Shreya

The moment that man struck Alisha across the face, Jayant didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat-he charged forward to shield her, leaving everything else behind... even me. For one fleeting second, I wished he had stopped-just once-to think about me. But he didn't. He never does.

Jayant had never been the fighting kind. He'd never trained, never lifted his fists against anyone. And yet, He fought clumsily, recklessly, every strike powered by sheer will, not skill.

In the chaos, something slipped from his pocket and fell onto the ground-a small box. As it hit the floor, a glimmer of something shone briefly before disappearing beneath the dirt and shadows. I wanted to run to it, to see what it was, but before I could, Gaurav grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the darker side of the godown.

From where we hid, I could still see him. Jayant-pleading with Chintu, begging him for help, for Alisha's safety. My eyes refused to leave him; my heart refused to look away. Gaurav's voice snapped me back. "His attention is on them. We should strike now." His eyes darted around, searching for a weapon, until his hand closed around a heavy iron rod. But before he could raise it, I snatched it from him.

Without thinking, I swung it hard, crashing it down against the Kidnapper's skull. The rod slipped from my grip as the man collapsed, and for a moment, silence consumed me. I had never raised my hand against anyone in my life. My chest heaved, my palms grew clammy, and I stared at the bloodied rod on the floor as though it belonged to someone else, not me.

Gaurav's wide eyes told me everything-shock, disbelief. But I didn't care. My gaze now fixed only on Jayant, who now had Alisha in his arms. He clutched her like she was his entire world, like nothing else mattered. She fainted against his chest, and he didn't wait, didn't listen to our voices calling out behind him. He carried her away, ignoring us as though we were nothing. As though I was nothing.

Chintu's mocking voice cut through the silence. "Mujhe aap samjhdar lagi thi sirf aap to damdaar bhi hai"
("I thought you were just smart, Shreya ji. But you're strong too.")

Gaurav shot him a glare sharp enough to cut, but I barely noticed. My soul was trapped in the sight of that car, disappearing with Jayant and Alisha inside.

"Let's go home," Gaurav urged, his voice heavy with concern. "Uncle and Aunty must be worried."

"No." My answer came instantly. "We're going after Jayant."

"But how? He has the car," Gaurav argued.

I turned to Chintu, hope blazing in my eyes. He smirked, tilting his head. "The deal was to free the girl. If you want more, it'll cost extra."

"Chintu, please," I plead, my voice cracking.

Something flickered in his expression. Then, slowly, deliberately, he said, "For you, Shreya ji... free. Absolutely free." The word free hung in the air, twisted, heavy with something unsaid.

But before leaving, something clicked at my memory-the glimmer I had seen fall from Jayant's pocket. My heart raced as I scanning the floor. When I pulled it up, my breath caught. A mangalsutra.

Tears blurred my vision. Jayant had once told me he would propose me with a mangalsutra. He had meant to give this to me. And yet, here it was-fallen, forgotten, abandoned on the floor. He didn't even realize it was gone.

My tears spilled freely now. Chintu peered at me curiously. "What is it? Why are you crying? Shreya ji?"

Gaurav's voice softened, almost understanding. "Shreya... let it go. Jayant has found Alisha. It's over. Come home."

But I wiped my tears with trembling fingers and shook my head. "No. I need to talk to him. I have to."

And so, we went after him. By the time we reached the hospital, I finally found him-sitting in the waiting corridor. His head hung low, his face pale, his hands trembling. He looked broken, terrified, a man consumed by fear and pain.

For a long moment, I just stood there, staring at the boy who once belonged to me. My Jayant.

Chintu leaned toward me, trying to speak, "Shreya ji, I'll go now... here's my number if you ever-"

But Gaurav cut him off sharply, his eyes narrowing. "Enough. Thank you for bringing us here."

Chintu left, still smirking. Gaurav placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I inhaled deeply, trying to steady the storm inside me, but my eyes remained locked on Jayant.

For a second I show the mangalsutra in my hand, And in that moment, I wondered... how much of him was still mine, and how much had already slipped forever into Alisha's arms.

