Author POV
The house was silent.
The emotional storm of the night had finally settled.
Roohi sat quietly on the couch.
Her eyes still slightly red.
Her hands wrapped around a glass of water.
Zayan stood nearby.
Watching her.
Not obviously.
Not in a way anyone else would notice.
But he was watching.
Making sure she was okay.
Or at least...
Trying to convince himself that was all he was doing.
"Come on."
He said finally.
Roohi looked up.
"Hm?"
"You need sleep."
She wanted to argue.
She was tired.
But her mind felt too full to sleep.
Still...
She nodded.
For once...
She didn't have the energy to disagree.
A few minutes later...
They entered the bedroom.
The room felt peaceful.
The soft yellow lamp illuminated the space.
Everything looked normal.
Yet somehow...
Neither of them felt normal.
Roohi quietly went to change and return and slipped under the blanket.
The exhaustion finally catching up to her.
Across the room...
Zayan moved toward the couch.
Roohi frowned slightly.
"You're sleeping there?"
Zayan looked over.
"Where else?"
The answer came so quickly that Roohi almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead...
A small smile appeared.
And for the first time that day...
It reached her eyes.
A few moments later...
The room fell silent.
The lights were switched off.
And eventually...
Sleep came.
Hours passed.
The mansion remained quiet.
Everyone asleep.
Including Zayan.
Until—
A frightened gasp echoed through the room.
Zayan's eyes opened immediately.
Years of discipline had trained him to wake at the smallest sound.
He sat up instantly.
The room was dark.
But he could hear it.
Uneven breathing.
A quiet sob.
Roohi.
Without hesitation...
He stood.
Crossing the room in seconds.
"Roohi."
No response.
Only another frightened sound.
Her hands clutched the blanket tightly.
Her face twisted in distress.
Caught in a nightmare.
"Roohi."
He called again.
Slightly firmer this time.
and she sit with a jerk
Her eyes opened wide with fear
For a moment...
She looked completely lost.
Disoriented.
Scared.
Then she realized where she was.
And tears immediately filled her eyes.
"Hey."
Zayan's voice softened.
The panic in her gaze didn't disappear.
Instead...
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Then another.
"It was just a dream."
He said quietly.
Roohi shook her head.
Trying to calm down.
Trying to breathe properly.
But the nightmare had felt too real.
And suddenly...
All the emotions she had been holding back returned.
The fear.
The loneliness.
The confusion.
Everything.
Without thinking...
She reached for him.
Not dramatically.
Not intentionally.
Instinctively.
The way a frightened person reaches for safety.
For a second...
Zayan froze.
Then something in his expression softened.
Completely.
"It's okay."
He said quietly.
The words were simple.
Yet somehow...
They worked.
Slowly...
Roohi's breaths settle a little
The panic didn't fade it just settle
And for the first time in hours...
She felt safe again.
Not because the nightmare was gone.
But because she wasn't facing it alone.
Zayan stayed beside her until she calmed down.
Not saying much.
Just staying.
And somehow...
That meant more than any speech ever could.
Outside...
The night remained silent.
The room remained quiet.
Roohi sat on the bed.
Tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her breathing was uneven.
The nightmare still clinging to her mind.
Like a shadow she couldn't escape.
Zayan remained beside her.
Watching.
Waiting.
"Roohi."
His voice was calm.
Steady.
"What did you see?"
Roohi immediately looked away.
"Nothing"
Zayan frowned.
"Nothing?"
She shook her head.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I don't want to talk about it."
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
As if she had rehearsed it before.
As if she was terrified of saying it out loud.
Zayan noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"Roohi."
She lowered her gaze.
"No."
She whispered again.
For a moment...
The room fell silent.
Then—
"It was that bad?"
The question was soft.
Gentle.
Roohi closed her eyes.
The images from the nightmare flashed through her mind again.
The words.
The fear.
The feeling.
Her hands immediately tightened around the blanket.
And that was answer enough.
Zayan's jaw tightened.
Whatever she had seen...
It had shaken her.
Completely.
Yet he didn't push.
Because for some reason...
He knew she wasn't ready.
Not tonight.
So instead...
He reached for the glass of water on the bedside table.
Handing it to her.
"Drink."
Roohi obediently took it.
Taking a few small sips.
The trembling in her hands slowly easing.
A few moments later...
The glass was empty.
And the room became quiet once again.
Then suddenly—
"Will you stay?"
The words slipped out before Roohi could stop them.
Her eyes widened immediately.
Mortified.
Absolutely mortified.
"I-I mean—"
She looked away.
"I just..."
The sentence never finished.
Because she didn't know how to explain it.
She wasn't scared of the dark.
She wasn't scared of being alone.
Not usually.
But tonight...
The nightmare felt too close.
Too real.
For a moment...
Zayan simply looked at her.
Then—
"Go to sleep."
Roohi blinked.
"What?"
"I'm staying."
The answer came so naturally.
So simply.
As though there had never been another option.
Something in Roohi's chest eased.
Immediately.
A few minutes later...
She lay back down.
Still tired.
Still emotional.
But calmer.
Much calmer.
Across the room...
Zayan returned to the couch.
Yet neither of them slept right away.
Because Roohi kept staring at the ceiling.
Thinking.
And Zayan kept staring into the darkness.
Thinking.
Both awake.
Both silent.
Both pretending not to notice.
And somewhere inside her mind...
The nightmare remained.
Waiting.
A secret she wasn't ready to share.
Not yet.
To Be Continued... 🖤✨🌙
What did you guyss think the nightmare was? and why roohi didn't want to tell zayan about stau tonee forr itt😝✨
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