The Girl He Was Paid to Forget flickers of memories

After some time

manav kapoor

what irony I am going to explore my own house

manav kapoor

let's see how rich I am

The mansion whispered like it always did—softly, but never kindly. Each room held secrets, dusted in silence and old air.

Manav wandered deeper into the west wing, unsure of why he felt pulled there. The floors creaked beneath him, and unfamiliar paintings watched from the walls.

He didn’t remember any of it.

Ahead, in the dim light from a narrow window, he saw her—Nidhi—kneeling near an old shelf. She looked too focused to notice him. Or maybe she noticed, and just didn’t care to say anything.

manav kapoor

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice cold.

nidhi shrma

She didn’t turn. “You mentioned this wing yesterday. Thought I’d check for anything useful.”

manav kapoor

“I didn’t ask you to.”

nidhi shrma

Her hands paused on a half-buried box. “Then tell me to stop.”

manav kapoor

He didn’t.

Silence hung between them, thick and unbending.

Manav stepped closer, eyes scanning the dim corners. Something felt... familiar. Wrong, but familiar. He reached for an old chest and pried it open.

A photo album lay inside, wrapped in thin cloth. He brushed away the dust.

nidhi shrma

“Yours?” Nidhi asked, finally turning

manav kapoor

“I wouldn’t know,” he replied.

She said nothing. Just glanced toward the corner of the room where something large stood beneath a dusty cover.

A piano. Its frame was scratched, a key chipped. The air around it almost shifted.

Manav watched her moving her fingers on the wood with a hidden shine in her eyes

Her features were soft , her soft lips rose a little. She looked beautiful manav thought to himself

Without asking, she sat. Fingers hovered above the keys.

She hesitated—but played anyway.

Just a few notes. Soft, haunting, broken. Then... his breath hitched.

That melody—he knew it. Not with his mind, but somewhere deeper. Somewhere older. His chest tightened, and memories he couldn’t reach scratched at the edges of his awareness.

manav kapoor

“I’ve heard this,” he muttered.

Nidhi's fingers paused. Her expression didn’t change, but something in her posture did.

A flicker of panic. Of restraint.

She pulled her hands back, closed the lid gently. Not a word. Just silence.

manav kapoor

Manav looked at her. “Yeah. Don’t play that again.”

She didn’t argue. Didn’t explain. She just stood and walked past him. At the doorway, she paused. But didn’t look back.

One thing she knew that it will be harder for them he remembers his past

nidhi shrma

“If you want to understand this place,” she said softly, “then stop trying to remember everything.”

Then she left.

And Manav stood in the stillness, the melody echoing quietly where memories used to be.

manav kapoor