"I'm teaching you because I love you."
His fingers were on her wrist, tracing lazy circles.
"This is normal," he said.
The classroom was empty. Her notebook lay open. So did her body language. Confused. Still.
"Don't tell anyone," He added, like it was a secret just for them.
She was thirteen. Maybe fourteen.
She wanted to ask why love felt like shrinking—but she didn't have the words.
She smiled instead. That's what good girls did.
He kissed her forehead.
She flinched and called it shyness.
She thought this was love.—
Laughter. Loud, real, ridiculous.
"You seriously thought coriander and parsley were the same thing?" Agni said, eyes wide with fake judgment.
Neerav grinned like a guilty teenager. "Look, I panicked in the vegetable aisle."
"It's green, Neerav. That's your entire reasoning?"
"It smelled leaf-ish!"
She snorted. "You're hopeless."
"But endearing," he added. "Tell me I'm endearing."
"You're... functionally amusing."
They were sitting on the kitchen floor. Takeout containers open. Tea between them.
No pressure. No expectations.
Just two people who knew how to breathe around each other.
She bumped his knee with hers.
He grinned and did it back.
She didn't flinch.
And that, to her, was a kind of miracle.
⚠️ Trigger Warning: This chapter includes memories of grooming and emotional manipulation. Nothing is described graphically, but emotional content may be triggering. Please read mindfully.