Dil ke Karib (Early Acess Ch 5)

Nandini lay on her side, her fingers tracing the edges of the small cloth bundle left at her door. The homemade snacks inside—soft, comforting, nostalgic—still sat untouched on the small table beside her. She had stared at them for what felt like hours, the weight of the moment sitting heavily in the air. Had Rajeev seen them? Why?

Her gaze flickered over to the doorway where Rajeev had passed earlier in the day, his silence wrapping around them both like a dense fog. His odd kindness lately—the quiet acts of assistance, the strange gesture with the water pump—confused her. One moment, he was distant; the next, he was stepping into the space between them with unspoken care.

She couldn't make sense of it. Couldn't understand why he was always so good to her, even when they were just strangers. It was as if there was a hidden depth to Rajeev that she couldn't quite grasp, leaving her feeling both grateful and unsettled in his presence.

Her hands trembled as she reached for the cloth bundle again, wanting to throw it aside, to let the resentment rise like bile. But even in the heat of her frustration, a quiet voice inside her whispered: You can't. The silence between them was a strange thing—sometimes suffocating, other times strangely comforting. It made it harder to feel hatred in a room that felt too full of unspoken things.

She's not angry with him, not really; she's angry at herself for everything she did, for falling in with a man who just used her body, throwing away her feelings like they were nothing. She's not even angry at Rajeev's mother, who has cursed her every time her eyes met hers. She was simply exhausted from the emotional turmoil and uncertainty that she brought into her life.

She should be thankful to Rajeev that he married her even when he was not the one who brought disaster to her life, but she can't. Not when she has ruined Rajeev's life by this marriage. He is the son of the village head; he could have married anyone, but he was forced to marry her due to the circumstances. She couldn't shake off the guilt and regret that weighed heavily on her heart, knowing that she had caused so much pain and disappointment to someone who deserved better.
Her guilt pressed down on her, suffocating in its weight. She ruining her own life— but also because of her Rajeev had sacrificed his own happiness for her, and every breath she took in this house felt like a reminder of that quiet disaster. The weight of her actions is a heavy burden that she carries with her every day, unable to escape the consequences of her choices. The guilt is a constant reminder of the damage she has caused.

After all, was his silence that had brought her to this place? To this marriage, to this house? Was his kindness now some form of guilt? Or something more?

The night stretched on in oppressive quiet, the only sound the distant hum of crickets outside the window. Nandini's chest felt tight as she turned her gaze toward the floor, her mind tangled with a thousand questions, none of which had answers.

Then the door creaked open.

Rajeev stood by the door for a moment longer than necessary, his back turned to her, as though the weight of their silence was something he could physically feel. A slight tremor ran through his hand as he unfurled the mat.

He didn't say anything. No words, no explanations. Just the soft rustle of mat as he settled into his corner of the room.

Nandini's breath caught in her throat. She remained still on the bed, her eyes tracing the lines of his form, now barely visible in the dim light of the room.

There was something so intimate about this moment—two strangers sharing a space, bound by silence and circumstance, yet kept apart by unspoken distance. She could hear the faint rise and fall of Rajeev's breath, as though he were struggling to find a rhythm of his own.

She wanted to say something. Ask him why he was being so different, so... kind. But the words stuck in her throat, tangled in the mess of confusion and resentment that had built between them. Instead, she simply stared, unsure of how to navigate this sudden vulnerability between them.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as her eyes fell on the faint scar on his forehead, the one she had caused. The wound still hadn't fully healed, a quiet reminder of the glass she'd thrown in her rage. The anger from that night felt so distant now, so foreign, compared to the silence that had settled between them since. But the scar—the scar was a memory that wouldn't fade.

Finally, unable to look away from the mark, Nandini spoke, her voice breaking the heavy silence that had settled like dust in the room.

Her throat tightened as she finally whispered, barely above a breath, "I'm sorry... for what I did. I— I didn't mean to hurt you." Her voice cracked slightly, as though the words had to fight their way through a barrier of guilt.

The sound of her voice seemed to break something inside Rajeev. He didn't turn to face her right away, but Nandini could feel his stillness shift, the tension between them easing, even if just slightly.

"I... I lost control." she added quietly, her gaze still fixed on his back.

Rajeev didn't speak immediately. The silence stretched again, longer this time, but there was something different about it now. Less suffocating. He was still, the weight of her apology hanging between them, but he didn't respond—he didn't need to.

"I deserved it," Rajeev's voice was quiet, not defiant but resigned, as though he had been waiting to say it for a long time. The words felt like a confession, but there was something deeper there too—something raw that he wasn't ready to share yet.

Nandini blinked, confusion rippling through her. "No," she said quickly, shaking her head. "No, you don't..." But I deserved it instead.

Rajeev turned his head, just enough for her to see the edge of his profile in the moonlight. His eyes were closed, his expression unreadable. "You were angry," he said quietly. "And I—"

He stopped, as though unsure of how to continue. In that moment, something shifted in her chest—like the faintest crack in the stone that had built around her heart. There was no easy resolution between them, no way to fix what had been broken. But maybe, just maybe, they didn't need to fix it all right now. Maybe the silence between them, heavy as it was, could be enough for a moment.

Rajeev's silence seemed to stretch into the night, but there was something else in the way he lay on the mat—an exhaustion that mirrored hers. He didn't know how to untangle his own feelings, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away either. Not from her, not from this.

The room was still. The distance between them had not closed entirely, but the weight of their unspoken pain, of the silence, no longer felt quite as overwhelming. And for the first time in days, As Nandini closed her eyes, she could feel the faintest loosening in her chest, as if the invisible weight pressing down on her had begun to lift, just a little. The air in the room felt less suffocating, the silence no longer a sharp knife but a soft blanket wrapping around them both. It wasn't gone—not yet—but it felt different. And in that small shift, something inside her shifted too.

****

Author's Note 📖✨

Ohh, the silence burns... Can you feel it too? 😶‍🌫️ It's that heavy, suffocating tension between Nandini and Rajeev. Every word unspoken, every glance shared... it all builds to something huge. ❤️‍🔥 The weight of guilt, unvoiced emotions, and the painful scars they carry with them, literally and metaphorically. But there's something so deeply compelling about the quiet between them, don't you think?

I love exploring this silent, raw space where words often fail us, but the heart never stops speaking. 💔 The vulnerability in these two characters is so palpable, it makes me wonder what will happen next. Will their silence keep them apart, or will it be the catalyst for a deeper connection? 🫣 What do YOU think?

The unspoken feelings, the guilt, the tension—it's all building to something big, and I can't wait for you to join me as we dive deeper into this journey! 🌒✨

I'm dying to know your thoughts so far! 💬 Is it pulling you in? Do you feel the burn of that silence? 😳

Take a moment and vote below—I truly want to hear from YOU and see where your mind's at! ⬇️👇

Poll:

How do you feel about the story so far?

Totally hooked! Can't wait to find out what happens next! 🔥

The tension is REAL. I'm in love with the slow burn. 💘

I'm curious, but I need a little more action. ⏳

I'm not sure yet. Still waiting for the magic to happen. 🤷‍♀️