∆∆°•°∆∆

I walked quietly to where Jayant sat, his face buried in his palms, his shoulders trembling ever so slightly. My hand was just about to rest on his shoulder when the doctor entered.

"She's fine," he said, adjusting his glasses, his tone calm but steady. "It was only shock. We've taken samples for further tests, but there's nothing to worry about."

Relief washed over Jayant's face instantly, the storm in his eyes finally settling. The doctor gave us permission to see her, and before I could say anything, Jayant was already on his feet, striding into the room. I followed, hesitating at the doorframe as he rushed to Alisha's bedside.

He gathered her into a tight embrace, pressing a desperate kiss to her forehead as though he had almost lost her. I froze, standing at the edge of the door.

Alisha's weak voice broke the silence. "Did you... talk to Shreya? Or did my kidnapping ruin everything?"

"Nothing's ruined," Jayant whispered, brushing her hair gently back. "Just focus on getting better."

Her gaze shifted, catching me at the door. With a faint smile, she beckoned me inside. My voice was heavier than I intended when I asked, "How are you now?"

"I'm fine," she said with a soft laugh. "But... hungry."

Jayant smiled faintly at her words. "Then I'll bring you something to eat." He turned quickly to leave, but I stopped him with urgency in my voice. "Jayant... I need to talk to you. It's important."

He didn't even pause. "Later, Shreya. Not now." And then he was gone.

The room suddenly felt smaller, air thick with unspoken things. Only Alisha and I remained. I couldn't look directly at her as the words spilled out of me, sharp and accusing.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

She frowned, her voice puzzled. "Did what?"

"This kidnapping," I snapped. "You planned it."

Her face twisted in disbelief. "What are you saying? Who would plan their own kidnapping?"

"You would," I bit out. "Because you've always known how to destroy my moments."

Shock flickered in her eyes. I didn't stop. My voice cracked with years of restrained fury.

"The day of my engagement-The cut in your hand, intentional right? And then Jayant's attention was only on you. And now... this. Kidnapped, just so he can hold you again."

Her lips trembled, her tone soft with concern. "Shreya... are you even hearing yourself?"

"You always play the martyr, Alisha. Always pretending you don't want him, but deep down waiting for the day when something would break us apart."

"Shreya..." her voice was pleading now.

"You don't want Jayant. But you can't let him go either. It's pathetic."

For a long second, silence suffocated us. Then Alisha whispered, her voice cracking, "Yes... I told you I would go away. I promised you that. And I will."

"Then why are you still here?" I shot back, my voice rising like a whip.

The color drained from her face. She had never seen this version of me before. To be honest, neither had I. But as my fingers brushed against the mangalsutra at my palm, I realized it was both my strength and my curse-keeping me tethered, feeding me hope, whispering that Jayant... might still be mine.

I looked at Alisha, my chest burning with a fire I had never felt before. My words spilled out like venom.

"Alisha, do you even know what I think?" I asked, my voice trembling but sharp. "This... this seventeen-year-old bond you and Jayant keep holding on to-it isn't love. Not from his side. You've wrapped it in ribbons and called it love, but Jayant never did. For him, it's just attachment. Seventeen years together... even if someone keeps a dog that long, they'll feel attachment."

Her eyes widened, her lips parting in shock. "Shreya, stop it. You're not just insulting me-you're insulting my feelings."

"Because my feelings have been trampled long enough. You dragged Jayant into this, you brought him here to me, stop this drama... You want Jayant? Take him! Keep him! I don't need a man who can't even take a stand for himself. I don't want your puppet, who only dances when you pull the strings." My voice rose, heat flooding every word.

Alisha snapped back, her own pain seeping through. "What are you saying Shreya, Jayant loves you. A fight doesn't end a relationship."

I lowered my voice, though it shook with rage and despair. Lifting the mangalsutra in my trembling hands, I whispered, "Do you see this? Jayant brought it for me. But he never gave it to me. He lost it... and he doesn't even know it's missing. That's how important I am in his life. Even if I disappear tomorrow, he wouldn't notice. The relationship you speak of? Maybe it never even existed. Maybe I just gave too much weight to his promises, his words, his gestures. And in the end, it makes me look like a fool."

