I was on a main road now. Cars rushed past, their horns blaring. The noise was overwhelming, adding to the chaos in my head.
I needed to get home. Needed to confront Armaan. Needed answers. Needed to understand how my entire life had become a lie.
I stepped off the curb, intending to cross the street to where the auto stand was.
I did not see the vehicle coming.
Did not register the sound of brakes squealing.
Did not have time to move.
There was an impact. Hard and sudden and violent. My body flew through the air for what felt like forever but was probably only seconds.
Then I hit the ground.
Pain exploded through me, sharp and all consuming. I could taste blood in my mouth. Could feel it spreading warm and sticky beneath me.
People were shouting. Running toward me. Their voices sounded far away, muffled, as though I was underwater.
I tried to move but could not. Could not feel my legs. Could not feel much of anything except the fading pain and a strange, creeping coldness.
The sky above me was so blue. Perfectly, impossibly blue. White clouds drifted lazily across my field of vision.
My mother used to tell me that every star in the sky was a soul watching over the people they loved.
Was she watching now? Could she see what had become of me?
Faces appeared above me. Strangers, looking down with concern and horror. Someone was pressing something against my head. Someone else was on a phone, calling for an ambulance.
I wanted to tell them not to bother. Wanted to tell them it did not matter anymore.
But I could not make my mouth work. Could not form words.
The blue sky was starting to fade. The edges of my vision were going dark.
Maybe it was better this way. Maybe this was the universe's way of fixing a mistake. Of erasing a girl who should never have been there in the first place.
I thought of Armaan's face. The way he smiled at me. The way he held me at night. The way he said he loved me.
Had any of it been real? Would I ever know?
The darkness was spreading now, creeping in from all sides. The pain was fading too, replaced by a strange numbness.
Someone was shouting my name. The voice sounded familiar. Uncle, maybe. Or was I imagining it?
It did not matter anymore.
Nothing mattered anymore.
I let my eyes close.
And the world disappeared.
Chapter 24
Armaan
I came home from the restaurant feeling both relieved and terrified. Relieved that I had finally ended things with Avija. Terrified about what came next.
