Love's Unforseen Turn

Chapter-57

The moment I stepped into his mansion, my steps faltered. Everything felt heavier-like the walls were pressing in on me.

Every breath I took felt shallow, like breathing through a straw. And there he was-Rudra-sitting on the couch with his laptop open, probably going through security footage or updates from his contacts.

He looked up as I entered, his eyes narrowing. "You announced it?"

I couldn't speak. My throat had closed up the second he asked. I gave a stiff nod and slowly sank onto the opposite couch.

My elbows rested on my knees as I rubbed my face with both hands, trying to ease the pressure building inside me. But it was useless.

My eyes... God, they were already turning glassy. I blinked up at the ceiling, swallowing down the lump in my throat, but all I could hear was her voice. Aarushi's voice-shaking, trembling, begging me with those tear-soaked eyes.

"Abhi, please... don't do this to me... please believe me... please don't leave me alone"

And I did. I walked away. For her. But damn it, it's killing me.It will haunt me whole life.

"Abhimanyu," Rudra's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

I hummed in response. I couldn't trust my voice. If I spoke, I'd fall apart.

He leaned forward. "Just one more day, Abhimanyu. We're so close to finding the truth. This will be over soon"

I didn't reply immediately. I couldn't.

But then, the words came out-slow, broken. "And till then... will I still have anything left to mend? Can I even fix what I broke?"

There was silence.

"She was crying, Rudra..." I finally whispered, the words slicing my throat like shards of glass. "Begging me. Pleading with me. And I just stood there like a fucking stone."

My voice cracked, and I looked away. "You don't know how much it hurt... You don't know how suffocating it is, Rudra.I can't trust anyone, I don't know who is behind all this "

"It's like I'm breathing in smoke every second... my chest hurts all the time, like something's c-crushing it. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't think straight without seeing her face. Her tears ha-haunt me when I am alone."

I pressed my palms against my eyes. "I made a promise, Rudra. I told her I'd always stand beside her. That I'd never let a single tear fall from her eyes. But look at me... I'm the reason she's breaking down. I did this to her. Me."

My voice cracked, trembling under the weight of my own guilt. I couldn't hide it anymore. "Sometimes I wonder... if things would've been better if I had never brought her into my life. If I had just kept my distance. If I hadn't fallen for her."

"It's me... it's always been me. Since childhood, until now. My fault. I shouldn't have dragged her into this marriage, shouldn't have shackled her to a life she never asked for."

"I had no right to love her... not when I couldn't shield her from the very world I brought her into. Maybe... maybe if I'd stayed away, she would've been safe. She would've smiled more."

There was a long pause.

"But I can't even do that... I'm a selfish bastard," I confessed, biting down the scream clawing its way up my throat.

"Even when I want to let her go, I can't. I don't know how.

It's breaking me... piece by piece. Because I wanted her.

God, I needed her. Even when I knew-knew the chaos that followed me like a shadow, the dangers that came with my name, the mess I called a life-I still pulled her into it.

I still chose her. Knowing I might destroy her in the process. "

"I understand you ,Don't cry," Rudra said gently.

"I'm not fucking crying,"I snapped, more to myself than to him.

He gave a small smile. "You look like you're about to."

I turned away from him, rubbing my face again, breathing through my nose to keep the tears back. I wouldn't break now. I couldn't. Because if I broke now... I wouldn't stop.

Rudra leaned back, exhaling. "We don't know who's behind this yet. But that man said he's someone close. Someone who's been watching everything-our home, the office, even private moments. He knows it all, Abhimanyu. If you go see Aarushi now and he finds out..."

"I don't care," I said through clenched teeth. "I can't wait more....I have to see her."

He turned to me sharply. "Are you insane? You know her life's at risk, right? They're doing this to break you. If they find out you're still standing by her-if they even suspect that you still love her-she'll be their first target."

I stood up, pacing. My fists were clenched so tight they were turning white.

"So what do you want me to do? Sit here while she falls apart?

While she's locked in that hellhole thinking I betrayed her?

