The evening air clung to Ashaas as she walked away from the café. Her chest felt tight, not from doubt, but from the sheer weight of what had just unfolded. For years, she had secretly wondered — What if Neel came back? What if he admitted he was wrong? What if he asked for another chance?
And now he had.
But instead of stirring old hope, the confession had left her with clarity. She realized she didn't ache for him anymore. The longing she had once carried had been replaced with something else — peace. The chapter of Neel in her life wasn't one to be reopened; it was one she had already closed, not with bitterness, but with acceptance.
Still, the encounter left her shaken. She needed space to breathe. And yet, her heart tugged toward Arjun, the one place she knew would feel like home.
When she reached his studio that night, Arjun was still working. The faint glow of his computer screen lit up his face as he edited photos, but the moment he saw her standing in the doorway, his expression softened.
"You look tired," he said gently, closing his laptop. "Long day?"
Ashaas hesitated, her throat tightening. "Yes. And… complicated."
He rose, crossed the room, and pulled her into his arms without asking for details. She buried her face in his chest, inhaling the scent of coffee and faint traces of camera ink. His steady heartbeat grounded her, reminding her of where she belonged.
After a long silence, she whispered, "Neel reached out. He wanted to see me."
Arjun stiffened slightly, though he didn't pull away. "And?"
"He confessed," she said, pulling back to meet his eyes. "He said letting me go was the biggest mistake of his life."
Arjun's jaw tightened, but his gaze never wavered. "And what did you say?"
Ashaas felt her eyes sting with tears. "That I love you. That my life isn't with him anymore. It's with you."
The tension in his shoulders eased, and he pressed his forehead against hers. "That's all I need to hear."
In that moment, she realized how different this love was. With Neel, love had always been a battlefield of unspoken words and unmet expectations. With Arjun, it was refuge — a place where honesty wasn't a weapon, but a bridge.
---
Across the city, Neel sat in his darkened café long after closing hours. The chairs were stacked, the lights dim, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. Her words echoed in his head, relentless:
"Some doors, once closed, shouldn't be reopened."
"I love him."
He buried his face in his hands, the truth crashing down on him in waves. He had gambled with her heart once and lost. Now, he had tried to reclaim it and discovered it no longer belonged to him.
Sophia returned home late that evening to find him still awake, a hollow look in his eyes. She didn't ask — she already knew. The distance between them had become undeniable.
"Neel," she said softly, her voice breaking, "you're here with me, but your heart… it's somewhere else."
He didn't answer. He couldn't. Silence, heavy and damning, filled the room.
For Sophia, it was confirmation of the truth she had been trying to ignore. For Neel, it was the sound of a life unraveling — one he had built on compromise, while the one he truly wanted slipped further beyond reach.
---
Back in Arjun's apartment, Ashaas lay curled against him on the couch, her fingers entwined with his. For the first time in years, she didn't feel haunted by the past. Neel's confession had been painful, yes, but it had given her something unexpected: freedom.
She no longer carried the weight of unfinished stories or unanswered questions. She was no longer defined by the love she had lost, but by the love she had chosen.
And as she drifted into sleep with Arjun's hand still holding hers, Ashaas knew this was her truth now: she hadn't just moved on — she had moved forward.