32 | he give up
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Q: "Was she really worth risking your pride?"
Avyukt: "Pride can build walls. Love builds a life. I chose the life."
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The car stopped slowly in front of Avantika's house. The sound of the engine seemed to fill the tense silence around them.
Avyukt stepped out of the car without hesitation. His usual confidence was still there in his steps, but his eyes carried an unfamiliar storm of restlessness. He walked straight to the gate and pressed the bell.
A few seconds later, the gate opened. Avantika's father stood in front of him.
"Dad..." Avyukt had just managed to say when the gate was slammed shut in his face.
Bang.
The sound echoed sharply. Avyukt froze for a moment, as if trying to process what had just happened.
From inside, Avantika's mother spoke anxiously, "Listen... there must be some misunderstanding. They can sit and clear it out."
But Avantika's father interrupted firmly, "I made a mistake once... I'm not going to let my daughter get into trouble again by repeating it."
Siya's mother tried to say something else, but she was ignored just as firmly.
Outside, Avyukt stood still. He wasn't showing anger or breaking down-he was just eerily calm.
Then he moved toward the gate again.
"Please listen to me!" he shouted. "Just listen to me once!"
"My mistake... tell me what it is!"
He kept calling out again and again, but there was no response.
A few steps away, Krish was watching everything. For four seconds, it felt like his own problems were nothing in front of this. He went silent... just observing.
When the gate still didn't open, Avyukt walked toward Avantika's window instead.
"Avantika! Please listen to me!" he shouted again.
"Just tell me... what did I do wrong?"
Raghav ran inside, panicked. "Didi... Jiju is outside!"
Avantika sat inside, legs folded, lost in her own thoughts as if she couldn't hear anything-or maybe she was refusing to.
Siya came near the window. She saw the scene outside, and her hand paused. Accidentally, a video that had been recorded earlier was still on her phone.
After a moment of hesitation, she sent that video to Avyukt.
His phone vibrated.
He opened it.
The video played.
And in that instant, his expression changed completely.
Shock.
Then pain.
Then realization.
"So... you didn't trust me," his voice turned low.
"But you trusted him... someone you met just twice?"
His eyes welled up, but the pain inside was deeper than anger.
"I stayed with you all this time... and not even for a second you trusted me?"
His voice started breaking.
"Was I really that insignificant to you?"
He wasn't just shouting anymore-he was collapsing from within.
Krish stood silently, watching. The usual playful boy had gone completely quiet, and even Siya didn't know what to say anymore.
Somewhere deep inside, Avantika could still hear his voice. She didn't move, but something inside her was breaking too.
Finally, Avyukt gave up completely.
In a broken, exhausted voice, he said,
"Fine... if this is what you believe... I want you to be happy."
He turned away.
The car door opened.
---
Avyukt suddenly stopped before getting into the car. He turned back slowly, his voice shaking with suppressed pain.
"So... you didn't even love me for a single second, did you?"
His eyes were red now, but his voice was sharper than before.
"You trust him... just because you think he helped you once in your childhood. One reason... just one reason is enough for you to believe him completely."
He took a step closer, his voice breaking more with every word.
"And what about us? All those moments... all those memories we built together... were they nothing to you?"
A bitter laugh escaped his lips, but it carried no humor-only hurt.
"You just erased everything... just like that."
He paused, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Fine."
His voice dropped into something dangerously calm... almost hollow.
"I love you so much that I can even leave you... just for your happiness."
That last line hit like a silence bomb in the air.
He looked at her window one final time. "And maybe that's what I was to you... replaceable."
For a second, everything went still.
Avyukt, the powerful, dangerous, confident man... looked completely broken.
Not angry anymore.
Not shouting anymore.
Just... empty.
He turned away without another word and got into the car.
Krish didn't say anything either. Even his usual energy was gone.
The door closed. And the car slowly drove away- Leaving behind a man who didn't lose a relationship... He lost himself inside it.
The car didn't head home. Neither of them said a word the entire way.
It finally stopped near a quiet lake. The night air was cold, and the still water reflected a broken, restless sky.
Avyukt got out first. Krish followed him silently. Without speaking, both of them sat down on the steps near the lake.
For a while, there was only silence.
Then Avyukt finally broke. But not outside... inside.
He sat there, fighting with himself as if something inside him was collapsing piece by piece. He had never been like this before-never this shaken, never this lost.
His voice came out low, broken, almost like he was talking to himself.
"My trust... it's gone." He swallowed hard.
"Maybe she never loved me."
A pause.
"I was just... what I gave her. My time, my care... maybe that's all she ever took." His hands tightened slightly.
"If she really loved me... she would've thought once. She would've trusted me once. Asked me once. Fight with me. Questioned me." His voice cracked.
"But she didn't do anything..."
He looked at the still water. "She just... left."
A bitter breath escaped him.
"Did I deserve this?"
On the other side, Krish was completely silent. But inside, he was falling apart too.
For the first time, he wasn't joking, wasn't smiling, wasn't running away from his thoughts. He kept replaying everything in his mind.
Maybe it was always one-sided...
Maybe Siya never really wanted him...
He realized something painful-whatever he felt, whatever he did... it was always from his side. He was the one trying. He was the one hoping.
And maybe Siya... never even looked at it the same way.
That thought hurt more than anything.
Two people.
Two broken assumptions.
Two silent hearts sitting by the lake all night... drowning in their own thoughts.
___
Morning came quietly.
The first ray of sunlight touched their faces, but neither of them had slept.
They slowly came back to reality, as if waking up from something heavy.
And then- A sudden call.
Panic.
RUhi's voice.
Both of them straightened instantly.
Without saying a single word, they stood up and ran toward the car.
Back to the house... Back to whatever was left to face.
___
The other side of the city felt strangely still. Avantika and Siya were sleeping in the same room, both exhausted from everything that had happened.
Morning slowly crept in.
Avantika was the first to stir. Her eyes opened, heavy and confused. Siya followed a moment later, blinking as reality started to return.
Siya sat up quietly, staring at nothing for a while... until her eyes caught something.
A gift lying in front of her.
She just stared at it.
For a few seconds, everything replayed in her mind-the misunderstanding, the assumptions, the way things spiraled so quickly.
And suddenly, a thought hit her.
Maybe I misunderstood more than I understood... Maybe it wasn't as simple as I thought.
A small uneasiness formed in her chest.
He didn't deserve all of it... not like this.
She sat there silently, guilt slowly replacing certainty.
Before she could say anything, Avantika woke up properly. She sat on the bed for a moment, blankly staring ahead... then suddenly stood up.
Without a word, she walked straight into the bathroom. She switched on the light. The brightness hit her face, but she didn't move.
She stood there in front of the mirror... then slowly placed her hand over her stomach.
A long breath escaped her lips. Her mind started running faster than her heart could handle.
What if I only heard one side of the story?
What if what I believed wasn't even the truth?
What if there's another version I never even tried to see?
Her grip tightened slightly.
Everything we shared... the care... the moments... it can't be fake. It just can't be.
She shook her head slightly, as if refusing her own thoughts. And then another fear hit her harder than everything else.
What about this...?
Her hand stayed on her stomach.
What will I tell my baby... about his father?
Her breath got uneven.
Slowly, she slid down and sat on the floor, tears breaking out uncontrollably. Silent at first... then heavier, shaking her whole body.
After a while, she stood up again, wiping her face with difficulty. Her mind was still messy, but one thought became clearer.
I need answers.