I walked home with my eyes full of tears.
The person I had been waiting for all this time... was no longer mine.
But why did he cheat?
What did I do wrong?
Before Amma came home, I wiped my face, pretending nothing had happened. Pretending I wasn't breaking apart inside.
But my pet knew. They always said animals feel more than people—and it was true. He curled against me, laid his warm little body on my chest, and instantly my tears flowed again. Because in this house, I had no one to hug, no one to cry to. Only him.
You know what the worst part is?
I was still being punished—for a love that no longer even existed.
But how could I ever tell my family the truth? That he cheated? That the boy I fought so hard for, the one I endured canes, locked doors, and silence for... had already given his heart to someone else?
I wasn't brave enough. My family never gave me the space to speak about things like this.
So I kept it buried. And it buried me with it.
I died inside.
I was dying a little more every single day.
And all the while, he was smiling, living happily with another girl—
as if I never even existed.