Aarinya’s sobs slowly faded into uneven breaths, and without realizing it, she drifted into sleep in his arms. Her grip on his shirt loosened, her head resting heavily against his shoulder, completely exhausted. Manav looked down at her for a moment, watching how still she had become. Then, carefully, he lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the room. He placed her gently on the bed, adjusting the pillow beneath her head and pulling the duvet over her so she wouldn’t feel cold. For a brief second, he stood there, looking at her sleeping face—quiet, fragile, and completely unaware of everything around her.

Without saying anything, he turned and walked out of the room, heading back to the kitchen. The house was silent again, except for the faint clinking of utensils as he began cleaning up. He washed the plates slowly, wiped the counter, and put everything back in place, maintaining the same controlled routine he always followed. It was as if he was setting order not just in the kitchen, but in everything around him. Nothing was left messy, nothing was left incomplete.

After finishing, he turned off the lights in the kitchen and walked back toward the room. He paused at the door for a moment before entering, his eyes immediately falling on Aarinya. She was still asleep, her face slightly turned to one side, faint traces of tears still visible. The room felt quiet, almost still, as if nothing had happened.

Manav lay down beside her, pulling the duvet over himself as well. For a few seconds, he just stared at the ceiling, his thoughts beginning to settle into something more concrete. He thought about leaving everything behind—this house, the store, the city. In his mind, it all felt temporary now, something that had already ended. Palampur, on the other hand, felt like a fresh beginning. A place where nothing from the past would follow, where no one would question him, where everything could be rebuilt exactly the way he wanted.

He imagined it clearly—the new store, running under his control, a quieter life, a place where things would be simpler. And Aarinya… always there, part of that life. He pictured her differently there—no longer crying, no longer resisting, but slowly adjusting, slowly becoming what he expected her to be. The thought gave him a sense of certainty, almost satisfaction.

He turned his head slightly to look at her again.

She shifted faintly in her sleep, her brows tightening for a moment as if even in rest, her mind wasn’t free from everything she had gone through. A soft, almost silent tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Manav watched it, but didn’t react.

In his mind, this was temporary.

“She’ll stop crying,” he thought quietly. “She just needs time.”

He moved a little closer, his presence firm, controlled, as always. His thoughts remained fixed on the future—on Palampur, on rebuilding everything, on shaping a life where nothing would disturb the order he had created.

Beside him, Aarinya remained lost in a restless sleep, her body finally still, but her mind far from peace.

And while she lay there, caught between pain and exhaustion—

Manav lay beside her, already planning a life where her silence would eventually turn into acceptance.