Chapter 24
That night felt quieter than usual.
The mansion had finally gone still after another exhausting day.
No relatives.
No business calls echoing through hallways.
No tension.
Just rain falling softly outside the giant glass windows.
I sat near the bedroom window cross-legged wearing one of Dhruv's oversized hoodies absentmindedly while reading documents from work.
Actually,
Trying to read.
Because my brain kept replaying one sentence, "I don't like other men staring at what's mine."
God.
This man would say one soft thing every forty business days and destroy my mental stability completely.
The bedroom door opened quietly.
I looked up instantly.
Dhruv entered loosening his tie slowly.
Dark grey shirt.
Tired eyes.
Hair slightly messy from the rain outside.
And unfortunately,
Still offensively attractive.
He stopped after noticing me wearing his hoodie.
His gaze lingered for one tiny second too long.
Then calmly,
"That's mine."
I looked down at the oversized sleeves.
"Oh."
My cheeks warmed slightly.
"Sorry, I just grabbed it because it was cold."
Silence.
Then flatly,
"Keep it."
My stupid heart immediately betrayed me again.
I looked away quickly pretending to focus on the papers.
Meanwhile Dhruv removed his watch slowly before sitting on the couch across from me.
The room filled with quiet rain sounds afterward.
Comfortable silence.
The kind we'd somehow developed lately without realizing.
Then unexpectedly,
Dhruv spoke.
"Why don't you talk about your family?"
My fingers froze over the papers instantly.
The question surprised me.
Because Dhruv never asked personal questions.
Never.
He kept distance from emotions like they were weapons.
So hearing him ask softly about me,
Actually about me,
Made something shift quietly inside my chest.
I looked down at the papers slowly.
"I don't really have one."
Silence.
Dhruv leaned back slightly against the couch.
And for once,
He looked patient.
Like he was genuinely waiting.
Not forcing.
Just listening.
The realization made my throat tighten unexpectedly.
I closed the file softly.
Then quietly,
"I don't remember much."
Dhruv's brows furrowed faintly.
"What do you mean?"
I stared toward the rain outside for a moment.
And honestly?
I didn't know why I suddenly wanted to tell him.
Maybe because he was the first person who ever asked gently.
Or maybe because somewhere along the way,
Dhruv started feeling safe.
Dangerously safe.
I spoke softly.
"I don't remember my childhood."
The room went still.
"I only remember things from around six years ago."
Dhruv's expression changed slightly now.
More focused.
I swallowed softly before continuing.
"I woke up in a hospital."
His eyes narrowed faintly.
"What hospital?"
"It was a government hospital in Mumbai."
Rain hit harder against the windows now.
And somehow,
The sound made everything feel more intimate.
More vulnerable.
I kept speaking quietly.
"The doctors told me I had been in a coma for fifteen years."
Silence crashed heavily between us.
Dhruv straightened slowly.
"What?"
I forced a tiny smile.
"Yeah."
The smile hurt.
"They said an old man brought me there when I was around five years old."
My fingers tightened slightly around the file unconsciously.
"I had some head injury after an accident."
Dhruv hadn't moved once now.
His eyes remained fixed entirely on me.
Sharp.
Intense.
Like he was processing every word carefully.
I looked down.
"The doctors said my parents died in the accident."
The sentence still felt strange even now.
Because how do you mourn people you can't even remember?
I laughed softly under my breath.
Small.
Broken.
"I don't even know what they looked like."
The room went painfully quiet afterward.
Rain.
Thunder.
Silence.
Dhruv finally spoke.
Very quietly.
"You remember nothing?"
I shook my head slowly.
"Just flashes sometimes."
His gaze darkened slightly.
"What kind of flashes?"
I closed my eyes briefly trying to think.
And immediately,
Small broken images flickered somewhere inside my head.
A woman's laugh.
Someone carrying me.
Rain.
Blood maybe.
Then nothing.
I opened my eyes again.
"Nothing clear."
My voice came softer now.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm about to remember something important..."
I smiled faintly.
"...but then it disappears again."
Dhruv stared at me for a very long time afterward.
And suddenly,
I felt embarrassed.
Too exposed.
Too vulnerable.
I laughed awkwardly trying to lighten the mood.
"Pretty dramatic backstory, right?"
Dhruv didn't smile.
Didn't joke.
Instead,
He asked quietly:
"You were alone after waking up?"
The question hit unexpectedly hard.
Because no one had ever asked that part before.
I nodded slowly.
"The hospital discharged me after some time."
My throat tightened slightly.
"I stayed in shelters mostly."
Silence.
"I started working small jobs after that."
I smiled softly again.
"Life wasn't that bad though."
Lie.
Absolute lie.
