YOU NEVER WALK ALONE

28-Past

AUTHOR'S POV-

"In our first year, they met" Prachi said, glancing at Sarakshi before continuing. "We had just started college, and Aashu and I would be together most of the time, as we were classmates for the last two years of school. Everything was going perfectly for the first three months, and then she joined. She was late to enroll. She was the one who approached him first." Prachi paused, taking a deep sigh, as a heavy silence settled over the room. No one wanted to bring up her name, she was the unspoken villain in their story.

She was the reason the real Rashvik disappeared, The reason he lost his trust in people. Because of her, his family witnessed the darkest, most painful phase of his life.

"They clicked instantly," Prachi continued, her voice softening as she recalled the past. "Akriti was charming and outgoing, and she had this facade of humility that made it impossible for anyone to see her true self. She approached him first, and before we knew it, she was a part of our friend group. Her intentions were clear from the start—she wanted to get close to Rashvik. We didn't see any harm in it at the time; we thought she was genuine."

Prachi paused, her gaze distant as she thought back to those early days. "But Rashvik, being the calm and composed man he was, took things slow. He wasn't one to rush into anything. But, as they say, sometimes fate has other plans. Uski kismat mai hi likha tha sab galat hona" she added, her tone laced with empathy for Rashvik's situation.

(It was written in his fate for everything to go wrong.)

Being friends with him for so long—no, more like best friends—it was painful for her to watch him suffer. Prachi had seen every stage of his life, every high and every low. It was difficult for her too, witnessing the way he changed, the way his pain shaped him into someone unrecognizable. She tried to fill the void left by Neeraj, hoping, even if just a little, to bring back a fraction of the old Rashvik. But the weight of his past lingered, and Prachi knew that some wounds didn't heal easily.

"After a few months of being friends with her, Rashvik started to fall in love with her—real, genuine love" Prachi said "It was never genuine from her side, but Rashvik... he loved her deeply. They started dating soon after, and their relationship seemed to blossom almost overnight. To everyone else, they looked perfect together—always laughing, always in sync. People would comment on how well they fit, how happy they seemed."

Prachi paused, her expression darkening as she remembered the truth behind the facade. "But what they didn't see was that it was only Rashvik who was putting in the effort. She played her part so well that none of us realized it was just a pretense. She let him believe it was real, that their love was mutual, while all along, it was just a game to her."

The weight of the betrayal hung heavy in the air as Prachi spoke, her heart aching for the friend who had given so much of himself to someone who never deserved it. "Rashvik loved her with everything he had, and she used that love against him. And the worst part was, none of us saw it coming" she recalled, her voice carrying the weight of regret.

"We didn't have any problem with her at first, but as time went on, things began to change. Six or seven months into their relationship, Akriti became distant, less involved, more secretive. She only talked to Rashvik, and the rest of us didn't seem to matter to her anymore. At first, Rashvik didn't notice—or maybe he didn't want to. He was too in love, too caught up in the idea of them being together forever" Prachi explained, her tone softening as she remembered those early days.

"One day, they got into a huge fight. It all started because Rashvik asked her why she was always so busy with her other friends and why his friends meant nothing to her. But that wasn't the only reason. She also told him to distance himself from us, especially from me. She accused me of being too close, too 'touchy-touchy' with him. She thought Rashvik would listen to her, but for the first time, he showed her his anger. We all thought their relationship was over, that he'd finally seen through her. But somehow, she managed to smooth things over, and they stayed together. That day, though, I cut all ties with her. I didn't even bother talking to her anymore. She was jealous of me, even though everyone in college knew I was dating Neeraj. It was absurd, and Neeraj stopped talking to her too."