The room was too small for silence.

It didn't just sit there-it pressed. Against the walls. Against the ceiling. Against her chest. It filled every crack in the peeling paint, settled into the thin mattress beneath her, and wrapped itself around her like something alive.

Aira sat on the floor, her back resting against the cold wall. The dampness seeped through the fabric of her dress, but she didn't move. She had stopped reacting to discomfort a long time ago. Above her, a single bulb flickered. Not enough to go out.

Just enough to remind her that even light here was unreliable... temporary... like everything else in her life now. Her hand rested over her stomach. Slowly. Carefully. Instinctively. Her fingers barely pressed against the fabric, as if she was afraid that even the slightest pressure might hurt the fragile life inside her... or maybe confirm that it was real. Pregnant.

The word still felt-foreign, misplaced... like it belonged to someone else's story. Not hers. Not the girl who once worried about exams, about curfews, about the disappointment in her father's eyes. A faint, broken smile touched her lips. How small those fears had been. How safe.

The air in the room carried a mix of damp walls and stale cooking oil drifting in from neighboring kitchens. Somewhere outside, utensils clattered. Someone laughed. A child cried, then was quickly hushed.

Life went on. Loud. Careless. Unaffected. As if nothing had changed. But for her...Everything had ended the day it all began. Aira shifted slightly, a quiet wince escaping her as a dull ache spread through her lower back. The movement was small, but even that felt like too much.

She hadn't moved much today. There was no reason to. No one to talk to. Nowhere to go. Nothing to look forward to-Except him. Her gaze slowly lifted to the door. It stood there like a fragile promise. Cheap wood. Weak lock. Paint chipping at the edges.

It couldn't protect her. It couldn't keep the world out.But still... It was the only thing that separated her from it. From them. A burst of laughter echoed from the narrow alley outside-sharp, careless, cutting through the quiet like glass.

"Girls these days..." a woman's voice muttered, loud enough to be heard. "No shame at all."

Aira's body went still. Her fingers tightened slightly against her dress. She didn't need to hear more. She had already heard everything. Her name wasn't her name anymore. It had dissolved into whispers. Into judgment. Into that girl.

Her gaze dropped to the floor, unfocused. She had tried, in the beginning.God... she had tried. Tried to explain. Tried to speak. Tried to tell someone-anyone-that it wasn't what they thought. That she wasn't what they saw.

But truth...Truth had no place where people had already decided the ending of your story. A tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't wipe it. At some point, even crying had started to feel like wasted effort.

The footsteps came slowly. Heavy. Dragging. Unmistakable. Aira's head lifted instantly. Her heartbeat quickened-not with fear. With something far more fragile. Far more dangerous. Hope. The steps stopped outside the door.

Silence followed. A single second. But it stretched... and stretched... until it felt like it might break her. Then-The door opened with a soft creak. Kian stepped inside. For a moment, he didn't move. He stood there, one hand still gripping the door, shoulders slightly slumped as if the weight of the world had followed him all the way in.

Dust clung to his clothes. His shirt was wrinkled, sleeves rolled unevenly. There was a faint stain near his collar that hadn't been there before. Before... all of this. His hair fell messily over his forehead. And his eyes- They weren't just tired. They were... worn. Like someone who had been fighting battles no one else could see... for far too long.

Aira watched him quietly. The room felt smaller now. Or maybe it just felt more real. Kian closed the door behind him, the soft click echoing louder than it should have in such a small space. For a brief moment, he rested his forehead against it. Eyes closed. As if he needed just that one second... To breathe. To gather himself. To leave everything outside before turning to her.

Then he straightened. And turned. The moment his eyes found her- Something shifted. The exhaustion didn't disappear. But it softened. Just a little. "Did you eat?" he asked. His voice was low. Rough. Tired in a way that couldn't be fixed with sleep.

Aira hesitated. Just for a second. Then she nodded. A lie. A small one. But it still felt heavy in her chest. Kian noticed. He always noticed. A quiet exhale left him as he ran a hand through his hair before stepping further inside. He placed a small paper bag on the uneven table.

"I brought food." No accusation. No questioning. Just... care. The kind that didn't ask for anything back.

Aira's fingers tightened slightly over her dress. "You didn't have to," she murmured.

Kian let out a faint breath-something between a sigh and a broken laugh. "I know." But he still did. He always did. He sat down across from her. Close enough to reach. Far enough to feel the distance between everything they hadn't said. Silence settled again. But this time...

It wasn't empty. It wasn't suffocating. It was shared. Aira looked at him. Really looked at him. At the faint bruise on his wrist. At the roughness of his hands. At the way he avoided holding her gaze for too long. And something inside her chest tightened painfully.

This wasn't his life. This wasn't supposed to be his story. He wasn't supposed to end up here- In a room like this. With a girl like her. Carrying a future neither of them had planned. And yet... He stayed. When everyone else left. Her voice came out softer than she expected.

"Kian..."

He looked up. And suddenly... nothing else existed.

"I'm sorry."

The words barely made it out. But they carried everything. Guilt. Shame.Fear. Regret. Kian's jaw tightened. Not in anger. In restraint. In something deeper. He shook his head.

"Don't."

Aira's breath trembled. "Because of me-"

"I said don't." This time, there was an edge to it. Not directed at her. But at everything else. At the world. At the people. At the circumstances that had taken too much... and given nothing back. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze steady now.

"You didn't do anything wrong."

Aira's lips parted. But no words came. Because she had heard that before. Only from him. Always from him. And somehow... It still felt impossible to believe. Her hand moved again, resting protectively over her stomach. Kian's eyes followed the motion.

For a brief moment- Something flickered in his gaze. Fear. Uncertainty. Responsibility. And beneath all of it... Something fragile. Something dangerous. Hope. His jaw clenched slightly. As if he had made a decision long ago...And was still choosing it.

Every single day. Outside, the world continued. Inside, time slowed. Six months ago... She had been just a girl in a crowded college corridor- Watching a boy who never looked back. And now... He was the only one who stayed.

_________

So... here I am again, with another story.

I don't even know if anyone is going to read this one, but I just had to write it. This plot has been living in my mind for months now. At first, I told myself I'd wait-finish my ongoing story first, then start this one.

But I couldn't hold back anymore.

Every single day, new ideas kept coming, growing louder, making me restless... until writing it became the only way to breathe. So here I am, finally starting.

This story is going to be an emotional rollercoaster, full of struggles, financial hardships, societal judgment, and family abandonment... everything.

So be ready, and maybe keep some tissues close, baby. 🤍

For now, it's just the prologue...
The real story is yet to begin.
Bye bye take care love's 🫀
And please tell me should i continue writing this story or not?🙂