They arrive late.

Like echoes of words never said.

It was a Sunday afternoon.

Hot, silent, still.

Aarohi had decided to clean her old study drawer — something she hadn’t touched since Vivaan left.

Dust, torn notebooks, old pens.

And then… something fell.

A small, yellowed envelope.

Unmarked.

No name.

No date.

Curious, she opened it.

And her hands froze.

“Aarohi…”

It was his handwriting.

---

“I don’t know if you’ll ever read this.

But if you do, it means I was never brave enough to send it.”

Her eyes blurred.

She sat down on the floor.

The room went quiet.

Only his words remained.

---

“You’ve been my best friend for so long…

But the truth is, I always felt something more.

I just never knew if you did too.”

“I remember the day you smiled at me after I failed that chemistry test.

The way you always saved half your sandwich.

The way you looked at the stars like they were talking to you.”

“I fell for you quietly, completely.

But I was scared.”

---

Aarohi pressed the paper to her chest.

Her heart was pounding.

Tears streamed down her face.

Because this was it.

The truth.

The thing she had waited years to hear.

And it had been here… all along.

---

“If I leave without telling you, I hope one day you’ll find this.

Because no matter where I go, or how long it takes…

Part of me will always love you.”

— Vivaan

---

She didn’t cry loudly.

She didn’t scream.

She just… broke.

Because love had always been there — in silent moments, shared glances, unsent letters.

But fate had stayed silent.

And now?

Now she held everything…

Too late.

---

End of Chapter 5