We coexisted midst an air of unhindered silence for around twenty minutes, in Starbucks. Despite the hatred I had towards sitting in silence, I chose to stay mum, because it wasn't the right time to blabber about anything. Darshan looked dull, tired and annoyed, all at once; he was Darshan Raval, with his volume turned all the way down, and I was scared that if I said something to him, he'd walk out, or something of that sort.

I watched him add two spoons of sugar into his coffee cup, and stir it around in slow-motion, as he stared at the whirlpools that emerged. Absently, I pierced the Blueberry Cheesecake on my plate with a fork, and tugged it out, repeatedly, until I waited for him to break the ice between us. He looked different that morning, and he radiated such discomforting vibes; he wasn't happy, but he wasn't angry, either. He was...quiet, and it was the kind of quietness that bothered me; as I studied him, I thought he felt guilty for something, or maybe, he was in some pain. It took me a while, but I understood that he wasn't furious at me. I simply felt that he curled into a shell, and concealed a fresh storm that crept into his life.

Slowly and silently, I kept my hand over his hand, on the other end of the table, and gently grasped it, interlacing our fingers together; his hands were the warmest thing I'd ever touched. "I'm sorry", I whispered an apology, and squeezed his hand tighter for a short while. "Chuck", he breathed out, and smiled at me, powerlessly; I didn't know if I over-examined his smile, but it looked painful, to me. "You should have been a little thoughtful, Dia", Darshan said, calmly, and I answered him with an agreeing nod. "I crossed the limits of stupidity last night, I know", I accepted. "But I tried to fix th—", even before I could complete the sentence, Darshan cross-spoke. "You cannot fix everything you ruin. Sometimes, when it's gone, it's gone forever", he said, straightaway, silencing me, and I didn't know what to say; I couldn't go past simply staring at him. I didn't know what was happening; it was a weird morning, I need to admit.

"It's such a sunny morning, after decades", Darshan said, out of nowhere, around ten minutes later. "Hmm", I agreed, and looked at him in suspicion. He took a deep breath in, and licked his lower lip, rubbing the side of his neck in nervousness. "I'll be leaving to the UK for a tour, somewhere next week", Darshan informed. "I know. You told me, many times before", I said back and he bit his lower lip, as he fidgeted with the handle of the coffee cup, and spilled the coffee across the table. "Oh shit!", he whispered out aloud, and sprung up to his feet, looking to his sides in hesitation. "I—I didn't know---I'm so sorry", Darshan fumbled, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I was---", Darshan paused, and stared at the coffee he spilled over the table, without uttering another word. "Darshan, you only spilled coffee, it's okay", I told him, in calmness, but I experienced a tremor in my heart that I couldn't cease; why was he out-of-place, all of a sudden? He was beyond my understanding that morning.

We changed tables, and he ordered another coffee, before he looked down at his hands, playing with his fingers. "What's wrong?", I questioned, right away, placing my hand over his and stopped him from fidgeting any more. "If there's anything you want to talk about, spit it out to me. Why do you have to hesitate when you're around me? Don't beat anything around the bush. Just say it. I'm listening to you", I comforted him, tightening my hold around his hand, and his back rose, as he breathed in. "I think it's over", he blundered out, in one breath, with his eyes fixed on the table. "Huh?", I looked at him, blankly. "What----what's over?", I stretched my words, thoughtfully. "Did you lose a project, or something? Are you talking about that?", I mumbled, confusedly and inaudibly. A moment later, he lifted his head and look up at me, but struggled to look into my eyes; somewhere in his hesitance, I understood what he meant, but my heart prayed, sincerely, that the truth wasn't what I thought it was.

