hriday turned toward him.
"His name was Khursid Alam."
For a moment, Hriday didn't know what to say.
So quietly, he replied,
"I'm sorry."
The boy looked directly into his eyes.
Then he said,
"I can't forgive anyone involved in this."
"That's the whole truth."
"That incident is the reason people hate us."
"And honestly… maybe we deserved it."
The corridor fell silent once again.
Ayushi looked at Hriday quietly.
"After knowing the truth, I have one question for you," Ayushi said.
"Why didn't you defend yourself?"
"You weren't directly involved in his death."
"What's the point of explaining these things when I'm still fighting myself for forgiveness?"
"It's already been a year…"
"But that line—"
"I can't forgive anyone involved in this."
"…still haunts me."
"If I had reached a little earlier that day…"
"…maybe I would've been part of that fight too."
Ayushi slowly stepped closer to him.
Then gently, she lifted his head with her hand.
"Did you ever try to atone to his friend?"
Hriday stayed silent for a moment.
Then quietly replied,
"No…"
"Or maybe I should say I couldn't."
"An apology can't undo his death."
Ayushi smiled faintly.
"Some things are better left untold."
Then she turned around and slowly started walking back toward the classroom.
Before leaving, she quietly said,
"Since you already told me the whole truth…"
"…I'm going to keep that condition."