When Trust Broke… and Fate Struck
PAST
Tanvi and I went to the same junior college — a well-known science major one. But of course, we ended up in different classes.
That didn't stop me from showing up at her classroom every other day.
"Tannu! Can I borrow your English book?" I called out, standing at the door of her class like I owned the place.
She looked up from her seat and sighed dramatically. "We just started junior college and you're already forgetting your books? Pull yourself together."
Even while nagging, she handed it to me.
"Sowwy," I said in an exaggerated, playful tone, knowing very well it would annoy her more.
It worked.
"Is that your friend, Tanvi?" a soft voice asked from inside the classroom.
I looked past Tanvi and saw a girl standing near the corner of the door. She looked shy — the kind who hesitates before speaking, clutching her notebook close to her chest.
"Yeah," Tanvi replied casually. "We've known each other since childhood."
I stepped forward slightly. "I'm Kunal. Class A."
"Oh… I'm Minakshi," she said quietly.
"Mina talked to me during the welcome ceremony," Tanvi explained. "We just started getting along."
I smirked. "Tanvi and I have been in a toxic relationship since we were kids."
She immediately shot me a glare. "Then why did you come to the same junior college as me?"
"Huh?!" I scoffed. "You're the one who followed me here. I've been aiming for this college from the beginning."
Her eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"
And just like that, we started arguing again — like always.
Minakshi watched us with wide eyes before letting out a small laugh. "Childhood friends are so nice… I don't really have male friends. I've hardly ever talked to boys, so I get nervous around them."
I glanced at Tanvi, then back at Minakshi.
"Well," I said lightly, "I can be your friend, if you want."
Her face brightened a little. "Thank you."
"There's no need to be nervous around Kuu anyway," Tanvi added, deliberately using my nickname.
I turned to her instantly. "What do you mean by that?"
She crossed her arms with a smug smile.
And once again—
We started arguing.
Some things never change.
...
About a week later, Tanvi showed up at my classroom.
She didn't come alone.
Minakshi stood half-hidden behind her, clutching her bag straps like a timid little animal seeking protection. She barely lifted her eyes.
"Hey, Kuu!" Tanvi called out casually.
"What's up?" I asked, leaning back in my chair.
"Mina forgot her Math 1 textbook," Tanvi said. "Can you lend her yours?"
"Sure. I think it's in my locker. Give me a minute."
I walked toward the lockers at the back of the hallway. When I pulled my book out, I noticed a thin layer of dust on it.
Oops.
I smacked the book lightly against my palm to dust it off — unfortunately doing it right in front of Tanvi's face.
She immediately narrowed her eyes at me, looking ready to scold.
I ignored her and handed the book to Minakshi.
"Th–thank you," she said softly.
Tanvi was still staring at me with those sharp, irritated eyes.
"What?" I mouthed.
She rolled her eyes and dragged Minakshi away.
---
During the lecture, my friend sitting on my right nudged me.
"Hey," he whispered. "The girl you lent your textbook to earlier… she was really cute. Is she your friend?"
"She's my childhood friend's friend," I replied casually.
"Her name's Minakshi, right? From Class B?" he continued. "I heard some guys talking about how cute she is."
"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I'm so jealous of you. Can you introduce me to her?"
"Huh… she said she gets nervous around guys, so I don't know," I said honestly.
"Ah, okay," he sighed.
---
During the break that day, Minakshi came to my classroom.
The moment she stepped inside, a few of my friends started nudging each other and whispering. I could already sense the teasing coming.
Not wanting to deal with that, I quickly stood up.
"Let's talk outside," I said.
We stepped into the corridor.
"Kunal!" she called softly.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for lending your textbook," she said, holding it out carefully with both hands.
"No problem. See you later then," I replied quickly, ending the conversation before it could get awkward.
"Yep," she nodded and walked back toward her classroom.
I returned to my locker to put the textbook back.
As I flipped it open, something pink caught my eye.
A sticky note.
Curious, I peeled it off and looked closer.
There it was.
A phone number.
Minakshi's phone number.
For a moment, I just stared at it.
"We're friends now… so exchanging numbers is normal, right?" I muttered under my breath.
Still, something about it felt sudden.
Unexpected.
Maybe Tanvi told her to give it to me.
Or maybe…
I didn't think too deeply about it.
I folded the sticky note carefully and slipped it into my pocket anyway.
.....
After college ended, Tanvi and I walked to my house like we always did.
It had become a routine over the years — arguing over random things on the way, stopping by the small shop near the corner, sometimes sharing snacks without even asking.
