Lag Jaa Galey

The weight of waiting

**Chapter Fourteen : The Weight of Waiting**

Kabir had spent years drowning in guilt. Not guilt for something he had done, but for something he hadn’t—for everything he had kept hidden from Riya. He had all the time in the world to tell her how he felt, but he wasted it, waiting for the perfect moment, for the right words, for a day that never came. It was childish, really. How many opportunities had passed him by? How many nights had he stared at their chat window, hesitating over the keys, his heart racing, only to close the app without sending a single word?

The truth was, Kabir wasn’t brave enough. He waited, not realizing that life waits for no one.

The one who had written that note, and attempted suicide was **Kabir**, a bright student with a promising future. But in matters of love, he was terribly unlucky. He was a soft-hearted boy, his emotions running deeper than anyone around him could understand. His love for **Riya**—the same girl who had filled his days with quiet longing—remained constant for years. And yet, she had no idea how he felt. To her, he was just a friend, a classmate. Someone she might chat with casually.

But to Kabir, Riya was everything. She was the girl he imagined himself walking home from tuition with, the one he dreamt of sharing secret moments and stolen glances with. She was the one he loved so deeply that he never dared tell her, fearing it might shatter the fragile bond they already had.

And in the end, it wasn’t even Riya’s rejection that destroyed him. It was his own silence. The guilt of waiting too long, of holding his feelings in until it was too late. That guilt ate at him, until it drove him to the edge.

The day came when Kabir tried to end it all.

---

**Chapter Fifteen: After the Fall**

Kabir hadn’t died that day, though he came close. His brother, **Rohan**, had been the one to save him. When Kabir woke up in the hospital, he couldn’t feel his legs. The doctors told him it was temporary—that with time and therapy, he might walk again. But for now, he was paralyzed.

Rohan stayed by his side throughout the recovery, but even he could feel the change in Kabir. Something in his brother had broken beyond the physical. **Seema**, Kabir’s friend, came by to visit him the next day, her face drawn with worry. She had loved Kabir for years, despite knowing that Kabir’s heart belonged to Riya. Yet she still loved him, hoping that one day, maybe, he would notice her in the way she had always noticed him.

But when she arrived at the hospital, Rohan was waiting outside Kabir’s room, blocking her from going in.

“Don’t disturb him right now,” Rohan said softly. His face was pale, eyes dark with sleepless worry. “He needs rest.”

Seema nodded, though her heart ached. “I just wanted to see him… to know if he’s okay.”

“He’s not,” Rohan admitted. “He’s not okay, Seema. Not by a long shot. Do you know why he tried to kill himself?”

Seema looked down at her feet, biting her lip. “Because Riya died in that accident. He couldn’t handle it, right?”

Rohan sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. “That’s what I thought at first too. But no, Riya didn’t die. She survived the accident. When Kabir went to the hospital to see her, she was alive, recovering.” He paused, his eyes narrowing as if recalling the painful memory. “But what he saw there—it destroyed him.”

Seema frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Riya wasn’t alone,” Rohan explained quietly. “There was another man with her. He was sitting so close, holding her hand. And then, as Kabir stood there, frozen, he watched Riya hug him and rest her head on his lap. The guy fed her with his hands, Seema. As if… as if Kabir had never existed.”

Seema’s breath hitched. “Her boyfriend?”

Rohan nodded, his face hardening. “Kabir never knew about him. He’d spent all those years pining for her, talking about their memories, her likes and dislikes, believing that one day she might love him back. And that’s what he got in return.”

---

**Chapter Sixteen: Broken Pieces**

Seema was silent for a long time. She knew Kabir had suffered, but hearing this—knowing that Riya was alive, happy in someone else’s arms—it felt like a cruel twist of fate. “How could she…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “Does Kabir know I’m here?”

Rohan looked at her, a strange intensity in his eyes. “Seema, you can help him. I know you’ve always cared about him. I know how much he means to you.”

Seema blinked, startled by his words. “Me? But I—Kabir’s heart still belongs to Riya. He can’t just forget her.”

“I’m not asking you to make him forget her,” Rohan said urgently. “But he needs you, Seema. More than ever. He needs someone who can help him heal, someone who can give him a reason to move on. He’s shattered right now, and I can’t reach him. But you… you can.”

Seema stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. “You really think I can help him?”

“I know you can,” Rohan insisted. “This is your chance, Seema. If anyone can pull him out of this darkness, it’s you.”

---

**Chapter Seventeen: A Love Unreturned**

Days turned into weeks, and then months. Kabir slowly began to recover, physically at least. He could move his legs again, and the doctors were hopeful that with enough therapy, he would be able to walk normally in time. But the scars left on his heart ran much deeper.

Seema spent more time with him, sitting by his bedside, reading to him, talking about anything and everything to fill the silence. And in return, Kabir let her in—just a little at first, but enough for her to hope. There were moments when he smiled, moments when she could almost believe that he might come to love her the way she loved him.

But love doesn’t work that way. It can’t be forced, can’t be willed into existence just because you want it to be. Kabir’s heart was still with Riya, even though he knew she could never be his. No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t shake the memories of her. She had been his first love—his only love. And forgetting your first love is not as simple as willing it away. It stays with you, haunting you like a shadow.

Even after knowing the truth—knowing that Riya would never come back, never be his—Kabir’s heart still ached for her. Every night, before he closed his eyes, a small part of him still waited, still hoped that maybe, just maybe, she would come back.

Seema understood this, but it didn’t make it any easier. Loving someone who was still in love with someone else—it was a pain she bore in silence.