CHAPTER 24
Chopra Group Office
It had never been this bad. Sunny had seen Reyansh at his most ruthless, his most withdrawn, even his most furious, but never like this.
Never so broken. Something deeper than just his sister’s departure was clawing at him from within.
Every time Radhika had left in the past, Reyansh had been sombre, not shattered.
“Boss,” Sunny finally interrupted, checking his watch. “You have a meeting scheduled in twenty minutes.”
“Cancel it,” Reyansh replied without looking up.
Sunny didn’t push back. He was about to turn and leave when Reyansh stopped him again.
“Do me a favour,” he said, retrieving a sealed envelope from his drawer and handed it to Sunny. “Give this to Aanya. Personally. At her office.”
Sunny took the envelope, unsure what it contained.
“Boss… is everything okay?”
“I don’t know, Sunny,” Reyansh confessed. “I honestly don’t know where any of this is heading. Just make sure she gets this… and let me know once she accepts it.”
He nodded and walked away, leaving Reyansh alone in the silence of his own grief.
Icon Interiors
Aanya had just wrapped up her final meeting with Prem and the leads of the onsite California project when she noticed Sunny waiting in the reception area. His unexpected presence made her heart jolt. If he was here, it had to be important.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Aanya excused herself and made her way to Sunny.
“Hey, Aanya,” he greeted politely.
“Sunny? What are you doing here?”
“Boss asked me to give this to you,” he said, extending the envelope.
“What’s inside?” she asked, taking it from him.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say. He didn’t seem... well enough to explain. Honestly, I’ve never seen him this disturbed .”
Her throat tightened. If she had no feelings for Reyansh, why did hearing that sting so sharply? What exactly was she trying to deny?
“I heard you’re leaving for California tomorrow,” Sunny added with a small smile.
“Yes,” she nodded.
“All the best.”
“Thanks,” she said, searching for something more to say. There was a lot she owed this man for his guidance, for his quiet support during her stay at Chopra Mansion, and for his loyalty to Reyansh.
“Sunny… I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You really helped me settle down when Di arrived. Thank you.”
He offered a humble shrug. “That was my job.”
“I know.”
“Well,” he said, taking a breath, “try to stay in touch.”
Her brows furrowed slightly. Did he mean with him ? Or with Reyansh?
“I… will.” She nodded. “Please take care of him.”
She hadn’t meant to say it. The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Since when did Reyansh’s well-being matter this much?
Sunny’s smile this time was softer, more genuine.
“I will. But, Aanya… this time, I don’t think he needs me looking after him. What he really wants… I’m not the one who can give it to him.”
Aanya’s throat constricted as unshed tears gathered behind her eyes. Was she becoming the villain in her own story? Was she really wrong to choose her dreams? Her freedom?
If only Reyansh had been honest from the start. If only…
“Good luck,” Sunny whispered before walking away.
Just then, Shikha returned. “Aanya, did you check the latest update about our stay? I just got the confirmation.”
“Oh,” Aanya blinked back the sting in her eyes. “Wow.”
Shikha paused. “Should I give you some time?”
“No, please,” she said quickly.
Shikha gestured toward the envelope. “Seems like you’ve got something important to look at.”
Aanya nodded, already pulling it open. “Yeah. Uh…Give me ten minutes?”
“Sure.”
At Her Desk
Aanya unfolded the letter and began to read.
Aanya,
I misjudged you in the past and now you’re doing the same. I know I’ve hurt you, and its high time I took full responsibility for that.
I should have told you everything about Noor Mahal long before we got married. I was a coward for staying silent. I thought I was making the right decisions, but now I know better.
I know you’re leaving tomorrow, and I also know there’s nothing I can say that will make you stay. But before you start hating me completely, I need to tell you a few things.
I didn’t tell Shagufta about your mother’s will. If she knew, she must have seen those documents herself. Although they were in my office, locked, or so I believed.
Whatever I feel for you now has nothing to do with Noor Mahal. I don’t care about that property anymore.
The deal we had between us for Di’s sake is void.
You’ve changed, Aanya. And I want to see you get every bit of happiness you deserve… even if that doesn’t include me. That’s how much I care for you.