The moment we got home, we dropped our bags carelessly and collapsed onto the sofa, still wearing our junior college uniforms.
"So," I said, leaning back against the armrest, tilting my head toward her. "What should we do? Want to play a PvP game?"
Tanvi's eyes lit up instantly. "Sure! Today I'm going to beat you no matter what!" she declared with dramatic confidence.
I smirked. "If you lose, you have to buy me ice cream."
"Deal."
I grabbed the game controller and started the console. The screen flickered to life, colorful lights reflecting faintly in the room.
"Oh, that reminds me," I said casually while pressing buttons to skip the loading screen. "I didn't add the phone number Minakshi gave me yet."
Tanvi paused mid-motion.
"What do you mean?"
"The textbook I lent her this morning," I explained, focused on the game. "When she returned it, there was a sticky note with her phone number inside."
Silence.
"Really?" Tanvi said after a moment. "I didn't know Mina was the kind of person to do something like that. She said she gets nervous around guys."
"Maybe she feels more comfortable since I'm your friend," I shrugged.
"Maybe…" Tanvi said slowly. "Or she probably just wants to practice talking to boys."
I turned to look at her briefly. "So I'm just a practice dummy now?"
She gave a small shrug. "Maybe."
"Whatever," I muttered, pretending not to care. "Are you saying I shouldn't text her?"
"No, I didn't say that."
"Well, we're friends now. And like you said, she might just want to practice. It's normal to help a friend, right?"
"Yeah…" she replied.
But her voice didn't sound fully convinced.
The game intensified. I focused back on the screen.
"Watch out—!" she shouted.
Too late.
My character delivered the final hit.
"YES!" I jumped up from the sofa. "I won! You owe me ice cream!"
Tanvi stared at the screen, completely stunned.
"W–What?! That wasn't fair!" she protested immediately.
"Oh, it was very fair."
"No, it wasn't! You distracted me with that phone number thing!"
"That's not my fault," I laughed.
And just like always—
We started arguing again.
But somewhere in between the laughter and playful accusations, I noticed something small.
Tanvi was still smiling.
But it didn't quite reach her eyes.
....
That night, after dinner, I lay on my bed staring at my phone.
The pink sticky note was placed on my study table, the numbers neatly written in blue ink. For a moment, I just looked at it, debating whether I was overthinking something simple.
"We're friends now," I muttered to myself.
Finally, I typed a short message.
Hi. This is Kunal :)
I stared at the screen for a few seconds before hitting send.
Almost immediately, my phone buzzed.
Minakshi:
Thanks for texting, Kunal. I hope we can get along.
Another message followed right after.
I was a bit worried you took so long to text me. I thought maybe I was bothering you…
I frowned slightly.
Did I give her that impression?
Me:
That's not the case at all.
A small typing bubble appeared instantly.
From that night on, our conversation didn't really stop.
At first, it was simple — homework questions, class updates, random complaints about teachers. Then it slowly became longer chats. Late-night replies. Small jokes. Good mornings.
Minakshi seemed less shy over text. She used more emojis than I expected. She laughed more easily.
And gradually, the three of us — Tanvi, Minakshi, and I — started spending more time together.
Lunch breaks. After-school walks. Group study sessions that sometimes turned into casual conversations.
Somehow, without realizing it, things began to shift.
What used to be just me and Tanvi…
Was now the three of us.
....
"I'm going to buy orange juice. What do you want, Mina?" Tannu asked.
We were sitting on a wooden bench in the botanical garden during break time. The place was peaceful — sunlight filtering through tall trees, the scent of damp soil and flowers in the air. Students were scattered around, some studying, some laughing, some simply enjoying the quiet.
"I'll have the same," Minakshi replied softly.
"I'll go," I said casually, standing up from the bench and stretching my arms.
"Thanks," Tanvi said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'll come too," Minakshi added quickly. "Carrying three glasses might be hard, right?"
"Not really," I shrugged.
She hesitated for a second before smiling. "I also want to see what other juices they have in the cafeteria."
"Oh. Okay," I said.
We started walking toward the cafeteria together.
Behind us, I could feel Tanvi's gaze lingering for just a second before she looked away.
---
That was how things had become lately.
Small interactions.
Small changes.
Minakshi walking beside me more often.
Tanvi staying a step behind sometimes.
Conversations shifting naturally — or maybe not so naturally.
Nothing dramatic happened that day.
We bought juice.
We laughed about something silly.
We went back to the bench.
