Fractured echoes
Author's pov-
The party was still in full swing- music, laughter, clinking glasses- but none of it reached the quiet corner where Divya stood.
She exhaled softly, resting her hand against the cool marble railing of the empty balcony. The night breeze brushed against her skin, carrying the distant hum of the city.
For a moment, just a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to breath.
She had done well. She had rebuilt herself, brick by brick, leaving behind the fragile girl who once craved attention. She had made it though.
But then-
The air shifted.
She felt him before she saw him.
The sound of footsteps, steady and deliberate, followed by the faint scent of expensive cologne- dark, rich, familiar.
Her grip tightened around her champagne flute, but she didn't turn.
Not yet.
A deep voice cut through the silence.
"You've changed alot."
A slow exhale.
Then, finally, she turned to face him.
Purv stood a few steps away, hands tucked into his pockets, his expression unreadable beneath the dim golden light. His sharp suit, his controlled posture - everything about him screamed power. Control. Distance.
Divya let a small, knowing smile play on her lips. "That was the point."
A flicker of something crossed his eyes- something almost unreadable.
"You left Delhi," he murmured, watching her closely. "Didn't look back."
She tilted her head slightly. "Why would I?"
Silence.
A slow, stretched silence.
Purv's gaze didn't waver. "You never tried to come back."
Divya took a sip of her champagne, her voice even. "There was nothing left for me here."
His jaw tensed, just for a fraction of a second.
"You built a life in Mumbai," he stated, almost as if testing the words.
She nodded. "A good one."
He took a slow step closer. "Without any regrets?"
Her smile didn't falter. "Regrets are for people who wait for things to change instead of changing themselves."
Something in hiz gaze darkened.
Divya leaned back against the railing, tilting her face up slightly. "You seem surprised, purv."
His name on her lips-it did something.
For the first time in five years, it was like a small crack in the ice that had settled between them.
He scoffed, shaking his head slightly. "Not surprised. Just.." he trailed off, glancing at her like he was trying to figure something out.
She arched a brow. "Just what?"
"You're not the girl I remember."
Divya's lips curled, but there was no warmth in it. "No," she agreed. "I'm not."
Purv held her gaze, his expression unreadable.
For the first time, he didn't know what to say.
The girl who once looked at him like he was the centre of her universe was gone.
And in her place stood a women who didn't need him at all.
Divya finished the last sip of her champagne, then set the glass down on the railing.
With one last glance at him, she turned and walked away, leaving purv standing there-alone, watching her disappear into the crowd.
For the first time in years, he felt something unsettling in her chest.
Something dangerously close to regret.