To Be Continued...

THIRTY

**HARINI'S POINT OF VIEW**

I turned off my phone, sinking into the silence I craved, but it did nothing to soothe the ache in my chest. I felt cheated and disappointed, more so with myself for allowing him to get this close.

I wanted answers—needed them, really—but I didn't have the strength to face anyone. Not after the way he left, throwing words at me that felt like daggers.

"Harini, you're a lot of drama; I can't handle it."

The words echoed in my mind, cruel and dismissive. What drama had I created? How had I become too much for him to handle? He knew, he *knew* that I would break if he ever did this, and still, he walked away.

I tried to stop him, to make him see reason, but all he kept saying was that he needed time, that I had forced this relationship on him. The irony of it stung the most. He was the one who had pursued me relentlessly, convincing me that what we had was real. I had resisted, telling him that I wasn't ready, that I needed space. But he kept pushing, kept showing up, making me believe he was in love with me. And when I finally gave in, when I let my guard down and allowed myself to care, he turned it all against me.

"I can't take your drama, Harini," he said.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to lash out at the unfairness of it all. How could I have been so foolish? How could I have believed that he would be different? The tears came, and I wiped them away angrily. I wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction of breaking me. Not like this.

I shut down the laptop as my classes ended, feeling more lost than ever. My fingers hovered over my phone before I opened Instagram, a distraction I desperately needed. That's when I remembered—it was Liam's birthday. I composed myself enough to post a story, attaching a caption that was as sincere as it was bittersweet:

"You're certainly the most beautiful person I know, and I love you, Lammy."

The moment I hit 'post,' my phone buzzed. It was Veronica, quick as ever:

"You know, Santino is going to be jealous. 🌚"

I stared at the message, feeling the walls I had built around my heart start to crack. I had been holding this pain inside for days, hoping that Santino would come to his senses, that this was just a phase. But the truth was, it had been unraveling for a while now. I had been carrying this burden alone, and I couldn't do it anymore. I needed to talk to someone, anyone.

"He is leaving me, Veronica. He says I'm too dramatic and that he isn't ready for this relationship," I finally admitted, letting the truth spill out.

"What the fuck? Wasn't he the one who pursued you? Why is he backing off now?" She replied, her words a lifeline in the sea of confusion I was drowning in.

"I don't know, I just feel pathetic. It’s been happening for the past two days, and I thought it would get better. But he left me after just two days," I confessed, the weight of it all crashing down on me.

"Shall I call you, Harini?" Veronica offered, her concern palpable even through the screen.

I hesitated, my heart torn between wanting to hear a comforting voice and not wanting to face the reality of the situation. If I took my phone off airplane mode, Santino would call, and I wasn’t ready to talk to him—not yet, maybe not ever.

"No, Veronica. I'm not in the state," I replied, my voice shaky even in text.

"Okay, okay. But what about your classes? I thought you were in class right now?"

"I was. But this shit is getting me so much pain that I can't even concentrate. I'm losing focus on everything. I don't even know how I'm going to get through this," I admitted, feeling more lost than ever.

She disappeared from the chat, and for a moment, I felt like I was bothering her too, like my problems were too much to bear.

I wiped away the tears that had gathered behind my glasses, trying to pull myself together before my father noticed. He had always been so proud of my strength, and I didn't want him to see me like this.

With a heavy sigh, I turned on my laptop again and rejoined the online class I had been avoiding. It wasn't that I disliked the classes, but everything seemed to be against me right now. I preferred staying out of it, out of everything.

Just as I was about to unmute myself to ask a question, a text from Santino popped up.

"Can you just turn on your phone?" his message read, almost pleading.

I stared at the screen, torn between the urge to respond and the overwhelming need to protect myself. Talking to him would hurt, but ignoring him felt impossible.

"No, Santino."

"I want to talk to you, Harini," he insisted.

"But I can't. I'm in a class," I typed back, my heart pounding.

Another notification popped up, this time from Veronica. She had sent me a picture. I hesitated before opening it, my pulse quickening. When I finally did, my breath caught in my throat. It was a screenshot—a message exchange between her and Santino.

More drama now.

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**Aaah Kay, guez!** I know I have given this a whole new turn I did not plan, but then you see, both these people are into **MORE DRAMA THING!!**

**HAPPY READING 💞**

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