Shubman was still reeling from the conversation with his parents, their words lingering in his mind. He hadn't heard from Aditi in days, and the silence between them was deafening. He missed her, more than he wanted to admit, but his parents' pressure was weighing on him. They hadn't stopped trying to convince him to reconsider, and now, they had invited him over to their house again.

He didn't want to go. He didn't want to face them, but part of him hoped they might have had a change of heart. He was wrong.

As soon as he walked through the door, he could tell something was off. The usual warmth of his home felt cold. His parents greeted him, but it was all surface-level politeness, a facade.

"Shubman, we're so glad you could make it," his mother said, her tone still a bit too stiff. "We've been thinking about you. It's important to consider the future. And we have someone here who you might like to meet."

Before he could respond, a girl stepped into the room. She was beautiful, polished, and very put together. She looked like the kind of girl his parents would approve of. The kind of girl they always dreamed he would end up with.

The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up, and she smiled brightly, as if she had been waiting for this moment for her entire life. She walked toward him with confidence, her high heels clicking against the floor, and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Neha," she said sweetly, her gaze lingering on him a little too long.

Shubman felt his stomach churn. He didn't know what to make of it. His parents had been pushing him to meet someone, but he never thought they would arrange this—especially not with someone so eager to meet him.

He shook her hand, trying to keep his composure. "Nice to meet you," he said, not sure what else to say.

Neha immediately took the opportunity to sit beside him on the couch, leaning in slightly to catch his attention. "So, Shubman," she said, her voice smooth and flirtatious. "I've heard so much about you. You're even more handsome in person."

Shubman forced a smile, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about Aditi. He couldn't help but picture her, her gentle smile, the way she made him feel understood, loved, and safe.

Neha didn't seem to notice that his attention was elsewhere. She was clearly obsessed with him. Every time he tried to steer the conversation in a different direction, she would quickly bring it back to him, asking personal questions about his career, his favorite places, his plans for the future. She was doing everything she could to keep him interested.

Shubman felt trapped. His parents were watching, smiling expectantly, as if they were waiting for him to show interest in Neha. But in his heart, he couldn't help but compare her to Aditi. The difference was night and day. Neha was perfect in the way his parents had always wanted—polished, graceful, and completely composed. But Aditi was real. She wasn't perfect, and that was exactly what he loved about her.

Neha continued to speak about her accomplishments and dreams, but Shubman barely heard her words. He was too busy thinking about the woman who had stolen his heart—the one who loved the kids at the shelter, the one who had helped him heal without even trying.

Shubman's mind was a whirlwind of emotions. His parents were looking at him, waiting for him to react, to show some interest. But inside, he felt nothing but discomfort. He couldn't imagine a future with someone like Neha when he knew what he wanted deep down—Aditi.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Neha excused herself to the kitchen, leaving Shubman alone with his parents. His mother smiled at him knowingly, clearly thinking she had succeeded in her mission.

"So, what do you think, Shubman?" she asked, her voice light, but her eyes searching his face for approval.

Shubman just nodded absently. "She seems nice," he said, not wanting to make waves. But the truth was, he wasn't thinking about Neha. He was thinking about Aditi, and how much he missed her.

His father didn't seem to buy it. "Nice?" he repeated, eyebrows raised. "Shubman, this is the kind of girl you need to be with. She comes from a good family, she's smart, and she has her life together. What more could you want?"

Shubman's frustration bubbled to the surface. "I don't know, Dad," he said, his voice tight. "Maybe I just want someone who understands me. Who accepts me for who I am."

His mother looked at him, her face hardening. "You can't always get what you want, son. Sometimes you have to make compromises for the sake of your future. Aditi—" She trailed off, her face twisting slightly in distaste. "She's not the kind of person we want in our family. She'll cause you more problems than you realize."

Shubman's heart sank, and he felt his patience wear thin. He wasn't going to let his family dictate his life. Especially not after what they had said about Aditi.

"I'm going to go," Shubman said, standing up abruptly. "I'll be in touch later."

His parents exchanged worried glances, but Shubman didn't care. As he left the house, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a message from Aditi.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him as he saw her name on the screen, and he immediately opened the message. "Hey"

A simple message, but it meant everything.

