Will You Still Love Me?

CHAPTER 2

Shridha's POV:

The morning light crept through the thin curtains, painting soft golden stripes across my room. I blinked, slowly waking from a restless sleep, my body unusually heavy. Something was different. It wasn't just the grogginess; it was a sense of... unease. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was this nagging feeling, as if the day ahead held something unexpected.

Shaking it off, I got ready for my usual day at the coaching institute. As I walked through the familiar streets, the uneasy feeling stayed with me, hovering like a shadow I couldn't shake. The usual chatter of students and the hum of life in the city felt distant, muffled somehow, as if I was walking in a dream.

At the institute, everything seemed ordinary-familiar faces, hurried footsteps, the clatter of books and pens. Yet, as soon as I stepped through the doors, a chill ran down my spine. My heart raced for no reason. And then I felt it-his presence.

It was like a whisper in the air, a pull at the edges of my senses. My breath caught in my throat as memories I had buried deep down began to surface. Samarth. His name echoed in my mind like a forgotten song. I could feel him, even though I couldn't see him. It was impossible, wasn't it? Samarth had been gone for years-left the love we shared, left my life. But the sensation was so strong, I felt like if I turned the corner, I'd see him there, waiting.

I forced myself to focus, pushing the thoughts away. I couldn't let my mind wander like this. Not now. But the more I tried to ignore it, the stronger the feeling grew. There was no mistaking it anymore. He was here.

The break between classes came, and I walked into the corridor, my legs moving on their own, carrying me toward the exit. It was as if my body knew before my mind did. I was searching for him. My heart pounded in my chest, the distant hope I had long buried rushing back to life. But what if I was wrong? What if it was just my imagination playing tricks on me?

I stood outside the institute building, scanning the familiar street. And then, I saw him.

Samarth.

He stood a few feet away, leaning casually against his car. Time had barely touched him, but there was something in his eyes-a weight, a distance. He looked up, and our eyes met. The world around us blurred, and for a moment, it felt like nothing had changed. Like the years of silence and distance had never existed.

He smiled, that same lopsided smile I had once fallen for, and in that instant, I knew. Samarth was back.

But why? And what did it mean for us now?

The questions swirled in my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to move. I stood frozen, as if time itself had paused, waiting for the next chapter of our story to unfold.

As I stood there, frozen in place, my mind drifted back to a time that felt like a lifetime ago. A vivid flashback flooded my senses, pulling me away from the present and back to the halls of our old high school.

I could see Samarth and me sitting on the school steps, side by side, just like we used to. It was late afternoon, and the sun bathed the campus in warm, amber light. I was sixteen and he was eighteen, full of dreams, and back then, everything seemed so certain.

"I'm serious, Arth," I had said, lightly nudging his arm. "I'm going to be an IAS officer one day. For my mom."

He turned to me, his dark eyes filled with that intensity he always carried. "Your mom would be proud of you, Ridha," he said, using the nickname only he was allowed to use. "But you don't have to do this just for her, you know."

"I know," I replied quietly. "But it was her dream first, and now it's mine. I want to be someone she can look up to, someone who makes a difference."

He smiled softly, then looked away, as if weighing his own thoughts. "I want to be an IAS officer too," he said after a pause, but his tone was different. There was a fire in his voice, something darker beneath the surface. "Not for anyone else, though. I just want to prove something... to myself, to the world."

I remember studying his face back then, trying to understand the weight he carried. Samarth always had something to prove. He grew up with expectations-people telling him what he could and couldn't do. And he wanted to show everyone that he could rise above it all. That he was more than the boy they thought he was.

"Arth," I said gently, "you don't have to prove anything to anyone. You're already enough."

He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "You don't get it, Ridha. Everyone's always been watching me, waiting for me to fail. I need to do this, not for them, but for myself. To show I'm worth something."

His words hung in the air, a quiet determination that both inspired and worried me. I reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze, silently promising that we would get there together. I could already picture it-us standing side by side in our crisp uniforms, ready to take on the world.

We were so sure back then. So in love and so confident that we had all the time in the world.

The memory faded, and I was yanked back into the present. Samarth was still standing there, leaning against his car, his eyes now on me. That same fire flickered in them, the one I remembered so well.

But everything else had changed. We weren't those high school kids anymore. The dreams, the love, the promises we made to each other-they all seemed so far away now.

Yet, here he was, back in my life after all this time. The question that now loomed large was: why had he returned? And was he still chasing those dreams, or had life taken him down a different path?

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what was to come.
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I couldn't help but update this chapter.

This story is very close to my heart and I hope I'll be able to do justice with the story as well as characters.

Will update the next chapter really soon.

Enjoy reading.
Bye