You didn't see her, Rudra. You didn't hear her cry.

I risked everything by not going to her till now, but I can't anymore. "

Rudra grabbed my arm. "You have to control yourself! For just one or two more day! Do you want to throw away all the work we've done? Everything we've planned?"

I looked him dead in the eye.

"Would you say the same if Navya was in her place?"

The silence was deafening. Rudra froze. His grip loosened.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

He looked stunned, as if I had slapped him.

"You think I don't know?" I said, almost whispering now.

"You think I haven't seen anything? I'm not judging.

But tell me, Rudra-if she was behind those bars, accused of something she didn't do, humiliated, broken, and you had to turn your back on her just to keep her safe. .. would you still be sane?"

He opened his mouth, but didn't said anything "Exactly."I mocked.

I turned away. "I've already broken Aarushi more than anyone ever should be broken. If I don't go to her now, if she gives up-what then? What's the use of saving her body if her spirit dies in that cell?"

Rudra let out a deep sigh. "Abhimanyu...

one of the policemen-Inspector Rajveer-is with them.

He's been watching us. Every move. You don't realize, Aarushi is safe only because they believe you've abandoned her.

That you don't love her anymore. The moment they sense otherwise, the moment they realize you're still fighting for her. .."

He paused."You won't even know when they strike."

I gritted my teeth. My eyes burned. "Don't. Don't say one more word about something happening to her."

"I'm just warning you," he said calmly. "If they get the slightest hint that you're still in love with her... it could be her end."

I closed my eyes for a long second, breathing in, trying to center myself. My insides felt like they were bleeding. But my decision had already been made.

"I'm going tonight," I said quietly.

Rudra's eyes snapped to mine. "What?"

"I'll go at night. When the shifts change. Rajveer won't be on duty then. And with Commissioner's help, I can get in without being seen."

"You're risking everything."

"I know,"I whispered. "And I'll take that risk. Because not seeing her... that's killing me faster than anything else"

Rudra didn't reply for a long time. Then he simply nodded. "Okay. I'll make the call."

And as he picked up the phone, I sat down again, my head in my hands, and let the silence scream around me.

I had one night. One chance.

I just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

The cell was silent, save for the faint buzzing of the tube light flickering overhead.

Aarushi sat curled in the corner of the stone bench, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, her chin resting atop them.

Her once-bright eyes were swollen and red, dull now-void of hope, void of fire. Her soft curls clung to her face in messy strands, damp from dried tears. She hadn't spoken in hours.

The police station around her felt like a cage, yes, but it wasn't the bars or the cold that were breaking her. It was him.

It was Abhimanyu.

She had spent the entire day waiting. Convincing herself that he was protecting her in his own way.

But then the divorce news had come. Brutally, heartlessly.

Her heart hadn't broken. It had shattered-splintered so viciously that she could almost hear it, like glass being crushed beneath a boot.

He said it himself.

He no longer loved her.

A sob escaped her lips, though no tears came. She had run dry.

"I thought you loved me..."she whispered to the empty walls. Her voice was hoarse, broken, like it had been clawed out of her throat. "You... said you loved me..."

She tried to remember the last time she saw his eyes-those deep, unreadable eyes that always held more than they said. But now, all she could see was the coldness in them when he walked out of that courtroom.

The coldness that stabbed her deeper than any accusation ever could.

Why? Why isn't he believing me?

Why is he letting them tear me apart like this?

Aarushi pressed her palm against her chest, right above her heart, trying to soothe the endless ache that refused to ease.

She had been humiliated, screamed at, handcuffed in front of flashing cameras, and called a murderer by the world-but none of it had broken her like he did.

The way he looked at her-emotionless.

The way he said the word divorce-as if it meant nothing.

It didn't matter that she was locked behind bars. She could've survived that. Fought that. She had strength left to face the world if she just had him by her side. If only he had held her hand even once. If only he had said he believed her-just once.

But now...

Now she felt hollow. Like the light inside her had been turned off. Like her life, her fight, her purpose... had ended the moment he walked away.

And that's what broke her.

