Chapter 46

Abhimanyu

Subhi’s words lingered in my mind long after she spoke them.

"Because you matter to me. And I’m not leaving."

I wasn’t sure when the walls I had built around myself started crumbling, but right now, standing beside her, I didn’t feel the need to rebuild them.

The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable—it was grounding. Like a pause between heartbeats, like the space between breaths. A quiet understanding.

She had this way of making the chaos in my mind feel… manageable. Like I wasn’t drowning alone anymore.

“Abhi?”

Her voice pulled me back. I turned to look at her, finding her eyes already on me—warm, steady, unwavering.

“Let’s do something,” she said suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow. “Do what?”

She hesitated, then smiled. “Something that makes you feel alive.”

Alive.

For so long, I had been trapped in my own mind, weighed down by things I couldn’t change, memories I couldn’t escape. The idea of doing something—anything—just for the sake of feeling alive felt… unfamiliar. But right now, I wanted to follow wherever she led me.

“Like what?” I asked.

Her eyes lit up. “Come on, you’ll see.”

Before I could question her further, she grabbed my wrist and started pulling me forward. The way she moved—so full of life, so effortlessly bright—it made something in my chest ache.

I let her drag me along, her laughter filling the space between us. And for the first time in a long time, I let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, things could be okay.