Aira didn't mean to compare.
It just… happened.
She was scrolling through her phone late that night when Sia sent a message.
Sia:
Okay don't freak out but someone dug up old pictures of Reyhan and Mira.
Aira stared at the screen longer than she wanted to admit.
Aira:
Why would you send that?
Sia:
Because people are already talking and I didn't want you blindsided.
Aira exhaled slowly.
She opened the images.
Reyhan and Mira — younger, closer, familiar in a way that hurt unexpectedly.
Not dramatic.
Not toxic.
Just… history.
She locked her phone and set it face down, heart doing something unhelpful in her chest.
You're being stupid, she told herself.
This isn't about you.
But insecurity rarely listened to logic.
The next morning, Aira noticed it everywhere.
The way people glanced at her phone.
The way someone whispered Mira's name again.
The way comparison crept into her thoughts without permission.
She didn't bring it up.
Not because she didn't trust Reyhan.
Because she didn't trust the question.
During lunch, Zayden mentioned casually,
"Mira was really popular back then."
The words weren't sharp.
But they cut anyway.
Aira nodded. "I heard."
Reyhan looked up immediately.
"Heard what?" he asked.
Aira shook her head. "Nothing."
That was the wrong answer.
Later, near the lockers, Reyhan stopped walking.
"You're quieter today," he said.
"And not the good kind."
Aira forced a smile. "You're imagining it."
He didn't buy it.
They reached the stairs.
"Aira," he said carefully,
"did someone say something?"
She hesitated.
Then decided honesty was better than letting her head spiral.
"I saw pictures," she admitted quietly.
"Of you and Mira."
Reyhan stilled.
"That wasn't—" he started, then stopped.
"Are you okay?"
Aira laughed softly — not amused.
"I don't know. I didn't think it would bother me."
"But it did," he said gently.
She nodded. "A little."
Reyhan exhaled.
"That's fair."
She looked up, surprised. "You're not mad?"
"Why would I be?" he asked.
"You didn't accuse me of anything."
Aira looked away.
"I just… started wondering if I'm too different."
Reyhan frowned. "Different how?"
"She was confident. Outgoing. People liked her."
Aira swallowed.
"And I'm… me."
Reyhan stepped closer.
"That's exactly why this isn't the same," he said firmly.
Aira blinked.
"I didn't need someone like Mira," he continued.
"I needed someone who doesn't leave when things get quiet."
Her breath caught.
"You don't compete with my past," he said softly.
"You're the reason it stays there."
Aira's chest tightened painfully.
"You don't have to say that," she whispered.
"I do," he replied.
"Because I don't want you fighting a version of me that doesn't exist anymore."
She nodded slowly.
"I don't want to compare," she said.
"I just don't want to feel like I'm a placeholder."
Reyhan shook his head immediately.
"You're not," he said.
"You're the choice."
That settled something deep in her chest.
They stood there for a moment longer.
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just secure.
RULE #39: Don't compare yourself to his past.
Because you weren't meant to replace it—
you were meant to move beyond it.