But even in those ordinary moments…
Something was quietly changing between the three of us.
And I wasn't sure yet whether it was for the better.
....
But one day, things changed.
Minakshi texted me in the afternoon.
Can we meet? I need to talk to you about something important.
So we met at a small café near college. It wasn't crowded — just the low hum of conversation and the sound of cups clinking against saucers. The air smelled of coffee and baked bread.
Minakshi sat across from me, her hands wrapped tightly around her glass of water. She wasn't making eye contact.
"What did you want to talk about?" I asked gently.
She took a deep breath.
"You see… one of the girls told me that Tanvi has been insulting me behind my back."
For a second, I thought I misheard her.
"What?" My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Tannu isn't the kind of person who insults people behind their backs."
The idea alone made my chest tighten with anger.
"I want to believe that too," Minakshi said, her voice trembling. Her eyes were glossy, on the verge of tears. "But several people told me the same thing…"
"Who told you?" I leaned forward immediately. "Tell me their names. I'll go ask them myself."
"Don't, Kunal," she said quickly, reaching out slightly as if to stop me. "I don't want to make this a big issue. And I believe in Tanvi too… She's important to me as well."
I clenched my jaw.
"Tannu is headstrong," I admitted. "And yeah, she can be a bit foul-mouthed sometimes. But she would never insult someone behind their back. Especially not you."
Minakshi lowered her gaze.
"You're her important friend," I continued firmly. "That's why I want you to believe me when I say she would never do something like that."
There was a long pause.
Then Minakshi let out a small, fragile laugh.
"It kind of makes me jealous," she whispered. "The way you trust her so much. I… on the other hand… I must be a terrible friend for not being able to believe her like that."
"That's not true," I said immediately. "It's just that I've known her since we were kids. That's all."
She looked up at me slowly.
"If you ever feel unsure about something," I added, softening my tone, "you can ask me for advice. Anytime. Okay?"
"Thanks…" she nodded.
Then, after a short hesitation—
"Umm… don't tell Tanvi about this."
I paused.
A small part of me didn't like that.
But Minakshi looked so vulnerable at that moment.
"I won't," I said.
"Thank you," she whispered.
And just like that—
Something invisible slipped between us.
A secret.
....
After that day at the café, Minakshi started asking me for advice more often.
Sometimes through texts late at night.
Sometimes in person, after class.
It was never anything dramatic — small insecurities, confusion about friendships, worries about what others thought of her. I didn't think much of it. I just listened. Replied. Tried to help.
At least, that's what I told myself.
---
One evening, Tanvi and I were at my house again, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV, controllers in hand. The familiar sound effects of the game filled the room.
Out of nowhere, she asked—
"Hey… I've noticed you and Minakshi have been texting and meeting a lot recently."
My fingers froze on the controller for half a second.
"Are you guys going out?" she added casually.
"Cough— cough—" I choked dramatically. "No! We aren't!"
My reaction was louder than necessary.
Tanvi didn't look at me immediately. Her eyes stayed on the screen.
"Then what do you guys talk about?"
"Nothing important," I replied quickly, focusing hard on the game as if it required my full concentration.
Silence.
"Is that so…" she said quietly.
There was something in her tone I couldn't quite read.
Not anger.
Not exactly.
But not the usual teasing either.
The game continued, but it felt different. The laughter came slower. The arguments weren't as loud.
For the first time in years, sitting beside Tanvi felt slightly… distant.
And I didn't know why that made me uncomfortable.
.....
A few weeks later, Minakshi texted me again.
Can we meet? Just the two of us.
This time, we met at the botanical garden.
The afternoon was quiet. A soft breeze moved through the trees, carrying the scent of grass and flowers. Students passed by in the distance, but the bench we chose was tucked under a large tree, away from the noise.
She looked nervous.
Her fingers kept twisting the edge of her sleeve.
"And… what did you want to talk about?" I asked gently.
For a moment, she didn't answer.
Then she looked up at me — and what she said next caught me completely off guard.
"I'm sure she didn't mean to harm you. I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" I frowned.
"I don't know…" she whispered.
There was a pause.
Then she asked quietly—
"What is Tanvi to you, Kunal?"
I blinked. "She's my childhood friend."
Minakshi swallowed.
"And… what am I to you?"
"What?" I felt my chest tighten slightly. "You're my friend."
She took a shaky breath.
"I've thought you were a wonderful person ever since we first met," she said, her voice trembling now. "You're kind. You listen. You always defend people you care about…"
She clenched her hands together.
