The terrace was just as they had left it that evening—open to the sky, wind whispering through the spaces between them. The scent of rain still clung to the air, but the mess from the storm had been cleaned up.

Aarna stood at the railing, her arms crossed as she looked out at the world beyond, as if she hadn't heard Rudran's hesitant footsteps approaching.

"Aarna..." His voice was quieter than the wind, uncertain.

She turned slowly, her face unreadable. "Rudra."

His heart clenched at the way she said his name—no anger, no resentment, just... distance.

"I—" He stopped himself. He had played this conversation in his head a hundred times, but now, faced with her, everything felt wrong.

"You messaged me. What do you want to say?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. Her voice was smooth, controlled, the way she always was when she was keeping herself together.

Rudran inhaled deeply. "I made a mistake, Aarna. I thought I was doing the right thing by listening to my mother. I let go of something before even holding onto it properly."

Aarna let out a soft chuckle, though it held no amusement. "Is that what you think we were? Something you had to 'hold onto'?"

Rudran stiffened. "That's not—" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You know what I mean."

Aarna nodded. "I do." Her fingers grazed the railing as she looked away. "Rudra, I understood your decision back then. I still do. I would never ask you to choose between your mother and me. You were a good son. You honored her wish. And I respected that."

"But—"

She shook her head. "But now, you're here. And you want me to pretend like that pain never existed?"

Rudran felt a lump rise in his throat. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know," she said softly. "But you did."

He had no response to that. The silence stretched between them, filled with words left unsaid, emotions neither of them had ever dared to name.

Aarna exhaled, hugging herself slightly. "You know what hurt the most?"

He swallowed. "Tell me."

She looked at him then, straight into his eyes. "That we never even got the chance to know if we could've been something real. You and I... we never spoke about it. We never said it out loud. And yet, letting go felt like losing something I never even had."

Rudran's breath hitched. He had thought the same thing a hundred times over, but hearing it from her lips made it more real than ever.

"I don't want to make the same mistake again." His voice was almost a whisper.

Aarna smiled, but it wasn't the soft smile he had missed. It was knowing. "Rudra... do you even know what you want?"

"I want—" He stopped, closing his eyes. "I want to try. I want to be with you."

Her eyes searched his face, and for a moment, something flickered in them. But then, she shook her head. "It's not that easy. Not anymore."

His chest tightened. "Why?"

"Because you let me go once." She took a step back. "And I learned to live with it."

Rudran felt as if the ground beneath him had shifted. He had expected resistance, but this... this was different.

"I'm not saying I don't feel anything, Rudra," Aarna said after a pause. "I'm saying that I won't be the one to take a step forward this time."

Before Rudran could respond, the terrace door creaked open.

A familiar voice called out, hesitant yet soft. "Rudran?"

Aarna turned towards the sound, and Rudran felt his stomach drop.

A young woman stood at the entrance, dressed in a pastel salwar kameez. Her eyes held curiosity, and maybe even a bit of nervousness, as they flickered between Aarna and Rudran.

"I was looking for you," she said gently. "Aunty said you'd be up here."

Aarna raised an eyebrow before looking back at Rudran. "And you are?"

The woman gave a small smile. "Nivedita. His fiancée."

The word crashed between them like a final blow.

Rudran turned back to Aarna, panic rising in his chest, but her expression had already changed—calm, unreadable, just as she had been before.

Aarna simply gave a nod, then turned to Rudran. "Looks like this conversation is over."

She walked past them both, leaving Rudran standing there, drowning in everything he had just lost.
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