A step forward
Author's pov-
The night was quiet, the city lights casting a soft glow through the car window. Purv's fingers still loosely held onto Divya's, as if afraid that letting go would make her disappear.
She didn't pull away.
For once, purv wasn't thinking about running.
Divya's voice was gentle when she spoke again. "You still care about her, don't you?"
Purv didn't pretend to misunderstand. He let out a breath, staring ahead. "It's not about caring." His voice was flat, but there was an edge of exhaustion behind it. "It's about.. what I did. What I lost because of it."
Divya didn't press. She let the silence settle between them, understanding that purv wasn't someone who spilled his emotions easily.
"I was never good at controlling my anger," he admitted after a moment. "And that day.. I saw something, assumed the worst, and before I knew it, everything was ruined."
Divya looked at him carefully. "You regret it."
Purv let out a dry chuckle. "That's an understatement."
Divya hesitated before speaking. "But you're not that person anymore."
He turned his head toward her, his gaze unreadable. "How do you know?"
She smiled faintly. "Because if you were, you wouldn't be sitting here, second-guessing everything. You wouldn't be afraid of hurting me."
Something in purv's expression flickered, like a wall he had spent years building was suddenly cracking.
"You really think that?" He asked.
Divya nodded, her grip on his hand tightening just slightly. "I know that."
For the first time in a long time, purv felt something shift inside him-something he wasn't quite ready to name, but something that made breathing a little easier.
The silence returned, but this time, it wasn't heavy. It was comforting.
And for the first time, purv allowed himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't as broken as he thought he was.