(He gave her one last look,warm reassuring then quietly went back downstairs, disappearing into the secret room that lead to his own.
"Text me when you reach," she said softly.(Before pranav left)"I will,"he replied with a smile.
At the evening...
Aradhya stood near the window, staring at the moon.Her heart felt lighter...but not completely free.Something will still bothered her.
Aradhya trusted him.But,fear has a way of whispering louder than love.
(Her phone buzzed.)
Pranav: Reached home.And I'm still smiling.(She smiled unconsciously.)
Aradhya : Eat properly next time.
Pranav : Only if you cook.
She shook her head laughing slightly.
Aradhya,can you stop bothering about something that is related to your search for someone on the moon.
I am not searching for someone.I am just admiring the moon.Pranav.
Okay,Aradhya...
Hmm Aradhya said.
But just then... another message popped up.
Unknown number
"Be careful who you trust."
Her smile faded.
Her fingers froze,above the screen.(Cut the call)
She reread the unknown message again and again.Her heart beat began to rise.
Was it prank?
Or
A warning?
Before she could think further, another message came.
Unknown number
"Ask him about tomorrow."
Tomorrow?
What was happening tomorrow?
Her chest tightened.
(Was this doubt returning again?
Or was there something she truly didn't know?)
Under the same moon,
in two different rooms,
two hearts tried to trust...
while secrets slowly waited for morning.
BETWEEN TRUST AND TRUTH
The next morning arrived too quickly.
Aradhya barely slept. The unknown messages still echoed in her mind.
Ask him about tomorrow.
Tomorrow was today.
She stared at her phone for a long moment before finally typing:
Aradhya : Do you have something important today?
The reply didn’t come immediately.
And that silence felt louder than anything.
Meanwhile...
Pranav stood outside a large research building, his hands in his pockets, his expression serious.
Glory stood beside him, holding a file.
“Are you sure you don’t want to tell her everything?” she asked quietly.
“I will,” he replied. “After today.”
“After today might be too late,” she warned.
He didn’t answer.
His phone buzzed.
Aradhya’s message.
He read it... and sighed.
Pranav: Just some project work. Why?
Aradhya stared at the screen.
Just some project work.
Her heart didn’t know whether to feel relieved...or more confused.
Aradhya couldn’t focus on anything. The unknown number remained switched off when she tried to call it.
Finally, she made a decision.
She would ask him directly.
No fear.
No assumptions.
Just truth.
She called him.
He answered on the third ring.
“Aradhya?”
“Where are you?” she asked gently.
“At the lab.”
“With Glory?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Her chest tightened, but she stayed calm.
“What’s happening today, Pranav?”
He hesitated.
Then softly said, “It’s the final selection day.”
“Selection...for what, Pranav?"
“For an international research program,” he replied."If I get selected, I’ll have to leave, maybe for two years."
Silence.
The world around her felt distant.
“You were going to leave,” she whispered.
"I didn’t know if I would get selected," he said quickly. "I didn’t want to hurt you with something uncertain."
Tears filled her eyes again, not from doubt this time, but from fear of losing him.
“And Glory?” she asked quietly.
“She’s applying too.”
Okay, Pranav...Aradhya said.
(That sentence landed heavily between them.)
At the Evening...
Pranav stood under the open sky after the interview ended.
The same moon slowly appeared again.
His phone buzzed.
Result: Selected.
He closed his eyes.
This was his dream.
But now...dreams felt complicated.
Aradhya stood the near the window ,wasn’t searching for someone. She was just admiring it.
But somehow, it felt like the moon was silently asking...
How much are you willing to hold on...
and how much are you ready to let go?
Pranav typed a message.
Then erased it.
Typed again.
Finally sent.
Pranav : Can we meet tonight? I need to tell you something important.
Aradhya’s heart skipped.
Maybe she knew it
Or
Maybe not
Under the same moon,
love stood at the edge of distance.
To be continued…
