It was one of those quiet September evenings—maybe the 12th or 13th—when the world outside felt calm, but inside me, everything was storming. The day before, Priyanka had already tried to settle my spiraling thoughts.
"Charu," she said gently but firmly, "don't overthink. We can't control what's not in our hands."
And she was right. It wasn't possible for him to forget someone he'd once loved. It had barely been a month since he and Samriddhi had ended—if they really had. Still, I was slipping. I was losing the girl I once was—the one with dreams, ambition, and an untouchable independence. The girl who claimed, "I don't care".
But I always cared.
You'd find me crying into my pillow minutes after pretending I didn't.
That day, Papa wasn't home. He had gone to the city for some business. It was just Mom, my sister, and me. And in the middle of that seemingly normal evening, my phone buzzed.
Shresth : "You can call if you want. I'm free."
I did. We talked for a while—light-hearted, casual, like we usually did. But then, the shift came. I could hear it in his voice before I heard it in his words.
"Charu," he began, slowly, "it's not about you. But… I had made a promise to Samriddhi. A commitment. I told her I'd wait."
My heart dropped.
"A promise to stay. A promise to wait. I can't break that."
He sounded so calm—like this wasn't breaking me a little.
"I have to wait at least six years," he continued, "because maybe after all that time, if she chooses someone else… or if her family decides for her… only then will I move on."
I was stunned. What was I supposed to say to that?
"I mean," he added, "if I had met you earlier… things would have been different."
And he meant that. I could feel the weight of those words. But what could I do with "if"?
Shresth wasn't a player. He didn't have commitment issues. If he had, I would have left long ago. He was consistent in his values. Maybe too consistent. And yet, beneath all that practicality, I had seen glimpses—glimpses of something unspoken, something he never said aloud but that flickered in his eyes every time we met.
He wasn't cold. He wasn't emotionless.
He was torn.
"I just need time," he said, "and maybe… maybe if you wait, there's a chance for us."
I was quiet. Confused. Time for what? To let go of her? Or to rebuild what they once had?
I remembered my mother's warning from days before:
"Don't go so far for someone that you can't come back from it."
But I had already gone too far.
What I said next still haunts me:
"Waiting for someone you love could be the most beautiful wait."
What was I thinking?
Sometimes, I want to shake my younger self. Maybe I was naïve. Maybe I was at the peak of infatuation. But at that moment, I believed I was doing the right thing. I thought… love was worth the wait.
The truth?
If you've truly, deeply loved someone, you know—it doesn't happen twice. You may care again, maybe even fall again… but that first overwhelming, all-consuming kind of love?
That's once in a lifetime.
And for me, that was Shresth.
Even then, I didn't know if we'd ever be in a real relationship… or if we did, how long it would last. But I knew this—I had never felt anything like this before.
The irony? I was thinking of Raj too. Raj had feelings for me, maybe even something real. I felt something too, but it wasn't love. And now, here I was, head over heels for a boy who wasn't even sure about me. And who still—openly—claimed to love someone else.
But even so… there was something about us. Something deeper. Something unspoken.
And maybe, just maybe, that unspoken thing would matter more than all the words we'd ever said.
When the call ended, I immediately called Priyanka. I told her everything.
"He said he'll wait for Samriddhi… for six years," I said. "And I told him I'd wait for him too."
She went silent.
Then came the explosion.
"Charu, have you completely lost it?" she snapped.
"What's the guarantee he'll even be available for you then? What if she comes back? What if she chooses him again? What if her family lets her choose him?"
"And you… you'll just keep waiting like a backup plan?"
Her voice broke at the end, and so did something inside me.
She wasn't being harsh. She was being honest.
And she was right.
I wasn't even my parents' second daughter. How could I be someone's second choice?
Where was my self-respect?
I started spiraling. Was it because I wasn't pretty enough? Or did I make myself too available? Was I just convenient?
He said I was special. But he was still holding on to her.
I didn't have any answers.
All
I had was a knot in my stomach, a mess in my head, and a heart that refused to stop choosing him.
Author's Teaser:
What happens when love becomes a waiting game? When someone holds you with hope, but never with both hands?
You tell yourself to hold on. But… for how long?
Because the longer you wait in silence, the louder the doubt becomes.
Next Chapter:
When silence started sounding like betrayal. And my heart began learning the cost of loyalty.
Announcemet:
Hey peps! I would like to say that If this story works well, and you guys keep giving your love and support, I am planning a surprise for you guys, I will give you a chapter from a second persons point of view about how he/she felt about this all setup, So don't forget to save it to your collections, and Share it in your groups. If the reach is good, I will write the upcoming chapter with HIS point of view, stay tuned for new updates, keep giving your support.
Love
Charu.