🌈✨Aarohi didn't expect to see Meher the next morning.
But she did.
Outside her classroom.
Leaning against the wall like she had been waiting for hours.
"Aarohi."
That one word—
soft… tired… almost pleading.
Aarohi stopped.
But she didn't go closer.
"What?"
Meher pushed herself off the wall and walked toward her.
Slowly. Carefully.
Like one wrong move would make everything worse.
"We need to talk."
Aarohi let out a quiet laugh.
"Now you want to talk?"
Meher's jaw tightened.
"I wanted to talk yesterday too. You walked away."
"Because I wasn't sure I had the right to stay."
The words slipped out before Aarohi could stop them.
That hit.
Meher's expression broke for a second.
"You always have that right," she said softly.
Aarohi shook her head.
"No, Meher. Not when I don't even know what I am to you."
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Meher ran a hand through her hair, frustrated.
"You're Aarohi."
"That's not an answer."
"It is for me."
"But it's not enough for me."
Aarohi's voice cracked now.
And that scared her more than anything.
For a moment—
Meher looked like she was about to say something.
Something real.
Something that could change everything.
But then—
"Meher!"
That voice again.
Rhea.
Aarohi closed her eyes briefly.
Of course.
Rhea walked up, confident as ever.
Her eyes flickered between them.
Reading the tension.
Understanding more than she should.
"Am I interrupting something?" she asked, though her tone said she didn't care.
"Yes," Meher replied coldly.
Rhea raised an eyebrow, slightly amused.
"Relax. I just came to remind you—your dad called."
Everything changed.
Instantly.
Meher's expression hardened.
The softness disappeared.
Walls went up.
"I'll call him later," Meher said flatly.
Rhea stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"He didn't sound like someone you should ignore."
Aarohi noticed it.
The shift.
The fear.
"Meher…" Aarohi whispered.
But Meher stepped back.
Away from her.
"I'll talk to you later," Meher said quickly.
Too quickly.
And just like that—
She left.
With Rhea.
Aarohi stood there, frozen.
Because this time—
it didn't feel like distance.
It felt like something was pulling Meher away…
and she couldn't stop it.
💔 Later That Day…
Aarohi found her.
On the terrace.
The same place where everything had started.
Meher stood there, gripping her phone tightly.
Her knuckles pale.
"What happened?"
Aarohi's voice was softer now.
Careful.
Meher didn't turn.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie to me."
That made Meher close her eyes.
"Why do you care so much?" she asked quietly.
The question hurt.
More than it should.
Aarohi stepped closer.
"Because you matter to me."
Silence.
"And I don't know if I matter to you the same way," Aarohi added.
Meher turned then.
Finally.
Her eyes were different.
Tired. Torn. Afraid.
"You do," she said.
Without hesitation.
Without doubt.
Aarohi's breath caught.
"Then why does it feel like you're leaving me?"
Meher didn't answer.
Because she couldn't.
Because the truth was—
she already was.
Instead, she stepped closer.
Too close.
Close enough for Aarohi to feel her breath.
"If I ask you to trust me… without questions… would you?"
Aarohi's heart started racing.
"Meher—"
"Just answer."
Aarohi hesitated.
Because last time she trusted her…
it changed everything.
But still—
"Yes."
That was all Meher needed.
Because sometimes…
love isn't about honesty.
Sometimes—
it's about sacrifice.
And Aarohi didn't know yet…
that Meher had just made the hardest decision of her life.