A small spark of something painful and relieved lights in my chest.
“So... you’re coming back?”
“I’m moving to Vancouver.”
My heart sinks. She’s still gone, just not as far as I feared.
“Is it that consulting firm you were interviewing for?” I ask—my voice desolate.
I remember helping her prep. Making spreadsheets of their case study frameworks. Mock interviews.
She hums in confirmation.
“I missed your voice,” I blurt, and wince.
Why can’t I just shut up?
“I miss my voice too,” she mutters. “It’s always angry or sad or something these days.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I’m—”
“Sorry, I know,” she interrupts. “You’ve said that word a million times tonight. Are you overcompensating for the day I banned it?”
A sad chuckle escapes me. “Maybe. I so badly wanted to say it then.”
She clears her throat and croaks. “My head hurts. I need to sleep.”
Panic creeps in. It’s such a normal thing to want to hang up after a call. But my heart is interpreting this as loss—like her voice is the only thing keeping me tethered.
“Okay. I’ll... I’ll let you go. But if you’re ever ready to talk about... that, I’ll be here. Always.”
“Hm.”
“I...” I stop. Fuck, almost said it.I love you.It burns the back of my throat. But I can’t. “You should sleep.”
There’s a pause.
“What were you going to say?” she asks, voice soft.
“I don’t think you want to hear it,” I say honestly. Miserably.
“Okay,” she whispers after a beat. “Bye, Lucian.”
“Bye, Aarohi.”I love you.
And then she’s gone.
But for the first time in weeks... she called. She yelled. Shetalked.
Maybe someday, she’ll listen to my reasons.
And maybe—justmaybe—those reasons will give her the peace I never could.
THIRTY
Aarohi
“And we’re sure he’s still here?” Ishi asks, arms crossed.
