chapter 2 - Slowly Fading

The change didn’t happen overnight.

There was no sudden shift, no warning.

It was slow — so slow that Tanzii almost didn’t notice at first.

The messages that used to come every morning started arriving later.

The calls became shorter.

He started saying, “I’m busy,” more often than “I miss you.”

And yet, she held on.

She thought it was just a phase.

That maybe he was stressed. Tired. Distracted.

She didn’t want to seem needy, so she waited.

She gave him space.

Understanding. Patience.

She thought love meant compromise.

But the more she understood him, the less he understood her silence.

She remembered one day clearly —

she had asked him for just ten minutes.

Just ten minutes out of his day, to talk, to feel close again.

“Please,” she had said, “I don’t need hours. Just a few minutes. Just… you.”

He said he was busy.

That he’d call her later.

But he never did.

Not until she called first.

And every time she called, it felt like she was interrupting something more important.

“Samjha karo,” he would say.

“Main busy hoon.”

But she had feelings too.

Loneliness too.

And a growing ache that whispered, “You’re not his priority anymore.”

She missed him more with each passing day.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she’d close her eyes and remember everything —

that first hug, the way it made her feel safe,

how all her stress vanished in that one moment.

She had felt like she was finally home.

That hug wasn’t just a hug.

It was healing.

It was like all the broken parts inside her paused for a moment, just to breathe.

In his arms, she had felt protected — as if nothing in the world could harm her.

But as he started drifting away, she didn’t notice it right away.

The distance wasn’t loud.

It was silent. Like fog.

And when she finally did — when she gently asked for time, for a little more effort —

he said he understood…

but then he forgot.

She kept remembering.

Remembering everything — the warmth of his hand, the softness of his voice,

how he once made her believe in magic again.

And he kept forgetting.

Forgetting her need for time.

Forgetting the way her heart waited.

Every “samjha karo” felt like another door closing. Every broken promise turned her love story into a quiet goodbye.

She wasn’t asking for too much.

Just presence.

Just the version of him that once held her like she mattered.

But slowly, piece by piece, he disappeared.

Whatever this was… it was worth exploring.

Even if it came with fears, with confusion, with slow steps and uncertain moments — it was still something beautiful. And sometimes, the best kind of love isn’t the one that begins with certainty… but the one that’s brave enough to begin anyway.

But behind her gentle smile was a storm she never spoke of. She laughed like nothing hurt, but her heart carried silent bruises — from people who left, from promises that broke, from wounds still healing. She wanted to believe this would be different, but the fear was louder than she let on. Every night, she cried quietly, hiding her pain like a secret she couldn't afford to share. Because even though she was breaking inside, she didn’t want him to see the shattered parts of her. Not yet.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***