ch 68 mask and secrets
The ballroom lights dimmed into a soft golden haze as attendants passed out elegant eye masks to every guest.
Within minutes, the entire hall transformed
shimmering masks
twinkling lights
soft laughter
couples twirling in mystery and charm
Raghav Meera joined the dance floor laughing, teasing each other.
Prerna Kabir were busy arguing over whose mask looked "cooler" even while dancing.
Aditya moved smoothly with his partner, .
And in the center...
Aarav and Ashiana.
Aarav wore a sleek black mask with silver edges mysterious, royal, his jawline sharper than ever.
Ashiana's mask was delicately golden, matching her outfit, her eyes glowing like stars behind it.
The music changed soft, dreamy, electric.
Aarav extended his hand to her, bowing slightly with old-world charm.
"Mrs. Malhotra... may I?"
Ashiana placed her hand in his, smiling,
"As if I would ever say no."
They walked into the sea of couples, and Aarav pulled her close one arm around her waist, the other holding her hand, fingers interlocked.
They began swaying gently, lost in the music.
Her mask brushed lightly against his.
"No one can be recognise here..." she whispered playfully.
Aarav smirked, leaning closer,
"But I would recognise you even in the dark."
She blushed , her breath hitching as he pulled her a little closer.
Around them, everyone laughed, danced, and swapped partners playfully.
Raghav accidentally spun Meera into Kabir.
Prerna laughed so loudly her mask almost fell off.
The dance floor was alive vibrant and glowing.
But for Aarav and Ashiana...
It felt like the world had blurred away.
Just him.
Just her.
Hands held.
Bodies close.
Eyes locked behind masks.
"You look beautiful," he murmured.
"You look dangerous," she whispered back.
Aarav chuckled, tightening his grip.
"Only for you."
The music shifted into a playful, upbeat rhythm encouraging couples to switch partners.
Everyone on the dance floor laughed as hands intertwined and partners rotated.
Ashiana twirled away from Aarav with a giggle, landing first in Raghav's arms.
He grinned dramatically,
"Ahh, dulhan ji... ab toh Aarav ko jalana hi padega."
She rolled her eyes and spun again
this time ending with Kabir, who winked exaggeratedly.
"Aaj toh hum sab ko mauka milega, Mrs. Malhotra."
"haaww bhaaiyaa .. ," she laughed, spinning once more...
And then she landed gently in the hold of Aditya.
The music softened for a moment.
He looked at her with that warm, protective brotherly smile—
completely different from the teasing grin of the others.
Ashiana automatically softened.
"Aditya bhaiyaa..." she said warmly, her voice melting into affection.
Then she noticed something.
She giggled.
Stepped a little closer.
Reached up on her toes.
"Your bow is tilted a little," she whispered.
And with delicate fingers she fixed the knot of his bowtie.
Aditya blinked, surprised and touched.
For a second, he wasn't the composed businessman...
just a brother whose little sister fixed his bow at a party.
She tapped his shoulder lightly.
"Perfect. Now my bhaiyaa looks handsome."
His eyes glistened with that soft, emotional pride.
"And my sister looks... happy."
She nodded, smiling big through her mask.
"Very."
Just then the beat picked up and partners rotated againbut Aditya gave Aarav a small, knowing nod as he let her go,
his eyes saying
Take care of her.
The world around her blurred.
Music. Lights. Laughter.
All of it faded into a distant hum like she was suddenly underwater.
A pair of unfamiliar arms had just held her for a dance, but the moment he leaned in and whispered
"How are you... my Arshi... my choti pattaka..."
her entire soul froze.
That voice.
That impossible, haunting, familiar voice.
Her breath stopped mid–chest.
Her lips trembled.
Papa...?
She whispered it so faintly it was barely sound at all.
The man stepped back, smirking because he does what he wanted.
His mask unlike anyone else's covered his whole face.
But as he turned...
it loosened.
Slip.
Clatter.
The full-face mask hit the marble floor.
Ashiana's eyes shot wide.
For the tiniest second the side of his face, his jawline, his cheekwas visible.
And then he ran.
Straight into the swirling crowd of masked guests, vanishing like smoke before anyone else could even process it.
No one saw his face.
No one except her.
But she saw one more thing.
As he pushed through the crowd, his sleeve rose revealing a ring.
A metal skull ring.
The same one.
The exact same one worn by the man from the kidnapping.
The one she never told anyone about.
Her blood iced.
Her legs turned weak.
Her vision blurred.
A voice from the dead...
A face she wasn't supposed to see again...
A ring from the darkest night of her life...
Her mind spiraled.
Her heart pounded erratically.
She felt the marble floor tilther breath slipping out of her control.
A dizziness crashed over her like a wave.
Her lips parted.
"No... no... this... this can't—"
And then her balance broke.
Her knees buckled.
She was falling
when suddenly, arms caught her at the last second.
Aarav.
"Ashi! ASHI!" he shouted, panic ripping through his voice.
Aditya from the other side rushed in, grabbing her shoulders.
Her body was cold, trembling, unresponsive—
her eyes wide and unfocused, staring at nothing.
"Ashiana, look at me WHAT HAPPENED?" Aarav's voice cracked.
But she couldn't speak.
She couldn't breathe.
Her fingers clutched Aarav's coat as if holding onto reality.
Because only she knew...
Only she heard the impossible.
Only she saw the ring.
Only she knew her dead father's voice had just whispered in her ear.
And she had no idea...
whether she had just met a ghost or a monster from her past was still alive.
The hall went silent.
The music screeched to a halt mid–beat. Guests froze, masks turned, murmurs died in their throats.
In the center of the dance floor, Ashiana's trembling lips barely managed to form the word—
"A... Aarav... p... pappa..."
Aarav's entire body went still.
His blood turned cold.
"What?" he whispered, not even sure he heard her right.
Her fingers clutched his collar weakly and then her eyes rolled back.
She collapsed.
"ASHIANA!" Aarav shouted, catching her before her head hit the floor.
She went completely limp in his arms.
Panic ripped through him raw, violent, uncontrollable.
Raghav and Kabir turned sharply, eyes narrowing in full alert mode.
"Aarav, move put her down," Aditya snapped, already kneeling.
But Aarav couldn't even hear him.
He was shaking.
Her head rested against his chest, no response, no movement.
"Ashi... baby... hey... look at me," Aarav whispered, voice breaking.
"Koi... koi mujhe batao WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
Guests whispered around them, confused, concerned.
"Water!" Meera shouted.
"Space, everyone, MOVE!" Kabir barked, his voice thunderous, clearing the area in seconds.
But Aarav only heard one thing.
One word she said.
Papa.
It ripped through him like a knife.
Aarav cupped her face with trembling hands.
"Ashi... papa kya? Kaun? Why did you say that?" But she was unconscious.
Her breathing shallow.
Her body cold.
Aditya checked her pulse fast, uneven.
"She fainted from shock," Aditya said, his voice tight, jaw clenched.
"But something triggered it something big."
Aarav swallowed hard, panic and rage boiling together.
"What did she see? Who touched her?" His voice was low, dangerous everyone felt it.
Raghav looked around the hall sharply.
"Security footage," he muttered.
"Main abhi dekhta hoon."
Kabir's eyes were blazing.
"Whoever did this... whoever came near her I will break his bones."
Aarav only held her closer, pressing her to his chest as if protecting her from the world.
He whispered into her hair, voice cracking
"Ashiana... don't scare me like this... please... open your eyes."
But she didn't.
She lay unconscious in his arms,
while in her mind one unspoken truth echoed
The man she saw
The voice she heard
The ring she recognized
The past she feared
...had returned.