"Dityaa...", Darshan called out, softly, and sandwiched my hand between his palms. "What's over, Darshan?", I could sense the quiver in my voice. "I'm sorry...but...", he took a long pause, and tested my patience, but I was on the verge of breaking down, I couldn't react; I waited, I desperately waited, for him to carry on. "...but I think, we should breakup", he uttered the words I never wanted to hear from him, and for a moment of time, the world around me stopped moving. But once a teardrop crashed against my lips and I shuddered out of the blank thoughts I was caught up in. I turned my face away from him, and wiped my tears with the back of my hand, silently. I looked down at the laminated menu-card beneath my eyes, and swallowed hard, as I strived to regain composure. I felt a lump in my throat and I couldn't talk – and I didn't want to talk - for I thought I'd have an uncontrollable breakdown.

"Only because I spent a night in jail, you'll question my character, too?", around three minutes later, I mustered the strength to speak up. "No!", Darshan exclaimed, in defense, and shook his head to the sides, vigourously. "No, Dityaa, no! It's not what you're thinking", Darshan said. "Then?", I cued, and looked up at him expectantly. "Vaish left. Nash doesn't want to talk to me. You don't want to be with me. I know I made a mistake, but do you think it's fair to punish me to this extent?", I questioned. "Dityaa, it has nothing to do with the previous night. I know it was a mistake, and I'm over it", Darshan said. "I wanted to talk about this for days, but I couldn't do it. But we should part ways, Dityaa", Darshan stated, and despite the sudden drops in my stomach, I kept my emotions under control. "What's wrong with us, Darshan? Why---just---just why?", my voice cracked. "I'm losing control on my career, and I don't know where I'm heading towards. Dityaa, while I'm in this confusion, I cannot take you with me. I need to find a way to sort out my life, before making any commitments", Darshan explained. "You're talking as if your career is gone forever. You have lost hold on it for the moment, and you'll find clarity in no time. Stop taking every loss and failure so seriously. Darshan, you're not making sense. You cannot throw away a relationship, because you aren't doing well, professionally. One day, you'll be on top of your game, and the other day, you'll be down; that's life, and you'll swing between the two spectrums, but how can you simply end a relationship?", I asked him, and he didn't have an answer. "And Darsh, I'm not with you because you're rich, famous and successful. Even if you were a complete failure, I would have still fallen head-over-heels in love with you, because I am madly in love with the human being you are, not with the money you earn", I assured him. "No, Dityaa, you don't understand. It's not only my unstable career, but—somewhere, I feel that we won't last together. Maybe a year, or two, or even three; but I don't think we can survive any longer, together. We're so different with the way we think, function and live life. We'll never overlap in life, and that gap will make life so difficult for us; maybe, we don't realize it now, but when we walk into a marriage, we'll struggle. And above everything, you won't adapt to my lifestyle; you cannot, count on me with this. I come from a conserved family, and you're someone who wants to live life to the fullest. Tomorrow, if we land up in a marriage, you'll share my life, and you'll struggle to get a hold of it. You'll wonder why you chose to be with me, and you'll find solace in walking out of it. Before we reach that point, we'll end this. I know you, and I know that you wouldn't be able to handle my life. Besides, with a lot of differences between us, how can we survive? Think about it", he concluded and I had a lot to say in my argument, but I chose not to speak against him; I chose silence, not because I thought he was right, but because he had moved too far from me.

I couldn't convince him, when he was convinced that we were better off alone. I couldn't convince him, when he was clear in his head that he didn't want to stay in my life. I could give him a thousand reasons, telling him to stay, and he'd return a thousand more reasons, telling me why we shouldn't be together. I realized that if he truly wanted to be with me, he would have searched for a ray of light, and hope, in the dark; and that was the difference between us, that morning – he walked off, while I still stood with hopes that we'll be just fine together, but slowly, my hopes crumbled down when it struck me that I didn't have to fight for a space in someone's life the way I did that morning. I've always been told that holding onto someone, who doesn't belong to me, won't make that person mine; you cannot force people to love you, and stay with you. People change, and he did, too; it was hard to absorb it, but I could only accept the bitter truth I was faced with.

