Chapter 37
Mumbai.
Rain poured heavily outside the Malhotra mansion.
The kind of rain that made the entire world feel colder.
Inside his office,
Dhruv sat alone in darkness.
Only the city lights entered faintly through the glass windows behind him.
Laptop open.
Unread emails ignored.
Whiskey untouched beside him.
He hadn't moved in almost twenty minutes.
Because on the screen,
A news article glowed mercilessly.
ROYAL WEDDING OF THE DECADE
Riya Rajput and Advik Khanna officially announce engagement and upcoming wedding.
Sources claim the ceremony will be the grandest billionaire wedding in modern history.
Guest list includes royal families, global billionaires and political dynasties.
Below it,
My picture.
Wearing a black gown beside Advik.
His hand around my waist.
My elegant smile aimed at cameras.
Perfect together.
Perfect for the world.
Dhruv stared silently.
Blankly.
Like his brain refused processing the words.
Wedding.
Riya's wedding.
Not his.
Someone else's.
The room remained completely still.
Then another article appeared automatically below.
"The Rajput heiress finally begins her new chapter after surviving years of tragedy."
New chapter.
As if the old one meant nothing.
As if the girl who once slept in his arms never existed.
Dhruv slowly leaned back in his chair afterward.
Eyes still fixed on the screen.
And suddenly,
Memories attacked him violently.
Riya dancing on the bed after getting her job.
Riya in saree during Karva Chauth looking at him through the sieve.
Riya drunk whispering:
"Why did she hug my husband?"
Riya feeding stray puppies outside the mansion.
Riya getting shot protecting him.
Riya asleep beside him with her tiny hand clutching his shirt unconsciously.
His wife.
His entire fucking world.
Gone.
Not dead.
That would've been easier maybe.
No,
This was crueler.
Because she existed.
She breathed.
She smiled.
She lived.
Just not with him anymore.
And the worst part?
She didn't even remember enough to miss him.
The room blurred suddenly.
Dhruv frowned slightly.
Confused.
Then something warm hit his hand.
A drop.
He looked down slowly.
Tears.
For a moment,
He genuinely stared blankly at them like he didn't understand what they were.
Because Dhruv Malhotra didn't cry.
Not when competitors betrayed him.
Not during losses.
Not after getting shot once years ago.
Not even when business wars nearly destroyed him.
The last time he'd cried,
He was sixteen.
At his father's funeral.
After that?
Nothing.
Until tonight.
Another tear fell silently.
Then another.
Dhruv shut his eyes sharply breathing unevenly once.
But the tears kept coming anyway.
Quietly.
Brokenly.
Years of control collapsing in absolute silence.
Because this wasn't heartbreak anymore.
This was grief.
The grief of losing someone still alive.
Meanwhile downstairs,
His mother walked past the office corridor before stopping suddenly.
Because through the slightly open door,
She saw him.
And froze completely.
Dhruv sat motionless in darkness.
Head lowered slightly.
Tears falling silently onto his hands.
No anger.
No rage.
Just devastation.
Her own eyes filled instantly.
Because mothers know.
And she realized in that moment,
Her son was truly, completely in love with me.
Not contract love.
Not attachment.
Not obsession.
Real love.
The kind that destroys people permanently.
She slowly stepped away from the door afterward instead of entering.
Because some pain becomes too sacred for interruption.
Inside the office,
Dhruv finally picked up his phone slowly.
Opened the hidden folder again.
Thousands of pictures.
Videos.
Memories.
Me asleep hugging a pillow.
Me laughing with chocolate ice cream on her nose.
Me angrily scolding him.
Me smiling at him like he was home.
He clicked one video finally.
The screen played softly.
My voice filled the silent office instantly.
"Dhruvvvv stop recording me!"
Video-me laughed breathlessly while hiding her face.
"I look ugly!"
Dhruv's voice from behind the camera came quietly.
"You look beautiful."
The video ended.
Silence crashed back into the room.
And for the first time since his father's death,
Dhruv Malhotra cried like a broken man.
.....
Same day,
Mumbai.
11:47 PM.
Dhruv sat alone in his office again.
Darkness.
Rain.
Silence.
The wedding news still haunted every corner of the mansion.
He hadn't slept properly in days.
Hadn't spoken much either.
Then suddenly,
His phone vibrated.
Dhruv ignored it initially.
Another business message probably.
But the screen lit up again.
Unknown Number.
Something about it made him pause.
Then slowly,
He picked up the phone.
And froze.
Because the message read:
"I want to meet you tomorrow."
Another text followed immediately.
A location.
His heartbeat stopped for one terrifying second.
Because he knew that number.
Even after deleting nothing.
Even after losing everything.
He would recognize Riya's number anywhere.
His fingers tightened around the phone instantly.
A hundred thoughts crashed into him at once.
Did she remember?
Did something happen?
Was she okay?
Why did she suddenly want to meet him?
For the first time in weeks,
Hope entered his chest.
Small.
Dangerous.
Deadly.
...
Next Day.
Mumbai.
Private waterfront café.
Cloudy skies stretched above the ocean while cold wind brushed through the nearly empty outdoor seating area.
Dhruv arrived fifteen minutes early.
Of course he did.
Black shirt.
Black coat.
Cold expression.
But inside?
Chaos.
He stood near the railing silently looking toward the entrance repeatedly.
