49

"Yes."

My heart pounded in my chest. The single 'yes' seemed to hang in the air, stretching the moment into an eternity. My mind raced, struggling to keep up with the weight of his words.

I couldn't help but feel like my heart had been crushed. I know I shouldn't feel like this. I was prepared. Prepared for the worst. I knew that. But still, hearing the one yes from his mouth broke all the walls of bravery I had built. Although I knew the truth all along, hearing it from him stung more than I expected. The truth felt like the betrayal of the deepest kind.

I felt anger surging up inside me. I placed my trust in him, only to find out that everything he said was a lie. Now I feel like our relationship is built on the foundation of lies. My trust now felt broken, leaving me questioning our entire relationship. The realization that the man I had grown so close to, had kept such an important thing about us hidden from me, was almost unbearable.

I felt tears gathering in the corner of my eyes, and I blinked. Not wanting to let him see me vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, I spoke, "Why did you lie?"

His own eyes moistened, and he came closer to me. This time he took my hand in his, and I let him.

His tears fell on my knuckles, and I looked at him with my teary eyes as he spoke in a shaky voice, "I'm sorry. I had to lie, there was no option. I could have told you sooner. But then, doctors told me you have the risk of getting seizures if we make you remember. I had to...let you go."

As his words hit me, I found my anger fading away. He was not wrong, after all, but his way was. A part of me struggled to understand, trying to piece together why he would choose to protect me in such a way. Did his fear of triggering my seizures truly justify this?

My brain was foggy, and I couldn't think properly, the more I thought about it, the more questions appeared, and I started feeling a little pain in my head.

So, I stopped thinking, and looked at him, "That's where you went wrong. Letting me go. You should have held me tighter. That's what a normal best friend would have done in your place."

He gulped, his eyes cast downward, as he murmured, "I know. I am sorry. It's my fault."

"Was our bond that weak that you let me go?"

"No. Our bond was the strongest but sometimes nature can break the strongest things. Your life was more important than our bond. I had to leave you for your own good." Then his eyes met mine, "Besides that, you refused to believe me. You kept pushing me away. Telling me to go away from your life."

He was right. My mental health was terrible at that time. I must have done things like that. I thought about it by putting myself in his place and concluded that I was responsible for this too.

Sadness crept upon my heart when I thought about the lost connection we once shared. A pang of guilt spread through me as I realized the pain I had given him.

Glancing at him, I wiped the tears from his face and held his jaw. "You don't look good while crying. Stop that now."

He smiled with teary eyes and sat beside me with his back leaning on the headboard.

I snuggled into him, feeling the warmth his body was providing, "So, tell me, what we were like?" I asked, looking at him with curiosity shining in my eyes.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "We were young, carefree, stupid—which applies more to you, of course."

I hit his arm playfully, pretending to be offended, "Hey! I may not remember everything, but I was never stupid. Plus, I doubt I was the only one doing silly things."

He laughed, "Oh, trust me, you were crazy."

I grinned, and squeezed his hand, "Tell me about it,"

He shook his head, "We shouldn't do this. It might affect- "

"It won't. I promise."

"But-"

"Don't make excuses." Then I narrowed my eyes at me, "You forget things, don't you?"

A cute smile broke on his lips, and I felt the vibration from his chest as he chuckled. "Where do you want me to start from?"

"From the beginning, the day we first met."

======================================

"We ended up sneaking into your neighbor's backyard."

I laughed wiping the tear from the corner of my eyes, "Really? Did we get caught?"

He shook his head, "Not exactly, you saw the neighbor's dog approaching us, and you ran for your life, leaving me all alone behind. Then, you slipped and fell into a rose bush."

I chuckled, "No wonder I have a scar on my leg. Anything else?"

He nodded, "Plenty. Like the time we tried to bake a cake for your mom's birthday and almost set the kitchen on fire."

"I bet she wasn't too happy about that."

"She wasn't, but she couldn't stay mad at us for long. We were too adorable." He winked, and I laughed again.

The sadness spread over my heart, I passed him a small smile, and muttered, "I wish I could remember all these moments. They sound amazing."

He took my hand in his, and looked at me, his ocean-blue eyes shining brightly, "Don't worry. I'll remind you of every single one. We've got a lifetime of memories to relive."

I passed him a warm smile, "Thanks. I may have forgotten, but it feels like I'm getting to know myself all over again."

He nodded, a contended smile on his lips, and then he slowly got down from bed, "Wait here. I'm just coming."

I nodded and watched him walk towards the door.

As he left the room, I felt a wave of emotions crash over me. The door clicked shut, and the silence that followed was deafening. My heart ached with a mix of longing and guilt. I wrapped my arms around me, trying to hold onto the warmth he had left behind. Tears welled up in my eyes, as I replayed the conversation from earlier. We had such a great history, and I couldn't even remember it.

I hurt him.

My heart ached, the lump in my throat grew, and I let my tears roll down my cheeks.

