Chapter 19: Fractured Hearts
The café was quieter than usual, with the soft hum of the ceiling fan filling the air. Shyam leaned against the counter, absentmindedly flipping through a receipt book. Raitha was seated at a table, scribbling notes on a notepad, her brow furrowed in concentration.
The once comfortable silence between them now felt strained, as if the air carried unspoken words neither dared to voice.
"Raitha," Shyam began, his voice breaking the quiet.
She looked up, startled, her pen hovering above the page. "Yeah?"
"I've been meaning to ask," he said, setting the book down, "about what you said the other night. Why you work here. What did you mean by that?"
Raitha's expression faltered, and she quickly looked away, her hands fidgeting with the edges of her notepad. "I don't know. It's not important."
Shyam took a step closer, his curiosity now mingled with concern. "It is to me."
Raitha stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. "Why does it matter, Shyam? Can't we just leave things as they are?"
Her sudden outburst caught him off guard. "I...I didn't mean to upset you. I just—"
"You just what?" she interrupted, her voice trembling. "You don't even see it, do you? Everything I've done, everything I've said—it's all because of you!"
The words hung in the air, heavy and unyielding.
Unveiling the Truth
Shyam stared at her, speechless, as the weight of her confession settled in. "Raitha...I didn't know."
"That's exactly the problem!" she exclaimed, tears brimming in her eyes. "You never noticed. Not in school, not when I started working here—never."
Her voice cracked, and she turned away, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to feel invisible to the one person you care about the most?"
Shyam's chest tightened, guilt and regret clawing at him. "I never meant to make you feel that way. I just...I didn't think someone like you could ever..."
"Could ever what?" she asked, turning back to face him. "Care about someone like you? Is that what you think?"
Shyam nodded slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah."
Raitha let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "You're so blind, Shyam. You don't see yourself the way others do. The way I do."
The Breaking Point
The room felt unbearably small, the air thick with emotions neither of them knew how to handle.
"I can't keep doing this," Raitha said, her voice hollow. "Pretending like I'm okay with just being around you, when all I want is to be with you."
Her words cut deep, leaving Shyam feeling exposed and vulnerable. He wanted to say something, anything, to ease the pain in her voice, but the weight of his own insecurities held him back.
"I'm sorry," he finally managed, his voice trembling. "I didn't know."
Raitha took a step back, her eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and resignation. "Maybe that's the problem, Shyam. You never let yourself know."
Without another word, she grabbed her bag and walked out of the café, leaving Shyam standing alone, the silence now deafening.
A Moment of Reflection
That night, Shyam sat in his room, staring at the ceiling. Raitha's words echoed in his mind, each one a reminder of his own blindness.
He thought back to their school days, the moments they'd shared at the café, and every subtle gesture he had dismissed as mere politeness.
How could he have been so oblivious?
The realization hit him like a tidal wave—he had been running from his own feelings, afraid of what they might mean. And in doing so, he had hurt the one person who had always been there, quietly hoping he'd see her.
For the first time in years, Shyam felt the sting of tears in his eyes.
"I'm such an idiot," he muttered to himself, burying his face in his hands.
The Road Ahead
As the hours passed, Shyam made a decision. He couldn't let things end like this. He needed to face his fears, to bridge the gap between them before it became insurmountable.
But how could he make amends when the damage had already been done?