Not the crime she didn't commit.

Not the world pointing fingers.

But Abhimanyu turning his back.

She let her head drop against the damp wall, her eyes staring into the shadows. Her mind spun in circles, trying to find one reason-just one-that would justify what he had done.

Had he never loved her?

Had it all been a lie?

Or worse-had he started to believe she could actually murder someone?

That thought alone made her stomach turn. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, as if shielding her soul from the weight of his betrayal.

"I wouldn't even care if they hanged me..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "But you... you weren't supposed to leave me, Abhi"

The guards walked past her cell without so much as a glance. To them, she was just another fallen socialite. But they didn't know what they were really witnessing-this wasn't just a woman in jail.

It was a woman mourning the death of a love she had thought was unshakable.

Aarushi wiped her cheek roughly with the back of her hand, frustrated that her body still tried to cry even when her heart had gone numb.

On the other side Abhimanyu's car was parked in a shadowed corner of the lane beside the police station, hidden from the line of sight of the main road.

He clutched the steering wheel tightly, knuckles pale under the dim dashboard light, eyes fixed on the station gates that stood eerily quiet-except for the two media vans stationed like vultures waiting for a fresh carcass.

The phone buzzed in his hand. It was the Commissioner.

"I've reached," Abhimanyu spoke into the device, voice low and gravelled with restrained anxiety. "But there are still two media people outside."

"They haven't moved all evening," came the Commissioner's voice, equally calm but calculated. "If you try to enter through the main gate, they'll spot you instantly. We'll do it our way. Take the service lane behind the station. I'll unlock the back gate from inside."

"Rajveer?" Abhimanyu asked tensely, referring to the corrupt inspector rumored to be leaking information to their enemies.

"Off duty. His replacement's with us. Trust me, Abhimanyu, it's covered."

Without wasting a second, Abhimanyu ended the call and turned the wheel, steering the car into the narrow, unlit lane behind the station.

The headlights stayed off. His heart thudded wildly-not out of fear of being caught, but from the desperate urge to see her. To breathe the same air as her again.

The rusty back gate creaked open just as his car came to a stop. A uniformed constable stepped out, gave a quick nod, and silently gestured for him to follow.

Every step Abhimanyu took past the concrete walls felt heavier. The air here was colder. Harsher.

He entered the dimly lit back corridor of the station, where the Commissioner was already waiting.

"Everything's ready,"the man said quietly. "The security cameras covering the investigation room are disabled for now. You've got twenty to twenty five minutes.Any longer and someone might get suspicious."

Abhimanyu gave a curt nod, but his mind was already racing ahead-to her.

He was led down the corridor, the echo of his footsteps bouncing off stark, peeling walls.

The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed dully. Everything smelled of damp paper and something cold, metallic... maybe despair.

The door to the investigation room stood open. The Commissioner gave one last look and left him alone.

Abhimanyu stepped in-and for the first time in days, he allowed himself to breathe.

The harsh white light above flickered once as he moved to the center of the room.

It was empty for now. Just a steel table, two chairs, and the weight of everything left unsaid.

He ran a trembling hand through his hair and exhaled slowly.

For days, he had worn a mask so perfect that the world had believed him heartless. Cold. Detached.

But this... this moment... was his truth.

His hands gripped the edge of the table as he leaned forward, swallowing the knot rising in his throat.

The room felt too small, the air too thin, and the seconds too loud. He could still hear her voice-echoing in his ears from earlier that day.

"Abhi, please... I didn't do this... please believe me..."

He shut his eyes tightly. Her tear-streaked face, the way she had looked at him when the constable held her back, the way her voice had cracked as she pleaded for him not to give up on her-it haunted him like a ghost.

And now, after what felt like a lifetime, he was finally here to break his own chains.

She would be brought here any moment. And when she walked through that door, everything he had suppressed, everything he had buried for her safety, would come crashing out in one look.

The clang of keys echoed through the dim corridor as the constable unlocked the cell door.

"You've been called to the investigation room."

He said, voice monotone.