"Okay", I breathed out, shakily, and tugged my hand from between his warm palms, but he didn't let go. "Dityaa, I'm sorry", Darshan apologized, guiltily, sandwiching my hand between his palms, again. "Why are you sorry, Darshan?", I smiled, achingly. "You don't have to be sorry. You don't have to---it's---that's okay", I fumbled, as I had nothing nice to say, when a sabotaging pain seized me tight. "I'm glad you took a stand for yourself and made a selfish choice, for once", I told him, forcing calmness in my voice, and looked down at the table for I couldn't make an eye-contact with him. "All the best in life. I hope you find clar---clarity—", I took a long pause, when my voice broke. Tears wetted my eyes, and my heart pounded against my chest, as the emotions I held within suffocated my insides, terribly. "That's it. All the best", I whispered, loudly, and swallowed hard, dragging my hand out of his grip. I had a lot to say, but I couldn't speak. Hanging my head low, I swept the tears off my eyes and forced a smile, as I zipped my handbag shut. "Will you pay the bill, or shall I?", in a shaky voice, I questioned him, fidgeting with my handbag. "I'll pay...Dityaa, listen to me...", Darshan sounded blank. "No. Um, no", I sniffed in. "Actually, um, I'm running late for work, Darshan. I have a lot to do. I need to go", I stood up, hurriedly, and he held my wrist, holding my back. "You can go to work tomorrow, too. But I don't even know if I'm going to see you tomorrow", Darshan said, with tears in his eyes, and I simply looked away from him. "Darshan, I need to go", I told him, as a stream of tear tumbled out of the corner of my eyes. "Karan's going to be so mad at me. I need to go", I said, coldly, and felt his hold around my wrist loosen. "Shall I drop you?", he offered, and my heart shattered. "Just leave me. Alone", I told him and he stared at me, looking almost devastated. "Don't call me, or meet me, again. I just---I hope you understand why I need that space. Just let me be. I don't want to sit down and cry over this for the rest of my life; I need to move on. And if you want me to move on, stay away from me; this is the last thing I want you to do for me. Okay?", I looked at him, expectantly. "Okay", he moved his lips, a long while later, and I forced a smile at him, before I walked away from him for the last time.

The moment I walked out of Starbucks, I was drenched in tears and soaked in the sadness I concealed before him. I hopped into a Rickshaw, and while the Rickshaw raced towards my office, the swooshing wind blew my tears away.

I had the taste of true love in the times we spent together. We think true love lasts for a lifetime, but I understood that maybe, true love is about the little genuine and unfiltered moments we share with the person we love, which last for a lifetime. In a matter of a moment, people break, love fades and paths change but even ten years down the line, memories still remain the same, and I think that's beautiful...and dangerous, for it still holds the essence of love that's long gone. Maybe ten year later, or even twenty, I'd look back to the time in my life when I collapsed and crashed in love with him, and the thought of him would still bully my heart to pound against my chest...and maybe, maybe, he'll still bring a smile on my face. But would it still hurt the same, or would it not affect me at all? In the years to come, would I find someone who'd love me, and make me feel special the way he did? One day, would I look back at the heartbreak and smile at it, because I found someone better than him? Or, would tears creep out of my eyes, as I'd still wonder why he left me? I didn't know what tomorrow had in store for me, but I was terrified, because I lost a part of my life while loving him, and I wasn't going to get it back. It pained, it pained a lot, and it pained in a way I couldn't tolerate, but deep inside, I was certain that with time, my wounds would heal and pain would subside. No matter how great the failure is, or how big the betrayal is, or how painful the heartbreak is; you ought to give yourself some time, and everything will be just fine.

[And now that they have parted ways, what happens next? Where will they go, and moreimportantly – will they meet? I know all of you have uncountable questions, andI'll answer them all with my next update. I'm hoping my next update to be myfinal update for ATTACHMENTS 2 so I'll take a while to work on it. Till then,do read the chapters, make sure you vote for it and add it to your reading list].