Cracks In The Promise
1040 Words
At first, Love felt effortless.
For Sakshi, it was the warmth of finally being seen.
For Arnav, it was the thrill of choosing someone instead of being pursued.
Campus life seemed brighter. Even ordinary days carried meaning now---shared quotes, stolen glances in lecture halls, quiet walks under the evening sky.
But love, in its earliest form, is often blind to its own weaknesses.
And Arnav Malhotra was still learning how to live without losing himself.
It began subtly.
Arnav stopped showing up on time.
Not always-but always enough for Sakshi to notice.
One evening, she sat in the library waiting for him. Fifteen minutes passed. Then thirty. Then an hour.
When he finally arrived, he was laughing with a group of boys.
He dropped into the chair opposite her like nothing happened.
"Sorry" he said casually.
Sakshi didn't look up from her book.
"You're late".
"I know".
"Again".
He leaned back. "Something came up".
"What something?"
"Just...Friends".
The word hung in the air longer than it should have.
Sakshi slowly closed her book.
"You could have called".
"I forgot".
"You always forget when it's me".
His smile faded slightly.
"That's not true".
She did not respond.
This was the first time love felt... slightly heavier.
The second crack came with attention.
Arnav was Arnav Malhotra--- The boy everyone noticed when he entered the room.
Girls still laughed at his jokes.
Still found excuses to stand near him.
Still tried to pull his attention away in small, harmless ways that weren't harmless at all.
Sakshi tried not to care.
She told herself trust meant silence.
But silence has its limits.
One afternoon, she walked into the cafeteria and stopped.
Arnav was seated with a group of students.
A girl from another department sat too close beside him, leaning in while talking.
She touched his arm slightly when she laughed.
Arnav didn't move away.
Sakshi watched for a moment.
Then walked past without stopping.
Later that evening, Arnav found her by the campus garden.
"You left without telling me".
"I didn't think I needed permission".
He frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing".
He sighed. "Sakshi".
That tone--soft,but slightly impatient---, used to make her soften.
Today it didn't.
"You were busy". she said calmly.
"I was talking to people". he said.
"One person".
He blinked.
"You're overthinking".
She finally looked at him.
"Am I?"
Silence.
A passing breeze moved between them.
Arnav ran a hand through her hair.
"Nothing happened".
"I didn't say anything happened".
"But you're acting like it did".
That was when something shifted.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But enough to create distance.
The third crack was Arnav himself.
Not cruel.
Not intentionally hurtful.
Just...Careless.
He forgot important things.
Their weekly meetings for the project.
Her presentation rehearsal.
Even her birthday dinner plan--once.
Each time, he apologized.
Each time, she forgave.
Because she loves him.
And because she believed that love meant patience.
But patience,too, wears thin.
One evening, Sakshi waited outside the lecture hall.
Arnav was supposed to meet her after class.
Minutes passed.
Then students began leaving.
Then the corridor emptied.
Still no Arnav.
She checked her phone.
No message.
She finally turned to leave.
--And saw him running towards her.
Out of breath.
"I'm sorry", he said quickly, "I got caught up with the seniors".
Sakshi didn't speak.
He straightened.
"I said I'm sorry".
"I heard you".
"Then why are you quiet?"
She looked at him for a long moment.
"I'm trying to understand something".
"What?"
She hesitated.
"Do I matter to you or...do I just fit into your free time?"
The question hit harder than she intended.
Arnav's expression shifted.
"Of course you matter".
"But I keep getting whatever time is left after everything else".
His jaw tightened.
"I have responsibilities".
"I do too".
A pause.
This time, neither of them smiled.
That night,Arnav met Kabir at a café.
Kabir studied him for a while before speaking.
"You're messing up".
"I'm not".
"You are".
Arnav exhaled."It's not that serious".
Kabir leaned forward.
"To her, it is".
Arnav frowned.
"I don't get it. I'm here, aren't I?"
Kabir shook his head.
"Being present isn't the same thing being reliable".
That sentence stayed with Arnav longer than expected.
But pride often delays understanding.
Meanwhile, Sakshi sat alone in her room, staring at her phone.
His last message was from two days ago.
A simple: Busy,Talk later.
She didn't reply.
Not because she was angry.
But because she was tired.
Tired of waiting.
Tired of wondering.
Tired of being the one who always adjusted.
Tired of being the one who always forgave.
Tired of being the one who always got disappointed.
Tired of always being the one to say "It's okay".
She whispered to herself quietly.
"This is supposed to be easier...not harder".
And for the first time since they became a couple...
She didn't sleep peacefully.
Sakshi knew something in her had finally broken and that she was tired.
Completely exhausted.
The final crack came silently.
Painfully but silently.
During a group celebration on campus, Arnav stood surrounded by friends again, and he didn't even bother to look anywhere for Sakshi.
Sakshi arrived late.
Three minutes late.
She has spotted Arnav with his friends but she didn't go to meet them.
Instead,she watched from a distance.
He didn't see her immediately.
Not until someone called her name.
Then he turned.
Their eyes met.
For a second, everything paused.
Everything stood still.
There was silence.
Utter silence.
But then, someone pulled him back into the conversation.
And he smiled again.
Not at her.
But at them.
At his friends.
Sakshi was surprised how he could just continue talking with his friends like she didn't even exist.
And for the first time Sakshi saw him smile wholeheartedly at someone else.
Someone that wasn't her.
She couldn't help but almost think that she didn't matter in his life at all.
Sakshi looked away.
Something inside her tightened.
Not broken yet.
But no longer whole.
She wasn't complete and she knew it.
That night, Arnav waited for her call.
It never came.
And Sakshi finally admitted something she had been avoiding for weeks.
Love was no longer the only thing holding her heart.
Doubt had entered quietly.
And it was learning to stay.
.
- Writer
