As time passed, Adepa tried to keep busy, distracting herself with her studies and work, but the ache in her chest never seemed to fade. The image of Chris with her friend haunted her every day. She couldn't escape it. She found herself replaying the memories of their relationship, wondering if she could have done things differently, if she could have held on to what they had. The guilt consumed her—guilt for leaving him, guilt for not recognizing the love he had given her, guilt for not fighting harder to keep him in her life.
Her friend and Chris's relationship seemed to blossom, and though Adepa tried to convince herself that she was happy for them, the truth was, it felt like a betrayal. She couldn't help but feel like the bond she had with her friend was also slipping away. The once-easy conversations became awkward, and the shared moments they had once cherished now felt distant. Every time they met, it was like there was a shadow hanging between them, an unspoken tension that neither of them knew how to address.
But it was when she saw them together in person that the reality of her loss hit her hardest. One afternoon, she ran into both of them while walking to class. They were laughing together, holding hands, a picture of contentment and happiness. Adepa couldn't bring herself to smile back when they waved at her. It was as if the ground beneath her feet had disappeared. She turned away quickly, pretending she hadn't seen them, and rushed back to her dorm. Tears welled up in her eyes as she locked herself in her room, unable to control the flood of emotions.
She knew she had to confront the reality of what had happened, but it felt impossible. The pain of losing Chris to her friend, the loss of a future she had imagined with him, was too much to bear. How had she gone from being his everything to just another person in his past? How had she let her fear of commitment and her own insecurities destroy something that had been so beautiful?
In the days that followed, Adepa's mind was clouded with doubt and confusion. She found herself questioning everything—her choices, her actions, and whether she was even capable of love. She tried to tell herself that it was all a learning experience, that sometimes life just moved in unexpected directions, but the heartache was too real, and the emptiness too deep.
Her thoughts often wandered to Chris, wondering if he ever thought about her, if he regretted how things had ended between them. Did he miss her too, or had he truly moved on? She had no answers, only a gnawing sense of loss. But she couldn't bring herself to reach out to him anymore. The thought of seeing him with her friend again—so happy, so in love—was unbearable. It felt like she had no place in his life anymore, and maybe that was the way it was meant to be.
One evening, as she sat alone in her room, scrolling through social media, she saw a post from Chris. It was a picture of him and her friend at a concert, smiling and laughing together. Adepa's heart sank as she stared at the photo. It was like salt being rubbed into a wound that hadn't fully healed.
But then, in the corner of the post, she noticed something that made her stop. Chris had tagged her friend, but there was something else. A caption that made her pause.
"To the one who helped me heal, thank you for being my light when I was lost."
The words hit her like a punch to the gut. He had found his peace with her friend. He had found someone who had been there for him in ways that Adepa hadn't been able to be. And while part of her wanted to hate him for moving on so quickly, another part of her knew she couldn't blame him. She had made her choice when she let him go. She had pushed him away, and now she had to live with the consequences.
Tears streamed down Adepa's face as she sat there, her heart breaking all over again. She had known, deep down, that this was coming, that Chris would find someone else to love. But seeing it so openly, seeing him so happy with someone else, made the finality of it all painfully clear. She had lost him—not just to time, but to her own mistakes.
As the days passed, Adepa began to distance herself further. She focused more on her studies, poured herself into her work, and started finding solace in her creative projects. She began to realize that, while the pain of losing Chris would never fully disappear, she had to learn to live with it. She couldn't keep holding on to something that was no longer there.
It was a long and difficult journey of self-discovery. She found strength in the things that made her happy—her art, her design work, and the friendships that still remained in her life. Slowly, she started to rebuild her sense of self, but the process was far from easy. There were days when the loneliness felt overwhelming, when the memories of Chris and their time together threatened to pull her back into the past. But with each passing day, she grew stronger, learning to let go, to forgive herself for the mistakes she had made, and to understand that life had its own way of unfolding, even if it wasn't the way she had planned.
In the end, Adepa knew that the heartache she had endured was part of her growth, part of her journey. And maybe, just maybe, there would be someone else in her future—someone who would love her in a way that was even deeper and more fulfilling than she had ever imagined. But for now, she knew she had to heal, to let go of what had been, and to trust that time would eventually bring her the peace she so desperately needed.