Pov:Max
Ever since the party, something between us changed. It wasn't spoken. It wasn't argued. It wasn't even acknowledged.
It was just... silence.
Ram hasn't spoken to me. Not even a glance that lingers, not even that soft awkward smile we used to share when others weren't watching.
At first, I thought maybe he was tired. The party was big, overwhelming even.
But now?
Now it's been days. And each moment of silence from him feels louder than a scream.
In class, he's there. Quiet. Still that same unreadable expression.
In the group, he laughs, talks, but never looks at me. Never speaks my name.
And when I'm nearby… he vanishes into some corner like I'm a stranger he once knew in a dream.
Did that kiss mean nothing to him?
Was it just the saree? The moment? A festival high?
Am I overthinking everything?
Kitty nudged me yesterday, "He's acting weird. Something's off."
I just nodded. I didn't want to talk about it. Because if I talked about it, the ache inside would pour out like water breaking through a dam. I wasn't ready.
It hurts. But I'll stay quiet.
Because I don't want to know the reason… if it's going to break me more.
Pov:Ram (I had no right to touch the sky)
Ever since that night…
I've been trying to keep my distance.
Not because I wanted to.
But because I had to.
After the party, aunty — Max's mom — called me aside.
No anger in her eyes, just that sharp calm that carries more weight than shouting ever could.
She didn't scream. She didn't curse.
She just said,
"Don't play with my daughter, Ram. If you're going to create storms in her life, I'll send her away. Abroad. To her aunt. Away from you."
And in that moment, I realised — I was the storm.
I had no right to hold her like that. No right to kiss her when I couldn't promise her a future with me. No right to make her heart feel something deeper when I didn't even have the guts to tell her the truth all these years.
I wanted to speak. I wanted to tell aunty that she wasn't just a girl to me.
She was everything. She is everything.
But…
My voice betrayed me.
My courage failed me.
Like always.
So I've been avoiding Max. Not because I don't care…
But because I care too much.
If my love ends up tearing her away from the life she loves, from her friends, her home… then what kind of love is that?
I saw her today in balcony,
She looked for me — just a second.
And that second was enough to rip me apart.
She doesn't know what her mom said.
She doesn't know that every time I walk away, it's taking a part of me with it.
She probably thinks I regret the kiss.
She probably thinks it was about the saree… the moment…
But it wasn't.
It was about her.
It was always about her.
And now, I'm standing here… trying to be the guy who keeps her safe.
Even if it means staying away. Even if it means breaking silently.
Because sometimes…
Loving someone means letting them think you don't.
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