If Amyra truly wanted to decide something for the future, she would have already spoken to Aditi. Instead, she’s trapped in her own web of distress and confusion.
Looking back at her behaviour over the past six months, everything suddenly makes sense, from the days she shut me out to the distance she maintained despite working in the same company. Yet never once did she reveal her turmoil or attempt to poison my mind against Aditi. Instead, she guided me, supported me, and stood beside me whenever I needed her.
Even without Karan and Amyra dating, just seeing them together ignited jealousy within me, stealing my peace, robbing me of sleep. And yet, how cruel must it be for her to watch the man she loved date someone else, only to witness them every single day? If she weren’t incredibly strong, she could never have carried it with such quiet grace.
The cruelest part is knowing she trusted a man who claimed he never loved her, only to suddenly confess later. Wouldn’t that turn her entire past into a lie? All the pain, the emotional baggage, the sleepless nights of the last nine months, are now layered with guilt for being the reason behind her sister’s broken relationship.
The torment is unbearable even to imagine.
And here I was, believing I suffered the most, drowning in regret over my wrong choices. When I should have been chasing her,proving my love and reassuring her that following her heart isn’t a sin, I waited, hoping she would come to me.
Aditi is right. I need to run behind her. I need to tell her that none of this is her fault. Yes, I need to meet her. I need to show her how much she truly means to me.
Above all, she should never feel burdened by the unrequited love she carried in silence. Now that I look back, I feel like missing the signs she has given, always trying to express her deep affection for me. I will make sure her love is returned with the same intensity, and I will never leave her, not ever.
I’m coming, Amyra. I will make things right for both of us.
Chapter 36
Amyra
I have been trying hard to weave the brand design and philosophy for a particular project since this afternoon, but my mind seems incapable of cracking the code. It is incredibly frustrating, and perhaps the first time I have felt this dumb, failing to concentrate on work. I am not someone who gives up easily, so I keep trying again and again, only to circle back to the same dead end.
When I glance at the wall clock, I realise the working hours are long over, yet I am still stuck, unable to finish the task. I have always preferred wrapping things up the same day instead of carrying them forward or postponing them. That habit now feels irritatingly ironic.
A similar thought crosses my mind is how I ended things with Reyansh. I almost rejected him immediately after hearing his confession. Even though I asked for time, I turned him down right away, a decision I regret at times.
After a month of relentless overthinking, I understood how naturally humans stumble into mistakes, just as Reyansh did. Yet I cannot erase how his recklessness shattered the peace of three lives and became the cause of so much hurt.
No matter how much I motivate myself to return to normal with him, I cannot bring myself closer. I am afraid of him repeating the same mistake if I give him another chance. And then there is Aditi. The embarrassment, the awkwardness, the guilt of being the reason for their break-up make me run in the opposite direction, desperate to avoid crossing paths with her.
But over the past month, I have realised one thing that I do not want to lose the chance of being with Reyansh. What holds me back is the constant worry about how Aditi would feel and whether I could ever make peace with my decision. Maybe I should get over this feeling if I have a heart-to-heart talk with Aditi once. She will surely understand, as she knows me well.
Living without interacting with Reyansh has been pure torture. Before he confessed and became the love of my life, he was my best friend, the one who stood by me through every phase, unknowingly making me dependent on his presence. And now, I kept him at a distance. He tried reaching out a few times with texts, calls, but I cut him short, ignored them, or replied with curt, single-word responses.
Above all, I am terrified to confess my unrequited love for him, carried all these years silently, so carefully hidden, that I never let even a minor hint slip. I cannot imagine how he would react.
Would he be happy that I finally reciprocate his love, or annoyed that I concealed it for so long?
I do not know how I am going to lead this, but I cannot suppress the craving to feel the warmth of being in his arms, now that I know he confessed his love to me ,and Aditi is no more in the picture, as they had their break-up.
Just once, I decided to see him, maybe that would guide me toward the right path. Maybe his reassurance, the promise of fixing things, could soften my hesitation. But I feel embarrassed to initiate a meeting after the way I pushed him away, clearly asking him not to interfere in my life.
Still… he could at least try to persuade me, right? After all, it has been a month since we last saw each other.
Shaking off my spiralling thoughts, I refocus on the sketch paper spread across my desk, my pen hovering uselessly above it. Nothing comes to mind.
“God, why can’t I just concentrate and finish this? Why is it so hard to give up?”
The words escape in a heavy, muffled tone as tears blur my vision. I lean forward onto the cold surface of the office desk, eyes shut, crying silently until the faint creak of the door reaches my ears, followed by a familiar male voice.
“Because you’re stuck right now and afraid of making changes.”
My throat dries instantly. The sheer weight of hearing his voice after so long, floods my heart, and I struggle not to break down in front of him.
I wipe my tears with my sleeves and slowly lift my head, only to find him standing right there.
His handsome face remains unchanged, save for the stubble that has shaped into a neatly trimmed beard and the faint dark circles under his eyes, hinting at sleepless nights much like my own.
