DIYA'S POV
The day passed in muted shades—classes attended but not absorbed, conversations half-heard, meals untouched.
She wasn't angry.
Wasn't even sad.
Just… numb.
Maddy's texts sat unanswered. Harsh's kind check-in ignored. The world moved around her while she floated through it, untethered.
Then—
A notification.
[College Get-Together Girls]
Ahaana: Heyyy Diya! Guess what? Me and Nivi just reached the hostel!!
Nivi: You better come down. We're on your floor!
Nivi.
Maddy's best friend. The one who'd witnessed their late-night talks, their inside jokes, the way his eyes softened when Diya entered a room.
Her stomach lurched.
But she went anyway.
The hallway was chaos—suitcases, laughter, the familiar rhythm of reunion.
"There she is!" Nivi beamed, as if nothing had changed.
"About time!" Ahaana pulled her into a hug that smelled like home and train station coffee.
Diya let herself be swept into their orbit—helping unpack, rolling her eyes at Ahaana's excessive makeup collection, laughing at stories of disastrous travel delays.
But beneath the surface, a quiet ache throbbed.
Because Nivi never mentioned him.
Not a "How are you holding up?" Not a "He's been a mess too." Just… normalcy.
As if the past months had never happened.
As if Diya's heart wasn't still splintered in her chest.
She laughed when expected, teased when prompted, and pretended the hollowness inside wasn't growing wider with every unspoken moment.
It wasn't healing.
But for one evening, it was enough.
NIVI'S POV
The second Diya stepped into the hallway, I knew.
The shadows under her eyes. The too-bright smile. The way her fingers kept twisting the hem of her hoodie—a tell she'd never shaken.
She was hurting.
And I couldn't bring him up.
Not because I didn't care.
But because every time I opened my mouth, I heard Maddy's voice from our last call—"I don't know what I'm doing, Nivi. And she deserves better than that."
So I stayed light. Stayed normal.
Even when it felt like betrayal.
MADDY'S POV
Harsh's text glared at me from my screen:
"She's with Nivi and the girls. And no, she's not okay."
I tossed my phone onto the bed, raking a hand through my hair.
Of course she wasn't.
Because of me.
Because I couldn't get my shit together.
Because I'd let her walk away thinking she meant nothing, when the truth was—
She meant everything.