After that day, I told myself something very brave.
"Aira, it's okay. He was never yours. Move on."
Simple words.
Impossible task.
Because the heart doesn't follow instructions.
---
Nothing changed.
And yet, everything changed.
Aryan still talked to me normally.
Still shared jokes.
Still complained about his day.
And I still listened.
Like always.
The only difference?
Now I knew where I stood.
And knowing hurts more than not knowing.
---
He started talking about her more often.
At first casually.
Then happily.
Then… constantly.
"She gets me," he once said, smiling.
And I smiled too.
But inside, something shattered quietly.
Because that sentence…
was everything I had secretly hoped he'd say about me one day.
---
Sometimes he'd sit next to me and show me their chats.
Ask me what gift he should get her.
Ask me if she'd like something.
And I helped him.
Helped the man I loved impress another girl.
Funny, right?
Love makes you do stupid things.
Beautiful, painful, stupid things.
---
I tried distancing myself.
Ignored his messages sometimes.
Took longer to reply.
Avoided places he usually went.
But every time he said,
"Are you okay? You've been distant lately."
My heart melted again.
And I went back.
Like nothing happened.
---
Because losing his friendship felt scarier
than losing my peace.
At least when he talked to me…
he was still there.
And I convinced myself
that being close as a friend
was better than being nothing.
---
That night, I wrote something in my diary:
"Maybe loving someone silently is my destiny.
Watching them choose someone else… my punishment."
But even then…
if he had called me at 2 a.m. and said,
"Aira, I need you."
I would have gone.
Without a second thought.
Because love doesn't disappear
just because it hurts.
Sometimes…
it stays and teaches you
how to smile while breaking inside.