Suddenly, Reyansh looked like a man who had lost everything.
Concerned, I asked softly, "What happened?"
He didn't look at me at first—just stared into nothing, as if replaying a moment that had shattered his entire world. Then, in a low, broken voice, he whispered, "I made the worst decision of my life… and it cost me Saanvi."
I froze.
He loved that girl like no one else. More than the childhood sweetheart he once spoke of with nostalgia—this one, Saanvi, the quiet, brilliant geek who had slowly become his world. And now she was… gone?
I saw it then—tears threatening to fall, rage simmering just beneath his calm surface. The Reyansh I knew—the one who always wore a smirk and walked like nothing could shake him—was trembling.
"Are you okay?" I asked, though I knew the answer.
He looked at me, eyes bloodshot. "I made the mistake of trusting a bastard. Calling him a friend... it was the worst choice I ever made."
The shift in his voice was sudden and violent—his words laced with venom. My skin prickled. Something terrible had happened.
"What did he do, Reyansh?"
He clenched his fists, voice cracking with emotion. "He twisted everything. Played the victim. Whispered lies into Saanvi's ears until she doubted every word I said. Until she trusted him more than me."
He looked down at his hands, almost disgusted with himself.
"She was my home… and he poisoned her heart."
I was speechless. I didn't know who this 'bastard' was—but whoever he was, he'd turned Reyansh's life into rubble. I needed to know more. Who was he? How did he come between them? And could anything be salvaged?
"Reyansh… who was this bastard? And what exactly did he do?"