Aarushi didn't move for a moment.

The constable repeated the order, a little firmer this time.She blinked slowly and nodded.

As she stood up, her body felt heavy-every bone aching from the cold, every step a reminder that she had no strength left.

Her hands trembled slightly as she straightened her kurta, but there was no effort to fix herself

beyond that.

Hope had stopped knocking on her heart the moment she heard that one word from him-divorce.

She followed the constable without a question, without a flicker of emotion on her face.

The corridor was long, silent but the moment she stepped into the investigation room, something shifted.

At first, she didn't look up. She was too used to the cold stares, the questions, the loneliness.

But something... something in the air made her stop. A silence that didn't feel like emptiness-it felt heavy. Like someone was breathing the same pain she was.

And then she looked up.

Her eyes met his.

Abhimanyu.

Time stopped.

Her breath caught in her throat like a silent scream. Her lips parted slightly, and her knees felt weak beneath her. For a heartbeat, she forgot where she was. Forgot the walls. The jail. The pain. The betrayal.

Because he was standing there.

And even before a single word was spoken, tears welled up in her eyes-uncontrollable, pure, and silent. Not just from sadness, but from sheer relief.

Her chest heaved as emotion clawed its way out, the sight of him melting her cold exterior in seconds. Her soul, which had felt frozen for days, trembled under the warmth of his presence.

Abhimanyu, too, was frozen in place.

He had turned the moment he heard the soft creak of the door, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of her.

His jaan.

Pale. Fragile. Yet still standing.

His lungs tightened painfully, the breath he had been holding since the day he let her go finally trying to escape-but it didn't.

It stayed locked in his chest like his guilt, like his sorrow, like the scream buried behind his lips.

His throat burned. His eyes glistened.

He had imagined this moment a thousand times. But nothing could match the pain of seeing her like this-with no sparkle in her eyes, no sunshine in her face. Just hollow sadness.

She looked at him not with anger-but with heartbreak. And that shattered him more than any curse would have.

Her tears weren't loud or dramatic. They simply fell-like her spirit had carried them long enough, and now they had no reason to hold back.

Abhimanyu's fists clenched by his side as he tried to keep his composure, but he was unraveling inside.

This woman, who once lit up his world with a single glance, was now looking at him like he was a stranger. Like she had no more strength to even hate him.

She stood still, her lips trembling, her throat aching with the lump of emotions that refused to settle.

Her heart, already in tatters, barely mustered the courage to speak-but she had to. She needed answers. Closure. Something to make sense of the storm that had shattered everything.

She took a hesitant step forward, her voice barely a whisper. "Why...?" She swallowed the knot in

her throat.

"Why are you here now?" she asked, her eyes locked on his, glistening with fresh tears. "To get my signature on the divorce papers? Or just to make sure I break a little more?"

A tear fell from his eyes.

And then... something inside him collapsed.

With a strangled cry, he dropped to his knees in front of her.

It was as if the weight of the last few days had finally snapped his spine, like his soul had been holding together by threads, and Aarushi's broken voice was the final tear.

He looked up at her, his face contorted in pain, tears streaming freely down his cheeks, soaking his collar. "No... no, baby...."he choked, his voice raw and trembling. "I didn't come for that. I-"

His hands reached out but hovered mid-air, afraid to touch her, unsure if he even deserved to.

"I'm sorry,"he whispered, then again, his voice cracking, "I'm so sorry, Aarushi... I didn't want to do this, I had to-I had no choice..."

She didn't respond. She stood frozen their listening him.

"I swear..." he sobbed "The moment I said that word-divorce-it killed me. I died that second, baby I died..."

His head fell, shoulders shaking with every breath. "You... you don't know what's going on. I-I didn't even know until Rudra told me... that night. The night you were attacked... on that bike-it wasn't random. Someone is after me... and they're using you to destroy me."

Aarushi's brows furrowed faintly. Her chest tightened.