Shubman sat up in bed, groggy from the night before. His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a message notification from Aditi. His heart skipped a beat as he saw her name, and without thinking, he opened it.

The message was long, more like a love letter than anything else. Each word hit him harder than the last, as she poured her heart out, explaining everything—her insecurities, the reasons behind her actions, and how she felt about him. It was raw, vulnerable, and painfully honest. But it was the last line that made his blood run cold:

"If you don't want to be with me anymore, I completely understand. This is all my fault for being so insecure. I've left the ring outside your door."

Shubman's chest tightened. His hands clenched around the phone, his mind racing. Anger and frustration mixed with confusion, his thoughts tangled in a storm. She left the ring outside his door? After everything, after what he had said and done for her, this was how she thought things were?

He couldn't understand. He didn't want her to feel this way. He didn't want her to doubt his feelings for her. His heart pounded in his chest as the reality of her message sank in. It was a blow, one he hadn't seen coming.

But the thing that hurt the most? The feeling that she thought this was somehow her fault. No, it wasn't her fault. It was his. He needed to fix this.

Shubman stormed out of his house, his mind swirling with anger, hurt, and frustration. He couldn't believe what he had just read. The vulnerability in Aditi's message shattered him, but the thought that she would feel like this—like she wasn't enough—was unbearable. He had to see her, had to make her understand that it was never about her, that he needed her, not just the perfect version of her.

He drove to her house in a rush, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. Every second felt like an eternity. When he finally reached her place, he barely parked properly before getting out of the car, his heart pounding in his chest, his emotions threatening to explode.

He didn't knock. He didn't hesitate. He stormed inside, making his way through the hallway like a man on a mission.

Aditi was sitting on the couch, her eyes red, her posture slumped as though she'd been waiting for him, or perhaps hiding from him. She looked up at the sound of the door slamming, her expression unreadable.

Shubman stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw her. His anger faltered, replaced by a deep, aching sadness. He had wanted to yell, to demand answers, but the sight of her made it all crash down.

She looked fragile, like a piece of glass about to break.

"Aditi..." His voice cracked, and he took a step toward her, his hands instinctively reaching for her, but then he stopped himself. He couldn't. Not yet.

"Why? Why did you think you needed to leave the ring outside? You think I don't want to be with you?" His words came out harsh, but there was pain in his voice that he couldn't hide.

Aditi looked down at her hands, the ring she had left out still lying there, and then she slowly raised her eyes to meet his. Her voice was barely a whisper, laced with regret. "I thought... you didn't want me anymore. That I wasn't good enough for you."

Shubman felt a lump form in his throat. He wanted to scream at her that she was everything he needed, but all that came out was a shaky exhale. "I'm not angry at you, Aditi. I never was." He stepped closer now, dropping down to his knees in front of her, his gaze softening. "It's me... I'm the one who messed up. I should have never made you feel like that. I just... I love you so much. And I never want you to doubt that, ever."

His eyes welled up with tears, but he blinked them away quickly. "I'm so sorry. I don't care about the ring. I care about you. Please... don't do this to yourself. Don't think you're not enough because you're more than I could ever deserve."

Aditi's chest tightened as she took in his words. She wanted to say something, but all that came out was a strangled sob as she collapsed into his arms. Shubman wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her close, his heart breaking as he felt her tears soak through his shirt.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered against his chest. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

He kissed the top of her head, shaking his head. "You didn't. I just—" He pulled back a little, tilting her chin up to look at him, his eyes full of tenderness. "I'm so in love with you, Aditi. I can't stand seeing you like this."

She looked into his eyes, searching for any trace of doubt, but all she saw was love, pure and unwavering. "I love you too," she whispered, the words tumbling out of her mouth with such sincerity that it made his heart soar.

Shubman kissed her forehead gently, and then he whispered, "Then let's stop pretending we're not perfect for each other, okay?"

Aditi smiled softly, tears still in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of relief. She nodded, finally letting herself relax into his arms. For the first time in so long, she felt completely safe, completely loved. "Okay."