Weeks passed, and something changed between them.
They were no longer strangers.
They were… something else.
Something undefined.
But not everything was as perfect as it seemed.
Aarav began to notice small things.
The way Meera sometimes stared outside for too long.
The way her smile faded when her phone rang.
The way her eyes looked tired… even when she laughed.
One evening, the rain started again.
Just like the first day.
Meera sat near the window, watching the raindrops slide down the glass.
Aarav walked closer.
"You like rain?" he asked.
She didn't look at him.
"I don't know," she said softly.
"Then why do you always come here when it rains?"
There was a long silence.
Then she spoke.
"Because no one notices if you cry in the rain."
Aarav felt something tighten inside his chest.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Meera stayed quiet for a moment.
Then she turned toward him.
Her eyes were slightly red.
"My life isn't mine," she said.
Aarav frowned. "What do you mean?"
"My family… they've already decided everything for me."
"Like what?"
She hesitated.
Then finally said—
"My marriage."
Aarav froze.
"They want me to marry someone I don't love," she continued. "Someone I barely know."
"Then say no."
"It's not that easy," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "Not everyone gets to choose."
Aarav didn't know what to say.
For the first time, he felt helpless.
He wanted to fix it.
He wanted to protect her.
But he couldn't.
And that scared him.
That night, Aarav couldn't sleep.
Her words echoed in his mind again and again.
And for the first time in years…
He cared.
Weeks passed, and their bond grew stronger.
But Aarav noticed something.
Meera smiled a lot—but her eyes didn't always match her smile.
One evening, as rain poured outside again, Aarav finally asked, "Why do you always come here when it rains?"
Meera looked out the window.
"Because rain hides tears," she said quietly.
Aarav frowned. "What do you mean?"
She hesitated.
Then, for the first time, she opened up.
"My family is forcing me into a marriage," she said. "Someone I don't love. Someone I barely know."
Aarav felt a sudden heaviness in his chest.
"Why don't you refuse?"
"It's not that simple," Meera whispered. "Sometimes… you don't get to choose your life."
For the first time in years, Aarav felt anger—not for himself, but for someone else.