Arjun walked into his office, the same as every day, but there was a flicker of something different in his demeanor. His mood was lighter, though his steps still carried the weight of unspoken thoughts. Yesterday had stirred something inside him—a faint echo of a memory he had long tried to silence.
As the morning passed, he buried himself in work, the monotony a welcome distraction. When lunch break arrived, Arjun decided to join his colleagues, a rare occurrence. He didn't bring his lunchbox, but he didn't care.
Sitting down at the table, he noticed Raghu looking troubled. "Hey, Raghu, is your issue resolved?" he asked casually.
Raghu sighed deeply. "Not at all, Arjun. She's gone mad again. If show my face, she's going to break my legs. I already apologized, but she keeps saying, 'Once a cheater, always a cheater.'"
Arjun smiled faintly. "Take it slow, Raghu. Everything will sort itself out eventually. If you truly love her, bring her a ring and propose. Stop overthinking."
Before anyone could respond, Arjun abruptly stood up. "I need to take a call. You guys continue."
His colleagues exchanged puzzled glances as Arjun walked out. Something in his voice had cracked, a subtle tremor that betrayed his calm exterior.
He walked out of the office and stepped into the nearby garden, the soft rustle of leaves and distant chirping of birds offering a fragile comfort. He pulled out his phone and scrolled back through his photo gallery—past years of mundane snapshots—until he reached a single image from three years ago. It was the only picture he had taken with his own hands, a candid shot of her.
Ananya.
Her laughter was frozen in that moment, her smile brighter than the sunlight filtering through the trees behind her. Arjun stared at the image, his vision blurring as tears welled up. He turned his gaze to a poster on the building nearby, featuring the biggest celebrity of the moment—Ananya. The sight of her larger-than-life image was like a dagger to his chest, and the tears he had been holding back for so long finally broke free.
He sank onto a bench, silent except for the sound of his uneven breaths. His mind dragged him back to the day he left her. The day he destroyed everything.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three years ago, he had sat at the same table where they used to talk for hours. The room felt hollow without her presence, a shell of the vibrant space it once was. He had packed his belongings methodically, each item a reminder of her. When the last box was sealed, he pulled out a piece of paper and began to write.
Dear Ananya,
I know you love me. I can see it in your eyes, hear it in your voice, feel it in every little thing you do. And that's why I can't face you. Because I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you.
I've been cheating behind your back. I've betrayed your trust in ways I can't even bring myself to say out loud. I know if I told you this face-to-face, you would get mad. You would demand answers, and I have none. I'm a coward, Ananya. I'm not strong enough to face you, so I'm leaving this letter instead.
I need you to think of me as the worst person you've ever met. Someone you regret loving. That way, you'll hate me enough to move on. Maybe one day, you'll find someone who truly deserves you.
The most disgusting person you've ever met,Arjun
He had placed the note on the table and walked away, not daring to look back. His heart screamed at him to stop, to turn around and stay, but his feet kept moving. Cowardice propelled him forward, even as it tore him apart inside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, sitting in the garden, he whispered to the empty sky, "Do you still remember me, Ananya? I don't think so."
The weight of his guilt pressed down on him, constricting his chest. He wiped his tears with trembling hands, but they kept falling.
"For you, for me, I did what I thought was best," he murmured, his voice cracking. "You must hate me so much. I can't even blame you for it."
He opened a group chat on his phone. A reunion had been planned, and everyone had voted to attend. Including her.
His fingers hovered over the screen. He could feel his composure slipping, the mask he had worn for years threatening to shatter. Among all the people he had ever known, she was the only one he couldn't face.
Did he regret his choice? Every single day. But in his mind, he had convinced himself it was the only way to protect her from the broken man he had been. He knew he could never make things right, and yet, the ache in his heart refused to fade.
Now also he regretted working in this company. If not for the problems, he never would have chosen to work under a disgusting manager like him. It felt like a prison where his dignity was stripped away piece by piece.
Arjun had learned to smile when they asked him to smile, to cry when they needed him to cry. For money, he played every role they demanded of him. Success, he realized, took time. But the people around him—their lives were drenched in luxury, their smiles genuine, their laughter unburdened. When he asked for a bonus, what did he get in return? A box of cashew nuts.
The memory of it stung more than it should have. It was a reminder of how little he mattered, how replaceable he was in their eyes. Arjun clenched his fists, the weight of it all pressing down on him. He stayed in the garden until the his lunch break time over and watching as the world moved on around him. The pain in his chest was a constant reminder of what he had lost. And what he could never reclaim.