ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙᴇᴀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʟʟᴡᴀʏꜱ

──★ .EPILOGUE 3 ̟ !!

AUTHOR'S POV:

The day had finally arrived.
The day Avni and Ishan had both been waiting for. Each with their own dreams, their own ambitions. It was the day they had worked so hard for, the day they would step into their respective dream universities.

They had planned to go to their universities together. Ishan woke up early and got ready. He checked his phone, hoping for a reply from Avni, but there were none. He thought maybe she was just busy, so he decided to text her again. Still, no reply. He tried calling, but there was no answer.

She's probably just caught up in something. It's a huge day for both of us, after all, he thought to himself, trying to shake off the concern. But as he finished getting ready, he texted one last time.

"Hey, Avni, everything okay? I'm on my way."

Still nothing.

He started driving, heading toward her house, thinking maybe she was just distracted or dealing with something personal. But as he turned into her street, his heart sank. The door was locked. A heavy padlock was hanging from the gate.

He parked in front of her house, the growing uncertainty clouding his thoughts. Maybe she's inside? Maybe she's just too overwhelmed to respond. But something didn't feel right.

He knocked on the door, then rang the doorbell, waiting for any sign of movement inside. Nothing.

Maybe she went for a walk? Or maybe she went out with her parents?

But his gut told him something was wrong. He pulled his phone out again and dialed her number.

Ring... ring... ring...

Nothing.

Anxiety slowly crept in, growing steadily until it was too strong to ignore. Why isn't she answering? Where could she be? Is she okay?

Panic gripped him for a moment, but he shook it off. They had always been solid, a team. She couldn't just walk away without a word.

But as his mind raced, his fingers automatically typed another message.

"Avni, where are you? What's going on? Call me back, please."

He hit send, then waited. And waited. Each second felt like an eternity.

Just as his hope was beginning to wane, his phone buzzed with a new message. It was from her.

"I don't think I can do this. I don't want to be together anymore. Bye."

The words hit him like a punch to the gut. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. What?

He read the message again, hoping the words would change, but they stayed the same. Cold. Final.

The world seemed to freeze around him. How could she say that? Without an explanation, without a conversation? After everything they had been through together, how could she just decide it was over?

Ishan's mind spun, filled with questions, but there were no answers. The phone screen stared back at him, taunting him with its emptiness. No reply from her.

He dialed her number again.

Ring... Then, straight to voicemail. Again.

A thousand thoughts flooded his mind. Was it something I did? Did I hurt her? The questions came faster than he could process them, but the silence was louder than anything else. He couldn't understand. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

Ishan ran a hand through his hair, feeling the confusion and desperation rise in his chest. He had to see her. He had to understand why she was doing this. He couldn't just let her walk away like this, without any explanation.

Without thinking, he jumped back into his car and drove off. He had to find her. Had to talk to her. This wasn't just about a breakup; this was about something deeper, something that couldn't be fixed with a text message or voicemail.

As he drove, familiar places passed by: the park near her house where they had met on that rainy day, the café where they had bought Mr. Gupta's birthday cake, the bookstore where they'd spend hours lost in conversation. But there was no sign of her.

Where are you, Avni?

He didn't know where else to look. He felt like he was running out of time. He couldn't lose her like this.

The message still sat in his phone, its harsh words echoing in his mind.

And with a deep ache in his chest, Ishan finally realized the one thing he couldn't escape: She had made her decision.

But why?

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As Ishan drove away, Avni looked out of her window, watching his car disappear into the distance. Her heart couldn't bear it. She collapsed, tears streaming down her face.

She whispered, "I had no other option."