Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – The Mistake That Changed Everything

Some moments don't knock before entering.

They crash through your days like a storm—uninvited, unexpected, irreversible.

This was that moment.

—

It started with a message.

An innocent text sent at the wrong time, read in the wrong way.

Mehar had been in the college library, lost in assignments. Her phone buzzed. She glanced down and froze.

A message from Aarav.

But it wasn't what he wrote.

It was who he sent it to.

Her.

And someone else.

A screenshot of their conversation—heartfelt, personal, hers—forwarded to his group chat by mistake.

With it: "She's mad at me for nothing again. Girls, man."

Her heart stopped.

That one line.

Careless.

Joking.

But it cut like glass.

The Aarav she knew would never laugh about her pain.

The Aarav she loved never played her off as just "another girl."

She stared at the message.

Once. Twice. Ten times.

And then she stood up, packed her bag, and walked out of the library without a word.

—

Aarav didn't notice anything wrong at first.

She didn't reply.

Didn't show up to their usual spot after classes.

Didn't even read his follow-up texts.

He called. She didn't answer.

By the time he realized what had happened, it was too late.

—

That night, Mehar didn't sleep.

She stared at the ceiling, feeling her chest tighten with a mix of anger and disappointment.

Not because of what he said.

But because of how he made her feel.

Like she was the one who cared too much.

Like her emotions were inconvenient.

Like she was dramatic for wanting to be understood.

—

The next morning, Aarav waited for her near the entrance, eyes scanning every student that passed.

She saw him.

He saw her.

But she walked right past.

He followed.

"Mehar, please. Just listen—"

She stopped, turned slowly. Her voice calm, but cold. "I read it."

"I didn't mean—"

"You sent it, Aarav. You thought it. You laughed with them about me."

His hands clenched. "It was stupid. I was frustrated. I didn't mean to forward it, I—"

"But you wrote it," she whispered.

And that was the wound.

Not the mistake.

The truth inside it.

—

They didn't speak for days.

A silence longer than any argument.

And during that time, both of them questioned everything.

What they were.

What they meant.

If love could survive careless words and quiet betrayals.

—

Eventually, Aarav showed up at her doorstep.

No flowers. No grand gestures.

Just himself.

And a voice that cracked when he said, "I didn't know I could hurt you like that until I did."

Mehar didn't say anything.

She let him speak.

"I thought teasing about emotions made them easier to carry. But I get it now. What I meant to be harmless wasn't. I was wrong."

Still, she said nothing.

Because healing doesn't come from apologies.

It comes from consistency.

From change.

And Aarav would have to show that—not just say it.

—

That chapter of their love didn't end with forgiveness.

Not yet.

It ended with distance.

With a girl choosing herself, even when it hurt.

And a boy learning that love isn't always enough—it needs respect.

—