The door creaked open, and I hastily wiped my tears away, not wanting him to worry. He shut the door behind him and walked towards me with a bright smile, his eyes sparkling. My gaze fell on the familiar box he held in his hand.

As he came closer, his thick brow furrowed, the smile fading from his lips. "Were you crying?" he asked in a low voice.

I shook my head, offering him a small smile.

Standing beside him, he gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Your eyes are red. Tell me what happened."

I averted my gaze, looking down at my lap. "Nothing, really."

He took a seat on the bed in front of me, his eyes searching mine. "Did I do something?"

"No."

"Then?" His eyes bore into mine, and I couldn't hold back anymore. A tear slipped from my eye, and the lump in my throat felt heavier.

"I... I hurt you so much. I'm so sorry." I muttered, sniffing.

"No, you didn't." He said, calmly.

"No, I did... I don't know—"

"I said you didn't. It wasn't your fault."

I shook my head, "It was. I made you suffer. I can't forgive- "

He cut me off by crashing his lips on mine. At first, I was frozen, trying to process what just happened, then slowly I came to my senses, and reciprocated the kiss. It felt slow, warm, and passionate.

After a while, he pulled back leaving me breathless. I looked up and saw a huge smirk forming on his lips, seeing me flushed. He chuckled softly, "Now, I know how to shut you up."

I could still feel the lingering sensation of his soft lips on mine. He brought his hand up, and cupped my face, "Ria, Forget about it. You didn't hurt me. Don't be too emotional."

I pursed my lips, and looked at him, "Really?"

He nodded, his eyes showing sincerity, "Yes. You healed me. You brought me out of my darkness. Do you remember the girl I told you about that day at the beach?"

I nodded, of course, how can I forget about that girl, I'm still jealous of her, "Your best friend." I tried hard to speak the words without showing any emotion, but they came out sharp.

He smiled, "It was you."

I stared at him, blankly.

The weight of his words slowly crashed down on me, leaving me feeling happy.

I couldn't help the smile that broke on my lips.

It was me.

Oh, how can I be so stupid?

He chuckled seeing my reaction, and reached out to hold my hand, "Yes, you were jealous of your own self."

My smile dropped, and I pulled out my hand from his, "Who said I was jealous? Stop imagining things."

He laughed and presented me with the familiar blue box I had secretly opened that day at the office, dying out of curiosity. I know what's inside. A bracelet.

But still taking it from his hand, I opened the box, and pretended to be surprised, "Wow."

"Stop being dramatic," He chuckled softly, and took the bracelet out from the box, stroking his thumb over it, his eyes shined with unknown emotions as he gazed at it, and then his eyes met mine, and he gestured me to bring my hand forward. I did excitedly, watching as he carefully wrapped the bracelet around my wrist. He then placed a kiss on it making me blush.

Meeting my eyes, he spoke, "It's yours."

I smiled, admiring it, "Thanks."

He shook his head, the smile still on his lips, "I'm not gifting it. It's actually yours. After five years, it's back to its owner."

I blinked trying to conclude what he meant by that. Seeing my puzzled expression, he explained calmly, "Back then, we had planned to go on the trip to the mountains, you had a very good habit of canceling trips at the last minute. So, on the night of the accident, when you were about to leave, you handed it to me as a promise that you would come back. But then everything changed, and it stayed with me"

I sighed, gazing at it, "I think I'm pretty late."

He smiled, and pointed towards it, "Look, it has our names written here."

"Wow!" This time, I wasn't pretending. I was actually surprised. The name was engraved in it with beautiful fonts. I wonder how I didn't notice it that day.

"You bring it here with you?"

"Yes, it always stayed with me, reminding me of you."

I blushed again and played with the bracelet.

As his words swirled in my brain, a question popped, "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded and I continued, "That night, did you know that the accident was going to happen?"

He stared at me with furrowed eyebrows and searched for something in my eye.

Averting my gaze, I gulped, I shouldn't have asked him that question. I know that message was fake but still I-

"If I had known about it beforehand, I would have fought the world to stop that from happening."

I nodded slowly, feeling the sincerity in his voice, I knew he was speaking the truth, but why did that stranger write the message like that? What would he get?

Ruby is still investigating, unfortunately, she hasn't found anything so far. She had come to visit me a few days ago, telling me to be careful. Even though we don't have much proof, she suspects that my uncle is involved in illegal business. And maybe, just maybe, these things are connected to him.

I think I need to confront him.

Coming out of my thoughts, I asked, "Um... You didn't try to investigate the case?"

"No. We did. I was too inexperienced, but my father had many connections. He took it into his own hands and worked day and night. He did everything he could to find out if there was any person behind the accident of his friend. But nothing came out. In the end, they declared it natural."

I nodded slowly, absorbing his words. "Okay."

Just then the door knocked, and the guy who I think was Advik's friend, Ayan, entered. He approached us with a smile, and my eyes fell on the familiar phone which he held in his hand.

It was my mobile phone.

Repaired and looking as new as ever.