Love at First Crash

Anya’s pov

I don’t remember exactly when I started liking Veer.

Maybe it was when he shared his lunch with me in second grade… Or when he held my hand after a fight with a senior and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll always protect you.”

Our families used to tease us constantly future bride and groom, perfect match, made for each other.

I used to blush. He used to laugh.

And somehow, I believed every word of it.

But as we grew older, something changed.

Not in me… In him.

He got busier. More popular. Surrounded by new friends and new dreams.

I stayed where I always was quietly supporting him, silently loving him.

I was there when he lost his first football match and cried in frustration. I was there when he got injured and everyone else moved on.

I stayed. Through every fall and every rise.

So when he got a scholarship and was accepted into a top sports college…

I wanted to celebrate him in the only way I knew with love.

I baked a special cake, decorated it with his jersey number, and planned a small surprise at his house.

But when I reached there, his friends were already celebrating.

I didn’t want to disturb them, so I quietly slipped into the kitchen to leave the cake on the counter.

That’s when they walked in.

Three girls.

The one in the center dressed like she owned the world looked at me from head to toe before smirking.

“So… you’re Anya?” she said. “You aren’t invited.”

I blinked. “I just came to”

“To what?” She stepped closer, invading my space. “To force yourself on him? I’m his girlfriend. Stay away from him.”

My heart stopped.

“Girlfriend?” I whispered.

Before I could process anything, her eyes landed on the cake.

“Oh please,” she sneered. “What’s this? Homemade? Cheap.”

And then she pushed it off the counter.

The cake shattered on the floor along with something inside me.

I stepped back, shocked. “Why would you do that?”

She smirked. “Because I already bought him an expensive cake. We don’t need yours.”

Before I could respond, voices filled the kitchen.

Veer. And the rest of his friends.

Everyone had heard the noise.

And instantly, she changed.

“Veer!” she cried, rushing toward him with trembling lips and fake tears. “I… I didn’t mean to drop the cake. But Anya started shouting at me. She said you’d only eat her cake. She even said she’s your girlfriend…”

Her two friends joined in, nodding dramatically.

I froze.

I had never seen such a flawless performance.

Veer looked at me.

His jaw tightened. His eyes hardened colder than I had ever seen them.

“Stop dreaming, Anya,” he said sharply. “Leave. And stop making scenes.”

I looked at him.

Waiting for him to look at me once. To see the truth in my eyes. To remember who I was.

But he didn’t.

He turned away.

So I walked out of that house, humiliation burning through me deeper than any insult ever could.

That night, I cried.

Like my heart was being wrung dry.

And I decided something.

I was done.

Done caring for someone who didn’t even try to understand me. Done chasing the memory of the boy he used to be.

I would move on.

For myself.

Four Months Later

I actually started to change.

I focused on myself, preparing for an art exam, rediscovering who I was when I wasn’t orbiting around him.

One day, his mother called and asked me to help her with something.

I had avoided Veer’s house ever since that night, but his parents were family to me. Veer wasn’t home as he stayed in the college dorms now.

So I agreed.

We were cooking together when the doorbell rang, and I went to open it.

The moment I saw who stood there, my heart stuttered.

Veer.

His so called girlfriend. And his friends.

For a second, every humiliating memory crashed into me.

His mother came out, surprised and happy to see them.

Everyone walked inside. I stepped aside quietly.

“Aunty, I should go now,” I murmured.

But she held my hand. “No, beta. Stay for dinner. You haven’t met Veer in so long.”

I didn’t have the heart to refuse her.

During dinner, everyone chatted casually until aunty suddenly said,

“Since you’re home, Veer, why don’t you take Anya to a movie? You two always used to go together.”

The entire table went silent.

Veer finally spoke. “Mom, stop. Anya and I are just friends. Not what you think.”

Then, almost casually, he added, “And I want to introduce her. She’s my girlfriend. We started dating recently.”

That same girl smiled like a queen claiming her throne.

His mother stared at him, stunned.

Before she could say anything, I spoke up.

“Yes, aunty. It’s nothing like that. We’re only friends.”

I forced a smile and changed the topic, pretending everything was normal.

Dinner continued.

I stayed polite.

And then I left.

But on the way home, I realized something.

The girl who used to love him without limits…

She didn’t live inside me anymore.

I had finally truly let him go.