Pov:Ram
I watched her walk away, her back straight, eyes distant.
She didn't even glance back once.
That's how I knew I broke her.
I never meant to.
When I told her the kiss meant nothing, I thought I was shielding her… from a storm even I didn't know how to handle. But I became the storm instead. And I hated myself for it.
She looked so small in the corridor, sitting with her arms around her knees.
But I stayed hidden.
Watching.
Hurting.
I hated Rithul for making her laugh like that. I hated how it wasn't me anymore.
That's when I knew—I couldn't stay silent anymore.
I couldn't keep hurting her to protect her.
That evening, I stood outside her house with trembling fingers.
I knew Aunty would be home.
And I knew what I had to do.
The door creaked open, and there she was—Max's mom. The woman who once smiled at me like her own. The woman who saw me grow up with Max. And now… the woman who warned me away.
But I bowed.
"Aunty…" My voice cracked. "Please give me just five minutes. Not as Max's mom… but as someone who once liked me."
She crossed her arms, guarded.
"Speak," she said flatly.
I stepped inside, feeling every nerve in my body screaming.
"I love her," I said. No hesitation. "I've loved her before I even understood what love was."
She narrowed her eyes. "Then why did you kiss her and walk away like it meant nothing? Why did you look at her like she was a mistake?"
Tears burned my eyes, but I didn't blink them away.
"Because I was scared," I whispered. "Scared that I would ruin her. That I'm too broken to belong in her world. But I swear, Aunty… what I feel for Max—it's not just attraction. It's not just a kiss. It's a prayer. It's the only thing in my life that's ever felt pure."
Her eyes softened. "You really mean it?"
"I do. And I'm not asking you to accept me today. I just want you to see me for who I am now… not who I was. I want to be better, for her. With her."
Silence hung between us.
Then, slowly… she stepped forward.
"She cried," she said. "After you yelled at her. She didn't eat. She didn't sleep. She just kept pretending she was okay."
My heart shattered into a thousand shards.
"I'll fix it," I whispered. "Even if it takes everything in me."
She stared at me for what felt like forever.
And then, finally… she sighed. A heavy, motherly sigh.
"Then fix it," she said. "But don't you ever let her cry like that again."
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"Ram," she added gently, "She's not just your childhood girl. She's my whole world. And now… maybe, she can be yours too."
Tears spilled from my eyes as I bowed again, but this time not from guilt or shame—this time from hope.
Hope that I could make things right.
Hope that maybe Max still believed in me, somewhere in her heart.
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Pov: Max's mom (The world I longed to hear...)
I didn't expect Ram to show up at my door today.
Not after everything that happened.
Not after the warning I gave him.
But when I opened the door and saw him standing there—with eyes heavier than I'd ever seen, lips trembling with unsaid truths—my heart paused.
He wasn't the boy from next door anymore.
He was a man.
A man who looked like he'd been to war… and the battlefield was Max.
"Please give me just five minutes," he said. "Not as Max's mom… but as someone who once liked me."
My breath caught.
When did he grow up so much?
I let him in—half cautious, half curious. I expected another excuse. Maybe a "sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her." But instead… he stood straight, looked into my eyes, and said—
"I love her."
No falter. No flinch.
Every piece of me that had been hardened by a mother's fear melted.
He told me about the fear.
The guilt.
The love that grew so big, he didn't know how to carry it without hurting her.
And as he spoke, something strange happened—tears spilled from his eyes.
That's when I knew: this wasn't just a boy who kissed my daughter.
This was the boy who wanted to marry her someday.
Who would carry her pain like it was his own.
I wanted to stay mad.
I wanted to remind him of how Max cried herself to sleep that night.
But I couldn't.
Because this—this was exactly what I wanted to hear from him. All along.
I saw flashes of their childhood as he stood there.
The day he shared his chocolate with Max during Pongal.
The way he helped carry our bags during Deepavali.
The way Max used to sneak glances at him from behind the fridge door when she thought no one was watching.
I always knew.
A mother always knows.
But love, even the truest kind, needs to be earned.
And today… he earned it.
"Then fix it," I said softly. "But don't ever let her cry like that again."
His shoulders shook as he cried quietly. And then he bowed—not just with his head, but with every ounce of regret he carried.
That's when I felt it.
Peace.
Relief.
Because I knew—my daughter's heart wasn't in the wrong hands.
I stepped forward, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
"She's not just your childhood girl, Ram… she's my whole world. And now…"
I smiled.
"Maybe, she can be yours too."
I watched him leave—lighter, freer, determined.
And I smiled to myself.
This time, I wouldn't stop him.
Because for the first time, I saw a future where Max didn't just have a lover…
She had a partner.
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