The truth that shattered him
Author's pov-
The business gala was in full swing-an extravagant event filled with the elite, flashing cameras, and expensive wine flowing like water. Purv had been here a hundred times before. Same crowd. Same conversations. Nothing ever changed.
And yet, tonight, something felt different.
He moved through the party, his mind preoccupied. The last few days had been restless. Ever since that night in the basement parking lot, ever since he had grabbed her hand and she had looked him straight in the eyes, cold and indifferent, like he had never meant anything.
Like he had never been anything to her.
"That was five years ago, purv. We were kids. We were immature."
"And we were never in a relationship."
Her words had sliced through him that night, and he hadn't been able to forget them.
He had convinced himself that it didn't matter. That divya was just another chapter he had closed long ago. But something about the way she had spoken, the way she had laughed while dismissing the past-like it had all meant nothing-had left a weight in his chest that refused to lift.
"Why does it bother you so much?" Rudra's words had been echoing in his mind ever since.
He was standing near the bar, trying to push the thoughts away, when a voice called out behind him.
"Mr.Rathore, long time."
The voice sent an immediate wave of irritation through him.
Purv turned, and his gaze landed on a face he hadn't seen in years. Aryan Ahuja.
The same Aryan who had been behind Divya in college. The same Aryan he had warned her about.
Purv's expression turned cold. "Mr.Ahuja. Five years."
Aryan smirked, taking a slow sip of his whiskey. "Yes. Long five years." He studied purv for a moment before casually adding, "so... are you still together?"
Purv's brows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, what?"
Aryan chuckled. "Come on. You know who I'm talking about."
Purv's patience thinned. "Spell it out."
Aryan leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Divya. You and her. Back in college, you were practically breathing down my neck whenever I was near her. Like some territorial boyfriend. So, are you still together?"
Purv's jaw clenched, but his voice remained steady. "We were never together."
Aryan tilted his head, pretending to be surprised. "Oh? Is that so?" He swirled the whiskey in his glass. "That's funny. Because five years ago, she made sure it sound like you were."
Something inside purv shifted.
"What do you mean?" His tone was sharp now.
Aryan hesitated for a second before smirking. "So you really don't know?"
Purv's patience snapped. "Just say it, Aryan."
Aryan let out a small chuckle. "Alright, alright. No neet to get worked up. Five years ago, back in college, I was interested in Divya. I mean, who wasn't? She was beautiful, innocent, always lost in her own world. And I thought, why not try my luck?"
Purv felt a muscle in his jaw twitch, but he said nothing.
Aryan continued, "one evening, I saw her sitting alone in the library. It was late, and I thought it was the perfect chance to make a move."
Purv's stomach twisted, but his face remained unreadable.
"I walked up to her and said, 'Hey, beautiful.' And you know what she said?"
Purv exhaled sharply through his nose. "Get to the point, Aryan."
Aryan smirked, enjoying the tension. "She looked me straight in the eye and said- 'Aryan, I need to clear something.
I love purv, and I can't reciprocate whatever you feel for me.
It's better if you step back, or else I'll have to complain to the college authorities for harrasment.
And you already know how serious they are about such matters. "'
The words hit purv like a truck.
His grip on his glass tightened, his breathing stalled.
"I love purv."
Aryan finished his drink and shrugged. "That was the first time I saw a girl reject me that bluntly.
She didn't hesitate. She didn't even seem unsure.
She had already made up her mind- she was yours.
So, I stepped back. Figured you two were together, and I wasn't interested in a lost cause.
Then, I left for the U.S. for my master's.
I thought you knew about it, but I guess not. "
Purv said nothing.
His world was spinning.
He couldn't process what he had just heard.
Divya had loved him from the start.
Not just liked. Not just admired. She had loved him.
Completely. Unapologetically. Irrevocably.
And she had never told him.
Purv's heartbeat was erratic. His mind raced back to all the times she had been there for him. The way she had looked at him. The way she had never needed words to express her feelings because it had always been in her eyes.
And he had been to blind to see it.
Too wrapped up in his own past, his own fears.
Too damn stupid to realise that he had meant the entire world to her.
And what had he done?
He had let her slip away.
Had pushed her away.
He had thought she had moved on without looking back. But now, he knew.
She had looked back.
She had looked back so many times.
And he? He had never turned around.
Now, she had truly walked away.
And for the first time in his life, Purv Rathore felt something he had never felt before.
Loss.
A loss so deep, so aching, that it spread through his chest like fire.
His fists clenched. His jaw locked.
His breathing was uneven.
He had spent the last five years thinking she had forgotten him.
But the truth was, she had once loved him enough to fight for him.
And he had never faught for her.
His reflection on the glass of the bar stared back at him-a man who had let the one person who truly cared for him slip away.
And now?
Now, she was back.
But she was no longer the same.
And this time, he wasn't sure if he could ever get her back.