Chapter 17 Dont Leave Me
The hospital discharge had been clean.
Professional.
Controlled.
Exactly the way Aarohi Mehra wanted it.
No emotional goodbye.
No lingering touches.
No promises.
She had looked directly at Ekansh Rathore and calmly said:
"You need space from me."
He hated those words instantly.
But surprisingly—
He listened.
At first.
—
The penthouse felt unbearable.
Too quiet.
Too loud.
Both somehow.
Ekansh sat alone in the dark living room at 3 AM staring at his untouched whiskey glass.
No sleep.
Again.
Every few minutes his hand reached for his phone instinctively.
Then stopped.
Because he remembered the look in Aarohi's eyes when she said:
"This attachment is becoming unhealthy."
So he tried.
For her.
He forced himself not to call.
Not to ask where she was.
Not to go to the hospital.
Not to search for her.
The effort physically irritated him.
By sunrise, three men had been hospitalized during a warehouse meeting because his temper snapped repeatedly.
Vivaan looked exhausted already.
"You need help."
"I'm fine."
"You threatened a printer today."
"The printer jammed."
"That's not a capital crime."
—
No sleep.
More rage.
More silence.
Ekansh stopped attending meetings personally.
Because every room felt wrong without her calm presence.
At one point he actually opened their old hospital chat three times just to stare at her last message:
Take your antibiotics on time.
Pathetic.
He knew it was pathetic.
Still couldn't stop.
—
He lasted exactly four hours before typing a message.
Are you okay?
Deleted.
Another one.
Come back.
Deleted again.
Then finally—
Nothing.
Because forcing her would destroy the only trust she had in him.
And somehow...
That mattered more than his own suffering.
Vivaan watched him silently from across the office.
"You look worse than when you got shot."
No answer.
"Boss."
Still silence.
Then finally Ekansh spoke quietly without looking up.
"How do normal people survive this?"
Vivaan frowned.
"What?"
"Missing someone."
The question sounded genuinely confused.
And that hurt more than expected.
Because Ekansh Rathore truly did not know how to emotionally process attachment.
Vivaan leaned back slowly.
"You tell them."
"No."
"Why?"
Ekansh's jaw tightened.
"Because if she looks at me differently afterward..."
He never finished the sentence.
Didn't need to.
—
Rain poured violently across Jaipur.
Thunder shook the night sky.
Aarohi sat at the dining table with her parents, trying very hard not to think about him.
Failing terribly.
Because for one entire week she had felt strangely restless too.
Too aware of silence.
Too aware that nobody was asking if she'd eaten.
Nobody watching her like she mattered to their survival.
Dangerous thoughts.
Very dangerous.
Then suddenly—
The house helper entered nervously.
"Madam..."
Aarohi looked up.
"There's someone outside."
Her mother frowned slightly.
"In this rain?"
The helper hesitated.
"It's... Mr. Rathore."
The spoon slipped from Aarohi's fingers.
Her heartbeat stumbled instantly.
"What?"
Her father immediately stood.
Outside?
In this storm?
Aarohi moved toward the balcony quickly.
And froze.
There he was.
Ekansh Rathore stood near the front gate under the pouring rain completely drenched.
No umbrella.
No security surrounding him aggressively.
Just Vivaan beside him looking one second away from losing his mind.
Even from this distance, Aarohi could see how pale Ekansh looked.
What the hell was he doing?
Her mother immediately gasped softly.
"He's soaked!"
Her father frowned deeply.
"Invite him inside."
The guards opened the gate immediately, but downstairs Ekansh politely shook his head once.
Even through the rain, Aarohi could hear him faintly.
"I'll stay here."
Vivaan sounded furious.
"Boss, you're burning with fever!"
No response.
"He's not coming," Aarohi said quickly.
Her mother looked shocked.
"What?"
"He knows I asked for distance."
"Then why is he standing outside in the rain?!"
Aarohi had no answer.
Because deep down...
She knew exactly why.
Dinner continued awkwardly afterward.
But Aarohi barely ate.
Every thunder strike made her glance toward the window again.
Still there.
Still standing.
Still waiting.
Her mother finally snapped softly,
"At least meet the poor boy."
Aarohi closed her eyes briefly.
"He'll leave soon."
She hoped.
Desperately hoped.
Because if he stayed—
She already knew her resolve would break.
—
2:03 AM
THUNDER CRACKED violently across the sky.
Aarohi jolted awake instantly.
Rain still hammered against the windows heavily.
