Days passed, but Riya started behaving differently.
She avoided sitting with Aarav.
She left early.
She reduced their conversations.
Aarav noticed immediately.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked one day.
"No," she replied.
"Then why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm not."
"You are," he said calmly. "And I deserve to know why."
Riya stayed silent.
Because the truth was too difficult to say.
"I just… need space," she said finally.
Aarav looked at her, trying to understand.
"From me?" he asked.
Riya hesitated.
Then nodded.
It hurt him.
But he didn't show it.
"Okay," he said quietly. "If that's what you want."
And for the first time—
He stepped back.
The absence was immediate.
And unbearable.
Riya thought she would feel relieved.
Instead, she felt empty.
The silence she once loved now felt suffocating.
She missed his voice.
His presence.
His constant interruptions.
But she forced herself to stay firm.
"This is better," she told herself.
"This is safe."
But safety came with loneliness.
One evening, she saw him laughing with others.
He looked normal.
Happy.
Unaffected.
And that hurt more than anything.
"Why does it matter?" she asked herself.
But she knew the answer.
Because she cared.
More than she wanted to admit.