Chapter 9 – When Hearts Collide
Adrian had always believed he could wait. He told himself that patience was love, that silence could be understanding. But with every passing day, the distance grew heavier, like a shadow stretching between them.
He knew he couldn’t keep waiting forever.
That evening, he asked Aruna to meet him at the riverside promenade — a quiet place they had walked together once before, when the world had felt softer. The city lights shimmered on the water, flickering gold and silver, the breeze carrying the faint scent of rain.
Aruna arrived slowly, her coat pulled tight against the wind. Her smile was small, cautious, but still there.
“You wanted to meet?” she asked gently.
“Yes,” Adrian replied. His voice was steadier than he felt. “I need to tell you something.”
They walked side by side for a while, the silence thick between them. Finally, Adrian stopped near the railing, turning to face her. His hands clenched slightly, not in anger but in the desperate effort to hold himself together.
“Aruna,” he began, his voice low but certain, “I can’t keep pretending this is casual. I can’t keep acting like I don’t care more than I should.”
Her eyes widened slightly. She opened her mouth to respond, but Adrian continued, his words rushing now, unstoppable.
“I know you’re afraid. I know your past still lives in you. I see the walls you’ve built, the hesitation in your eyes. But I don’t want to be another ghost in your story. I don’t want to be just someone who passes by.”
Aruna swallowed hard, her breath quickening. “Adrian, please… don’t—”
“No,” he said firmly, but not harshly. “Listen to me. I’m not here to erase your past. I don’t care how much it hurt you or how deep the scars are. I only care about now. About us. About what we could be.”
Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “You don’t understand. Loving someone means losing them one day. And I… I don’t think I could survive that again.”
Adrian’s chest ached at her words, but he stepped closer, his voice gentler now. “Then let me be the one who proves that love isn’t always about losing. That sometimes it’s about finding. About staying.”
She shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “And what if I can’t give you what you want? What if I can’t love you the way you deserve?”
Adrian reached out, hesitated for a moment, then cupped her face with trembling hands. His thumbs brushed away the tears, his gaze steady on hers.
“Then let me love you enough for both of us,” he whispered. “At least until you can.”
For a long moment, Aruna just stared at him, her lips parted, her breath shaky. The world seemed to hold its breath with her.
Her heart warred within her — the instinct to pull away, to protect herself, against the aching desire to fall into the safety of his arms. And in that collision, something cracked open.
She didn’t speak, but she didn’t step back either. Instead, she leaned her forehead against his chest, her tears soaking into his coat.
Adrian closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her, holding her as though he would never let go.
In that embrace, fragile yet fierce, their hearts collided — not perfectly, not without fear, but honestly.
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