Before You Forget Me

Where It All Began

“I didn’t erase you…”

Ivara’s voice trembled.

“…because I never knew you like that.”

Silence followed.

But this time—

it wasn’t empty.

It was heavy.

Almost… disappointed.

“You really want to believe that?” he said quietly.

And before she could respond—

everything shifted.

—

Noise.

Laughter.

Voices.

The cold balcony air disappeared, replaced by warmth… sunlight… chaos.

Ivara blinked.

Confused.

She wasn’t in her apartment anymore.

She was standing in a college corridor.

Crowded.

Loud.

Alive.

“What—?”

Her eyes widened.

This place—

felt familiar.

Too familiar.

Students rushed past her, conversations blending into noise. Posters on the wall. The smell of coffee. The echo of footsteps.

Her heartbeat picked up.

“I’ve been here…” she whispered.

“Yes,” his voice came from beside her.

“You lived here.”

She turned.

He was there again.

Still not fully visible.

But closer than before.

Her gaze shifted ahead—

and then—

she saw herself.

Eighteen.

Younger.

Messy hair. Sharp eyes. Attitude written all over her face.

And right in front of her—

a boy.

Equally stubborn.

Equally intense.

They were arguing.

“No, you listen to me!” young Ivara snapped.

“You started this!”

“Oh really?” the boy scoffed.

“You think the world revolves around you?”

Their voices clashed like fire and fuel.

Anger.

Ego.

Challenge.

Ivara watched, frozen.

“That’s me…” she whispered.

“And him?” she asked slowly.

A pause.

Then—

“You already know.”

Her eyes moved back to the boy.

The way he looked at her.

The way his anger didn’t hide something deeper.

Something softer.

Something dangerous.

Her chest tightened.

“No…” she breathed.

“This is…”

But before she could finish—

the scene shifted again.

—

Same college.

Different day.

Laughter this time.

Not arguments.

The same boy—

sitting beside her.

Closer.

Too close.

She was smiling.

Actually smiling.

“What happened to ‘I hate you’?” he teased.

She rolled her eyes.

“Shut up.”

But she didn’t move away.

Not this time.

Ivara’s heart started pounding.

“No…” she whispered.

“This isn’t possible…”

“You fought,” the voice said softly.

“You hated each other.”

A pause.

“And then… you didn’t.”

The scenes flashed faster now—

Moments.

Pieces.

Fragments.

Fights turning into conversations.

Conversations turning into late-night calls.

Late-night calls turning into silence that felt comfortable.

And then—

love.

Real.

Unavoidable.

Terrifying.

Four years.

Four years of them.

Growing.

Falling.

Choosing each other.

Again and again.

Tears filled Ivara’s eyes.

“This… this can’t be real…”

But it felt real.

Too real.

Her heart recognized it—

even if her mind didn’t.

“And then?” she whispered.

Her voice breaking now.

“What happened next…?”

Silence.

And for the first time—

his voice wasn’t calm.

It hurt.

“They found out.”

Everything stopped.

Ivara’s breath caught.

“Your family…”

A pause.

“And mine.”

A cold chill ran through her.

Enemies.

Rivals.

People who were never supposed to cross paths.

And yet—

they had.

And they fell in love anyway.

“Jani dushman,” she whispered faintly.

“Yes.”

Her heart dropped.

Because now—

it made sense.

The tension.

The fights.

The pull.

The impossibility.

“You were never supposed to be mine,” he said quietly.

“And yet…”

A pause.

“You were.”

Tears slipped down her face.

Because for the first time—

she didn’t just feel like something was missing.

She knew what it was.

Or rather—

who it was.

But the question still remained—

If she loved him this much…

Then why—

did she forget him?