The car ride home was silent.
Too silent.
Ananya stared out the window.
Aarav gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary.
Finally—
"What was that?" she asked.
"What?" he replied flatly.
"That attitude," she said.
"You don't get to act like that."
Aarav let out a dry laugh.
"Like what?"
"Like you have a right over me."
The words stung.
"I don't?" he asked quietly.
She turned to him.
"No."
Silence.
Aarav stopped the car abruptly.
Her heart skipped.
"But I still feel it," he said.
Her breath caught.
"That right. That connection."
He looked straight at her.
"And I don't like seeing someone else take my place."
Her voice softened slightly.
"You lost that place, Aarav."
His jaw tightened.
"Then why does it still feel like I never left?"
She had no answer.
Because the truth was—
It felt the same to her too.