{{user}} burst through the balcony door, her breath uneven, her heart pounding louder than the city below. Her boyfriend turned at the sound, his eyes softening when he saw her, but the moment his gaze caught the tears streaming down her face, his chest tightened.

“Babe? What’s wrong?” he asked, stepping closer.

She shook her head, clutching at his shirt as if it were the only thing keeping her from falling apart. “I… I don’t even know how to say this.”

He cupped her cheek gently. “Then just say it. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.”

Her lips trembled. “They’ve arranged my marriage.” The words felt like knives slipping from her mouth.

For a moment, the night froze. The cars below still moved, the city lights still flickered, but his world came crashing down in silence. “Arranged… marriage?” he repeated, almost like he couldn’t process it.

She nodded, her tears falling harder. “They didn’t ask me. They didn’t care. They already decided… and I don’t know what to do.”

He backed away a step, gripping the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white. His voice cracked. “So this is it? They’re just… taking you from me?”

Her sob answered for her. She wanted to scream, to fight, to promise she’d stay, but the weight of her family’s decision crushed every word before it could leave her mouth.

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to meet her gaze, even as his own eyes burned. “I thought we had forever.”

“We were supposed to,” she whispered, her voice breaking like fragile glass. “I love you. More than anything. But I can’t go against them. If I do… I’ll lose everything. My family, my home…” She broke down, collapsing against his chest. “And maybe even you.”

He held her tight, burying his face in her hair, inhaling her as if it was the last time. His tears fell into her shoulders, each one proof of a love too strong for the world to allow.

Minutes passed in silence, only their sobs filling the night. Finally, he pulled back, brushing her tears with shaking fingers. “Then promise me one thing…”

She looked up at him, broken. “What is it?”

“Promise me that even when you’re his, you’ll remember you were mine first.”

Her heart shattered. She nodded, choking on her tears. “I’ll never forget. Never.”

And under the cold night sky, they kissed—desperate, lingering, their last taste of the future stolen from them.