Abhimanyu looked up again, broken, desperate. "We found out someone close to me is behind all of this. Someone who knows everything-my habits, my calendar, our private moments... Even your phone was tapped, Aarushi. He's listening to everything. Watching everything. I can't able trust anyone"

He wiped his face with the back of his hand like a child. "When Rudra showed me those messages... I couldn't breathe. That man-he knew you'd be alone that day... he planned the attack... he planned your arrest."

Aarushi's hands went cold.

"I was on my way to the police station when Rudra stopped me. He showed me the message-- It said if I reached out to you, if I stood beside you even once, they will kill you. I don't know who that person is"

Abhimanyu's voice cracked again, and this time he let out a strangled sob. "I couldn't risk it. I couldn't lose you. I had to choose between standing beside you and losing you forever."

Tears blurred his vision again. "So I chose to let you hate me. To break you. Because it was the only way to keep you alive, baby. The only way."

He dropped his forehead to the ground, kneeling like a man in prayer, helpless and consumed by guilt.

"We couldn't take a single risk," he whispered. "Even Rajveer-the inspector here-is compromised. We don't know how deep this conspiracy goes. That's why... the commissioner turned off the cameras, that's why I came in hiding."

Aarushi's lips parted, her breath shaky, but her voice refused to form.

"I acted like I didn't care," he whispered, "I spoke like you didn't matter. I destroyed you in front of the world. But every second, I was dying inside. I haven't slept in days. I can't eat. I can't breathe. I see your face every time I close my eyes, and all I hear is your voice asking me why?"

He raised his face again, eyes swollen and red, his lips trembling. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I don't deserve it. I only came here... because I couldn't take it anymore. I needed you to know the truth. I needed you to hear it from me."

Still, she didn't say a word.

Her heart... oh, it was screaming inside. But her lips refused to move.

He reached for her hand, gently, hesitantly. His fingers barely brushed hers. "Please... say something, baby. Hit me, curse me... but don't go silent on me. Don't look at me like I'm a stranger."

The silence that followed his confession wasn't peaceful.

It was heavy.

Suffocating.

Aarushi stood like a statue, her body trembling, her breaths uneven. The tears on her face hadn't dried, she was hurt and angry.

He watched her retreat with a fresh wave of fear crashing over him.

"Please don't... don't look at me like that," he whispered, his voice barely holding itself together.

Aarushi exhaled sharply, a bitter breath escaping her lips. "Like what?" she asked, eyes locked on his tear-stained face. "The way you looked at me when you left me all alone?"

Her voice cracked, but her words stabbed like a dagger.

"You don't get to tell me how to look at you," she added, softer now-but sharper than ever. "Not when you looked at me with the same emptiness. The same coldness. Like I meant... nothing."

Abhimanyu's lips trembled. He tried to speak, but nothing came out.

And then-Aarushi turned to leave.

She couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't bear to see him this way-shattered and begging. Because somewhere deep inside, even through her hurt, her body still responded to his pain. Her heart still beat for him. And that terrified her even more.

But just as she took a step, his hand caught hers.

"No-wait. Please," he breathed, stumbling to his feet, rushing to block her path. "Jaan, please, I'm sorry. Please. I can't let you go like this. I can't. I trust you, I swear I do. I should have told you earlier, I should have-but I was scared too! I'm sorry, baby, please..."

"Don't" Aarushi snapped, jerking her hand away from him.

And before Abhimanyu could even blink-her hand collided hard against his cheek.

The sound of the slap echoed through the room.

His face turned to the side, lips parted in shock, the sting on his skin burning like punishment. His eyes closed for a second-but he didn't say a word. He didn't move.

When he turned back to face her-his eyes were red. His tears hadn't stopped. But still, he said nothing.

"What do you think of yourself, huh?" she shouted, her voice laced with grief and disbelief. "That you can walk away, break me into pieces, vanish for days-and then come back, say a few tears-soaked lines and everything will be okay?"

Her fists landed against his chest. Soft, but desperate. Another. And another.

"You could've told me something, Abhi. Anything. One word. One sign. A hint. I would've played along. I wouldn't have broken like this..."

