Between Us

(past)

Aditya’s POV

The first time I noticed it was at the Agnihotris’ dinner table. Avni sat across from me, her phone facedown but her fingers twitching like they wanted to reach for it. When it finally lit up, she smiled before she even picked it up. That smile was new, light, private.

I used to know every shade of her laughter. The tired one she gave Shivani when teased. The soft one she gave her parents when they fussed. The loud one she saved for me when we argued over films. This smile wasn’t any of those. It was meant for someone else.

It should have hurt more than it did. Instead, I felt a mix—an ache in my chest and relief in my stomach. She looked happy, and that was all I had ever wanted for her. Still, I couldn’t stop remembering when her attention had belonged only to me. When her first call, her first message, her first smile of the day had been mine.

Now there would be someone else between us.

Rahul was polite, respectful, the kind of man parents adored. I had no reason to dislike him. When he spoke, he included everyone. When he laughed, it felt genuine. And when he looked at Avni, it was clear he saw her. Not the dependable daughter or the girl everyone paired with me. Just Avni.

And she glowed under that gaze.

So I swallowed my selfishness and told myself this was right. She deserved the world. If Rahul could give it to her, then I had no place wishing otherwise. Still, some nights I lay awake, wondering what it would mean to no longer be the first name she ran to. I wondered if she noticed my silences had grown longer, my smiles more practiced. But I couldn’t let her see the ache. This was her moment. My role was to step back and let her shine.

Avni’s POV

Rahul and I grew closer in ways that felt natural.

One afternoon he insisted on taking me shopping for the wedding. I argued that I could manage, but he grinned. “If you faint under a pile of sarees, who will carry you out? Let me at least earn the title of supportive fiancé.”

The word made me blush. The shopkeeper raised his brows. Rahul didn’t hesitate- “I’m the fiancé.”

I added quickly, “Yes, we’re engaged and soon going to be married.

I know it’s going so fast, but it feels right. It feels so good with him. I don’t want anything more.”

Rahul looked at me then, and his hand brushed mine as if by accident, but the warmth stayed.

He carried my bags without complaint, teased me when I spent twenty minutes comparing two dupattas, and somehow convinced the shopkeeper to lower the price without sounding pushy. I found myself watching him when he wasn’t looking, wondering how someone could make something so ordinary feel so safe.

Later, during a drive home, he told me childhood stories, how he once got lost at a fair, how his mother found him clutching a balloon like treasure. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes, and he reached over to wipe one with his thumb. “Careful,” he teased, “or I’ll start thinking I’m a comedian.”

Another night he handed me a small box without warning. Inside was a silver bracelet, plain but beautiful. “For you,” he said simply. “Something to wear every day, not just for occasions.”

“Rahul, I don’t need—”

“I know,” he cut me off, smiling. “That’s why it means more.”

My parents adored him. Aditya had met him and given me his quiet nod of approval. With everyone I loved welcoming Rahul, I let myself believe this was the future I was meant to have. For the first time in years, I felt not just possible, but certain.

One night he picked me up after dinner, saying he wanted to show me something. We drove through half-empty streets until we reached a hilltop overlooking the city. The skyline glittered like scattered stars.

“It’s not Paris,” he said, laughing, “but it’s ours.”

We sat on the bonnet of his car, shoulders brushing. He told me about his dreams, and for the first time I let myself speak mine out loud too. The air between us grew quiet, heavy but warm. When he leaned closer, I froze for a second, then closed my eyes.

It was soft, almost shy. My first kiss.

My heart stumbled in my chest, and when we pulled apart, I couldn’t stop smiling. Rahul whispered, “Worth the wait?”

I nodded. “More than worth it.”

That night, when I lay in bed replaying it again and again, I thought: if this is love, then I never want it to end.

Aditya’s POV

At gatherings I watched them together. The way Avni leaned toward him when he spoke. The way her laughter rang out brighter. The way her eyes softened when he teased her.

There were moments when my chest ached with the weight of being replaced. When her phone lit up and I knew the message wasn’t for me. When her stories began with “Rahul said” instead of “Remember when we.” But then I saw her parents smiling quietly at each other, relieved that their daughter had found someone who cared for her. And I forced myself to smile too.

One evening, after everyone left, I sat at the dining table staring at an empty plate. I thought about all the years Avni and I had shared through exams and heartbreaks and small victories. She had been my anchor, my constant, my closest friend. Now she was stepping into a new chapter, and I wasn’t the center of it anymore.

It hurt, but it also felt right. Love doesn’t always mean holding on. Sometimes it means stepping back so the person you care for can step forward.

So I wished her the best, quietly and completely. Even if it meant she needed me less.

This chapter gave us more of Avni and Rahul’s romance, and also a peek into Aditya’s quiet feelings. I wanted to make you feel the sweetness of their bond — the shopping, the first kiss, the happiness of being loved.

So tell me… how are you liking Rahul and Avni’s love story? Did their late-night date make you smile?