Khushi just shrugged after hearing her cousin's confidence and said,
"Well… as you wish. Do whatever you think is right."
And that's how it all began.
A few days later, my phone started lighting up with notifications. It was him.
At first, it was just simple messages on Instagram…
"Hey."
"Hi, Anya."
"How are you?"
I didn't think much of it. Just another conversation. Just another person.
But he didn't stop.
Every day, without fail, there was a new message waiting for me. Slowly, his texts became warmer… softer… a little more personal.
"You looked really pretty today."
"I don't know why, but talking to you feels different."
I found myself smiling at my screen more often than I should have.
One evening, he finally asked,
"Can we be friends?"
I hesitated for a moment… but then replied,
"Yeah… sure."
And that one "yes" changed everything.
Days turned into long conversations. Nights turned into endless chats. We started sharing little details about our lives… our thoughts… our dreams.
He made me laugh.
He made me feel special.
And somewhere in between those late-night texts and stolen moments of happiness… I didn't even realize when I started falling for him.
But there was one thing I didn't know.
The truth.
I had no idea about his past… about the "25 exes"… about the kind of person he really was.
To me, he was just… him.
One night, in the middle of a conversation, he suddenly texted,
"Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm… yeah," I replied.
"Whatever is happening between us… don't tell anyone about it. Not your friends, not your sister… no one."
I paused, my fingers hovering over the screen.
"Why?" I asked softly.
He replied almost instantly,
"I just want this to be… ours. Private. Special."
And in that moment, it didn't feel like a warning.
It felt like something intimate… something meaningful.
So I trusted him.
"Okay," I typed.
But sometimes… the things we hide the most… are the things that hurt the deepest.
What happened next see in next chapter....