The next day felt normal.
Too normal.
Anna went to work on time. She spoke to her team. She focused on her designs. From the outside, nothing had changed.
Inside, everything felt quiet.
She didn't text Sid.
She didn't wait for him either.
Sid noticed.
He saw her in the hallway once. She walked past him with a small, polite smile.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," she replied.
And then she kept walking.
That small moment stayed with him the whole day.
It wasn't anger.
It was distance.
And somehow, that felt worse.
Sid tried to focus on work, but his mind kept going back to last night. Her voice. Her question. The way she left without arguing.
He told himself she just needed time.
But something didn't feel right.
Anna, on the other hand, kept herself busy on purpose.
She stayed longer at her desk. Took on extra work. Said yes to things she would normally refuse. It helped her avoid thinking too much.
But it didn't last.
That evening, she sat alone in the cafeteria, staring at her coffee.
She wasn't angry at Sid.
She was hurt.
And more than that, she was tired of trying to understand everything on her own.
Across the room, Sid saw her.
He stood there for a moment, unsure.
Then he walked toward her.
"Can I sit?" he asked.
Anna looked up. For a second, she wanted to say no.
But she didn't.
"Yeah," she said.
They sat in silence.
It used to feel comfortable.
Now, it felt heavy.
"I didn't mean what I said yesterday," Sid started.
Anna didn't look at him. "You did mean it. You were just tired."
He didn't argue.
"I just… didn't know how to handle it," he admitted.
Anna finally looked at him. "You didn't have to handle it. You just had to listen."
Sid stayed quiet.
"That's the problem," she continued softly. "Every time things get a little difficult, you step back. And I'm left trying to figure out what's going on."
"That's not fair," Sid said, a little defensive.
Anna gave a small, tired smile. "Exactly."
That word stayed between them.
Neither of them spoke after that.
Sid wanted to say something more, but he didn't know how to explain what he himself didn't fully understand.
Anna didn't want to keep explaining herself again.
So they sat there, together but not really.
After a few minutes, Anna stood up.
"I have work," she said.
Sid nodded. "Yeah… me too."
She walked away.
This time, he didn't stop her.
Later that night, Sid tried to call her.
She didn't pick up.
He stared at his phone for a long time.
Anna saw the call.
She just didn't have the energy to talk.
For the first time, it felt like they were not just struggling to understand each other.
They were slowly getting used to not trying.
And that scared both of them more than anything else.