Sunday evening. The café buzz was gone, replaced by soft jazz and the hush of clinking cups.
Karthik and Ananya had been talking for nearly two hours. Books, movies, embarrassing school memories… it all came out like a slow unraveling of threads neither of them realized they were holding.
She leaned back in her chair, swirling her iced latte. "You know what I noticed?"
Karthik raised an eyebrow. "That you talk more when you're drinking coffee?"
"That you stop stammering when you're with me."
He blinked.
"You used to trip over every sentence during class. Now, you look me in the eye. You joke back. You tease."
Karthik stirred his spoon, avoiding her gaze. "I guess… it's easier with you."
"Why?"
"…Because you don't expect me to be anyone else."
Ananya stared at him, quietly. Her fingers tapped the side of her glass. "That means a lot to me, you know."
He glanced up.
"I'm always trying to be this… perfect version of myself. Pretty, smart, friendly. But with you, I can just… be. I don't have to impress you."
"You already do," he said before he could stop himself.
She smiled slowly, heartfully. "Karthik…"
He fidgeted. "I'm still scared. I don't know how to… be in a relationship. I've never done this. I overthink. I panic. I run."
"I know," she said softly. "But you also stay."
They sat in silence for a moment, the kind of silence that felt like trust.
Then Ananya reached across the table and took his hand.
"Let's not label it, not yet. Let's just… stay close. Be honest. Hold hands when we want to. Text at midnight. Steal sips of coffee. Watch each other heal."
Karthik squeezed her hand, his voice quiet. "Deal."
---
As they left the café, the sky over Chennai was a bruised pink.
No one said it out loud.
But both of them knew—
This was love, quietly blooming, with no need for declarations.
Just the sound of two hearts walking side by side.
---
End of Chapter 39