🏙️ “Long-Distance Love, Close-Distance Pain” - Chapter 5

 

Chapter 5: The Client Is… Him

"He thought she’d still be waiting. But she had turned the ruins he left behind… into her rebirth."

Aditya Verma.
26.
Founder & CEO of Ravelle Industries, a rising luxury wellness brand.
He had just signed a major deal to expand operations in India. His team had suggested Clarity Branding Solutions—top-tier, creative, professional.

What they didn’t tell him… was who he’d meet there.

Or maybe the universe just enjoyed cruel irony.

The moment he saw her—he knew.

He wasn’t ready.

Not for this version of her.
Not for the sharp edges where there used to be softness.
Not for the calm indifference that hit harder than anger ever could.

Aditi.

The girl he once held so tightly… now holding nothing of his anymore.

She had always been beautiful. But now—she was powerful.
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t stumble. Didn’t even acknowledge the past.

It stung.

It burned.

Because deep down, he had believed she’d still feel something.
Maybe even hope a little.

But she looked at him like he was just another client.

Worse… like a closed chapter.

Later that day, back at his hotel.

Aditya stared out of the window, city lights flickering in the glass, mirroring the storm inside him.

She hates me. She has every right to.

He sat on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his hair.

In the silence, his mind wandered back to London.

How it had started so well…
But things had gotten overwhelming.
Classes, part-time jobs, late nights, networking events.
Excuses. Excuses.
And she kept texting, calling, loving—while he kept postponing, avoiding, drifting.

He had read her birthday message.
He had typed a long reply.
Then deleted it.
Typed again.
Deleted again.

And in the end…
He sent nothing.

He told himself:
"I’ll fix it later. I’ll explain when I’m more settled. She’ll understand."

But the thing about time is—it doesn’t wait.
And neither did she.

He pulled out his phone.
Opened her old photos.
A snapshot of her on a rainy day in college, holding chai, laughing at something he’d said.

That laugh had once belonged to him.

Now… it was gone.

Flashback: One year ago.
London. 2 AM.

Rhea’s voice echoed over the phone.
“You’re losing her, Aditya.”

“I just need time,” he had said, guilt rising.

“No, what you need is courage. And if you don’t give her clarity, she’ll find it without you.”

She did.

She moved on.

Present.

His phone buzzed. A reminder:
9 AM. Brand Strategy Meeting with Aditi Sharma.

A hollow laugh escaped his lips.

Strategy meeting?
How was he supposed to strategize a campaign when all he could think about was how to apologize?

“She waited for me to speak.
I stayed silent.
Now, she’s the one with the mic—and I’m just another part of her client list.”

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