Peace didn't arrive dramatically.
It didn't announce itself or sweep anything away.
It came quietly — in the smallest moments — and stayed longer than Aarvi expected.
---
Morning at the hospital
Aarvi woke up to the low hum of machines and the pale light of early morning slipping through the curtains. For a second, panic rose automatically — the instinct she'd carried for years.
Then she remembered.
She wasn't alone today.
She sat up slowly and stepped into the corridor.
Riyan was there.
Seated on the chair outside the room, jacket folded neatly beside him, phone untouched in his hand. He looked tired — not exhausted, just human.
He looked up the moment he sensed her.
"Good morning," he said softly.
Something warm spread through her chest.
"You stayed," she said.
He nodded.
"I said I would."
No explanation.
No justification.
Just presence.
---
A different kind of support
They shared tea from paper cups, standing near the window.
No heavy conversation.
No planning.
No fear.
Just quiet.
Riyan didn't check emails.
Didn't take calls.
Didn't rush.
Aarvi noticed — and didn't comment.
That mattered more.
---
Inside the room
When her mother woke up, she smiled faintly at Riyan.
"You again," she teased weakly.
Riyan smiled politely.
"I seem to be getting that reaction a lot."
Aarvi laughed — a soft, real sound she hadn't made in days.
Her mother watched them, eyes gentle, knowing.
"You look calmer today," she said to Aarvi.
Aarvi nodded.
"I feel it."
And she did.
---
The realization
Later, while doctors spoke and plans were adjusted, Aarvi realized something unexpected.
She wasn't bracing herself anymore.
She wasn't waiting for something to go wrong.
She wasn't shrinking or preparing to protect herself.
She was just… there.
Present.
---
A moment that settled everything
That afternoon, when things finally slowed, Aarvi stood by the window again.
Riyan joined her, not too close, not too far.
"This feels different," she said quietly.
He glanced at her.
"Different how?"
"Like I'm not fighting anymore," she said.
"Not against people. Not against fear."
He nodded slowly.
"Peace isn't the absence of problems," he said.
"It's knowing you won't face them alone."
She looked at him then.
And for the first time, she believed it without hesitation.
---
No grand ending — just calm
They didn't talk about the future.
They didn't define anything.
They didn't promise more than the moment asked for.
But as they walked back into the hospital room together, Aarvi felt something settle deep inside her.
Not certainty.
Not excitement.
Peace.
And she knew — whatever came next —
This was the first time in a long time
she wasn't afraid of it.