As for this marriage, we might not have taken vows, followed rituals, or had the perfect beginning. But it still means something to me. A lot, in fact. Don’t end it in anger. Take your time. When you truly know what you want, I’ll be here, no matter what that decision is.
And if, by some miracle, you choose to give us another shot… I’ll consider myself the luckiest man alive. I don’t want to lose you, Aanya. And I’ll say it again and again, countless times, if it helps you believe it.
I know it’s not easy for you to take that leap of faith again on me, or on this marriage.
But if you do, I swear I won’t let you down.
I’ll earn back your trust, your respect…
everything I failed to hold onto the first time.
That’s my promise to you. Just keep an open heart when you rethink what this marriage still means to us, because I haven’t given up on it… or on you.
Tomorrow when you leave, I won’t come to see you off. I don’t have the strength for that, and I doubt you’d want to see me either.
So here’s my goodbye… and my blessing.
Be happy. Be fierce. Be free.
Always yours,
Reyansh.
Tears spilled freely as she finished reading. Her hands trembled, and her heart felt like it had been cracked wide open. What had he done to her? With just a few words, Reyansh had managed to unearth all the emotions she had buried beneath denial and pride.
He wasn’t stopping her. And she… she wasn’t running either.
For now, they were walking separate paths. But perhaps they were still destined to meet at the same end. And when that moment would come in future, they’d both know exactly what they wanted.
Chopra Mansion
Aanya returned home from work and completed her packing.
She knew Reyansh wasn’t home, and from his letter, she already understood that he wouldn’t be facing her again before her departure.
Yet, the thought gnawed at her. Was he repeating history by ignoring her the same way he had after their marriage?
No. This time it felt different. He wasn’t ignoring her to hurt her…
he was keeping his distance to avoid causing her any more pain.
For once, he was giving her the freedom to choose.
And even if she didn’t like the way it felt, she knew in her heart, he was trying to support her.
As she folded clothes and zipped her luggage, her thoughts stayed tangled in that truth.
She had an early morning flight, but there was one last task left to complete before she could leave this house behind.
She opened her purse and pulled out the keys to Chopra Mansion, the very keys Radhika had once handed her with so much hope.
It was time to return them to Nani. She didn’t want another confrontation, especially not now. But this had to be done.
Knocking softly on the door to Nani’s room, she entered to find the elderly woman reading a holy book. Nani looked up, unsurprised. She clearly knew about Aanya’s departure the next day. The older woman’s expression turned bitter the moment their eyes met.
Aanya stepped forward and placed the keys on the table. “These keys,” she said.
Nani’s smile curved, more of a smirk than anything else.
“I knew they’d return to me soon.” Nani sneered. “Didn’t think it would be this soon. Honestly, I still can’t figure out what Radhika ever saw in you.”
Aanya clenched her jaw but didn’t lose her composure.
“Di is too kind,” she replied. “But you… you’ve lived longer, met more people, seen more of the world. And yet, you failed to see what she did.”
Nani rose from her seat, eyes narrowing. “What are you trying to say?”
“That is my point,” Aanya replied, her voice ice-cool. “It doesn’t matter what I do, how I speak, or how hard I try. Your mind is made up. And frankly, I’m done trying to win approval I never asked for.”
She stepped back.
“I’m leaving tomorrow. Take care of yourself… and your grandson. Goodnight.”
Without waiting for a response, Aanya turned and left the room, leaving Nani silent and stunned.
Later That Night
Reyansh walked into the house just before midnight. He’d intentionally buried himself in work, staying late at the office. Not out of duty, but to give Aanya the space he knew she needed. She would be packing by now, preparing to leave. And this time, the least he could offer her was distance.
What surprised him most was his own restraint. Even Aanya would probably be taken aback by how far he’d come from the man who once treated their marriage like a formality.
But Reyansh knew what had brought that change.
He had buried his feelings for her deep inside when she walked away after their wedding.
But when she returned, when they agreed to pretend for Radhika’s sake, he began to see her differently.
Living with her as husband and wife had opened his eyes.
The more he watched her, the clearer it became that he had almost let something priceless slip through his fingers.