The mall was alive bright, loud, and crowded. Shoppers moved like streams in different directions, children tugged on sleeves, the smell of popcorn drifted from the food court, and neon lights from the gaming zone flickered against the polished floor. But for the two boys standing near the escalator, the world felt like it was shrinking, the noise fading into a dull hum.
"I don't need someone's love or attention," he said, voice tight. There was no anger in his tone only exhaustion, like he had repeated this line to himself many times just to survive.
Ryaan stood with his hands in his pockets, head slightly tilted as if examining an interesting specimen rather than a friend. "You want your mother's?"
The words were spoken so casually that at first, he didn't react. But slowly, his throat tightened, and something flickered across his eyes pain he didn't want anyone to see. He swallowed hard, gaze shifting away toward the decorative fountain in the center of the mall.
The fountain sparkled under soft spotlights, water falling rhythmically. Usually calming. Today, it felt like a reminder that he was drowning.
Silence stretched for a few seconds before Ryaan broke it again.
"I see… but that will never happen." His tone was cool, almost gentle, but the words cut sharper than a knife. "She's carrying another child in her womb. He's growing inside her. One day he'll be born, and all the love and attention will go to him. Mothers love younger kids more than older ones."
His jaw tightened. "Oh really? Did you experience that?"
Ryaan paused not because he was hurt, but because he seemed to be calculating. He blinked once, slowly, then answered, "Experience…? No." A strange smile ghosted over his lips. "I observed it."
He stared at Ryaan, chest rising and falling unevenly. "An observer, huh?"
"Yes. I see the world more than you do. You know that."
The lights overhead cast shadows under Ryaan's sharp cheekbones, making his expression more intense. People brushed past them, rushing to stores, but Ryaan didn't shift his position. He stood still—as if he had anchored himself there deliberately.
"You're insane," he whispered.
Ryaan didn't flinch. "And I'm your friend."
"I thought we were… but you stalk me. You interfere in my personal matters."
Ryaan's brows lifted slightly. "Personal?"
"My mother is my personal life. You're talking nonsense."
"Nonsense?" Ryaan leaned in just a little, enough to close the distance. "Are you sure?"
His breath quickened. He stepped backward unconsciously, bumping into someone passing by. The stranger apologized and walked off, but he remained frozen, heart pounding in his ears. The mall noise felt like an echo now too far away, too unreal.
"Ryaan… I know we're similar," he said slowly, trying to steady his voice. "What you faced was heavier than what I did. But I can't be with you. Our thoughts aren't the same."
Ryaan didn't look disappointed. If anything, his eyes gleamed with a strange, understanding light. "But you believe in punishment."
A cold wave ran through his spine. "Punishment for what?"
Ryaan stepped closer this time, but with eerie calmness. His voice lowered, not out of fear of being heard but to make the impact deeper.
"For forcing your father to kill himself."
The world stopped.
The colorful lights around them blurred. The laughter of kids, the announcements from stores, the clatter of heels and trolleys everything faded into a hollow ringing. His breath caught, and his eyes widened in a mixture of disbelief and raw, unmasked fear. His body stiffened from head to toe. Even his fingers froze in mid-air, half-curled as if reaching for something invisible.
Inside his chest, something cracked open.
Ryaan watched all of it every twitch of his eyelids, the tremor in his jaw, the way his throat bobbed as he tried to swallow the panic rising like a tide.
Ryaan didn't react with sympathy or triumph. He simply observed. His expression was a chilling calmness, like a scientist watching a predictable reaction play out exactly the way he calculated.
The accused boy's vision wavered. The mall's bright lights were suddenly too bright, burning into his eyes. His stomach twisted violently, shame clawing its way up. His heartbeats thudded painfully fast, uneven, suffocating.
He couldn't breathe properly.
And Ryaan stood there, still and unmoving, like the only steady object in a collapsing world.
He felt small Exposed and Broken.
And Ryaan watched him break.