Inhaling a deep breath, Ira said, "I love you, Ehan". She shivered, closing her eyes. Her words sounded foreign to herself.

For a second, Ehan felt like he heard something wrong. His heart accelerated it's pace, beating with the speed he never know it could.

They both could hear their hearts beat like drums. Gathering some courage, Ira looked up to meet Ehan's widened eyes. He was staring her, stunned by her sudden confession.

Gulping, he looked elsewhere as soon as their eyes met, not knowing what to say. He never in his wildest dreams would have thought that she was going to be the one confessing first. He wasn't prepared for this. He thought he'd confess when he was sure that she was clear with her feelings as well as she's well aware of his real status.

"Just say it. Stop thinking so much" his thumping heart suggested.

He looked back at her, who was blinking back her unshed tears.

"Ir..." before he could start, she kept her hand on his lips, silencing him, "I didn't confessed this to hear an answer from you. To be honest, I don't expect an answer at all" her voice shivered as she spoke. He frowned at her words but a part of him was relieved that he'd get some time to think of a way disclosing his status.

Calming herself, she spoke again, "It became too difficult for me to hold it within. At first, the fear of you not reciprocating my feelings stopped me from confessing and I decided to keep it to myself but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. I started to bring you in my imaginations. It was suffocating me. I couldn't breathe properly. My heart was too heavy. I just couldn't take this anymore. I confessed, just to be relieved" she closed her eyes at the end, letting the tears escape.

He flinched feeling her pain. His hands itched to cup her cheeks and wipe those tears away. Pull her closer and whisper those three magical words in her ear.

His hands made their way to her wet cheeks but before they could come in contact, she roughly wiped her her cheeks with the back of her hand and whispered, "I'm sorry, Ehan. Just forget whatever I said. Pretend I never confessed anything"

Turning back, she hurried into the building she resides. Ehan stumbled back, wiping his face. He could feel his hands still shivering. She definitely took him by surprise. His mind was a complete mess. There were too many things running inside.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I ruined it for her and myself. He held a fistful of his hair in frustration, walking back home. Not for a single second his mind would have diverted from her thoughts. Her words kept ringing in his mind. Her tears kept hurting him.

He didn't even noticed Hamlet standing by his main gate, waiting for him.

"Sir" his watchman called, making him turn back with a disturbed expression.

"This young man wanted to meet you" watchman said and that's when Ehan noticed Hamlet, looking at him with a hard face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked irritated, walking to him.

"Can we talk?" Hamlet asked, eyeing the watchman.

"No" Ehan replied, making his way back in.

"It's about Ira" it forced him to stop and look back.

---

"A middle class guy, whose parents died ages ago, leaving him all alone in their cottage. Nice story" Hamlet commented, looking around the huge mansion of Ehan. Ehan's breathe caught in his throat as he looked at Hamlet with wide eyes. They both were seated on a sofa placed in the spacious hall, facing eachother.

"So you're here to blackmai..."

"No" Hamlet cut him off, shaking his head.

"Not at all, Ehan. I'm not here to blackmail you" Ehan was surprised by his words. He expected quite the opposite of what he said just now.

"I'm here just to warn you of the consequences when Ira will learn the truth" Hamlet said, standing up. Ehan looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"She's naive, innocent and easy to be manipulated. Things affect her quite easily. I'm sure you know that better than me. But what you seem to don't know is; she trust you, more than anyone. She's relying on you. She thinks no one is as perfect as you. She feels protected and safe with you. She might be even in love with you" he let out a bitter chuckle at the end.

Ehan gulped, looking elsewhere at his last sentence. Her confession again rang in his mind.

"Just take a moment and think how she'll feel when she'll learn the truth, Ehan" Ehan's eyes snapped at him.

"She will be broken. She won't be able to trust anyone. She'll lose her faith in you as well as in herself" Hamlet bent to Ehan's eye level and said.

Ehan couldn't understand if Hamlet was trying manipulate him or just stating the facts but he couldn't deny it. Fear build up in him as Ira's tears stricken face flashed in his eyes. Her cries hurts him the most and he flinched at the mere thought of it.

"You better let things go on the way they're going. Let her be in darkness. It's good for both of you" Hamlet's voice broke his trance.

"What do you mean?" Ehan asked with narrowed eyes, standing up to match his height.

Inhaling a deep breathe, Hamlet spoke again, "See Ehan, when she'll learn the truth; she'll be hurt, she'll feel betrayed, she'll think that you made fool of her, she'll hate you and at the end, she'll leave you, just the way everyone in your life do" his words were nothing but a stab in Ehan's heart. His last sentence made it literally bleed with pain.

"You better don't confess anything at all. Let her be your friend, forever. This way, she'll stay in your life, as a friend atleast" Ehan clenched his fist, gritting his teeth looking at the floor. As much as he hate to admit, Hamlet was right. His confession will definitely drive Ira away from him and he'll lose her. Keeping it will atleast help him in having her around.

"Listen Ehan, I'm not your enemy. Nor I want you to be mine" Hamlet said, making his way to the door.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me" he said, stopping by the open door before leaving.

Ehan sat on the sofa with a soft thud, holding his head in both his hands.

"She'll leave, just the way everyone in your life do"

"No" he whispered, shaking his head. Tears pricked his eyes and he looked down, letting them fall on the floor.

"I won't be able to take it" he cried, burying his face in his left arm, holding a fistful of his hair in a painful grip.

---

After a spending a sleepless night filled with silent cries, Ira's thoughts and Hamlet's warning, Ehan decided to skip school that day. He wasn't ready to face Ira, yet. He somehow came to the conclusion that Hamlet was right. He'll lose Ira's friendship too if she'll learn about his lies and he didn't wish to confess his love for her keeping her in dark.

