LOVE WITHOUT DESTINY

part 37

Sam's Living Room - The Silence After the Storm
Setting: A week after the court scene. Late afternoon. Sunlight pours lazily into the quiet living room through the half-drawn curtains. A ceiling fan hums softly above. The mood is heavy, distant.

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Downstairs, the living room echoed with idle voices and half-hearted laughter. Sam's friends had come over - a routine visit now, more of a habit than a plan. They stood near the glass coffee table, one of them tossing a half-eaten apple in a wicker basket.

From upstairs, a voice called out,
"Sam! Sam, neeche aa bro!"

Moments later, footsteps.
Sam descended the stairs slowly, each step dragging like he was carrying the weight of the entire week on his shoulders. His usual energy - the sarcastic edge in his eyes, the careless smirk - had all drained.

One of the guys looked up and frowned.
"Kya yaar Sam, tu abhi tak ready bhi nahi hua? College nahi chalna kya? Pichle ek hafte se bol raha hai 'kal se chalu karunga'."

Sam didn't respond. He just slumped into the couch, leaned back, eyes fixed on a spot in space that didn't exist.

"Rayan kahan hai?" he asked suddenly.

The other replied with a shrug,
"Usse toh sirf court wale din dekha tha.

Sam's jaw tightened. He didn't say anything. But then after a pause, he muttered,
"Yaar... mann hi nahi hai ab kuch bhi karne ka."
The friend eating the apple placed it gently on the table, suddenly alert.
"What do you mean, Sam? What kind of talk is that? You do realize our exams are right around the corner, right?"

Adeel chimed in, his voice steady but concerned,
"Yeah, man. We've all worked our asses off to get this far. You know that. If even one of us backs out now, we all fall behind."

He leaned forward, firm now.
"This is your life we're talking about, Sam. If you mess up this exam, your future-"

"-my life will be ruined, right?" Sam cut in with a dry, bitter chuckle.
"My life's already a wreck. What more could possibly go wrong?"

Silence. Heavy. Uncomfortable.

None of them noticed that Adeel's phone, lying silently on the armrest, was on a call - at Sam's mother's request. She just wanted to hear her son's voice, even if he wasn't speaking to her. But when she heard those words... that brokenness in his tone... she couldn't hold back her tears.

Sam, still leaning forward, now whispered like a man who had lost something irreplaceable.

"I don't know why... but lately, I feel like there's nothing left in my life. Like I've lost something... something important."

His friends turned to look at him, silent. A kind of stillness crept into the room - the kind that only comes when everyone knows what's about to be said but no one wants to hear it.

Sam exhaled, and then quietly admitted:

"When I see Amal with Zain... something inside me just breaks. I can't explain it. I just... can't take it. I can't watch it."

No one moved. No one spoke. What could they say? What do you say when the strongest guy you know starts breaking?

Adeel lowered his eyes, his fingers brushing over the screen of his phone. He didn't say a word - just quietly reached for it and tapped once before slipping it into his pocket. His face had changed slightly, like he'd just heard something he wished he hadn't.

Then, without looking at anyone, he slowly got up from his chair and came to sit beside Sam. His voice was warm, but heavy with sadness.

"Sam, what's happening to you, man? This isn't you. You're not the same guy I knew... the one who'd storm into a party and own the whole room... the one who yelled at us like a boss but never really meant it. You're not that Sam anymore."