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E S H A 

It’s been a week now, and everything feels… different. I’ve been walking on eggshells around Aarav, careful with every word, every glance. Ever since that night—ever since he told me about her, I’ve been watching him even closer than before. His pain, his silence, his sudden departures, they’ve all become sharper, more noticeable. And I don’t know how to fix any of it.

He told me she’s dead—his aunt. It’s over, in a way. At least physically. But I can still feel her shadow lingering over us, tainting every corner of his mind. 

He didn’t mention her again since he told me she was dead. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the way he said it like it didn’t even matter to him. Like her death was just a fact of life he didn’t want to dwell on.

But me? I can’t stand it. I want to scream, to curse her name until my throat bleeds. I want to tear down every memory he’s ever had of her, burn it all to the ground. How dare she do that to him? How dare she leave him broken, twisted, and ashamed of himself for something he could never control?