40.Shatterpoint

Aarohi's POV

I didn't want to talk.

I didn't want to see him.

But life has a way of pushing you into corners—of forcing you into rooms with people you're not ready to face.

We're both assigned for the same group activity. Great. Like the universe isn't done playing its little jokes on me.

I feel his eyes on me the whole time. Burning, worried, too full of everything I don't know how to handle.

The moment class ends, he doesn't wait.

"Aarohi, wait," he says, hand catching my wrist gently as I turn.

I flinch—more than I mean to.

His hand pulls back like I burned him.

"We need to talk," he says softly.

I shake my head. "We don't."

"Aarohi," his voice is firmer now. "You're pushing me away, and I don't even know why. Did I do something? Is it about Meera? Did something happen?"

Yes.

Everything.

"I'm fine," I lie again. My voice cracks on the last word.

"No, you're not." His tone lowers, more careful now. "Please… don't shut me out like this."

I look at him—and it hits me. He does care.

But that only makes it worse.

"You don't get it," I whisper.

"Then make me understand," he pleads.

I try. God, I try. But the words twist inside me, sharp and shapeless and wrong.

"I didn't ask for this," I say, backing away. "I didn't ask to be the reason someone else feels invisible. I didn't ask to be the center of your world when I don't even know who I am!"

"Aarohi—"

"I ruin things," I snap, louder now. "I ruin people. And you're next, Aryan. You're next."

His brows knit, stepping closer. "That's not true. You haven't ruined anything."

But it's too late.

The cracks inside me burst open like glass under pressure.

I feel the heat behind my eyes. My breath starts to shorten. My heart pounds against my ribs like it's trying to escape me.

"No," I whisper, clutching my head. "Not now. Not here."

My knees buckle. I feel the floor before I register I'm falling.

And Aryan—he's right there, arms around me before I hit the ground.

I'm trembling.

I can't breathe.

It's happening again. The noise. The shadows. The others.

Reyza. Kiara. Vayira.

Like ghosts crawling up my spine, whispering things I don't want to remember.

"Hey, hey," Aryan's voice cuts through the storm. "You're okay. I've got you. Just breathe with me. One breath. Please."

But I can't.

Because something inside me is breaking.

And I don't know if it's me…

Or someone else.

Aryan's POV

I've never felt this helpless.

One second she was standing—angry, hurting, breaking in all the ways she refuses to show the world.

The next… she was on the floor.

Shaking.

Eyes wide and distant like she wasn't here anymore.

Like I'd lost her to something I couldn't see.

"Aarohi—Aarohi, look at me," I say, dropping to my knees beside her. My hands hover, unsure where to touch, how to help.

She's clutching her head. Breathing like the air's been ripped from her lungs.

I reach out gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's me. You're safe. I'm right here."

She flinches.

And then… she laughs.

But it's not Aarohi's laugh.

It's hollow. Cold. Dripping with something that makes my spine tense.

"Safe?" she says, voice lower—taunting. "You really think she's safe with you?"

My heart skips.

This isn't her.

Not fully.

"Who are you?" I whisper.

She tilts her head. Smiles with no warmth in her eyes. "You don't get to ask questions, Aryan. Not when you walked into our world."

I don't breathe.

I don't blink.

Because I think I'm meeting someone I've only heard about in whispers.

This isn't Aarohi. Not the one I know. Not the one I've held through the quiet and the chaos.

This is someone else.

"Reyza?" I ask carefully.

The smile sharpens.

"No," she says. "But cute guess."

And then, just like that—her expression changes again. Her body sags, eyes fluttering shut like whatever that was just let go.

"Aarohi?" I say again, gently cradling her. "Please…"

She doesn't respond.

Not yet.

But I'm holding her now. And I'm not letting go.

No matter who answers next.