chapter 59
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Chapter 59 - The Fragrance He Couldn't Let Go
The hotel room felt suffocating.
It wasn't small.
If anything, it was one of the finest suites the hotel offered.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glittering skyline of City A.
Soft golden lights stretched endlessly into the distance.
The room was immaculate.
Elegant.
Expensive.
Yet...
Aarav couldn't breathe.
He loosened his tie for what felt like the tenth time.
It made no difference.
The air still felt unbearably heavy.
He walked to the window and pushed it open.
A cool evening breeze drifted inside.
It brushed against his face.
His hair.
His shirt.
Still...
The pressure in his chest refused to ease.
His gaze wandered over the city below.
People laughed on the sidewalks.
Couples strolled hand in hand.
Families gathered around food stalls.
Life moved on.
As if nothing had changed.
As if hearts didn't break every single day.
A bitter smile tugged at his lips.
Two years.
Two whole years.
He had imagined this moment countless times.
In every version, he eventually found her.
Apologized.
Earned her forgiveness.
Little by little, she would smile at him again.
Maybe not today.
Maybe not tomorrow.
But someday.
He had held onto that hope through countless sleepless nights.
Through empty breakfasts.
Cold coffee.
Lonely Sundays.
He had believed that as long as he kept becoming a better man...
One day...
She might let him stand beside her again.
Today...
That hope died.
He slowly closed his eyes.
The image of Kavya inside the flower shop appeared instantly.
She had been smiling.
Not the gentle smile she once wore to reassure him.
Not the quiet smile she used to hide her sadness.
A real one.
One that reached her eyes.
One that belonged to someone finally free.
His chest tightened painfully.
He whispered to the empty room,
"You look happy..."
The words echoed softly before disappearing into the silence.
His fingers curled against the window frame.
For years...
He had prayed for her happiness.
He just hadn't realized...
It might exist without him.
The thought cut deeper than any punishment.
He laughed quietly.
It sounded hollow.
"So this is the answer..."
He loved her, More than his own loneliness.
More than his own hope.
More than the future he had spent two years rebuilding in his imagination.
If loving her truly meant wanting the best for her...
How could he drag her back into the life that had nearly destroyed her?
How could he ask her to return...
To the man who had been the reason she needed healing in the first place?
He couldn't.
His head lowered.
He pressed both palms against the windowsill.
His shoulders trembled.
"No..."
he whispered.
"I can't do that to you again."
His breathing became uneven.
"You finally....."
Another long silence.
"I don't have the right to take everything away."
The words settled heavily inside him.
A quiet decision.
He would let her go.
Completely.
Even if it destroyed him.
A strange ache spread through his chest.
It wasn't sharp.
It wasn't sudden.
It was slow.
Deep.
As though invisible hands were reaching inside him...
And pulling something out by its roots.
He closed his eyes tightly.
Once...
Without realizing it...
He had planted something inside his heart.
A tiny seed.
Watered by ordinary memories.
A shared breakfast.
An empty chair across a restaurant table.
Fresh flowers by the window.
Cold coffee she make for him.
Her soft voice asking whether he would be home for dinner.
He hadn't noticed it growing.
Year after year.
Root after root.
Until one day...
It had become the biggest part of him.
Love.
Now...
He was forcing himself to dig it out.
Root by root.
Memory by memory.
Hope by hope.
It felt as though someone had driven a blade straight through his chest.
He slowly sat on the edge of the bed.
His hands covered his face.
"I thought..."
His voice cracked.
"I thought someday..."
He couldn't finish.
There was no "someday" anymore.
Only today.
Only reality.
Only acceptance.
A tear slipped between his fingers.
Then another.
He didn't wipe them away.
No one was here to see.
No one would knock on the door and quietly hand him a tissue.
No one would pretend not to notice.
His phone vibrated.
His assistant.
He stared at the screen before answering.
"Yes."
"Sir, tomorrow's meeting has been confirmed for nine."
"...Okay."
"The client has also arranged dinner afterward."
A pause.
"Should I reserve anything for tonight?"
Aarav looked toward the empty room.
For a moment, he almost said no.
Then...
His eyes stopped on the empty glass vase decorating the coffee table.
Simple.
Transparent.
His heartbeat slowed.
The vase.
He swallowed hard.
"...Flowers."
His assistant sounded surprised.
"Sir?"
"White lilies."
Silence.
"And..."
His throat tightened.
"Soft pink roses."
Another pause.
"Anything else, sir?"
Aarav looked away.
"That's enough."
The call ended.
He leaned back against the headboard.
His gaze never left the vase.
He already knew why he had ordered them.....
They smelled like home.
No.
Not home.
Her.
That faint fragrance...
It reminded him of Sunday mornings.
Of sunlight falling across a window.
Of someone quietly trimming stems with tiny scissors.
Of a woman who had spent years trying to make a lonely house feel alive.
His lips trembled.
"I miss you..."
The confession disappeared into the silence.
He laughed softly afterward.
"What a selfish thing to say."
He had just decided to let her go.
Yet every part of him still searched for pieces of her.
Even if it was only a fragrance.
Even if it lasted for a few hours.
Outside...
Night settled over City A.
Inside...
Aarav remained motionless.
Waiting.
Not for hope anymore.
Only...
For the flowers.
---
Finally someone knock the door.
He walk up to the door and opened it.
But what he saw startled him.
The person who is holding those flowers is.....
Its Kavya.
He felt like, something is stuck in his throat.
It was painful.
His eyes become wet instantly.
His heart started beating violently.
All the emotions he was finally able to settled surge out like an ocean tides.
He still somehow able to muttered out something from his mouth.
"K... Kavya ......"
And then....
"thud"
The flower bouquet fell on the ground.
Petals shattered everywhere.
The once silent room become, extremely silent......
Only tickling of clock.
And there abrupt breathing were making any sound.