Her chest felt strangely tight suddenly.
He left by now.
Obviously.
No one would stay six hours in a storm.
Still—
Something pulled at her uneasily.
Before logic could stop her, Aarohi got out of bed and walked toward the balcony quietly.
Then froze completely.
He was still there.
Sitting on the wet ground near the gate now.
Completely drenched.
Head lowered slightly.
Motionless.
For one horrifying second, panic slammed through her chest.
"Oh my God."
She ran downstairs instantly.
The front door flew open against the storm.
"Ekansh!"
Vivaan looked up in exhausted relief.
"THANK GOD."
Aarohi rushed toward him through the rain.
The moment she touched Ekansh's shoulder, his body swayed dangerously.
Burning.
He was burning with fever.
"Are you insane?!" she snapped shakily.
His eyes opened slowly.
Disoriented at first.
Then they found her.
And something heartbreaking crossed his face instantly.
Relief.
Pure relief.
"You came," he whispered weakly.
Aarohi's chest physically hurt.
"You have a high fever!"
But Ekansh barely seemed to hear her.
His trembling hand reached for hers desperately.
"Don't leave me."
The sentence shattered something inside her.
"Ekansh—"
"Everyone leaves." His voice sounded broken from fever and exhaustion. "You don't... please."
Aarohi immediately held his face carefully.
"I'm here."
His eyes closed briefly at her touch like even that eased pain.
Vivaan looked beyond exhausted.
"He wouldn't move," he muttered. "Six hours, doctor. I threatened him, begged him, almost dragged him."
Ekansh weakly shook his head once.
"She said space."
Aarohi stared at him silently.
He respected her boundary.
Even while destroying himself.
That realization hit brutally hard.
"With me," she ordered immediately.
Together, Aarohi and Vivaan helped the half-conscious Ekansh inside.
Her parents looked shocked seeing his condition.
"He needs dry clothes now," Aarohi said quickly.
She called Rishabh Mehra immediately.
"Bring two sets of clothes. Now."
—
Twenty minutes later.
Rishabh arrived looking sleep-deprived and deeply unimpressed with life.
"You brought the mafia home," he muttered.
"Help him change first."
Between Vivaan and Rishabh, they changed Ekansh into dry clothes while Aarohi prepared medication.
She handed Vivaan spare clothes too.
"Guest room," she instructed.
Vivaan looked ready to cry from gratitude.
"You're an angel."
"Sleep before you collapse."
Then Aarohi looked toward her brother.
"You too."
Rishabh raised one brow knowingly.
"You're staying with him?"
"He has fever."
"That's not what I asked."
Aarohi ignored him successfully.
Eventually both men left.
The room became quiet again.
Rain still echoed softly outside.
Ekansh lay half-conscious on her bed, breathing unevenly from fever.
Aarohi checked his temperature again.
Too high.
She prepared an antipyretic injection carefully.
The second he noticed the syringe, his body tensed instinctively despite the fever haze.
Aarohi immediately sat beside him.
"Ekansh."
His unfocused eyes found hers slowly.
"You have high fever," she whispered softly. "I need to give this."
A long pause followed.
Then quietly—
"Do whatever you want to do with me."
"I don't care"
Her chest tightened.
"Just don't leave me."
The vulnerability in his fever-weakened voice hurt unbearably.
Aarohi gently touched his cheek first before giving the injection slowly.
He winced faintly.
Not from pain.
From memory.
Trauma lingering even now.
After finishing, Aarohi stood to put the tray away.
Instantly—
Warm fingers grabbed her wrist weakly.
"Stay."
She looked back.
Ekansh looked barely conscious now.
But his grip still held desperate trust.
Aarohi hesitated only one second before sliding carefully beneath the blanket beside him.
Immediately he moved closer instinctively.
Like his body recognized safety before his mind did.
His forehead pressed weakly near her shoulder.
And for the first time in seven days...
His breathing finally calmed.
Half-asleep, burning with fever, Ekansh whispered softly against her neck—
"I love you."
Aarohi froze completely.
His voice sounded broken.
Raw.
"Tried not to," he murmured weakly. "Was torture without you."
Every word felt painfully honest.
"Don't leave me ever again."
The confession wasn't polished.
Wasn't charming.
It sounded like survival.
Like he genuinely believed losing her would destroy him.
Aarohi slowly closed her eyes.
Then gently held him closer.
"I'm here," she whispered softly.
And sometime before sleep finally took him—
She quietly promised something she knew would change both their lives forever.
"I won't leave you again."