🖤 **The Damage You Called Love** 🥀

"Some people leave your life, but never leave your mind."🌙The evening was peaceful.The aroma of freshly prepared dinner drifted through the house while the television played softly in the living room.Diya lay comfortably on her bed, scrolling through i********: after a long day at college.Her life wasn't extraordinary.She belonged to a simple middle-class family where happiness was found in small things—a family dinner, good grades, and weekend outings.Her parents had spent their entire lives working hard to give her opportunities they never had.And Diya intended to make them proud.College had become a major part of her life now.New friends.New routines.New dreams.Yet sometimes, while looking through old photographs or meeting former classmates, she found herself missing school.Missing simpler days.❤️As she mindlessly tapped through i********: stories, one particular story caught her attention.A girl from her school had posted it.The story showed a young man smiling beside a birthday cake.Above the picture were the words:🎂 **Happy Birthday, Hritik!**Diya paused.The name felt familiar.Very familiar.She clicked on the profile.For a moment, she simply stared.Then her eyes widened slightly."Hritik?"The face had changed.The boy looked older now.More mature.But she recognized him immediately.The quiet boy from school.The one who rarely spoke unless necessary.The one who always seemed lost in his own world.A small smile appeared on her lips.🌙Diya and Hritik had spent years in the same school.The same classrooms.The same morning assemblies.The same farewell ceremony.Yet somehow, they had never become friends.They knew each other's names.Occasionally exchanged a few words.Nothing more.After graduation, life carried them in different directions.Now, four years later, they still lived in the same city.Just not in the same world.🥀Diya was pursuing her degree in one college.Hritik attended another.She had no idea what his life looked like now.Curiosity got the better of her.Without thinking much about it, she pressed the Follow button.A few seconds later, she typed:**"Hey, do you remember me? We were classmates in school."**Then she hit send.Simple.Harmless.A message she would probably forget about by tomorrow.Or so she thought.🖤Across the city, Hritik sat alone in his room.His birthday celebrations had finally ended.Guests had left.The house had grown quiet.Downstairs, his parents were still talking with relatives over the phone.His father was a senior government officer whose position commanded respect wherever he went.People admired the family.People respected the family.People expected great things from the family.But none of it interested Hritik.Not tonight.Not when his mind was occupied by something far more dangerous.A memory.A smile.A girl.🌙Diya.The name had lived inside his mind for years.Back in school, she had been nothing more than a classmate to everyone else.To Hritik, she had been impossible to ignore.He remembered seeing her every morning.Remembered waiting for her to enter the classroom.Remembered stealing glances when she wasn't looking.He never spoke about it.Never confessed.Never even attempted to get close to her.Fear always stopped him.Fear of rejection.Fear of embarrassment.Fear of ruining the little connection they already had.So he kept quiet.And eventually school ended.Everyone moved on.At least that was what he told himself.🩸His phone vibrated.A notification appeared.He glanced at the screen casually.Then froze.His heartbeat stumbled.For a second, he genuinely thought he was imagining things.But the notification remained.**Friend Request Received****Diya Sharma**The room suddenly felt too quiet.Too small.Too unreal.Slowly, he opened the message.**"Hey, do you remember me? We were classmates in school."**A bitter laugh escaped him.Remember her?How could he not?He remembered things she herself had probably forgotten.The way she laughed with her friends.The way she played with her pen during lectures.The way she smiled at everyone without realizing the effect it had on people.Especially him.🥀Four years.Four years had passed.And somehow, fate had brought her back to him.Not through coincidence.Not through chance.Through a single message.A single notification.A single question."Do you remember me?"🖤Hritik stared at the screen for several seconds.Then a small smile appeared on his face.The kind he hadn't worn in years.His thumb hovered over the button.And finally—He pressed **Accept**.Neither of them knew it yet.But that one decision was about to change everything.🌙**To Be Continued...** 🖤