She had gone there hoping to fix things, to bring back the version of Aarav who always smiled at her no matter what. But the person she had met at the bookstore wasn’t the same Aarav she had known for years.

He wasn’t waiting anymore.

And that terrified her.

Her fingers hovered over her phone, debating whether to text him. But what would she even say? Come back? Don’t leave me? I never meant to push you away?

Would it even matter anymore?

A sigh escaped her lips as she fell back against the pillows. The ceiling offered no answers, no relief from the tightness in her chest.

Maybe he was right. Maybe she was only running after him now because he had stopped running after her.

But that wasn’t true, was it?

Her mind flashed back to Jay’s message from the night before—the words she had waited so long to hear. Yet, they hadn’t meant anything.

But Aarav’s absence? That meant everything.

The next few days were different.

Aarav still wasn’t coming to college.

At first, Tanya expected him to return in a day or two. But as time stretched on, reality started sinking in.

He wasn’t just avoiding her.

He was done.

It felt strange to walk through the campus without spotting him somewhere. No Aarav leaning against his bike in the parking lot. No Aarav under the tree near the library, sketching quietly. No Aarav catching her eye during lectures when she spaced out.

Every place that had once felt normal now felt empty.

And it wasn’t just Tanya who noticed.

Even Esha, who usually stayed out of Tanya’s personal dilemmas, finally asked, “Are you sure you two didn’t have a fight?”

Tanya shook her head, poking at the food on her tray. “Not really. We just… talked.”

Esha narrowed her eyes. “Talked? Because it feels more like he disappeared.”

Tanya stayed silent.

Daksh had stopped commenting after that first day, but every now and then, she’d catch him watching her, like he was waiting for her to admit something.

And Jay…

Well, Jay had started acting different too.

He was texting her more, talking to her more, actually making an effort in a way he never had before.

It was ironic, really.

She had spent years chasing after his attention, and now that she had it, she couldn’t care less.

Because all she could think about was the one person who had stopped chasing her.

It was late in the evening when Tanya found herself at Aarav’s favorite café.

It wasn’t planned—her feet had simply taken her there, like muscle memory.

She stepped inside, half-expecting to find him sitting at his usual corner table, sketchbook open, lost in thought.

But, of course, he wasn’t there.

A bitter smile tugged at her lips.

She had spent so much time ignoring his presence, never once considering that one day, he might actually leave.

And now that he had, she had no idea how to handle it.

She ordered a coffee and sat near the window, staring at the streets outside. The city lights flickered, and the evening rush buzzed around her.

But inside, she felt still.

Aarav’s words from that night played in her mind again—You don’t have to chase after me just because I stopped chasing you.

But wasn’t she?

Was she only realizing his worth because he was no longer there?

The thought made her stomach twist.

Had she always been this selfish?

She had always believed her heart belonged to Jay. He was the one she had wanted for so long, the one she had dreamed about.

But now, she wasn’t so sure if she had ever truly wanted him.

Or if she had just wanted the idea of him.

Because when Jay had finally turned around, when he had finally started paying attention, she hadn’t felt the happiness she had expected.

She had felt nothing.

But with Aarav…

His absence was suffocating.

She missed his presence in a way that made her chest ache. She missed his knowing glances, his soft teasing, the way he understood her even when she didn’t say a word.

She missed him.

Tanya let out a shaky breath.

It wasn’t that she was just now realizing Aarav’s worth.

It was that she had always known it.

She had just been too blind to admit it.

Her fingers curled around her coffee cup as she made a decision.

She wasn’t going to let him walk away.

Not like this.