ch 69 is he real
Aarav kicked the bedroom door open with his shoulder,carrying Ashiana in his arms, her head resting against him still, pale.
Aditya, Kabir, Raghav, Meera, and Prerna rushed in behind him.
Aarav laid her gently on the bed, but his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"Aarav, let me check," Aditya said, trying to keep his voice steady.
But Aarav didn't move.
He stood over her like a shield, eyes wild, breath uneven.
"No one touches her till she wakes up," he growled.
"Aarav," Raghav said quietly, stepping forward, "she fainted from shock. We need to know what caused it."
Aarav's jaw clenched painfully, muscles tense.
"She said 'papa' before fainting..." he murmured.
His voice broke. "I don't understand... her father is dead."
Prerna gasped softly. Meera's hand flew to her mouth.
Kabir cursed under his breath.
Aditya put a hand on Aarav's shoulder.
"We'll find out. But right now she needs to wake up."
Aarav slowly knelt beside the bed, cupping her cheek with trembling fingers.
"Ashi... baby... open your eyes... please..."
He brushed away strands of hair from her forehead, voice shaking.
Suddenly
Her fingers twitched.
Her eyes opened blurred, confused, terrified.
"Aarav..." she whispered weakly.
He exhaled shakily, relief flooding his face, and leaned closer.
"Baby... I'm here... I'm right here."
But the moment clarity hit her
Her eyes widened.
She shot up in bed with a gasp
"N–No! Papa... papa... he... he was here... I saw him!"
Her voice cracked, hands trembling violently.
Everyone stiffened.
Aarav immediately held her by the shoulders.
"Ashi... look at me," Aarav said firmly but softly,
his thumbs brushing her trembling hands.
"Tell me exactly what you saw."
She shook her head rapidly, tears streaming.
"He... he held me while dancing..."
Her voice trembled.
"I know his voice... his eyes... that ring... that skull ring..."
Aarav froze.
Raghav and Kabir exchanged a sharp look.
Ashiana sobbed harder.
"It was my papa... or... or the man who kidnapped me and Raj... I... I don't know... but it was him... I swear..."
She clutched Aarav's kurta desperately, crying.
Aarav's entire world shattered and hardened at once.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, possessively.
"Ashi... listen to me," he whispered against her forehead,
his voice deep, furious, protective.
He pulled back, looking straight into her terrified eyes.
"And I will make sure he never comes near you again."
As he said it, Kabir cracked his knuckles.
Raghav opened his phone, eyes sharp.
"Security footage is downloading. We'll find his face."
Aditya's jaw tightened.
"No one threatens my sister."
Ashiana, shaking, hid her face in Aarav's chest.
He held her closer.
"From now on," Aarav whispered, voice dark and absolute,
"You are safe. With me. With all of us."
"Tell me everything, Ashiana... from the start."
Ashiana wildly '' Aarav.. aarav.. but.. how.. how this possible.. my.. my father.. he...
she stood suddenly pacing her had goes to her necklace trying to snatch it off from her neck
Aarav immediately surged to his feet the moment she started tugging at the necklace.
"Ashi ... stop," he said sharply but gently, catching her wrists before she could rip the jewellery off.
But she kept shaking, breaths turning fast and uneven.
"No.. no... Aarav... he's dead... my father is DEAD.... how can he.... how can he be here..... how....HOW.... "
Her voice cracked into hysteria.
She yanked at the necklace again, hands trembling violently.
"I can't breathe... take it off.. TAKE IT OFF... Aarav please.. PLEASE.. "
Aarav didn't waste a second.
He cupped her face with one hand and quickly unclasped the necklace with the other, tossing it onto the bed.
Then he pulled her into his chest.. tight, protective.
"Ashi, breathe. Breathe, sweetheart. I've got you."
But she pushed him away suddenly and started pacing the room like a terrified child lost in a nightmare.
"No... no... it's not possible... I saw him die... I saw the body... Papa... he... he LEFT me... he left me... he can't come back..."
She clutched her own hair, pulling slightly, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Everyone froze none had ever seen her like this.
Aarav stepped forward slowly, voice low, steady, grounding.
"Ashiana."
No response.
He moved closer.
"Ashi... look at me."
She didn't she kept muttering, "He's dead... he's dead... he can't be alive... who was he... who touched me..."
Aarav couldn't take another second.