Then,
I arrived.
And the second Dhruv saw me,
Breathing became difficult again.
I was wearing a long black coat over a fitted beige dress.
Dark sunglasses.
Hair flowing with the wind.
Beautiful.
Untouchable.
But something felt wrong immediately.
Because my aura today wasn't confused.
It was furious.
I walked towards him slowly.
Coldly.
And before Dhruv could even speak,
SLAP.
The sound echoed sharply across the café.
His face turned slightly from the impact.
Nearby staff froze instantly.
I stood there breathing heavily.
Eyes blazing with rage.
Dhruv slowly looked back at me.
But didn't say a word.
Meanwhile my hands trembled violently with anger.
Disgust.
Betrayal.
Pain.
"How dare you."
My voice cracked with fury.
"How dare you stand in front of me pretending innocent?"
Dhruv's brows furrowed faintly.
Still silent.
And somehow,
His silence irritated me even more.
I stepped closer sharply.
"I know it was you."
Nothing.
Not even denial.
I laughed angrily.
"Wow."
"Not even going to defend yourself?"
Dhruv finally spoke quietly.
"...Riya."
"Don't."
My voice turned ice cold instantly.
"Don't say my name."
The ocean wind roared around us violently.
I opened my purse immediately afterward.
And pulled something out.
A watch.
Silver black.
Luxury.
Deadly expensive.
The second Dhruv saw it,
His expression changed.
Not guilt.
Shock.
Pure shock.
I raised it in front of him furiously.
"This was found inside my purse."
Dhruv stared silently at the watch.
And suddenly,
Memory hit him brutally.
Rainy night.
Me laughing after dinner.
His watch strap loosening.
I had grabbed it casually.
"I'll keep it safe, Mr. Malhotra."
My teasing smile.
"You'll lose it otherwise."
His chest physically hurt.
Because I remembered none of it.
Meanwhile I continued coldly:
"It's a limited edition piece."
"I contacted the company personally."
My eyes burned into his.
"Only two were ever made."
Dhruv stayed motionless.
I stepped closer again.
"One owner died years ago."
I lifted the watch between us.
"The second owner is you."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
And that silence destroyed everything.
Because to me,
It looked like confirmation.
Tears of furious betrayal burned my eyes.
"You kidnapped me."
The words landed heavily between us.
"You ruined my life."
Still,
Dhruv said nothing.
Because how could he explain?
How could he tell me:
You wore that watch against your heart for months because you loved me.
How could he say:
You were my wife.
When even doctors warned the truth could kill me.
So he just stood there silently.
And that silence became his biggest crime in my eyes.
I laughed bitterly.
"Oh my God."
"You actually did it."
Dhruv's jaw tightened painfully.
Finally,
Softly,
"I didn't."
But even his denial sounded broken.
Not convincing.
Not angry.
Just tired.
And somehow,
That hurt worse.
I looked at him with pure hatred now.
"I trusted you."
"You acted like some hero who saved me."
Then colder:
"But you were the monster all along."
Something inside Dhruv visibly shattered hearing that.
Still,
He accepted every word.
Like punishment.
Then quietly,
"What do you want me to say?"
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Say?"
My voice rose sharply.
"I lost six years because of you!"
"I don't remember my own life!"
"I don't remember what happened to me!"
Tears finally slipped down angrily.
"And now I find YOUR watch in my bag?"
Dhruv closed his eyes briefly.
Because every sentence from her mouth felt like knives.
Then suddenly,
A voice exploded behind me.
"You psychopath!"
Before anyone reacted,
Advik stormed forward furiously.
And punched Dhruv directly across the face.
The impact staggered him slightly backward.
Gasps erupted nearby.
But Dhruv,
Didn't fight back.
Not even once.
Advik grabbed his collar violently.
"I trusted you around her!"
Punch.
"You sick bastard!"
Punch.
"You kidnapped her?!"
Blood appeared near Dhruv's lip now.
Still,
No reaction.
No defense.
Nothing.
Because honestly?
He probably believed he deserved it.
Meanwhile I stared shocked.
"Advik stop!"
But Advik was furious beyond control now.
"You ruined her life!"
Another punch.
Dhruv simply stood there taking every hit silently.
Eyes empty.
Broken.
Almost like he no longer cared what happened to him anymore.
Finally I rushed forward pulling Advik back forcefully.
"Enough!"
Advik breathed heavily glaring murderously at Dhruv.
"I'll kill him."
"No."
I held Advik's arm tightly.
My own breathing uneven.
Then coldly,
"No."
I looked straight at Dhruv afterward.
And God,
The blood on his face.
The emptiness in his eyes.
For one tiny second,
Something inside me hurt unexpectedly.
But I crushed it immediately.
Because monsters didn't deserve sympathy.
I straightened slowly.
Voice calm again now.
Deadly calm.
"We'll do this legally."
Dhruv finally lifted his eyes toward me.
And the devastation inside them almost looked human.
Then quietly,
"I didn't kidnap you."
I laughed softly once.
Without humor.
"Save it for court."
Then I turned away.
Advik immediately wrapped a protective arm around me guiding me toward the exit.
Meanwhile Dhruv remained standing there alone.
Bleeding.
Silent.
Watching the woman he loved walk away believing he destroyed her life.
And somehow,
That hurt more than every punch combined.