She continues to ignore me, her gaze so meticulously bypassing mine that it feels almost like a calculated act of defiance. Each moment stretches into an eternity, and a surge of emotion compels me to reach out, my fingers cradling her face as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The warmth of my touch serves as a bridge between us, an unspoken connection that, at least for me, thunders with unacknowledged intimacy. As I lean in, the surrounding air charged with a mixture of tension and unease, I allow myself to pretend—just for a heartbeat—that I’m going to kiss her. Yet just as the distance between us shrinks, she reacts abruptly, pushing me back with a suddenness that catches me completely off guard. The forcefulness of her rejection reverberates in the quiet space around us,
