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Chapter 24 - Feelings and decisions

Fiza's world shattered before her eyes as she watched Alan and Anna locked in an intimate embrace, their lips entwined with fervent emotion. It felt as though her chest had been hollowed out, her heart ruthlessly trampled upon.

The pain was unbearable, leaving her gasping for air, struggling to comprehend the reality of what she had just witnessed. In that moment, she knew that she had lost Alan forever, and the realization pierced her soul.

Stunned and dazed, Fiza stood motionless, her face drained of color, her heartache consuming her. Alan and Anna broke apart, but Alan remained seated, trapped by Anna's presence on his lap. Anna continued to stroke his thigh intimately.

Fiza's anguished gaze met Alan's for a fleeting moment before she turned on her heels and fled, her footsteps echoing through the corridor as she desperately sought solace from the heartache that engulfed her.

Meanwhile, Alan, recognized the need to go after Fiza, to confront the pain he had caused. He turned to Anna, his voice pleading for understanding. "I need to go talk to her," he explained, hoping she would grasp the depth of his feelings for Fiza.

However, Anna remained curled up on his lap, her response cutting through the air with a cold detachment. "You have feelings for her," she stated matter-of-factly, refusing to budge.

Alan nodded, a mix of remorse and determination etched on his face. "I'm really sorry. I tried," he began, his voice laden with sincerity and regret. However, Anna's curt interruption halted his words. Her anger, fueled by the sting of rejection, transformed into bitter resentment directed at him.

Slowly rising from his lap, she pierced him with a sharp gaze, her words dripping with disdain. "You think chasing after her will make a difference? She'll see right through you," she scoffed, her voice laced with a harshness of Aarthy's earlier accusations. "You don't need to pretend to care. People can see right through you, you filthy piece of shit," echoed her voice in his head.

Alan stood frozen, his insecurities rooting him to the spot. He had tried harder than he ever had before, to make things work with Anna but she had confirmed his worst fears. He would never be good enough for anyone.

As Fiza ran, her thoughts raced alongside her pounding footsteps. Each stride fueled her growing sense of betrayal and heartbreak. The realization hit her with a forceful blow-Alan had never truly loved her, not in the way she had yearned for. He had made it clear from the beginning that emotional attachments were not his domain. Their physical intimacy had always existed in a separate realm, devoid of the depth she had craved.

Her own actions weighed heavily on her, taunting her with feelings of foolishness. She had willingly crossed boundaries, allowing herself to believe that their connection ran deeper than Alan's initial disclaimers.

He had stuck around though, hadn't he? He had always seemed happy to be around her. Yet, now she questioned her own judgment. Had he only been there for her out of a sense of obligation, masquerading as friendship?

Her tears mingled with the sweat on her face, mirroring the turbulence within her heart. She continued to run, her feet carrying her past familiar landmarks-the basketball court where they had spent countless hours, the girls' hostel and the lovers lane.

Unable to bear the weight of her shattered dreams any longer, Fiza sprinted onto the main road, her destination unknown. In that moment, all she knew was that she couldn't stay within the confines of the campus that held memories of their failed connection. She needed to escape, to find solace in the unfamiliar, to heal the wounds that now consumed her soul.

Anna finally left the jam room, bitterly ending the only real relationship he had ever been in. Alan had planned to end it, but the level of dissatisfaction that Anna expressed still stung in his ears. He swallowed hard, the weight of her words settling heavily on his shoulders.