And somehow,
Dhruv noticed immediately.
Because his jaw tightened sharply.
Then suddenly,
He stood up.
I blinked in surprise.
Before I understood anything,
Dhruv walked toward me slowly.
One step.
Then another.
Until finally,
He stopped directly in front of where I sat near the window.
The rainlight behind him softened the sharpness of his face slightly.
But his eyes,
God.
His eyes looked dangerous tonight.
Not angry.
Not cold.
Something worse.
Emotion.
Real emotion.
Then quietly,
Very quietly,
"How old were you when you woke up?"
I looked up at him softly.
"Twenty."
Something in Dhruv's expression broke slightly after hearing that.
Twenty years old.
Alone.
No family.
No memories.
No past.
And suddenly,
For the first time since meeting him,
I saw something terrifying in Dhruv Malhotra's eyes.
Pain.
Not for himself.
For me.
The realization nearly ruined my breathing.
Because Dhruv rarely felt things openly.
Yet right now,
He looked furious at a world that hurt me before he even knew me.
I tried smiling again awkwardly.
"It's okay now."
Wrong thing to say.
Because his jaw tightened harder instantly.
"No," he said quietly.
The word startled me.
Dhruv looked down at me intensely.
And for the first time,
His voice lost all coldness completely.
"A five-year-old child losing everything isn't okay."
My heart cracked instantly.
Because no one had ever said it like that before.
People usually pitied me.
Or moved on quickly.
But Dhruv?
Dhruv sounded angry on behalf of the little girl I used to be.
And somehow,
That hurt the most.
My eyes burned unexpectedly.
I looked away quickly trying not to cry.
Stupid emotions.
But then suddenly,
Warm fingers touched my chin gently.
My breath stopped instantly.
Dhruv tilted my face upward softly.
Forcing me to look at him.
And God,
The look in his eyes destroyed me completely.
Not pity.
Never pity.
Something softer.
Something terrifyingly protective.
Then quietly,
Like a promise he didn't even realize he was making,
"You're not alone anymore."
And that sentence healed broken pieces of my heart which I didn't even know were broken.
.....
Next day
Sunday morning at the Malhotra mansion started with violence.
Not physical violence.
Wardrobe violence.
Because apparently billionaire children's birthday parties were more serious than international diplomacy.
I stood inside my room staring at the outfit laid on the bed in complete disbelief.
White tennis skorts.
Fitted pastel blue top.
White sneakers.
Minimal jewelry.
And somehow,
The outfit looked illegally pretty.
Dhruv's mother had personally approved it earlier with suspicious excitement.
"It's arcade-themed, beta. Everyone will wear sporty western clothes."
Which honestly sounded harmless.
Until she added:
"Even Dhruv."
Now THAT got my attention.
Because imagining Dhruv Malhotra in casual sporty clothes instead of intimidating billionaire suits?
Dangerous for women's rights.
I quickly changed afterward.
And unfortunately,
The mirror betrayed me again.
The skorts hugged my waist softly while the fitted top made my figure way more noticeable than necessary.
My hair fell in a high ponytail today.
Fresh.
Cute.
Young.
I honestly looked more like a college girl than Mrs. Dhruv Malhotra.
The realization itself felt weird.
I adjusted the hem nervously.
Then the bedroom door opened.
And immediately,
Everything went downhill for my heart.
Dhruv walked inside.
Black fitted t-shirt.
Grey cargo pants.
White sneakers.
Messy hair.
Luxury watch.
And God.
God genuinely had favorites.
Because WHY did this man look like a billionaire athlete from a Netflix series.
He stopped walking after seeing me.
And for one dangerous second,
Neither of us spoke.
His eyes slowly traveled over me.
The skorts.
My bare legs.
The ponytail.
Then back upward again.
And instantly,
His expression darkened slightly.
Oh no.
I recognized that look now.
Possessive Dhruv.
My pulse immediately betrayed me.
I smiled nervously.
"Too much?"
Silence.
Then flatly,
"Change the skirt."
EXCUSE ME.
I blinked at him.
"What?!"
Dhruv walked toward the dresser calmly avoiding eye contact now.
"It's short."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"It's literally sportswear."
"It's short."
OH MY GOD.
My heartbeat became embarrassingly fast.
Because why was he acting like an overprotective husband right now.
I crossed my arms.
"I'm wearing this."
Dhruv looked toward me slowly.
And the tension in his eyes instantly ruined my breathing again.
Then quietly,
"So every man there can stare at your legs?"
AIR LEFT MY LUNGS.
Sir.
SIR.
I looked away immediately because my face betrayed me completely.
Meanwhile Dhruv realized what he said one second too late.
Because his expression immediately hardened again.
Emotional walls returning.
