Vaidaksh’s alarm rang, breaking the early morning silence. He groaned softly, fumbling his hand across the bed in search of his phone. After a moment of lazy struggle, he found it tucked under his pillow and quickly shut it off.

Sitting up slowly, his hair was a messy tangle, his eyes still heavy with sleep. He rubbed them with the back of his hand, trying to shake off the drowsiness. But the very next second, his gaze fell on the empty space beside him, and his heart skipped a beat.