Abhimanyu's arms stayed limp at his sides as she hit his chest over and over, not to hurt him, but because her pain needed a place to land.

Her tears were flowing freely now, soaking her cheeks, her chin, her soul.

"You know what I thought?" she cried, her voice cracking. "I thought... everything was a lie. That you never loved me. That this was all some big game for you. I thought I lost you. I thought I lost everything."

Her hands fell to her sides as she choked on her breath.

"Do you even understand what you did to me?" Her voice rose, thick with rage and heartbreak. "Do you know what it felt like to watch you stand there on national television, looking straight into the camera, and saying you don't know me?"

He looked down, guilt spreading like wildfire over his face.

"No, Look at me" she shouted.

He flinched-but obeyed. His eyes met hers. Bloodshot. Hollow. Ashamed.

"I didn't even care about the world. The police. The media. The cell. I could have endured all of it, Abhi" she said, her voice quivering. "But not you. Not your silence."

She pressed a hand to her chest, as if trying to hold herself together.

"Every night, I stared at that ceiling and waited. I waited for the door to open and for you to come in. For someone to tell me, 'He's here. He knows you're innocent. He's going to fix this' But it never happened."

Her tears spilled faster now.

"You were the only person in this world who knew my heart. The only one I thought would never leave it bleeding."

Abhimanyu couldn't breathe properly. His shoulders shook with quiet sobs. But he didn't try to interrupt her. Not this time. She deserved this-all of it.

Aarushi wiped her cheek harshly.

"I didn't need your protection, Abhi" she continued. "I needed your presence. Just a word. Just one message. One hint. That you were on my side. But no-"

She laughed bitterly.

His hands itched to reach for her. To hold her. But he didn't move.

"You broke me in a way no one else could. Not because I didn't love you-but because I did."

Her voice cracked again. "Because I still do."

Abhimanyu opened his mouth, but she raised her hand to stop him.

"And don't-don't come to me now with your tears and your sorrys and expect me to fall into your arms. You shattered every ounce of faith I had."

She took a shaky step forward, standing inches from him.

"You want to tell me you did this to protect me?" she whispered, her voice now hauntingly soft. "Then why didn't you trust me enough to let me in on it?"

Abhimanyu's voice was barely a whisper. "I was afraid if I did... they h-had kill you."

Aarushi shook her head, devastated. "And I was afraid you already had."

That line hit him like a bullet.

She wiped her eyes again, this time more gently.

"I cried for you, Abhi. Only you. Every single night. I screamed in silence. I begged the universe to tell me you still loved me. I counted the seconds of betrayal like a prisoner counts the days on the wall."

Her body leaned slightly toward his again, despite herself.

"I don't want to see you like this. Crying. Tired. Broken. But I can't unsee what you did either."

Abhimanyu was holding back sobs so hard, his chest physically hurt. His throat had a lump the size of a fist. His lips trembled, eyes swollen, nose red. He let her words pierce through his skin like arrows made of love and pain.

"You're so bad," she sobbed, shaking her head. "So bad that you didn't even think once about what would happen to me. How I'd survive. You just left."

Abhimanyu's lips quivered. "I'm sorry, baby," he said softly, trying to reach for her hand.

"Bhaad mein gayi baby"Aarushi snapped in anger, snatching her hand away.

(To hell with the baby)

"I'm so angry at you. You are a bad man,Mr Rathore. So bad." She jabbed a finger to his chest with every word.

"You're a stupid... donkey, A big one! Duniya ke saare pagal khatam ho gaye honge tab jaake aap paida hue honge! You are the most stupid person I've ever met.You know what fuck you Abhimanyu Rathore"

(You're a stupid… donkey! A big one! The world must have run out of all the mad people, and then you were born! You are the most stupid person I’ve ever met. You know what? Fuck you, Abhimanyu Rathore)

Abhimanyu stood there, lips pressed together, looking at her with the guilt and shame of a scolded child.

He looked as if he'd take every insult she threw-and ask for more-if it meant she'd keep speaking to him.

She stared at him in anger and kind of relief. He stared back.

Two people.

