“Tease you? I would never.”

“And what if I want to tease you?” Riya said, keeping the playful spark alive.

“You have every right in the world,” he replied softly, calling her closer. As she leaned in, Ted whispered in her ear, “Even Jay bhai can’t tease me. But for you… Everything is allowed.”

A sweet, innocent smile bloomed on his face, the kind that made even Riya laugh.

It was getting late, and Ted’s intoxication had mellowed after a brief nap. Riya called a taxi for him and helped him inside. She instructed the driver to drop him home carefully, but at the very last moment, Ted gently pulled her in.

“What are you doing, Ted? This taxi is for your home.” Riya protested.

“Jay bhai once told me,” Ted began, recalling with surprising clarity, “‘Women are the strongest creation of God, but they have one weakness — they forget to protect themselves while guarding others. So, as gentlemen, it’s our duty to repay that favor by protecting them and their dignity.’”

He looked at her sincerely. “Please allow me to fulfill that duty. It’s too late for you to travel alone, and though I can’t drop you off myself, I can invite you to stay at my place. I promise I won’t do anything inappropriate. I’ll sleep on the balcony, my entire home will be yours tonight.”

Saying this, Ted released her hand with graceful restraint. “But if you’re uncomfortable, my friend, who lives next door, is out of town. I can stay at his place instead.”

Riya hesitated for a moment, thinking. “It’s really late… I barely managed to find Ted’s taxi. Should I go?” 

She glanced at him — his sincerity, his composed yet vulnerable tone, and the unease in her heart eased. “He doesn’t make me feel afraid. In fact, he makes me feel… safe.”

“Okay,” she finally said, smiling faintly. “I’ll come with you. But on one condition. You’ll stay in your own home, not your neighbor’s.”

“But what if you feel uncomfortable?” Ted asked gently.

“If I did,” Riya said, looking straight into his eyes, “I wouldn’t have kept this condition in the first place.”

On a small table outside lay a diary, a pen resting between its pages. As if someone had been writing, only to abandon it mid-thought.

Muskan picked it up. She hadn’t planned to read it and was simply carrying it to place on the study table. But as she did, an old Polaroid slipped out — a photograph from their childhood.
In it were Vishi, Mishi, Kareena, Jay, and Muskan — all smiling and carefree.

She turned to the page where the picture had been kept. In neat, familiar handwriting were the words:
“ I'm still standing where we last held hands that day, and I always will, waiting for you. Even if a lifetime passes, I’ll remain yours. I was yours, I am yours, and I always will be. — Jay.”

Reading it, Muskan couldn’t understand what Jay truly felt.
She wasn’t the one who had disappeared for ten years without a word — leaving only a letter behind. It was he who had left her.
Then why keep those old photographs, those memories, locked away with such care?

The next morning, when Ted woke up and read Muskan’s message, he immediately left for Jay’s place.
It said, “Jay has a fever. He’s taken his medicine and is resting.” short and crisp—Muskan’s signature move.

When she saw Ted’s car approaching, she quietly slipped out.
But before leaving, she went to Jay’s room one last time — just to check on him.

She tried to stop herself, she really did, but her heart overpowered her reason. 

After ten long years, her trembling hand found the courage to gently stroke his forehead with affection.

“Everything I had tied together will fall apart again… I’m already burning in one fire. If love for you sparks once more, it will destroy me completely,” she whispered under her breath, her voice breaking like fragile glass.