Almost | 18+

Chapter 6: Not done ?

But her fingers twitched. Her grip tightened around her pen.

There it was.
Crack.
That's what I needed.

“Wow,” I said loud enough for the room. “You should be teaching this class, Rhea. That made more sense than anything Sir’s said.”

She bit her lip, blushed. Just too easy to fool girls.
Isn't it?

I smirked, leaned back.
Eyes on her.
Then away.
Calculated.

Every movement designed for one audience.

Aira.

This wasn’t flirting.
It was warfare.
.
.
.
Final bell.

The room erupted_ bags slammed shut, benches screeched, voices tangled into a dull roar. Everyone scattered like freedom had a timer.

I didn’t move.

Instead, I stayed Still. Calm.
Scrolling my phone like time didn’t matter.

I wasn’t waiting.
I was expecting.

She always came to me. Always had something to say. A question. A doubt. A breath too close to my shoulder.

But this time?
Nothing.

I looked up.
Her seat?_ empty.

She was leaving.
No glance.
No stumble.
No hesitation.
Just walking out.

What the hell?

I stood.
Fast.
Sharper than I meant.

“Aira.”

She stopped hearing me calling her.
Didn’t turn.
Didn’t speak.
But that pause?

Mine.

I walked to her. Slow. Controlled.

Pulled the pen from my pocket—hers. Faded blue. A bite mark near the cap.
I borrowed it from her last week to grab her attention.

“This was with me,” I said, holding it out. “Keep it.”

She reached for it.
I didn’t let go right away.

Our fingers brushed.
Her breath caught.
One second.
One heartbeat of everything we didn’t say.

Then I let go.
She walked away, just like that?

No thank you.
No sorry.
No guilt.
Nothing.

Just gone.

My jaw clenched.
Smile cracked.
Fingernails dug into my palm.

She wasn’t supposed to leave like that.
Not after everything.

I stood there longer than I should’ve, staring at the space where she should’ve looked back.

I pulled out my headphones from my bag and put them on, turned the music on. Mind loud.
Every lyric drowned in her silence.

"What happened to your hand?"
She had asked that.
Quiet.
Concerned.
Like she still cared.

She noticed the bandage.
Good.

Let her wonder.
Let her think I hit something. Or someone. Let her spiral in guilt.

Because that’s what she owes me.
Guilt.
Not peace.

She thinks she can erase me?
Pretend like I was a phase?

She walked into my life like she belonged there.
She doesn’t get to walk out.
Not without consequences.

I’m not done.
Not even close.

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Questions for you:

What will Arjun do next?

Can silence ever be louder than manipulation?

What do u think Aira is thinking? Is she jealous, confused, in guilt... or something else?

What happens when a narcissist realizes he’s losing control?

(⁠◠⁠ᴥ⁠◕⁠ʋ⁠)

Teaser for Chapter 7:

It wasn’t supposed to matter.

Him laughing with someone else. Sitting too close. Smiling like nothing ever happened.

I wasn’t supposed to care.
And yet... I did.
But I won’t say it out loud.
Not even to myself.

Because jealousy is for girls who still want, right?

And I don’t.
I don’t.

I am telling this to myself every second.
Every fucking second, that I don't want him. I don't need anyone to be mine.
I don't want to be anyone's....
I just want to focus on my career....

But when he gave me my pen back—
Like he was the one hurt.
Like I was the villain in this story.

Maybe, I am.

Somehow his silence made me question my choices.
Did I overreact?
Was I too cold?
Did I push him away?

I should’ve just said something.
Right?

Now every second feels like walking through wet cement_ heavy, slow, suffocating.

I don’t want to talk to him.
But I want him to talk to me.

Is that messed up?
Maybe.

But what’s worse is—
I think I am jealous.