The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of gold and lavender, casting a gentle glow over the city. Karan leaned against the railing of his apartment balcony, his thoughts clouded as he gazed out at the skyline. The soft breeze brushed against his skin, but he barely noticed. The world around him was a blur compared to the constant replay of the events from the past few days.
It had been a few days since he’d seen Meera, since their last conversation at the park. It felt like a lifetime. His mind was still tangled in the web of confusion, the weight of things unsaid pressing heavily on his chest.
Meera had walked away from him that day with a look in her eyes that Karan still couldn’t forget. There was a mixture of sadness, conflict, and something else—something fragile that made him wonder if she was fighting feelings she didn’t know how to handle. He had tried to push the thoughts aside, telling himself that he couldn’t force her into anything she wasn’t ready for, but the truth was, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Did she miss him too? Karan wasn’t sure. He didn’t know what to believe anymore. Every moment he spent away from her seemed to deepen his longing, but every time he thought about getting closer, the walls between them seemed to grow taller.
He could hear the sound of his phone buzzing in his pocket, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked down at the screen, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the name. It was a message from Arav.
> “Hey, meet at the café? I think we need to talk.”
Karan frowned, his thumb hovering over the reply. He didn’t have the energy for another pep talk today. His mind was still exhausted from the last conversation, from the weight of Meera’s words. But something about the urgency in Arav’s message made him pause. Maybe it was time to face the reality of the situation—time to have a real conversation about Meera, about what he was feeling, and what he couldn’t let go of.
He shoved the phone back in his pocket and grabbed his jacket. The cool air hit him as he stepped outside, the streets familiar yet strangely distant, as though he was walking through a world that no longer felt entirely his.
As he walked to the café, the chill of the evening cut through him, but it wasn’t the weather that made him shiver. It was the uncertainty, the sense that he was on the verge of something but couldn’t quite grasp it. He didn’t know if he was ready for a conversation with Arav, or if he was even ready to admit to himself that he might be losing Meera. But he couldn’t keep running from it. He needed answers.
When he arrived, he saw Arav sitting in their usual corner, his back to the window, as if trying to shut out the light outside. He looked up when Karan walked in, his expression unreadable.
“What's up?” Karan asked, sliding into the chair across from him. He was too tired to fake a smile, too drained from the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days. He just wanted to get to the point.
Arav didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he looked out the window for a long moment, as if weighing his words carefully. Finally, he spoke, his voice low but clear.
“You’ve been quiet lately,” Arav said, his tone soft but knowing. “I can tell you're still thinking about her. But you need to stop.”
Karan stiffened, the words hitting harder than he expected. He opened his mouth to argue, but Arav held up a hand to stop him.
“No, I do understand.” Arav’s eyes locked with his, and Karan could see the sincerity in them, the deep understanding. “I know you’re invested in her. But you’re getting stuck in this loop, Karan. You’re hoping for something that may never happen, and it’s messing with your head. You’re going around in circles, and it's not healthy.”
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Silent Vows
عاطفيةKaran Kapoor has always lived life on his own terms-charming, confident, and a notorious playboy who never took anything too seriously. Relationships were just a game to him, and emotions were something he could easily brush aside. That is, until a...
