After staring at Rahul's message for several minutes, Y/N finally locked her phone and let out a slow breath.
She would go.
Not because she was ready to give him the answer he wanted, and not because all her fears had suddenly disappeared.
But because she loved him.
She truly did.
The problem was never love.
The problem was that sometimes she needed space to breathe, to think, to understand her own emotions, and Rahul had never been very good at giving her that space. Whenever she pulled away for a while, he would immediately notice. Whenever she wanted silence, he wanted conversations. Whenever she needed time, he wanted answers.
And yet, despite all of that, she couldn't deny that he cared for her.
For the past three months, Rahul had been away on a business trip. Every single day without fail, they talked on the phone. He always asked if she had eaten, whether the bakery was doing well, if she was sleeping enough, and if she was taking care of herself.
He never forgot.
Not once.
There were moments during those three months when the bakery felt too quiet after closing hours. Moments when she sat alone on her apartment balcony, watching the city lights flicker in the distance while loneliness settled heavily inside her chest.
Sometimes she wanted to call him and tell him everything.
Tell him how exhausted she felt.
Tell him how scared she was.
Tell him how lonely she had become.
There were even nights when tears burned behind her eyes and she desperately wanted to cry in front of someone.
In front of him.
But she never did.
Because every time she imagined herself breaking down in front of Rahul, another feeling followed right behind it.
Regret.
She couldn't explain why.
Maybe because vulnerability always felt dangerous to her.
Maybe because she had spent her entire life watching women become emotionally dependent on people who eventually disappointed them.
Or maybe because she simply wasn't ready to hand someone that much power over her heart.
Whatever the reason was, she always swallowed her feelings before they could reach him.
And Rahul never noticed.
Or perhaps he noticed and simply didn't understand.
Now, sitting inside her car, Y/N tightened her grip on the steering wheel as familiar roads passed by outside the window.
The evening sky was painted in soft shades of orange and pink, and the city seemed unusually calm.
She knew exactly where she was going.
Their spot.
The small lakeside café where they had spent countless evenings together.
The place where Rahul had first confessed his feelings.
The place where he always took her whenever he had something important to say.
A nervous feeling settled in her stomach.
She already knew this conversation wouldn't be easy.
As the café slowly came into view, Y/N's heartbeat quickened.
She parked the car and sat there for a moment, staring through the windshield.
Then she saw him.⁸
Standing near the lake, hands tucked into his pockets, looking exactly the same and yet somehow different after three months apart.
For a second, all the doubts disappeared.
For a second, she simply missed him.
But then the memory of his message returned.
"There is something important I want to talk about."
And suddenly, the fear came rushing back.
Taking a deep breath, Y/N stepped out of the car and started walking toward him, unaware that this meeting was about to change far more than just their relationship.
The moment Rahul saw her walking toward him, his entire face lit up.
Without wasting a second, he immediately stood up from his seat and closed the distance between them.
"Y/N."
Before she could even say hello, his arms wrapped around her.
Tightly.
As if he was afraid she would disappear if he let go.
Y/N froze for a brief second before feeling him bury his face in the crook of her neck, holding her close against him. She could feel the familiar warmth of his embrace, the steady beat of his heart, and suddenly the three months of distance between them felt very, very real.
Rahul let out a small breath against her shoulder.
"God, I missed you."
His voice was muffled, almost exhausted, as if he had been carrying those words for months.
For the first time since arriving, Y/N's shoulders relaxed.
She had missed him too.
More than she had allowed herself to admit.
For a long moment neither of them moved, simply standing there near the lake while the evening breeze gently brushed past them.
Eventually, Rahul pulled back just enough to look at her.
His hands remained on her arms as his eyes carefully searched her face, almost as if he was checking whether she was really there.
A soft smile appeared on his lips.
Then he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
A simple gesture.
One he had done countless times before.
Yet somehow, after three months apart, it felt different.
It felt like coming home.
"How are you?" he asked quietly.
Such a simple question.
But something inside Y/N cracked.
Her eyes immediately began to sting.
She blinked rapidly, trying to hide it, but the sudden rush of emotions was impossible to stop.
Because for the past three months she had answered that same question over the phone every single day.
"I'm fine."
"Bakery is doing great."
"Don't worry about me."
But standing in front of him now was different.
He wasn't a voice through a screen.
He wasn't thousands of miles away.
He was here.
Real.
Warm.
Looking at her with genuine concern.
And suddenly she realized just how much she had missed him.
Not the phone calls.
Not the messages.
Him.
Rahul's smile slowly faded when he noticed the tears gathering in her eyes.
His brows furrowed immediately.
"Hey..." he whispered softly.
Y/N quickly looked away, embarrassed by her own reaction.
"I'm okay."
But her voice betrayed her.
Rahul gently tilted his head, watching her for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"You missed me that much, huh?"
The teasing remark was light, meant to ease the tension.
To his surprise, Y/N laughed through the tears.
A shaky, breathless laugh.
And that was answer enough.
For the first time in months, she allowed herself to admit it.
She had really missed him.
After a few more minutes of casual conversation, Y/N finally looked at him.
"So..." she said softly, wrapping her fingers around the warm cup of coffee in front of her. "What was so important that you wanted to meet me immediately?"
The moment the question left her mouth, Rahul's expression changed.
The smile he had been wearing all evening slowly disappeared.
His shoulders stiffened.
And for the first time since she arrived, he looked nervous.
Y/N noticed him glance away before looking back at her again.
"Y/N..."
His voice was hesitant.
"I need to ask you something."
A familiar feeling settled in her chest.
She already knew.
Rahul took a deep breath.
"Will you marry me?"
There it was.
The question she had been expecting.
The question she had been avoiding.
The question that always stood between them.
Y/N lowered her eyes for a moment before quietly shaking her head.
"No."
The answer wasn't angry.
It wasn't harsh.
Just honest.
Rahul closed his eyes briefly.
A sigh escaped him.
Not a sad one.
A frustrated one.
The kind of sigh that came from someone who had reached the end of their patience.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Then Rahul looked directly at her.
His jaw tightened.
"If you can't marry me..." he said slowly.
Y/N frowned.
"...then can I marry another woman?"
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