Under The Same Moon

episode 5

UNDER THE SAME MOON

Episode 5 — Broken Trust 🌧️🖤

Kiara avoided Aarav for exactly two days.

Which would’ve been impressive…

If Aarav Malhotra actually believed in personal space.

Unfortunately, he did not.

By the third day, Kiara was sitting peacefully in the college cafeteria when someone placed an iced coffee in front of her.

She frowned.

“I didn’t order this.”

“You clearly need it.”

Her heartbeat reacted before her brain did.

Aarav.

Of course.

He sat across from her casually wearing a black hoodie while students nearby openly stared at him.

Kiara narrowed her eyes immediately.

“You’re disturbing my healing journey.”

“You’re dramatic.”

“You almost kissed me!”

Aarav looked calm.

“And?”

Kiara nearly choked.

“AND?!”

“You say that like it’s a crime.”

“It SHOULD be.”

“Interesting,” he said lazily. “You didn’t seem against it that night.”

Heat rushed straight to her face.

“I hate you.”

“No,” Aarav replied softly.

“You’re trying very hard not to like me.”

Silence.

Dangerous silence.

Kiara looked away first.

Because the terrifying part?

He was right.

And she hated how easily he understood her.

Aarav leaned back in his chair watching her carefully.

“You’ve been avoiding my calls.”

“You deserve it.”

“You’re still replying to my texts.”

“…unfortunately.”

A tiny smirk appeared again.

That stupid smirk.

The one slowly ruining her emotional stability.

Before Aarav could tease her again, a girl’s voice suddenly interrupted.

“Aarav.”

Kiara looked up instantly.

And froze.

A tall blonde girl stood beside their table wearing expensive clothes and an unreadable expression.

Maya.

The same girl from that phone call.

Kiara’s stomach tightened painfully.

Maya crossed her arms.

“So this is why you disappeared.”

Aarav’s expression changed immediately.

Cold again.

“Maya, not now.”

The girl laughed humorlessly.

“Seriously? After everything?”

Kiara looked between them awkwardly.

Uh.

This felt illegal to witness.

Maya’s eyes shifted toward Kiara slowly.

“You’re Kiara, right?”

Kiara blinked.

“…yes?”

Maya smiled slightly.

Not warmly.

“Oh. I’ve heard about you.”

Something about that sentence felt wrong instantly.

Aarav stood up.

“We’re leaving.”

Maya looked furious now.

“You can’t keep pretending nothing happened!”

The cafeteria fell silent around them.

Students openly stared now.

Kiara’s chest tightened uncomfortably.

“Aarav…”

“Not here,” he said sharply.

But Maya looked emotionally exhausted.

“When were you planning to tell her?”

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Kiara frowned slightly.

“Tell me what?”

Aarav stayed silent.

That silence scared her more than words.

Maya laughed bitterly.

“Wow. You really don’t know.”

“Maya,” Aarav warned coldly.

But the girl looked directly at Kiara now.

“You should ask him about Alina.”

Kiara blinked.

“…who?”

Aarav’s jaw tightened instantly.

And suddenly—

Kiara understood.

Not fully.

But enough.

Enough to feel her heartbeat slow painfully.

Enough to realize this wasn’t simple.

Maya stepped back slowly.

“You deserve the truth.”

Then she walked away.

Leaving complete silence behind her.

Kiara stared at Aarav.

The cafeteria noise returned slowly around them, but she barely heard it.

Because Aarav looked different now.

Not cold.

Not arrogant.

Just tired.

“Kiara—”

“Who’s Alina?”

He looked away briefly.

That hurt more than it should have.

“Aarav.”

His voice became quieter.

“She was someone I knew.”

Something shattered inside Kiara instantly.

“Knew?”

Silence again.

And suddenly she realized why his songs sounded broken.

Why his eyes carried guilt.

Why loneliness followed him everywhere.

Kiara swallowed hard.

“What happened to her?”

Aarav’s expression darkened painfully.

“She died.”

The words hit like ice water.

Kiara’s anger disappeared immediately.

“Oh…”

Rain poured heavily outside the cafeteria windows now.

Everything suddenly felt colder.

Aarav rubbed tiredly at his jaw.

“It was a long time ago.”

“But Maya said—”

“She shouldn’t have involved you.”

Kiara stared at him quietly.

Something still felt incomplete.

Hidden.

And Aarav clearly wasn’t telling her everything.

“Aarav,” she whispered softly, “what are you hiding from me?”

His eyes met hers finally.

And for the first time…

She saw fear there.

Real fear.

“Nothing.”

Lie.

Kiara could feel it instantly.

And somehow…

That hurt worse than the truth itself.

—

That night, Mumbai drowned under another thunderstorm.

Kiara sat alone near her hostel window replaying the entire conversation repeatedly in her head.

Alina.

The name echoed painfully.

Who was she to him?

Why did Maya look angry?

And why did Aarav refuse to explain properly?

Her phone buzzed suddenly.

Aarav Calling.

Kiara stared at the screen.

Then rejected it.

Seconds later—

Message received.

Aarav:

Please talk to me.

Her chest tightened.

Another message.

Aarav:

Kiara.

Another.

Aarav:

Don’t do this.

Tears burned unexpectedly behind her eyes.

Why did this hurt so much already?

She barely knew him.

Yet somehow his silence felt personal.

Like betrayal.

Kiara finally typed back.

Kiara:

You lied to me.

Typing…

Stopped.

Typing again…

Aarav:

I was going to tell you.

Kiara:

When? After I fell completely for you?

Seen.

No reply.

And somehow that silence confirmed everything.

Kiara threw her phone beside her angrily.

Because deep down…

She knew the terrifying truth already.

She had fallen for him.

Completely.

And now she didn’t know if Aarav Malhotra was the boy healing her heart—

Or the one about to destroy it.

—

Meanwhile, across the city, Aarav stood alone inside his dark penthouse while rain crashed violently against the glass walls.

His untouched guitar rested nearby.

Kiara’s last message still glowed on his screen.

After I fell completely for you?

Aarav closed his eyes slowly.

Because the worst part?

He had fallen too.

And people like him ruined everything they loved.

Every single time.

He grabbed his jacket suddenly and walked out into the storm.

Because there was only one thing more terrifying than losing Kiara.

Watching her hate him.

—

Nearly forty minutes later—

A knock echoed outside Kiara’s hostel room.

Sana frowned sleepily.

“At this hour?”

Kiara’s stomach dropped instantly.

No.

No way.

Another knock came.

Kiara slowly opened the door—

And froze.

Aarav stood outside completely drenched from rain.

Breathing heavily.

Eyes exhausted.

Students whispered loudly from nearby corridors.

But Aarav looked only at her.

“Please,” he said quietly.

“Just let me explain.”

Kiara’s heartbeat cracked painfully inside her chest.

Because no matter how angry she was—

One look at him still weakened her completely. 🌧️