The next few days passed like mist.
Fuzzy. Cold. Quiet.
There were no more texts from Abhimanyu.No calls. No "Did you eat?" or "You looked tired today."Just… silence.
At first, Aditi told herself it was just a phase.
He was busy. He'd come around.He always did.
But this time felt different.
He didn't even look at her in class.Didn't wait for her outside after tuition.
He was there. Physically.But it felt like he'd vanished.
Aditi's phone stayed dry.No messages. No missed calls. No apologies.
Her pride told her not to text first.Her heart screamed otherwise.
She opened their chat at least twenty times a day.Typed a message.Deleted it.Repeated.
"Are we okay?""Do you still care?""Do you miss me at all?"
But none of it got sent.
Meanwhile, Abhimanyu stared at his phone too.
His chats. Her profile picture. Their old conversations.
He missed her. Of course, he did.
But something in him had closed off.Part pride.Part fear.Part not knowing how to fix what was falling apart.
Maybe she didn't trust him anymore.Maybe she deserved someone who wouldn't confuse her with mixed signals.
And maybe… he was afraid she wouldn't reply even if he did reach out.
They both missed each other.Desperately.
But no one said a word.
At tuition, their shoulders didn't brush anymore.No shared looks. No playful nudges.
Just Aditi on one side of the room.Abhimanyu on the other.
Both pretending they didn't care.
Both lying.
That evening, Aditi sat at her desk with her notebook open, but no studying happened.Her mind kept playing back moments like a broken reel:
That time he made her laugh so hard she snorted.
That time he stood up to a guy who was bothering her.
That time he called her "his peace."
Now? He was just noise.
The silence hurt more than any fight ever could.
Sometimes, love doesn't end with slamming doors.It ends with long silences…and two people too scared to break them.