Heartstrings and URLs

Chapter 9: The Breaking Point

Ankit stared at his phone, the words Jasmine had just shared with him lingering in his mind. The confession about her habit of hurting herself had shaken him deeply. It wasn't just concern—there was something else, something that nagged at him, a sense that she still wasn't telling him everything.

Days passed, and though they continued chatting, there was always a sense of distance between them. Ankit couldn't shake the feeling that Jasmine was hiding something more. Each time they talked, he would try to bring it up, to find a way to ask her what was really going on. But every time, Jasmine evaded his questions with jokes, excuses, or vague responses that left him more confused than before.

One evening, after a particularly long day at work, Ankit found himself staring at his phone, feeling the weight of their unfinished conversations hanging over him. He had been patient with Jasmine—too patient, he thought. But he was only human, and the frustration that had been building for weeks was starting to wear him down.

"Jasmine, can we talk?" he finally typed, his fingers moving quickly across the screen.

Jasmine saw the message pop up and felt her heart skip a beat. She knew this was coming. She had felt the tension between them growing, felt Ankit's frustration seeping through his words in recent days. She wasn't blind to the fact that he knew she was holding something back.

But how could she tell him the truth? How could she admit that her feelings for him were more than just friendly? How could she explain the knots in her stomach, the way her heart raced when they talked, without ruining everything they had built?

She wanted to respond, to explain herself, but every time she tried, fear held her back. So, instead, she typed the same thing she always did.

"What's up? Is something wrong?"

Ankit sighed when he saw her reply. Of course. Another dodge. Another attempt to shift the conversation away from what really mattered. He felt a wave of frustration wash over him—frustration with her, but also with himself. Why was he still doing this? Why was he putting himself through this constant cycle of uncertainty?

For a long moment, he didn't respond. Then, finally, something inside him snapped.

"I'm done, Jasmine."

The words came out harsher than he intended, but once they were sent, he didn't feel like taking them back. He had spent too long waiting for her to be honest with him, too long trying to understand her, only to be met with walls she refused to let down.

Jasmine felt the air leave her lungs as she read the message. For a moment, she just sat there, staring at the screen, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew she had pushed him too far, but hearing—or rather, reading—it felt like a knife twisting in her gut.

"Done?" she typed back, her hands shaking. "What do you mean?"

Ankit's hands were trembling now too, but his frustration drove him forward.

"I've been trying to understand you, Jasmine. I've been trying to be patient, but every time I ask you to be honest, you just avoid it. I can't keep doing this. If you don't trust me enough to tell me the truth, then what's the point?"

His heart raced as he hit send, the tension of weeks building into that one moment.

Jasmine's throat tightened as she read his words. Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away, trying to steady herself. She couldn't lose him—not like this. But at the same time, she couldn't tell him. Not everything. Not the full truth.

Taking a deep breath, she made a choice she had been avoiding for what felt like forever.

"I have feelings for you, Ankit," she typed, her fingers trembling as she forced herself to admit it. "But I need you to block me."

She hesitated, feeling the weight of her next words. "It's hard enough to admit I have feelings for you, but it's even harder to live with them."

Ankit's breath caught in his throat when he saw her message. The words he had been waiting for—confirmation that she felt the same way—were right there on the screen. But before the wave of relief could wash over him, her request hit him like a punch to the gut.

"Block you? What are you talking about?"

Jasmine's hands were shaking as she typed her reply.

"Because it's too much, Ankit. I don't know how to handle this. I care about you, but I'm scared. I don't want to mess things up or hurt you. I've hurt people before, and I don't want to do that to you. I don't want to lose you, but I also don't know how to deal with what I'm feeling. It's just easier if you block me, okay?"

Her heart raced as she hit send, knowing that she was pushing him away even though it was the last thing she wanted.

Ankit stared at her message, his heart aching in a way he hadn't expected. This wasn't what he had wanted. All he had wanted was for her to be honest, to open up and trust him. And now, when she finally admitted her feelings, she was pushing him away.

For a long moment, he didn't know how to respond. His frustration had melted into confusion and hurt. How had things gotten so complicated? Why did caring for someone feel so much like losing them?

Finally, he started typing.

"I'm not going to block you, Jasmine."

He paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing.

"But I can't keep doing this either. You need to figure out what you want because I can't be stuck in this limbo forever."

He hit send and waited, feeling like everything between them was teetering on a knife's edge.

Jasmine stared at his message, her heart heavy with the weight of her own confusion. She had never wanted things to get this complicated, but here they were. Her feelings for Ankit were real, but so were her fears. And now, she was on the verge of losing him, not because she didn't care, but because she cared too much.

As the silence stretched on, Jasmine knew that no matter what happened next, things between them had changed. There was no going back.

-----what to do now this confusion is eating me up too lol...