One day, in the middle of a lazy afternoon, Dev casually mentioned something that made my heart stumble.
“By the way,” he said, “Prajwal has a girlfriend. Things are kind of… rocky between them right now.”
For a moment, I didn’t respond. I just stared at the screen, letting the words settle.
I wasn’t upset. Not exactly. It wasn’t disappointment, either. Just… something quiet. A pause within me.
And then, naturally, my mind began to wander.
I found myself wondering what love looked like on someone like him.
Does he smile when he’s with her?
Do his words come easier, his silences softer?
Maybe with her, he wasn’t the quiet boy leaning against the wall, looking everywhere and nowhere. Maybe he was someone else entirely — someone lighter, warmer.
What do they talk about?
Do they share the small, unremarkable details of their day — the kind that slowly build closeness? Does she get to hear his thoughts before he filters them? The unpolished versions — the raw, unguarded ones?
It wasn’t that I wanted to be in her place. It wasn’t that I felt left out. It was more of a quiet curiosity. A soft wondering.
What is it like… to be seen fully by someone like him?
Because for so long, all I’ve seen are glimpses — subtle expressions, half-smiles, brief eye contact that vanishes as quickly as it comes.
And maybe, for a moment, I just wished I knew more.
So I took a deep breath and made a decision.
As much as I liked him… I couldn’t do this. I wouldn’t be the reason someone’s heart cracked. I wouldn’t let mine get bruised waiting for someone unavailable.
No more wishing.
No more hoping for things left unsaid.
From that moment on, I tried to untangle the threads I had tied between us — however invisible, however fragile.
If anything was going to bloom between us now, it had to be innocent. Honest. Clean.
And maybe… it could be.
Because texting him had slowly turned into something different — something light. Our conversations weren’t drenched in overthinking anymore. They were playful. Easy. A teasing back-and-forth that flowed, no matter how delayed the replies were.
“You’re seriously bad at comebacks,” I texted once.
He replied four hours later:
“That’s because I let you win.”
I smiled. It was always like that — teasing, poking fun, daring each other with harmless sarcasm.
His replies were late, sometimes even the next day. But I never minded anymore. I wasn’t trying to read between the silences now. I was learning to respect them.
His replies were late, sometimes even the next day. But I never minded anymore. I wasn’t trying to read between the silences now. I was learning to respect them.
And then, one evening, during one of those usual texting sessions — I was halfway through teasing him about his music taste — when a new notification popped up.
It was from Dev.
I clicked on it without thinking.
“Don’t text Prajwal now. Now’s not the time for you to joke around.”
My fingers froze.
I stared at the message, confused.
“What happened? Why are you restricting me?”
A pause. Then Dev’s reply came:
“He broke up with his girlfriend. She was cheating on him.”
The words hit like a slap.
Cheating?
She cheated on him?
The boy who barely spoke, who smiled softly at the edges of rooms, who replied with one-word messages and polite thank-yous —
That boy had his heart broken?
My chest tightened.
I didn’t know how he was handling it. I didn’t even know if he was talking to anyone about it.
He didn’t seem like the type to pour his heart out or rage at the world.
No.
He would probably just stay quiet, hurting in silence.
And suddenly, I felt this overwhelming urge to reach out. To say something. Anything. But I didn’t.
I placed my phone down.
Somewhere deep inside, I knew — this wasn’t the time to play savior, to offer words just for the sake of saying them. Some silences deserved space.
So I decided to wait.
To give him time.
To let the dust settle.
And for once, I wasn’t aching with uncertainty. I wasn’t restless or desperate.
Just… still.
Because sometimes, the kindest thing you can give someone is the room to heal — without asking them to explain the pain.
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Hey lil loves, i hope you like today's chapter
love you!!❤️
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