Her face softened as she rose from the bed, walking slowly toward me. "Shreya... love isn't always beautiful," she said gently. "Sometimes it's messy, cruel, and heavy. And you still have to accept it. Jayant may not be perfect, he may not live up to your picture of him-but people aren't perfect. Relationships are. Relationships survive not on perfection, but on effort. A little from you, a little from him... both have to try. And he is trying."

I snapped, unable to hold back. "No, he's not! He's here only because you asked him to be. He listens to you, not me."

Her voice wavered. "So what if he listened? He only took advice... from a friend."

I almost choked on the word. "Friend?" My laugh was bitter, broken. "You're not his friend, Alisha. You're the person he listens to... the person he trusts with decisions that should've been mine. You're the one he lets be what I should have been in his life." My throat burned as the words escaped. "You're the woman I've been dying to be for him... and I never will."

The room went still. Neither of us spoke, the silence ringing louder than any argument. Finally, I shook my head, my voice breaking into a whisper.

"Forget it. I shouldn't hold onto this anymore. The deeper I go, the more it will hurt me. Because Jayant will never change. And neither will you."

I turned and walked out of the room, my steps heavy, each one echoing my decision. Behind me, I could hear Alisha calling, following, pleading.

But in the corridor, I saw Jayant. For a moment, my heart leapt-until I saw his eyes. The instant he noticed Alisha behind me, he rushed to her side, ignoring me completely. He asked her to go back inside, fussing over her, while my tears-hot, raw, relentless-streamed down my face unnoticed.

Alisha kept pointing toward me, urging him to go after me. But Jayant stayed. And I... I kept walking. Each step away from him felt like a step into darkness, but also into truth.

∆∆°•°∆∆

I kept walking, my steps fast and uneven, as if the farther I went, the easier it would be to breathe. And then-

"Shreya!"

His voice cut through the air, sharp, desperate. I froze. Against my will, my body turned-and there he stood, Jayant, breathless, desperate, eyes searching mine as though I was slipping away right in front of him.

"What happened?" he asked, his tone trembling. "What did she say? Why are you this angry?"

I stared at him, my fingers tightening around the one thing that had haunted me. Slowly, I held out the mangalsutra, my hand shaking as I pushed it into his palm.
"Where did you get this from" he asked,
"Jayant? Do you even remember where you lost it?" My voice trembled, bitter but steady.

He blinked, stunned, words failing him. I didn't wait for his excuses. I turned, ready to walk away, but then I stopped. The weight inside me forced one last blow out of my lungs.

"And one more thing-I'll try to not love you, so please don't show your face to me again, this is the last request I'm asking you to do, that would help me."

My heart felt like it was splitting open. I had wanted to scream at him, to hurt him the way he had hurt me, to unleash the storm inside me. But when I stood in front of him, my anger betrayed me, and all that spilled out was pain.

"Shreya..." His voice softened, almost pleading. He stepped closer, desperation glinting in his eyes. "I came here for you. This mangalsutra-I bought this for you. Why are you saying such things?"

I laughed-a hollow, broken sound. "Because no matter how much I love you, Jayant, it will never be enough. Never. My love will always be small next to hers."

His face twisted, like he was trying to hold on to something slipping through his fingers. "Why do you believe that? Why do you think you love me lesser?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, the bitterness flooding my words. "Because you made me believe it, Jayant. Every. Single. Time. You made me feel like my love was a shadow compared to Alisha's light. And not just you-the whole world has reminded me. Her eyes, the way she looks at you, the way everyone sees her love-it's suffocating. It's everywhere. And I'm drowning in it."

Silence wrapped around us, thick and merciless. My chest heaved as I looked at him, raw and bare. Then I whispered the question I had been terrified to ask, the one that would end us forever.

"Tell me the truth, Jayant. Do you love me?"

"Yes," he said instantly, without hesitation. "Yes I do, Shreya."

