"Some goodbyes don't end a love story.
They just pause it until fate finds a way back."
---
Rain had a way of showing up during heartbreak.
As if the sky itself wanted to weep for her.
Avni stood outside the temple gates, her dupatta soaked, her eyes hollow, and her hands trembling — not from the cold, but from the storm inside her.
She hadn't spoken to Mohsin since that night — the night she discovered everything.
His real name. His real faith.
And the real lie their love was built on.
But today, she had asked him to meet. One last time.
He arrived quietly, umbrella in hand. Still wearing the simple shirt she had once said looked good on him. Still holding her gaze like she was the only one in the world.
But something had changed.
---
> "Avni…"
> "Mat bolo kuch bhi. Sirf suno."
Her voice was strong. Controlled. But her eyes gave her away — they were full.
> "Mohsin… Tum mujhse pyaar karte ho. Ismein koi shak nahi.
Par jis tareeke se tumne kiya… woh pyaar nahi tha. Woh dhokha tha."
He stepped closer, pain in every breath.
> "Main majboor tha. Agar main sach batata, tum kabhi mujhe..."
> "Tumhe sach bolna chahiye tha. Tumne mujhse nahi, mere bharose se jhooth bola."
A pause.
> "Aur jaante ho sabse zyada kya chubha?
Yeh ki tum sirf mujhe nahi… apne religion se bhi jhooth bol rahe the."
He looked away, ashamed.
> "Main Hindu hoon, aur main apne dharm se wafadar hoon.
Par main kisi bhi dharm ke khilaf nahi hoon.
Mujhe har dharm ki izzat karni aati hai… aur yeh main tumse seekh sakti thi — agar tumne mujhe mauka diya hota."
---
Silence. Just the sound of rain between them.
> "Mohsin… tum mujhe bhool jao."
His head snapped up.
> "Main nahi bhool sakta."
> "Toh yaad rakhna… par sirf dost ke roop mein.
Main apne mazhab se gaddari nahi kar sakti.
Aur tum bhi mat karo. Kyunki jo apne rab se wafadar nahi hota,
woh kisi aur se kya hoga?"
She turned. Her heart cracked.
He didn't stop her.
Because this time, loving her meant letting her go.
---
That night, she came home, wiped her tears quietly, and wrote in her diary:
> "Mohsin, main tumse pyaar karti thi. Shayad ab bhi karti hoon.
Par main khud se zyada kisi aur se jhooth nahi bol sakti."
"This goodbye is not because I don't love you…
It's because I do."
---
He, on the other side of the city, sat in his dark room, scrolling through old messages, and whispered:
> "Avni… main har janam mein tumse mohabbat karunga.
Chahe tum mujhe har baar chhod do."
---