Vihaan's POV:
Ama was ready to leave when Olivia's voice cut through the quiet: "Vihaan?"
Her name alone felt like an intrusion in the calm I'd been guarding.
I tightened my grip on the wheel. "What are you doing here?"
Olivia leaned from her window, her smile perfectly casual—too casual."Running into you, apparently. Could we talk? Just a minute."
Ama glanced at me, brows lifted. I gave a quick, neutral nod."Give me two minutes," I said, stepping out.
"Look," Olivia began, voice lowered as if sharing a confidence."I shouldn't even tell you this, but you deserve to know. This…thing with Amara? It started because Jia thought it might help her career if you noticed her family—she even liked you back then. She asked Ama to spend time with you. I like Ama, really, but it wasn't her idea. You're being used, Vihaan."
For a moment, the night seemed to thin around me."Jia?" I asked, disbelief rough in my throat.
Olivia only gave a small, sympathetic shrug."I hate seeing you played. Do what you want with it."
Before I could answer, she shifted her focus, voice suddenly bright."Hi, Amara, how are you doing?"
"It's all good, thanks for the concern," Ama replied, her polite smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"Jia is really gifted with ideas—arranging meetings, making things happen," Olivia added lightly, but her glance toward me carried a pointed weight.
I stayed there a heartbeat longer, the cool air sharpening my thoughts. The soft warmth of Ama's laughter from earlier felt suddenly distant, like a song from another room.
When I finally slid back behind the wheel, Ama offered a tentative smile."All good?" she asked.
"Yeah," I managed. She nodded in agreement.
"Good night, be safe," she said as she stepped out, her voice gentle, but I could feel the question behind it.
I was just looking at her, thinking how much control she has over me, I who never cared about any woman's smile or pain, after my mother cared about her so much that now I couldn't imagine my life without her. What would I do if this doubt turns out to be true? What if she is with me only for her sister? Would I ever be able to love anyone as I do now for her? A part of me didn't believe all this; a part of me always says that the smile and the spark in her when she sees me can never be fake. She is real.
Amara's POV:
It was all fine before Olivia came. What could be her motives? What she knows and what she talked to Vihaan that made him different? Why did she mention Jia's name out of the blue? I was just thinking when I bumped into Jia.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I know the date was really unforgettable, but that doesn't mean you will hit others like this," she said it playfully, but when she saw my almost crying face, she stopped.
"What happened?" she asked as I hugged her silently.
"I know something is wrong with him; he never admits, but I know something is bothering him, and I also know who is behind this. But I don't know what that is?" I said, and I don't know when I started crying.
"Shhh, stop crying, Ama, what are you saying? Who is behind this? Don't tell me it's her," she said while completely pissed off.
"Yeah, she is. Before she came, everything was going smoothly. We talked, and he smiled, but the moment she said something to him, he was different," I said while trying to hold myself up.
Jia's grip on my shoulders tightened. "Of course it's her. Olivia always finds a way to slide in where she isn't wanted."Her voice was sharp, but her eyes softened when she saw the tears I couldn't blink away.
"What did she say to him?" Jia asked.
I shook my head. "I don't know. He didn't tell me—just stepped out, talked to her, and when he came back… it was like someone had shut a door inside him."
Jia's jaw clenched. "Ama, listen to me. Vihaan cares about you. I can see it every time he looks at you. Whatever Olivia whispered, it was meant to mess with that. Don't let her win."
I swiped at my cheeks, frustration burning behind the dampness. "But how do I fight something I don't even understand?"
"You don't fight it," Jia said quietly. "You stay. You keep showing him who you are. The truth doesn't need a strategy—it just needs to be there when the lies run out."
I looked at her, my chest tight. "And what if he stops believing in me before that?"
Jia's expression softened, a sister's mix of fierceness and love. "Then we remind him. Together. If Olivia wants a game, she picked the wrong family."
Her words settled like a fragile promise in the air between us. For the first time since that car window opened, I felt a spark of steadiness. I didn't know what Olivia had planted in Vihaan's mind, but I knew this: I wasn't going to let it grow in silence.
He hasn't texted anything or called since last night. Jia and I were leaving the library, and it was quite late in the evening. We were just chatting about something random when Olivia approached us out of nowhere.
"Amara, nice to meet you, Jia, my darling, Hii," she said with her ever-annoying smile.
"I just envy you sometimes, look at you, you're younger than me, but you perfectly know how to use people for a specific purpose, especially when the person is influential," she said while looking at Jia.
"You better not mess with her, Olivia," I said while interrupting her.
"Ohh, Amara, my little sister, I am just stating the facts; she knows very well how to manipulate you for her own sake. Just saying, it's clever, the way she… motivates people. And Vihaan? Well…he's very responsive when someone he cares about shows initiative. Don't you think?" she said while patting my arm.
"I am not your sister, remember it," I said while removing her hand.
"Just trying to be helpful! I'd hate for anyone to be taken advantage of…especially someone as kind as Vihaan," she said, and left.
Jia and I exchanged glances as we were both equally confused by her random words, but then, suddenly, I found Mr. Mickelson standing not far from us; maybe he had heard everything she said. For a second, I was really happy seeing him here, but then I remembered he hadn't even texted or called me the whole day.
I hesitated, unsure if I should walk toward him. His gaze held me for a moment too long, steady, searching—like he was trying to read my mind.
"Amara, need a ride?" he asked, his voice calm, but there was something in it that made me pause.
I shook my head, smiling politely. "Thanks, but Jia and I are fine. We'll walk."
He frowned just slightly, the kind that didn't go unnoticed. His eyes flicked toward Jia, then back to me, lingering a little too long.
"You sure?" he asked again, softer this time.
"Yes, really. It's okay," I said, glancing at Jia for support. She looked confused but nodded.
He studied me in silence, the hum of the city around us fading into background noise. For a heartbeat, I felt the warmth of his presence, the quiet reassurance that he was there—but his expression shifted subtly, a shadow crossing his features.
He sighed, just enough for me to hear, and finally stepped back. "Alright… if you say so."
As we started walking, I noticed his eyes tracking me the entire way. I tried to ignore it, but deep down, I felt the weight of unspoken thoughts pressing between us.
Inside, I realized something that made my chest tighten—he wasn't just worried about me walking; he was questioning where his place ranked in my priorities.
And in that small, unspoken moment, I understood: this doubt, planted by Olivia's words earlier, had taken root faster than I could stop it.
"Are you insane? You should have joined him. How are you going to understand what he is going through, if you won't be with him?" Jia said as she walked a little farther from him.
"I don't know what to ask him, how to ask him, and he never opens up?" I said while being irritated by all these things happening.
"I understand, but the fact that he shows up every time and tries to talk to you means he wants you to ask him, which he is not able to answer. Don't you get this tiny thing in your head?" Jia said while stopping in her tracks.
"What should I do now?" I asked.
"Go, join him, maybe talk to him, not directly give him a bit of time. Try to understand him. Don't be frustrated," she said while pushing me away.