The Runaway Hearts

It was a sweltering June afternoon in Jaipur, and Nikhil sat across from Aditi at their usual tea stall, watching her talk animatedly about some random movie scene while he smiled and nodded, but didn’t really hear a word.

Because Nikhil was in love.

With Aditi.

He had been for years, ever since they met as wide-eyed engineering students. But he never told her. What if she didn’t feel the same? What if it ruined the effortless, perfect friendship they had? She was his best friend, his constant, his storm and his calm — and he’d rather suffer silently than lose her completely.

Six years went by since their first day of meeting in college.

So when she called him one evening and said, “My parents have arranged my wedding, Nikhil,” something inside him shattered.

“What?” he managed, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I can’t do it. I can’t marry someone I don’t love.”

His heart thudded a bit more at her words. She loves someone? That was the knife that turned.

“I need to run away,” she whispered. “Will you help me?”

His mind screamed NO, but his mouth said, “Always.”

The night before the wedding, Nikhil waited outside Aditi’s house, bike engine rumbling low. She appeared in a soft blue kurta, a dupatta fluttering behind her like a flag of rebellion. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of mischief and fear.

They drove under a moonlit sky, wind howling past them, silence stretching. He didn’t ask who the guy was. Didn’t want to know. He was just the guy helping the girl he loved run away… to be with someone else.

“Where are we going?” he finally asked.

“Panna Ghats,” she replied. “He’s waiting there.”

His stomach twisted. But he nodded.

When they arrived, the ghats were glowing under dim temple lights. And there, standing like ghosts in the mist, were her parents.

Aditi froze. Nikhil panicked. “We’ll turn around,” he whispered, grabbing her hand. “We’ll find another way—”

“No,” she said, pulling him forward. “They’re not here to stop me.”

He looked around wildly. “Where is he?”

Aditi turned, stepped close — too close. Her eyes locked on his.

“You still haven’t figured it out, have you?”

“What?”

Her smile was maddening. “You’re him, Nikhil.”

The world stopped.

He blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been in love with you since forever,” she laughed, tears in her eyes now. “I knew you’d never say it, never take the risk. So I made you take a leap without realising.”

“You tricked me?”

She nodded. “Guilty.”

He stared at her. “Your parents—?”

“They’ve known for weeks. They’re here to bless us, idiot.”

Something inside him burst — relief, disbelief, joy. And then he laughed. A wild, broken, beautiful laugh.

“You’re insane,” he said, cupping her face.

“You love me?” she asked, softly now.

He leaned in, forehead resting against hers. “Madly.”

And then, beneath a flickering temple lamp, he kissed her — like he should have years ago, like the boy who’d finally found the courage to catch up with his heart.

The ghats echoed with the quiet applause of stars, and Aditi whispered against his lips, “Took you long enough, hero.”

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