Messages Unsent
The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze. She sat at her desk, answering emails, attending calls, performing all the right motions — but her mind refused to stay in one place.
Every time her phone buzzed, she hoped it would be his name lighting up the screen. It never was.
Maybe it's better this way, she told herself. We said too little and felt too much. Again.
But the ache lingered, quietly.
Around five, just as she was shutting her laptop, a soft knock came at the door. It was her closest friend in the office — Arya, Casual, observant, and the only one who had ever seen past her calm surface.
"You good?" Arya asked, stepping inside. "You look like you're at war with your brain."
She hesitated, then shook her head. "I saw him again."
Arya didn't need to ask who.
"Wow," Arya breathed, settling into the chair across from her. "And?"
"And… he kissed my forehead."
Arya blinked. "Okay. That's loaded."
"Exactly," she whispered, leaning back. "It wasn't passion. It was... something deeper. Gentle. And that scares me more."
Arya tilted her head. "Because you know he still has a piece of you."
She nodded slowly.
There was a long pause between them. Then Arya asked, "Do you regret walking away before?"
She looked down, fingers tracing the edge of her desk. "I regret that we weren't ready. And I'm scared we still aren't."
Before Arya could respond, her phone vibrated on the desk.
1 new message. From: Siddarth.
Her heart skipped.
> "I meant what I said. I won't stop you. But I'm still here — if you ever decide to stay."
Her breath caught.
Arya glanced at the screen and smiled gently. "You okay?"
She stared at the words, thumb hovering over the screen. "I don't know. But I think... I want to find out."