He grabbed his car keys from the table.
"Come. We're late."
Coward.
Absolute emotionally repressed coward.
But unfortunately,
The entire drive there, my stupid heart replayed his sentence repeatedly.
....
The birthday party looked insane.
Absolutely insane.
Not party.
Mini billionaire festival.
The venue was an enormous luxury private club decorated completely in neon arcade themes.
Massive gaming sections.
Indoor bowling.
VR arenas.
Boat racing games.
Basketball arcades.
Go-kart simulators.
Candy stations bigger than supermarkets.
Children running everywhere laughing excitedly.
And everywhere,
Rich people.
CEOs.
Business tycoons.
Luxury fashion.
Million-dollar watches.
Beautiful families.
The atmosphere buzzed with energy.
I stepped out of the car beside Dhruv trying not to look overwhelmed.
And immediately,
A tiny child crashed into my legs.
"DID YOU COME FOR THE GAMES?!"
I looked down instantly.
And my heart melted.
A small boy around five years old looked up at me wearing a little racing jacket.
Huge excited eyes.
Cute chubby cheeks.
OH MY GOD.
I crouched immediately.
"You must be the birthday boy."
The child gasped dramatically.
"HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"
I laughed softly.
"Because only birthday boys have this much energy."
He looked impressed.
Then proudly:
"I'm Advik Kapoor."
Cute.
So cute.
A tall man approached us laughing softly afterward.
And instantly,
I understood where the child got his looks from.
Aryan Kapoor.
Billionaire hotel chain owner.
Dhruv's friend apparently.
Tall.
Handsome.
Easygoing aura unlike Dhruv.
His wife walked beside him too.
Naina Kapoor.
Beautiful warm smile.
The kind woman who looked naturally kind.
Aryan grinned toward Dhruv.
"You actually came."
Dhruv answered calmly.
"It's your son's birthday."
Naina immediately smiled warmly toward me.
"And you must be Riya."
I nodded softly.
She looked genuinely sweet.
"We've heard so much about you."
Beside me,
Dhruv suspiciously coughed.
Which immediately exposed that his family definitely discussed me constantly.
Meanwhile little Advik grabbed my hand excitedly.
"COME PLAY WITH ME."
OH NO.
I loved children too much to survive this.
Within thirty minutes,
I was fully adopted by rich children.
Completely.
I sat on the floor helping a little girl beat a racing game while three other children climbed around me talking nonstop.
And honestly?
I loved it.
Children never cared about money.
Or status.
Or complicated emotions.
They just loved loudly.
Purely.
Across the room,
Dhruv stood speaking to businessmen.
Yet every few minutes,
His eyes shifted toward me automatically.
Watching.
Always watching.
And unfortunately,
Armaan noticed too.
Because yes.
Of course Armaan was here too.
Black casual shirt.
Relaxed billionaire aura.
And the second he spotted me surrounded by children,
He smiled unconsciously.
Meanwhile Dhruv's expression darkened from across the room.
God help me.
Advik suddenly grabbed my hand again dramatically.
"Boat race game!"
My eyes widened instantly.
A giant neon-lit virtual boat racing setup glowed near the arcade section.
Teams of two competed together.
The winning pair got a huge trophy and luxury gift hampers.
OH MY GOD.
I immediately turned toward Dhruv excitedly.
"Please come with me."
Dhruv didn't even look up from his phone.
"No."
My jaw dropped.
"What?! Why?!"
He answered flatly.
"It's childish."
EXCUSE ME.
I stared at him offended.
"IT LOOKS FUN."
"It looks loud."
Okay wow.
Emotionally unavailable grandfather behavior.
I pouted immediately.
"Please?"
Dhruv looked at me finally.
And unfortunately,
The pout affected him slightly.
I noticed it instantly.
Tiny hesitation.
Still there.
But before he could answer,
A businessman approached him discussing something urgently.
And just like that,
The moment disappeared.
Dhruv turned back toward work mode immediately.
"I have meetings."
Meetings.
At a five-year-old's birthday party.
Rich people were exhausting.
My excitement faded slightly.
"Oh."
Then suddenly,
Another voice spoke beside me.
"I'll go with you."
I turned instantly.
Armaan.
Of course.
He smiled softly.
"The boat race."
Then looking toward the game arena:
"We'll win too."
My eyes lit up immediately.
"Really?!"
Across the room,
Dhruv went completely still.
The businessman talking to him visibly noticed the temperature drop.
Meanwhile my oblivious self got excited instantly.
"Let's go!"
Armaan laughed softly.
And together,
We started walking toward the boat race arena.
Meanwhile behind us,
Dhruv Malhotra slowly lifted his eyes.
And the look on his face?
Absolutely lethal.