The weight of the past
Author's pov-
The night stretched endlessly, wrapping the world in a haze of distant laughter, clinking glasses, and the low hum of conversations. But purv heard none of it.
He stood on the balcony, the cool breeze doing little to ease the tightness in his chest. His fingers wrapped around the edge of the railing, gripping it like an anchor. His thoughts were tangled- knotted so tightly that for the first time in years, he felt like he couldn't control them.
He didn't know what was bothering him more.
The way Divya had looked at him like he was just another stranger in crowd.
Or the fact that, for the first time, he had believed it.
A voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"She really has changed."
Purv turned, his sharp gaze locking onto kaashi, who leaned against the doorway, watching him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
He said nothing, waiting for her to leave.
But she didn't.
Instead, she stepped forward, her heels clicking against the marble floor. "Do you know what happened to her after you left?"
Purv's fingers curled slightly against the railing.
Kaashi exhaled, shaking her head. "Of course, you don't. You never looked back, did you?"
His jaw tightened, but he still didn't speak.
Kaashi's voice softened, but her words struck like knives. "She loved you, purv."
He stilled.
"Not the kind of love that fades with time. Not the kind that disappears after a few heartbreaks. No, she loved you like she had no other choice. Like you were the only thing that made sense in her world."
The air felt heavier.
"She spent months looking at you like you held the stars in your hands, like you were the answer to every question she was too afraid to ask."
Purv's throat tightened.
"But you never saw it, did you? Or maybe you did and just chose to ignore it."
His fingers clenched around the railing. "Kaashi-"
"No, you need to hear this." Her voice was firm now, her usual playfulness nowhere in sight. "She waited for you. Through everything. Through vaani, through your coldness, through the nights when you barley looked at her. And still, she stayed."
His chest felt unbearably tight.
"Do you know what it did to her, watching you with vaani?
Watching you choose someone else over and over again?
" Kaashi's voice cracked slightly, but she forced herself to continue.
"She told herself it didn't matter. That she could handle it.
That maybe-just maybe-you'd see her the way she saw you. "
Purv's jaw locked.
"But you never did."
A heavy silence settled between them.
Kaashi's eyes burned with unspoken words. "And the Rehan thing happened."
Something flickered in purv's gaze, but kaashi didn't stop.
"She made a mistake, yes. But you-" she took a step closer, her voice a quiet storm. "You never gave her a place beside you. You never once called her yours. You left her in the in-between, in the shadows of uncertainty. So tell me, purv-how was it a betrayal when you never truly claimed her?"
His grip on the railing tightened until his knuckles turned white.
Kaashi let out a sharp breath, her expression unreadable. "You left, purv. You walked away without looking back, and do you know what happened after that?"
His stomach twisted.
"She broke."
His breath stilled.
"She locked herself in her room for days. Stopped talking, stopped eating. She wasn't just heartbroken, purv. She was shattered."
The word felt unbearably quiet.
"And where were you?" Kaashi's voice was barely above a whisper now. "Off in another country, 'clearing your mind,' while she cried herself to sleep every night, choking on the weight of everything you left behind."
Something inside him cracked.
He didn't want to hear this.
Didn't want to feel this.
"And then one day, she got up."
Her voice changed, something softer creeping.
"She packed her bags and left. Just like that. No dramatic goodbyes, no second chances. She transferred to a college in mumbai, started from scratch. Alone."
Purv's heart was pounding against his ribs.
Kaashi inhaled deeply. "She worked herself to the bone. Buried herself in books, internships, anything to drown out the emptiness you left behind."
She met his gaze, something almost sad in her gaze. "She didn't just survive, purv. She built something for herself. Something powerful. Something unbreakable."
He exhaled, long and slow, but it did nothing to steady him.
Kaashi tilted her head slightly. "And now she's back. But not for you. Not for revenge. Not even for closure."
Purv's throat felt unbearably tight.
"She's back because she made it. Because she's stronger than she ever was. Because she doesn't need you anymore."
A beat of silence passed between them.
Kaashi took one last step forward, lowering her voice. "And do you know the worst part?"
He didn't answer.
"She's not pretending she doesn't care anymore."
She paused.
"She actually doesn't."
The words hit like a blow he never saw coming.
Kaashi studied him for a moment before stepping back, her expression unreadable. "You can stand here all night, drowning in whatever you're feeling, but it won't change a damn thing."
She turned to leave, but before stepping inside, she glanced over her shoulder.
"Five years ago, she would have given anything for a second chance with you."
A bitter smile ghosted her lips.
"But now? She wouldn't even waste a glance."
And with that, she walked away, leaving purv standing there-alone, with nothing but the weight of everything he had lost.