On the other side, Ira too skipped the school, requesting Miss Bella for a day off. Even she wasn't ready to face Ehan just yet. She needed some time to wrap her mind around the fact that nothing is gonna remain the same now. Ehan's behaviours towards her might differ and she needed to be prepared for it.

She wondered what must be going on in his mind.

---

Pulling the zipper of his jacket, Ehan looked at himself in the mirror.

"I'm sorry. Just forget whatever I said. Pretend I never confessed anything"

"I'm gonna do exactly what you said, Ira. Pretending like you never confessed anything is the only option I have" he thought.

He grabbed his mobile from the nightstand and checked. There was no message nor any calls from her. He checked the time and made his way out of the room, to pick her from school.

He felt uneasy when he went out of the main gate. His heart started drumming as he thought of making his way to the campus. Turning the street, he stopped in his tract, spotting Ira making her way towards him. Her head hung low and she was taking baby steps, as if she wasn't sure whether to go ahead or turn back and leave.

Gulping, he took a step back and turn, making his way back home. He wasn't ready yet nor he felt like he was gonna be ready anytime soon. If he face her, he won't be able to stop himself from confessing.

"Ehan, where were you? I was so worried. Neither Ira nor you showed up today. Is everything alrig..."

Ehan cut Lily off. Glancing behind him, he said, "Lily, Ira is coming this way. Tell her I'm not home"

"What?" She gave him a puzzled look, not understating why he's asking her to do such a thing.

"Please" with that, he ran into the cottage and hide himself, leaning on the closest wall.

Lily looked ahead to find Ira walking ahead slowly. She has clenched the chain of her sling with both her hands. She was walking absentmindedly.

"Hey, Ira" Lily called to grab her attention. She looked up and forced a small smile. Walking a little faster, she came to Lily.

"Hi, sweetheart. I didn't spot in the campus today. Are you okay?"

"I wasn't feeling well" she replied in a small voice but it was audible to Ehan. He closed his eyes hearing her.

"Oh! How are you feeling now?"

"Better"

"Are you here to meet Ehan?" Lily questioned and Ira nodded.

"Err... Actually, he's not home dear" Lily said, pointing at the wall behind which Ehan hide.

Ira's heart clenched inside. Why's he avoiding her when she clearly told him that she don't expect him to reciprocate her feelings? It did hurt her to know that she made him uncomfortable to this extent.

Mumbling an inaudible thank you to Lily, she took shaky steps towards Ehan, who kept his eyes shut. When he slowly peeled his eyelids open, Ira was right infront of him. His breath caught in his throat and he was startled.

"I'm sorry about yesterday" she said in a broken voice, blinking vigorously to push the tears back.

"You don't need to hide yourself to ignore me. You can tell this directly if don't wanna meet me. I won't mind. You might think it was my fault that I fell for you but trust me, I have no idea when I started developing such feelings for you. I'm extremely sorry" she said, wiping the tear which manage to roll down her cheeks.

Ehan clenched and unclenched his fist as his eyes pricked tears. He don't know what's happening and how he was supposed to react at the moment.

Realising something, she unzipped her bag and started rummaging. Pulling out the key of his cottage, she said, "Thank you for everything. I know I'm not of much use, but you can always count on me. I'll try not to come here and make you uncomfortable again" she extended the key to him and he couldn't help the tears from escaping this time.

She kept her eyes lowered, waiting for him take the key from her. When he didn't respond, she held his hand in hers and kept the key in his palm.

Without uttering another word, she turned and left, not sparing a single at him. He kept looking at her, clenching the key in his fist. Fresh set of tears welled up in his eyes and blurred his vision. By the time they roll down his cheeks and cleared his vision, she was gone.

If he thought that his heart was beating at it's greatest speed last night when Ira confessed her love for him, then he was wrong. With the speed it was beating now, was nothing compared to last night. He panicked, finding her gone. His greatest fear of losing her was becoming a reality.

Not wasting a single second in thinking, he ran behind her with the speed of a Ninja. To his luck, she hasn't even went out of the gate. Holding her wrist, he stopped her, which making her turn to face him. Her confused teary eyes looked into his flowing painful ones. He roughly pulled her to him and hugged as if his life depends on her. His left hand tightly wrapped around her waist and the one right held a fistful of her hair. She didn't took more than a second in wrapping her hands around his back, holding his jacket in both her fists. He nuzzled in her hair, letting his tears wet them. She choked a sob, burying her face in his chest.

Once she calmed down a bit, he break the hug and wiped her cheeks with both his hands while she kept her eyes closed.

Resting his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I love you too".

It made her eyes snap open in a second and she looked at him wide eyed. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"I love you more than you can ever imagine, Ira. You're my everything. I love you too much to lose you" he continued, still holding her closer. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she hugged him again, making him pull her impossibly closer.

They stayed still until they felt content. Ehan broke the hug and took a step back, looking into her puffy red eyes with his own sleep deprived ones. "You'll leave me" he stated, shaking his head in negative.

She frowned and took a step closer, "I won't" she said.

"You will. Nobody stays. You'll leave too once you'll learn truth" he said, leaning against the wall behind him. He slid down and buried his face in his left arm, crying.

She joined him on the ground and held his face with both her hands. Wiping his tears with her thumb, she firmly, "I won't ever leave you. Trust me. I promise".

He wrapped his hands around her waist and buried his face in her arms. She gently rubbed his back and held the back of his head nuzzling into his hair.

Ira smiled with eyes full of tears, living her imagination for the first time in her life.

---

Assalamualaikum everyone,

How was the chapter?

Ehan confessed too. Happy?

What do you think is gonna happen next?

Will Ira be able to keep her promise?

What if she couldn't keep it, after learning about his lies?