The words stabbed, not soothed. My lips curled into a trembling, bitter smile. "Don't. Don't lie again. You've lied to me, to yourself, for far too long. Admit it now-say it out loud. You love Alisha. You always did."

His face drained of color, his eyes widening as if the ground beneath him had been ripped away. "What...?" he breathed, broken.

I walked away, leaving Jayant drowning in his own thoughts, hoping that maybe-just maybe-he would finally understand himself. Behind me, his voice tore through the silence, desperate, aching.

"Shreya!"

For a heartbeat, my steps faltered. My chest tightened, my soul begged me to turn, but I forced myself forward. Not this time. I wouldn't stop. I wouldn't break.

I pushed open the hospital doors, the morning air striking my face like reality itself. And then-I turned. Just once.

Jayant stood frozen at the threshold, his body glued to the spot, as if an invisible chain tied him to the sterile brightness behind him. He hadn't taken a single step outside. Not one. His eyes searched for me, pleading, torn in half by a war he could never win.

My heart cracked, but my voice cut sharper than glass. "Look at yourself, Jayant. You can't take even one step away from her. You can't leave Alisha alone in that hospital for a moment-and yet you claim you'll walk through an entire lifetime with me?"

His face twisted, the truth striking him harder than any accusation. He flinched, as though the words were knives he could neither dodge nor pull out.

I swallowed the scream clawing up my throat and whispered, every syllable dripping with finality, "If you can't walk to me now, Jayant... then you never will."

For a long, suffocating moment, he didn't move. He couldn't.

And I-bleeding inside, suffocating with every step-turned and walked away. Away from him. Away from them.

And still... he didn't cross that door.

He couldn’t move forward, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Our worlds had already chosen their directions.

I don’t know why Alisha never told you about her feelings, why she always tried to push you away from herself. I don’t know what she truly wanted. Jayant. But what I do know—what I’ve seen with my own eyes—is you.

You are tangled. You are bound to her in a way that words will never fully explain. No matter how hard Alisha tries to break that invisible thread between you, she will never succeed, Because she can’t break it alone. And the more she pulls, the more pain it brings—to both of you.

So I’m stepping away, Jayant. I’m choosing to leave—not because I don’t love you, but because I want to make it easier for you. Without me in the middle, maybe you’ll finally have the strength to understand her. To carry her weight without the guilt of my shadow pressing on your shoulders.

Whether you love her or not is irrelevant. Your bond with Alisha is something different, something beyond the fragile label of love. Again and again, life drags you two back to each other—not because of some romantic destiny, but because deep inside, you both choose to return. Not out of passion, but out of need. Not because of love, but because you cannot imagine standing apart.

I don’t know why fate brought me to you, Jayant, only to abandon me halfway.

But I do know this—every moment I spent with you was irreplaceable. Every step of our journey carved itself into me. And now, our path ends here.

So I am leaving, Jayant. I am walking away, carrying my own tangled thread with me, setting you free…I'm free.
From all pain, from all suffering. I'm free.

___________________________________________

Jayant

Day 3

With the first ray of the sun, she was gone. Shreya—my Shreya—walked away, leaving me behind with nothing but the echo of her words. Her footsteps faded, but her voice still burned inside me, asking questions I didn’t have the courage to answer.

Was she right?
If she was, then what does that mean? That the last three years I lived with her—the laughter, the fights, the warmth of her hand in mine—was it all a lie? No. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t. Those moments were real. They were everything.

And yet… why couldn’t I move? Why was I still standing here, frozen at the threshold of the hospital?

No, no, no… this isn’t me. I should have run after her, dragged her back, told her she was wrong. But my feet—they refused to listen. My chest was tight, my breath uneven, but still I stayed.

Alisha.
God, Alisha. I told myself she was just my friend—my closest, my anchor. More than a friend, yes, but not… not love. Never love. My heart beat for Shreya. It did. Three years ago, it was so clear. With her, life was complete, perfect, whole. There was no void, no shadow. Only us.

So why now, when she turned her back, didn’t I shatter into pieces? Why didn’t the sky fall apart with her absence? Why did I stand here numb, instead of broken?

Am I heartless? Or worse—am I lying to myself?

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