Two broken souls.

Both crying.

Both breathing.

Both still in love.

Suddenly she lunged forward, grabbed him by the collar, yanked him close, and kissed him.

Hard. Desperate. Wild. Painful.

Her lips collided with his like a storm finally crashing onto the shore after days of buildup. There was no grace in the kiss, no calmness. Just fire. Just feeling.

Abhimanyu froze for a second-then melted into her completely, his hands finding her waist, her back, anything to pull her closer.

He kissed her back with equal madness-grief, guilt, love, regret-all pouring into the meeting of their lips.

And as they kissed, their tears mixed.

Slipping from cheeks to lips, salty and raw.

There were no words.

There was no forgiveness yet.

No closure.

After few minutes their lips parted, slowly.

Not because they wanted to stop-but because they had to breathe.

Aarushi let out a shaky exhale, her forehead resting against his, her palms still gripping his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her from collapsing.

Abhimanyu's arms wrapped around her instinctively, pulling her tightly to his chest, burying his face in her shoulder. His body trembled with the weight of what he had nearly lost... and what he had just gotten back.

She hugged him like a lifeline. Like the world outside didn't matter. Like nothing else had ever mattered.

And in that embrace-where time stood still and their broken hearts beat in the same rhythm-they both finally breathed.

For the first time in days.

For the first time in the darkness of what had felt like a never-ending nightmare.

Aarushi closed her eyes and inhaled his scent-the faint trace of his cologne mixed with the raw, familiar warmth of him. Her heart ached, but in the same beat, it sighed in relief.

He was here.

He had come.

Maybe broken. Maybe late. But he had come.

What kind of man was he? she thought. What kind of hold did he have on her?

She wanted to hate him. Scream at him. Push him away. But the moment he held her, she melted like wax in a flame.

Their chests rose and fell together. The silence between them wasn't empty anymore-it was full. Full of tears, apologies, unspoken love, and relief so thick it made their limbs weak.

But it didn't last long.

Suddenly, Aarushi pulled back. The softness in her eyes vanished, replaced again by that flicker of fire.

She stepped away from him and wiped her face, her voice suddenly sharp. "Go away."

Abhimanyu blinked, startled. "What?"

"I said go," she said firmly, crossing her arms, her body still trembling from all that had just happened. "I won't talk to you. Do whatever the hell you want. I'm done."

He took a desperate step forward. "Aarushi, please, baby-don't do this. Please..."

"I will" she said. "You did what you wanted. You made the decisions. You shut me out. Now it's my turn."

He stared at her, helpless.

"I'll do what I want now," she said, voice lower, eyes not meeting his.

And then, as if on cue, his phone vibrated on the metal table.

A knock followed.

The door opened slowly, and the Commissioner stepped inside with a stern expression. "Mr. Rathore. Time's up. You need to leave now."

The words sliced through the air.

Aarushi glanced up at the door, her jaw clenched. Her eyes darted to Abhimanyu for a fraction of a second-just long enough to drink him in. That face. Those tired eyes. The guilt. The regret. The overwhelming sadness.

He opened his mouth again, as if to say something, but she turned before he could.

A constable was waiting by the door.

Without another word, Aarushi walked past him.

Abhimanyu didn't stop her this time. He stood rooted in place, his heart falling apart all over again as he watched her walk away-again.

She didn't look back.

The metal door creaked shut behind her.

Aarushi stepped in, slowly. The same dull grey walls. The same thin mattress. The same silence that had felt like a curse for three days.

She sat down on the edge. Her hands were still trembling. Her lips still burned from the kiss.

And then... it happened.

A soft, sad smile crept onto her lips. Her eyes filled with tears again-this time not from pain, but relief.

She whispered to herself, like a prayer, "Thank God.."

Her head leaned back against the cold wall as a tear slipped down her cheek.

She had been bruised, betrayed, abandoned. But now... she wasn't alone anymore.

He came.

And that meant everything.

Even if she wasn't ready to forgive him yet.

Even if she still hated him in parts.

He came.

He didn't left her completely.