chapter 48
Chapter 48- The Call That Stopped His Heart
The call came at 4:38 PM.
Aarav was in the middle of a meeting.
Financial reports covered the screen.
Someone was speaking about projections.
Another executive was discussing contracts.
His phone vibrated once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
Unknown number.
Normally, he would have ignored it.
Instead, something made him glance down.
And freeze.
The caller ID showed the name of the hospital where Kavya's mother had once been treated.
A strange unease settled immediately.
His pulse quickened.
Without thinking, he excused himself and stepped outside.
The moment he answered, a hurried voice spoke.
"Hello, sir? Are you related to Mrs. Kavya Malhotra?"
Everything inside him went still.
"What happened?"
The words came out sharper than intended.
The woman sounded confused.
"We have a patient named Kavya Malhotra involved in a road accident...she is really in a terrible condition"
For one second-
Aarav forgot how to breathe.
The hallway blurred.
His heart slammed painfully against his ribs.
"What accident?"
His voice broke.
Actually broke.
"When? Where is she? Is she conscious?"
The questions came so fast the woman couldn't answer immediately.
Aarav was already moving.
Walking.
Then running.
He didn't remember reaching the elevator.
Didn't remember getting to the parking lot.
His hands shook so badly he nearly dropped his keys.
Images flashed relentlessly through his mind.
Kavya smiling softly.
Kavya leaving with her suitcase.
Kavya standing alone at dinner.
Kavya crying in the bathroom the night she thought he couldn't hear.
His chest tightened painfully.
No.
No.
No.
Not her.
Please not her.
For the first time in years, genuine terror gripped him.
Not fear for himself.
Not fear of failure.
Fear of losing her.
The realization struck so hard it almost made him dizzy.
Nothing else mattered.
Not the company.
Not the meetings.
Not the money.
Nothing.
If something happened to Kavya-
The thought alone was unbearable.
His eyes burned unexpectedly.
Aarav stopped beside his car.
His breathing uneven.
For a horrifying moment, he imagined arriving too late.
Imagined never getting the chance to apologize.
Never hearing her voice again.
Never telling her-
The thought stopped him cold.
Telling her what?
The answer arrived instantly.
Brutally.
Clearly.
I love her.
The words echoed through him.
Simple.
Undeniable.
Not gratitude.
Not guilt.
Not habit.
Love.
Somewhere along the way, she had become the center of his life.
So quietly that he never noticed.
Like sunlight entering a room day after day until its absence became impossible to ignore.
And now the possibility of losing her felt like losing the ground beneath his feet.
His phone rang again.
The hospital.
Aarav answered immediately.
"Sir, we need to apologize," the woman said hurriedly.
"There was a misunderstanding."
Silence.
"The patient is another Kavya Malhotra."
Aarav didn't speak.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
The words struggling to register.
"Another...?"
"Yes, sir. We contacted the wrong family number."
The woman apologized again.
But he barely heard her.
Because relief hit him so hard his knees nearly gave way.
He leaned against the car.
Eyes closed.
A shaky breath escaped him.
Then another.
His chest hurt.
Actually hurt.
And to his own shock-
his eyes filled.
Not because anything had happened.
Because for ten terrifying minutes, he believed it had.
Because in those ten minutes, he had learned exactly what life without Kavya would feel like.
Empty.
Hopeless.
Unbearable.
Aarav lowered his head.
His hand tightening around the phone.
For years he had convinced himself she was simply part of his life.
Someone who would always be there.
Someone he could apologize to later.
Love later.
Choose later.
But later wasn't guaranteed.
And that truth terrified him.
For the first time, he accepted it completely.
He loved Kavya.
He loved her more than his pride.
More than his work.
More than his own comfort.
More than himself.
And if she ever gave him another chance-
even the smallest one-
he would spend the rest of his life proving it.
Not with promises.
Not with grand gestures.
But with actions.
Every day.
Every ordinary moment.
A vow formed quietly inside him.
Firm.
Unshakable.
If Kavya returned to his life-
he would never make her question her worth again.
Never make her feel alone beside him again.
Never make her beg for affection he should have given freely.
And never hurt her the way he once had.
The vow settled deeply in his heart.
For the first time-
it wasn't driven by guilt.
It was driven by love.
And that frightened him far more than the phone call ever had.