The world moved, but she stood still.
Adhira was at Lavanya's rooftop party, one of those glittering influencer evenings with fairy lights and fake smiles. But the second she saw them — Vihaan and Myra — everything went quiet.
They were laughing. Together.
Together.
Adhira's heart stopped. Myra's hand rested on Vihaan's shoulder like it had always belonged there. Their heads tilted in too close. Like they hadn't just stabbed her in the back two weeks ago.
She hadn't planned this. She didn't even know they'd be here. Her stomach turned.
She almost turned around and left.
But they noticed her.
Myra's expression shifted — from joy to guilt in a second. Vihaan… barely blinked.
"Oh my god, Adhi—" Myra started walking toward her, all wide eyes and pretend innocence.
"Don't," Adhira said sharply. Her voice sliced through the hum of music. "Don't act like you didn't know I'd be here."
Vihaan stepped in front of Myra, casually sipping his drink. "We're not here to fight."
Adhira's laugh was hollow. "Oh, right. You're just here to... what? Mingle with the girl you both betrayed?"
Some of the other guests began to turn. Whispers. Phones lifted. Cameras ready.
Myra's lip trembled. "Adhi, we didn't plan to hurt you."
"But you did," Adhira snapped. Her hands shook now. "You were my best friend. And you —" she pointed at Vihaan — "you told me I was the only one."
Vihaan's eyes didn't waver. "Maybe we weren't meant to last."
"And maybe you weren't meant to be a decent human being," she fired back.
Silence. Thick and choking.
She turned on her heel and stormed out, the night air slicing at her skin as she ran down the staircase.
She didn't call a friend. She didn't go home.
She ended up outside Dr. Shivay's quiet office, wrapped in her oversized hoodie, mascara streaked down her cheeks, hands clenched into fists.
She didn't have an appointment. But when the door opened and she saw him — calm, composed, leaning slightly like he'd been expecting her — she just broke.
"I couldn't breathe," she whispered. "I saw them. Together. And I felt like I was falling again."
He didn't ask questions. He simply opened the door wider.
Ten minutes later, she was curled on the therapy couch, knees to chest, staring at the floor.
"Why does it still hurt so much?" she asked softly.
Dr. Shivay's voice was low and grounding. "Because betrayal isn't just about them. It's about everything you believed. Everything you trusted."
She nodded slowly. A tear slipped down her cheek.
"I hate them," she whispered. "But I hate myself more… for not seeing it."
"You saw what you needed to see to feel safe," he said. "That's not weakness, Adhira. That's human."
She looked at him — really looked at him — and for the first time in days, she felt seen.
Not as @adhira.rising.
Not as the girl with 300K followers.
But as someone whose heart had just been broken... and was slowly being stitched back together.
By someone who saw past the shine.
Someone like Dr. Shivay