I arrived last, delayed by traffic. As soon as I
walked in, I was pulled into the lively center of
the group. With our shared experiences, I easily joined the conversation. I was chatting about my college life when someone pointed at me, feigning indignation. “You guys wouldn’t believe
FJ
NAWAB, Ch Qasim Ali, Arsh… now Mamu Ki jan shared a video
it! Sophomore year, we had this intercollegiate
debate competition, and I was up against
Ashley. Her logic was so airtight, we got
completely crushed! No mercy for her old
classmates!”
I laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He wouldn’t let it go. “I never would have
guessed! Ashley, always so quiet and gentle in
high school, but on that debate stage, she was
a ruthless machine! No holding back. I wonder
if she’s like that when she argues with her
boyfriend?”
Everyone laughed. Then someone turned to
Josh, a look of realization dawning on their
face. “Hey, where’s Sarah? Our King of
Romance, didn’t your queen come with you?”
It was only then that I noticed Josh, sitting
quietly in a corner, barely speaking. Like
༥དང་ད་
NAWAB, Ch Qasim Ali, Arsh… now Mamu ki jan shared a video
и
Tད༦T, VཕT ད་ 9པ་ཕྱད་དU, E“ཀ
everyone else, he’d changed. The confident humility he once possessed was gone. He was still quiet and reserved, but now he seemed…
out of place. Like an outsider looking in.
The same guys who once envied him, calling him the “King of Romance,” were now sophisticated young men with broader
perspectives and access to greater resources. The topic of his grand gesture felt different now, tinged with a subtle mockery, a hint of schadenfreude. After all, he was once the king of this group. Now, he couldn’t even join the
conversation.
Chloe stood behind me, sighing softly. “Reality bites, huh? Not quite like a rom–com.”
In a rom–com, a four–year time jump would show the male lead triumphant, successful, having achieved his dreams. But reality was different. Josh wasn’t more handsome or
く
successful. He seemed… diminished. Success
isn’t solely the product of hard work.
Opportunities, resources, connections, talent,
luck, environment
—
they all play a role. The
Josh who was supposed to be a physics.
prodigy was practically nonexistent. I wasn’t
surprised.
Josh, startled by the question about Sarah,
looked at me, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His
voice was flat. “We broke up.”
A few days later, Chloe came over, eager to share the gossip she’d unearthed about Josh
and Sarah. Apparently, soon after they started
college, under Sarah’s tutelage, Josh had
mastered the arts of taking selfies, photo
editing, and even picking out the perfect shade of lipstick. He’d even gotten into a fight with another guy over her. I remembered seeing his social media posts back then. Josh, who usually only shared physics articles, suddenly started posting pictures and videos of Sarah every
<
other day. I’d thought, Love really can change a
person.
But the honeymoon phase ended. Josh got busy
with his classes, Sarah met new people at
various events, and they started having
disagreements. Sarah complained that Josh
was always too busy with his competitions and
didn’t have time for her. Josh didn’t understand Sarah’s obsession with getting the “first
pumpkin spice latte of fall.” Why did a drink
you could buy any day suddenly become so
special?
Small disagreements piled up, leading to
arguments and cold silences. Chloe’s voice was
laced with cynicism. “How much of that ‘true
love‘ was actually true? Or love? Once the
novelty wears off, the problems multiply.
Especially when they’re both meeting new,
exciting people. And let’s not forget, their
relationship was built on a sacrifice. That’s a
ticking time bomb.”
<
So, when a rich, handsome guy started pursuing Sarah, she grew increasingly dissatisfied with
Josh. His biggest appeal had been his academic
standing, but in college, grades weren’t
everything. Faced with Sarah’s growing
indifference and subtle criticisms, Josh finally
–
brought up his sacrifice skipping those
questions for her. Her response was cutting.