"I… I like you."
The words hung in the air between us.
"What?!" My mind went blank for a second.
"Go out with me," she said, almost pleading now. "Please."
I stared at her.
My heart wasn't racing.
There wasn't confusion.
There was only one clear thought.
"Minakshi…" I began carefully. "It makes me happy that you feel that way. Really. But I don't think I can go out with you."
Her expression faltered instantly.
"Why not?" she asked, her voice barely steady.
I hesitated.
I had told her before that Tanvi was just my childhood friend.
But that wasn't the whole truth.
"… I said Tanvi was just my childhood friend," I admitted slowly. "But she's special to me."
The realization felt clearer as I said it out loud.
"I like her."
Minakshi's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh…"
The wind rustled the leaves above us.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly.
She forced a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"It's okay," she murmured.
But I knew—
It wasn't.
....
The next day—
"Explain yourself, Kuu!"
Tanvi's voice wasn't playful.
It wasn't teasing.
It was furious.
We were standing near the staircase behind the school building — the place where we usually argued about stupid things. But this wasn't one of those times.
"Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" I asked, genuinely confused.
Her eyes were red — not from crying, but from holding back tears.
"You forcefully got on top of Minakshi and kissed her, right?!" she shouted.
For a second, I couldn't even process what she had said.
"Huh?!" My heart dropped. "There's no way I would ever do something like that!"
"I noticed you two meeting secretly a lot," she continued, her voice shaking. "But I never imagined that's what you were doing!"
"I'm telling you, I never did anything like that!" I snapped. "This is all Minakshi's doing—"
"What are you saying?!" Tanvi cut me off sharply.
"She came to me crying!" Tanvi said. "She said she was shocked… that this was how her first kiss happened!"
My head spun.
"No…" I ran a hand through my hair, frustration boiling inside me. "I haven't told you until now, but Minakshi has been coming to me for advice. She told me people were saying you insulted her behind her back."
Tanvi froze for a second.
"What?"
"I didn't tell you because she asked me not to," I continued. "But I rejected her yesterday. She confessed to me.
Tanvi's expression hardened instead of softening.
"There is no way Minakshi would do something like that," she said coldly. "I can't believe you're lying just to protect yourself. You're such a terrible person."
"Terrible?!" My chest burned. "You're going to believe Minakshi over me?"
"Of course!" she shot back. "Minakshi is cute, sensitive, easily hurt. She's not the kind of person who would lie about something like that!"
I stared at her.
The anger inside me exploded.
"I didn't know you were this stupid and stubborn!"
Her face went pale.
"I hate you, Kunal Sharma."
The way she said my full name felt like a slap.
"Suit yourself," I replied bitterly.
And just like that—
The biggest fight of our lives began.
Since childhood, we had argued countless times.
But this was different.
There was no laughter hiding behind it.
No playful comeback waiting at the end.
I was furious.
Just because some girl cried and acted fragile, Tanvi believed her without even trusting me — the person who had stood beside her since we were kids.
And that hurt more than anything.
After that day—
We stopped talking.
No walks home together.
No gaming evenings.
No teasing.
Just silence.
A silence that felt heavier than all our arguments combined.
...
The river was loud that evening.
Or maybe it was just my thoughts.
I stood at the riverside, throwing stones one after another… one after another…
Each splash felt like a question.
Why did Minakshi lie like that?
And why did Tanvi take her side… of all people?
My chest burned with anger.
Without thinking, I hurled a stone with all my strength. The impact shocked my arm so badly that my hand stung.
"Tch…" I clenched my fingers. "Taking anger out on stones won't fix anything."
I exhaled slowly.
No. I needed to clear the misunderstanding with Tannu. That was the only thing that mattered.
I turned and started walking home.
And then—
I ran into her.
"Hey," Tanvi said.
"Hi…" I replied, giving a small wave.
The air between us was awkward. But calmer. We both knew this silence wouldn't last forever. We just needed time to cool down.
Then she looked at my wrist.
"Where is your bracelet?"
"What?" I glanced down.
My heart skipped.
The bracelet.
The one she gave me on my birthday last year.
It wasn't there.
"Maybe…" I tried to think. I replayed everything I had done.
The stones.
The river.
My eyes widened.
"You lost it?!" Tanvi's voice flared with anger.
"I—I'll find it!" I said quickly, already turning.
Without waiting another second, I dashed back toward the riverside.
The sky was dimming.
The river kept flowing.
And somewhere near those scattered stones—
Was the bracelet she gave me.
....