POV: Ashwin

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I should’ve felt something after uncle proposed.

But all I felt was the quiet tightening in my chest, like something vital had just been sealed shut.

I drove on autopilot through congested streets, barely blinking at red lights or honking horns. My mind wasn’t here.

It was with her.

Aaravi.

I didn’t text maya. I didn’t call. After what happened yesterday.

And when I finally pulled up in front of the apartment I’d bought her, my stomach twisted in something dangerously close to dread after uncle asked for my hand in a marriage.

I rang the bell.

It took a few seconds, but then the door opened.

She stood there.

Pale.

Her left arm in a cast, wrapped from palm to elbow.

“Maya?” I breathed.

She smiled weakly. “Hey.”

“What happened?” I rushed inside. “What the hell happened to your hand?”

“I fell,” she said simply, walking to the couch.

“Where?”

She sat down, careful with her cast. “On the road. Last night. After talking to Aaravi.”

That name made something in me snap.

“You what?”

“I went to her,” Maya said calmly. “To tell her that I wouldn’t give you up. That I wouldn’t walk away just because she wanted me to.”

My fists clenched. “She met you?”

“She did. She looked at me like I was filth. Told me I was just a phase to you. That you’d marry her anyway. And even she is just going to ask your parents for a marriage proposal and she said you will say yes!.” she choked.

“That’s a lie.”

Maya smiled sadly. “Is it?”

I kneeled in front of her. “I only said I needed time. Because I didn’t know how else to stop them without burning every bridge.”

She touched my cheek with her good hand. “I believe you.”

“Then what the hell happened?”

She looked away. “After meeting her, I went to see Amma. I was crossing the street. A car came too fast. I slipped. Landed on my wrist.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Did she—”

“I don’t know,” she said softly. “But it felt… orchestrated. Too quick. Too timed.”

I stood up. “I’ll kill her.”

Maya flinched. “Ashwin—”

“No, you don’t get to defend her now. She crossed the line. This—this is war now.”

She sighed, stood slowly, and walked to the window. “Or maybe this is where we stop.”

I froze.

“What?”

She turned to me.

Her eyes were glassy, but her voice was firm. “Let’s break up.”

“Maya—”

“No. Please don’t try to change my mind.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to live,” she said, voice cracking. “I want to be with my mother. I want to love without being punished. I want to walk across the street without fearing someone will come for me just because I matter to you more than them.”

I swallowed hard. “You matter to me more than anything.”

“I know. And that’s the problem.”

She walked up to me, stood inches away.

“You’re not free, Ashwin. And I can’t be the collateral in your war with the world. I have one person who needs me to be alive. I won’t risk that.”

My hands shook. “Is this final?”

She nodded, tear slipping down her cheek. “It has to be.”

“Maya—”

She stepped back. “Go. Please. Don’t come back. Ever.”

" I don't want you anymore ashwin” a lone tear escaped her eyes.

I didn’t move.

For the first time in years, I didn’t know how to.

But then I turned.

Walked out.

And when the door closed behind me, I leaned against it, chest he

aving.

And for the first time in a long time…

I cried.

Silently.

Because this time, the goodbye wasn’t mine to choose.