He grabbed her shoulders not harshly, but firmly enough to stop her spiraling and pulled her into his arms.
"ASHIANA."
His deep voice cut through her panic.
She stiffened.
Then slowly her shaking hands clutched his kurta.
She broke again.
"Aarav... I'm scared..." she sobbed into his chest.
"I... I don't understand anything... why does this keep happening to me...?"
Aarav wrapped both arms around her, pressing her trembling body protectively against him.
His jaw tightened with rage at whoever caused this.
"You don't have to understand right now," he whispered in her hair.
"You don't have to be strong right now."
He kissed the side of her head, eyes cold and deadly over her shoulder.
Behind him, Kabir clenched his fists.
Raghav typed furiously on his phone.
Aditya's eyes darkened with the promise of violence.
Aarav lifted her chin, forcing her to face him softly.
"Look at me, Ashiana."
Her teary eyes met his.
"I will find out who he is. I will find out how he knows you. And I will burn the world if I have to but he will never touch you again."
She broke into another choked cry and collapsed against him, hugging him tightly.
Aarav held her like she was the only thing keeping him alive.
"Shh... I'm right here, baby... I'm right here..."
Midnight.
The mansion was silent too silent.
But in Aarav's study, the atmosphere was sharp, heavy, dangerous.
The four stood around the glass table like predators circling prey.
Aarav
Kabir
Raghav
Aditya
Each one radiating cold fury for different reasons.
Aarav was standing near the window, hands clasped behind his back, jaw clenched so tight a vein throbbed in his neck.
The dim yellow lamp behind him threw shadows on his face, making him look even more lethal.
Kabir was pacing like a caged lion, cracking his knuckles, teeth grinding.
Raghav sat with his laptop open, screens reflecting in his glasses fingers flying like a machine.
Aditya stood against the wall, arms crossed, eyes sharp and calculating.
Kabir broke first.
"Whoever the hell that man was he touched bhabhi. He touched her. Aarav, give me a name. I'll handle the rest."
Aarav didn't move, didn't blink.
His voice came out low, deadly calm.
"You'll get a name when Raghav is done."
Raghav didn't look up.
"Already tracing every guest. But..."
His fingers paused for half a second.
"...that mask was custom-made. Not from the event organizers."
Aditya pushed away from the wall and stepped forward.
"The way he moved... he wasn't an ordinary guest. He knew exactly how to vanish."
Kabir scoffed angrily.
"I don't give a damn if he's a magician. He scared bhabhi so bad she fainted."
Aarav's eyes flickered with pure rage.
"She said 'Papa'. The last word before she collapsed."
The room went silent.
Raghav finally looked up, stunned.
"Her father... died years ago."
Aditya:
"Unless..."
Kabir:
"Unless what? Ghost came to the party?"
Aarav suddenly turned, slamming his palm on the table so hard glass rattled.
"He called her Arshi."
Silence dropped like a bomb.
Kabir froze.
Raghav's brows knitted sharply.
Aditya's expression darkened.
Aarav continued, voice ice-cold.
"The only ones who ever used that name for her were her parents."
Raghav immediately typed something faster.
Kabir:
"So either someone close to her father... or someone pretending to BE him."
Aarav's voice became lower, more dangerous.
"He also wore a skull ring."
Raghav stopped typing abruptly.
Aditya's eyes widened slightly.
Kabir whispered,
"The kidnapper... from the warehouse."
Aarav nodded once.
"The same ring Ashiana described."
Raghav turned his laptop around the screen filled with images of different skull rings, zoomed faces, CCTV freeze frames from the reception.
"I'm running facial matches from the second his mask fell. Someone must've caught it."
Aarav walked closer, shoulders tense.
"I want every camera within a five-kilometer radius traced."
Kabir growled,
"And when we find him... I'll break every bone he used to walk toward her."
Aditya exhaled slowly.
"Whoever that man is... he knows her father. Maybe he knows the truth."
Aarav's eyes turned to steel.
"And he dared to come close to my wife."
He leaned forward, voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
"Find. Him."
Raghav:
"Working on it."
Kabir cracked his knuckles again.
"Bhai... this won't end tonight, will it?"
Aarav looked at the door the direction of their room where Ashiana slept with tear-stained cheeks.
"No."
His jaw clenched.
"This is just the beginning."