Maya didn't leave the building immediately.
Aarvi noticed her near the parking area later that evening, standing beside a sleek black car, scrolling through her phone like she had all the time in the world.
Aarvi told herself to walk past.
To mind her own business.
To not invite unnecessary complications.
But Maya looked up at the exact moment Aarvi passed by.
Their eyes met.
And Maya smiled.
---
An unexpected conversation
"You're Aarvi, right?" Maya asked casually.
Aarvi stopped despite herself.
"Yes."
Maya studied her for a second — not rudely, not critically — just… curiously.
"You seem different from what I imagined," Maya said.
"I thought Riyan would choose someone more… like me."
The words weren't sharp.
But they cut anyway.
Aarvi kept her voice calm.
"I didn't know I was something to be chosen."
Maya laughed softly.
"Fair point."
There was a pause.
Then Maya said something Aarvi wasn't prepared for.
"He's good at caring," she said.
"Just not good at staying."
Aarvi's chest tightened.
"What do you mean?" she asked quietly.
Maya shrugged.
"He builds walls fast. And when things start to feel real, he disappears behind them."
Aarvi swallowed.
"He hasn't disappeared."
"Not yet," Maya replied gently.
"And I'm not saying he will."
That made it worse.
---
A truth wrapped in caution
"I'm not here to scare you," Maya added.
"And I'm not warning you to step away."
"Then why are you telling me this?" Aarvi asked.
Maya's gaze softened.
"Because no one warned me," she said simply.
"And I wish they had."
Silence stretched between them.
Aarvi wanted to reject the words.
To defend Riyan.
To say he wasn't like that anymore.
But doubt didn't need permission to exist.
---
Back home, the words echoed
That night, Aarvi lay awake staring at the ceiling.
He's good at caring. Just not good at staying.
She thought of the distance he once created.
The way he pulled back when rumors started.
The fear in his eyes when things got too close.
Maya hadn't lied.
That scared her more than jealousy ever could.
---
Riyan sensed the shift immediately
The next morning, Aarvi was quieter again.
Not distant.
Not cold.
Just… guarded.
Riyan felt it instantly.
"You okay?" he asked softly when she handed him a file.
She nodded.
"Yes."
But her eyes didn't meet his.
And that unsettled him more than anything Maya had said.
---
A warning, whether intentional or not
Maya hadn't attacked.
She hadn't manipulated.
She hadn't demanded anything.
She had simply spoken from experience.
And sometimes, the most dangerous warnings weren't threats —
They were truths you weren't ready to hear.