Betting On Your Love

|| BETTING ON YOUR LOVE ||

AISHWARYA •

They say first love never really leaves you.
I used to laugh at that. Thought it was just another movie line.

And then I met Leo Lagaraes.

He was everything I wasn't supposed to fall for- quiet, complicated, impossible to read.
But I did. So completely, so stupidly, I didn't even see the heartbreak coming until it swallowed me whole.

It's been nine years.
Nine years since he left without listening.
Nine years since I picked up my own pieces and swore I'd never let anyone close again.

But now he's here- walking through my hospital, looking at me like I still mean something.
Like the past didn't burn us down.

And the worst part?
My heart still stumbles when I see him.

I still remember what it felt like to be loved by him.
I still love him.

But I don't know if I'll ever trust him again.
Trust that he won't break my heart.

LEO •

I thought I buried her.
Not her, exactly-never her-but the version of me that loved her. The boy who believed in forever. The one she made believe.

But seeing her again?
It's like waking up from a dream I never wanted to leave.

Aishwarya Malhotra.
Still brilliant. Still beautiful. Still every heartbeat I've tried to silence for nearly a decade.

She doesn't smile when she sees me. Doesn't speak. Just walks past like I'm a ghost.
But I saw the way she looked at me-like it hurt.
Like she still feels it too.

I left her once. I thought I had a reason.
But I never gave her the truth. Never asked for hers. And I've hated myself every day since.

She doesn't owe me forgiveness.
Hell, she doesn't even owe me a glance.

But I came back for a reason.
Because the only thing worse than losing her... is never fighting to win her back.

And I swear-I'll do it right this time. Even if it takes the rest of my life.