The set was unusually calm that afternoon.
Which, in their world, meant only one thing—something was about to go wrong.
Lily noticed it first.
The quiet.
The lack of chaos.
The suspicious absence of someone shouting about deadlines.
Aarav noticed something else.
Her.
She was laughing.
Not the sharp, sarcastic, borderline-offensive laugh she usually used as a defence mechanism.
Not the “I’m judging your entire existence” kind.
A real one.
Soft.
Unfiltered.
Easy.
And for some reason—
He didn’t like how much he noticed that.
Rahul’s entry wasn’t dramatic.
No background music.
No slow-motion moment.
Just a casual lean over Lily’s script as he belonged there.
“Wait, wait—say that line again,” Rahul said, smiling like he had all the time in the world.
Lily smirked.
“Why? So you can pretend you wrote it?”
“I could have.”
“You wish you could have.”
“Harsh.”
“Accurate.”
Rahul laughed.
And this time—
Lily joined him fully.
No restraint.
No edge.
Just… ease.
Across the room, Aarav’s grip tightened slightly around his phone.
Someone beside him leaned in.
“That’s Rahul, right? The writer? They’re pretty close…”
Yeah.
He could see that.
Too clearly.
Aarav walked over, tone casual—but just a little too controlled.
“Script ready?”
Lily didn’t even look at him.
“Almost.”
Rahul glanced up.
“Give her five minutes.”
Aarav’s gaze shifted.
“…I wasn’t asking you.”
Lily sighed.
“Relax. He’s helping.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t.”
“You sounded like you did.”
“I sounded like I’m asking for work.”
“And I sounded like I said five minutes.”
Silence.
The kind that wasn’t loud—but wasn’t comfortable either.
Rahul watched quietly.
Observing.
Understanding more than he let on.
The rest of the day— It continued.
Rahul handed her coffee at the exact moment she looked tired.
Rahul was leaning in to read her drafts like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Rahul noticed things Aarav didn’t even realise he’d missed.
And Lily—
Letting him.
Laughing with him.
Being… softer.
Aarav frowned.
Since when was she like this?
It shouldn’t have bothered him.
It really shouldn’t have.
But then—
Small things started stacking up.
Rahul called her “Lils” once.
She didn’t kill him for it.
That alone was suspicious.
Rahul is finishing her sentence—
She didn’t correct him.
That was very suspicious.
Rahul is taking her pen—
She didn’t threaten violence.
Now that was just unnatural.
Aarav looked at them like he was watching a completely different version of Lily.
One he hadn’t been invited to see.
And that— Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
That bothered him more than it should have.
The moment that broke it was small.
Almost stupid.
Rahul tapped her head lightly with a pen.
“You overthink your endings.”
She rolled her eyes—but didn’t snap.
“Shut up.”
“Make me.”
“Gladly.”
And she smiled.
Smiled.
Aarav looked away.
Something uncomfortable settled in his chest.
Something he refused to name.
“Problem?”
He turned.
Lily stood there now, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
“…no.”
“Good,” she said.
“Because you’ve been acting weird.”
“Weird?”
“Yes. More annoying than usual.”
“That’s rich, coming from you.”
“At least I’m consistent.”
He exhaled sharply.
“Maybe you just have better company now.”
The second the words left his mouth—
He knew.
Wrong move.
Lily’s eyes narrowed slowly.
“…what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“No, say it properly.”
A beat.
Then—
“It means you seem… different with him.”
Silence.
“Different how?”
He hesitated.
Then quieter—”…you laugh more.”
That caught her off guard.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it was true.
“Am I interrupting?”
Rahul.
Of course.
Perfect timing, like always.
Lily stepped back slightly.
“No.”
Rahul looked between them, immediately catching the tension.
“…everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Aarav said quickly.
“No,” Lily said at the same time.
Rahul raised an eyebrow.
“Alright… I’ll assume it’s complicated.”
Lily huffed.
“He thinks I’ve changed.”
Rahul glanced at Aarav, then back at her.
“…have you?”
A pause.
She didn’t answer.
Rahul smiled faintly.
“You’ve always been like this.”
Aarav frowned.
“Like what?”
“Soft,” Rahul said simply.
Lily shot him a look.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m serious,” he continued.
“You just don’t show it to everyone.”
Aarav’s jaw tightened.
“And you show it to him?” he asked before he could stop himself.
Silence.
And just like that—
Rahul understood everything.
“…I should go,” he said gently.
“What? Why?” Lily frowned.
He gave her a small, knowing smile.
“Because this isn’t my scene.”
And he left.
Just like that.
Now it was just them again.
The air was heavier.
“You rejected him, didn’t you?” Aarav asked quietly.
Lily stiffened.
“…that’s none of your business.”
“It becomes my business when he looks at you like that.”
Her eyes flashed.
“Like what?”
“Like he’s still waiting.”
That hit.
“And what about you?” she shot back.
“Why do you care?”
He opened his mouth—
Then stopped.
Because there wasn’t a clean answer.
There never was.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
The honesty surprised both of them.
“I just…” he exhaled.
“Don’t like it.”
“Don’t like what?”
“You with him.”
Silence.
The kind that changes things.
Lily looked at him carefully now.
“…you’re jealous.”
Not a question.
Aarav didn’t deny it.
That was answer enough.
Something shifted in her expression.
Less sharp.
More… aware.
“You don’t get to be,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
“But you still are.”
“…yeah.”
A long pause.
Unresolved.
Unfinished.
“Rahul’s my friend,” she said finally.
“I figured.”
“I hurt him once.”
Aarav looked at her.
“And I won’t do it again.”
There was something in her voice.
Guilt.
Care.
Maybe both.
He nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
But something in him didn’t settle.
Because this—
Whatever this was—
It wasn’t simple anymore.
That night—
Aarav stared at his phone longer than usual.
At her contact.
“Call… maybe.”
His thumb hovered.
Then stopped.
He didn’t call.
But for the first time—
He wanted to.
And somewhere else—
Lily sat alone, her script open but untouched.
Her mind replaying one single line said my Aarav-
“You laugh more”.
She leaned back slowly, staring at nothing.
“…I don’t,” she muttered.
A pause.
Then quieter—
“…do I?”
And the worst part?
She knew the answer.
She hated that she knew it.
Because it meant something had changed.
Something she didn’t plan.
Something she didn’t control.
And that—
More than anything—
Scared her.
To Be Continued… 👀
Will Rahul stop liking Lilly ever?