REWOVEN HEART

Chapter sixteen: A Love Interrupted

The final days at the university were a whirlwind. Graduation loomed on the horizon, and everyone seemed to be caught up in the rush for preparing for the future. The once-dreaded group project was behind them, and the tight-knit camaraderie that had emerged between Nina and Damien during their late night study sessions and countless hours of teamwork had transformed into something far more complicated.

They had made it work. They had navigated the hurdles of their relationship despite the uncertainty, the tension, and the difference between them. But as graduation day approached, an unspoken pressure began to build between them. The reality of their families-the stark contrast between Nina's laid-back, independent upbringing and Damien's different affluent, highly-expectation background-started to become more apparent.

Damien's family had never truly accepted Nina. ahis parents, especially his mother, saw their relationship as a temporary fling-something that would never last. Damien had tried to defy them, to pursue what felt right in the moment, but the weight of their disapproval became too much to bear. It wasn't just the pressure from his family that was causing the strain; it was the realization that Nina and Damien had come from two different worlds, and perhaps that was more than they could overcome.

One evening, after a particular heated argument where their families' expectation clashed with their own desires, Damien knew what he had to do. He couldn't keep Nina in a relationship that felt doomed to fail from the start, and she deserved more than a love that was constantly weighed down by outside forces.

It wasn't easy, and neither of them wanted it to end, but as he held her hand one last time, the pain in his chest was palpable. "I think we need to take a step back," he said quietly, his voice strained. "I'm not doing this because I don't want you, Nina. But I think... think we are not meant to be right now."

Nina's eyes were filled with unshed tears, but she didn't say anything. She simply nodded, knowing deep down that this was something neither of them could change. The love between them had been real, but sometimes, love wasn't enough.

"Maybe one day," she whispered, squeezing his hands one last time before pulling away.

And just like that, they parted ways. Graduation came and went, but the pain of their separation lingered. They didn't look back.