No more running
Author's pov-
Divya had been restless ever since that evening.
She had tried to shove her feelings aside, convincing herself that Purv’s persistence was just a temporary game. But it wasn’t.
Because Purv wasn’t stopping.
He wasn’t chasing her in a loud, dramatic way. No, that wasn’t his style. Instead, he was creeping into her life, piece by piece, until she had no space left to escape.
And today was proof of that.
She stepped out of her office, expecting to walk to her car in peace—only to find Purv leaning against it, arms crossed, waiting for her.
Her stomach twisted.
"Seriously?" she muttered, walking up to him. "Do you not have anything better to do?"
His lips twitched slightly. "Not when it comes to you."
She scoffed, pulling out her car keys. "Move."
He didn’t.
Instead, he tilted his head, studying her. "Are you really going to keep pretending, Divya?"
Her grip on the keys tightened. "Pretending what?"
"That this doesn’t affect you." His voice was steady but laced with something raw. "That I don’t affect you."
Divya clenched her jaw, refusing to meet his gaze. "Purv, I don’t want to do this—"
"Yes, you do," he cut her off.
That made her look up.
His eyes held something she wasn’t prepared for—certainty.
"You keep pushing me away," he continued, stepping closer. "You keep saying you don’t care. But you do, Divya. And we both know it."
Her heart pounded. "No, I don’t."
He exhaled, shaking his head with a smirk that wasn’t amused. "You’re a terrible liar."
"Purv—"
"I’m done letting you run," he interrupted firmly. "I let you go once. I won’t do it again."
She swallowed, feeling trapped. "And what if I don’t want you to chase me?"
His response was immediate. "Then stop looking at me like you want me to."
Divya felt her breath hitch.
She wanted to argue, to snap at him, to say anything—but no words came out.
Because he was right.
And that realization terrified her more than anything.
---
She sat in her car, gripping the steering wheel long after Purv had walked away.
She needed to breathe.
She needed to think.
But all she could hear was his voice.
"I let you go once. I won’t do it again."
For the first time, Divya felt herself losing control over the walls she had built.
And she didn’t know whether she was ready for that or not.