JAAN ( Darr 2 )

The Flight

She smiled, her lips tugging a up a bit at the corners, 

And His voice faltered, but then he cleared his throat, his tone softening, full of sincerity.

 "Beautiful."

Kiran's heart skipped a beat. She wouldn't have thought about such a comment that much once or let it affect her the way it did now. She had worn this same dress last night, her hair and makeup perfectly done, but Sunil hadn't noticed. He hadn't said a word. 

after years of feeling invisible, dressing up only to be met with Sunil's indifference. Now It made a difference.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, her voice more vulnerable than she intended.

Rahul frowned slightly as if confused by her uncertainty. 

"Of course," he said, his blush deepening as though he was unsure whether he had overstepped.

His sincerity made her heart ache. She lowered her gaze, the weight of years of hurt rising to the surface.

 "He never said that," she whispered, almost to herself. "Not once. No matter how much I tried."

it felt odd. To say it out loud. 

Specially to Rahul of all people, but she needed to say it,

 to let it out her frustrations, 

the disappointment, helplessness and the utter grief. 

"I dressed up... put in all this effort, and he'd barely even look at me," Kiran continued, her voice faltering. "I thought maybe... maybe I wasn't enough. Maybe I wasn't beautiful to him, and that's why he..." Her throat tightened. "That's why he found someone else."

Rahul's heart twisted painfully. How could anyone treat her like that? The disbelief and quiet anger bubbled beneath his calm expression. He hadn't expected this conversation, but now that it had started, he couldn't turn away from it.

"Is that why you left?" he asked quietly, his voice cautious but gentle.

Kiran let out a shaky breath, meeting his eyes.

 "I left because I couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't just because he cheated—it was everything. The way he made me feel so... small. Like I wasn't worth his time. I tried, you know?.. I really tried to make it work, but it was suffocating. I felt like I was disappearing."

He looked down, at a loss for words. But after a long pause, spoke, his voice filled with quiet intensity.

 "You deserve better than that," he said firmly. "You deserve someone who sees you, Kiran. All of you. Someone who loves you for exactly who you are."

Her eyes shot up, bearing into his, She had heard these words before, from him.

over the phone but now they felt different. 

His sincerity wrapped around her like a safety net she hadn't realized she needed.

He sighed, his frustration slipping through the cracks in his composure. She could see it, the tightness in his jaw, the way his fingers curled into fists as if trying to contain an anger he didn't want to feel. 

But it was there. He was angry, angry for her, for the pain she had endured. 

but too consumed by guilt to believe he had any right to act on it.

But then the reality ofher situation hit her.

What was she doing?

The memory of last night flickered vividly in her mind, their kiss, the unspoken emotions, the way the world had seemed to narrow to just the two of them.