𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟔 ：𝑬𝒌 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎 𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂 ✓

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘟𝘟. 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴

*Play song from the beginning*

Stefan's POV;

I saw That night, beneath the silver glow of the moon, I found myself standing at a distance, watching a moment unfold that would etch itself into the very fabric of my existence. I had come to check on Manjari, an old habit I could never seem to break, an unspoken promise I had made to myself long ago. But what I saw in that moment was something I had feared for so long, yet never truly prepared myself to witness.

He was with her.

He knelt before her, holding her hands with a tenderness that I once believed only I could offer. His eyes, filled with love and devotion, mirrored the way mine had looked at her countless times before. And then, in a moment that seemed to slow time itself, he asked her to marry him.

My heart stopped. My breath hitched. And then, she said it-

"Yes."

The world around me shattered. My heart, already fragile from the weight of unspoken words and unfulfilled love, crumbled into pieces that could never be put back together. I knew this day would come. I had always known. But knowing and witnessing are two very different things, and the pain that surged through me was unlike anything I had ever felt before.

She loved him. She truly, deeply loved him.

A sharp pang shot through my chest, as though my heart was being wrenched from within. The sight of them, so perfectly in sync, so undeniably meant to be, made me regret every decision that had led me to this point. If only she remembered me. If only I had told her how I felt when I had the chance. If only I had held her close, whispered those three sacred words, and never let her go.

But reality was unforgiving, and the truth was undeniable-she was not mine. She never truly had been.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I fought back the agony rising within me. Did I not deserve love? Did fate truly deem me unworthy of happiness? A darkness I thought I had conquered began creeping back into my soul, consuming the last remnants of hope I had held onto. The light that had guided me, that had given me purpose, now belonged to someone else.

And then, as if the universe sought to mock me further, I saw it-his hand, trembling yet sure, slipping a ring onto her delicate finger. A ring that symbolized a future, a forever, that I could never be a part of. Déjà vu gripped me like an iron vice, dragging me back to the past, to a moment when it had been me placing a ring on her finger, believing in a love that was meant to withstand time itself.

How foolish I had been.

I had dared to hope, to dream of a second chance, to believe that our story was unfinished. But it was never meant to be. I was nothing more than a fleeting chapter in her life, a passing memory that would fade with time.

She was my world, the most beautiful and precious thing that had ever happened to me. And yet, here I was, standing in the shadows, watching her build a future with someone else. It was painful, excruciatingly so, but for the first time, I understood.

"He's the better man. He's the right man."

I repeated the words to myself, forcing them into the deepest corners of my soul. A single tear escaped my eye, tracing a silent path down my cheek as I accepted the inevitable. This was the end of my story with her.