19
Chapter 19
A Line He Couldn't Cross
Aarav stared at the message for a long time.
DNA test is possible.
The words remained on the screen while dozens of thoughts ran through his mind.
A few weeks ago, he would have dismissed the idea immediately.
Now he couldn't.
There were too many coincidences.
Too many unanswered questions.
Too many moments that didn't make sense.
Yet something stopped him from taking the next step.
Because if he was wrong, he would be violating Anaya's trust for nothing.
And if he was right...
Everything would change.
Slowly, he locked his phone and placed it on the desk.
No.
Not yet.
He needed the truth.
But he wanted it from Anaya.
---
The following morning, Anaya arrived at work feeling exhausted.
The birthday party had been successful.
Kabir had loved it.
That should have been enough to make her happy.
Instead, she couldn't stop thinking about the conversation she'd overheard.
"He looks just like that businessman."
The words refused to leave her mind.
For years, she had convinced herself that nobody would notice.
Now she wasn't so sure.
As she stepped into the elevator, her phone buzzed.
A message from Riya.
Emergency. Coffee. Now.
Anaya immediately knew this wasn't actually an emergency.
It was Riya.
Everything was an emergency.
Five minutes later, she found her friend sitting in the office cafeteria.
Looking unusually excited.
That was never a good sign.
"What happened?"
Riya leaned forward.
"I need to ask you something."
Anaya sighed.
"No."
"You don't even know the question."
"I know enough."
Unfortunately, Riya wasn't giving up.
"Are you and Aarav getting back together?"
Anaya nearly dropped her coffee.
"What?"
"The entire office thinks so."
For a second, she thought she had misheard.
"The entire office what?"
Riya looked completely serious.
"You spend half your day in his office."
"Because of the gala."
"He came to your son's birthday."
Anaya opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
That was harder to explain.
Riya pointed triumphantly.
"Exactly."
"No."
"No?"
"No."
Riya narrowed her eyes.
"I don't believe you."
---
Around noon, Aarav called her to the hotel venue.
This time, she found him standing inside the ballroom, reviewing the final preparations.
The charity gala was only a few days away.
Months of planning were finally reaching the finish line.
Everything looked perfect.
At least until Aarav handed her a guest list.
Her eyes scanned the names.
Then stopped.
A familiar name.
Rhea Kapoor.
Immediately, her stomach tightened.
Aarav noticed.
"You know her."
It wasn't a question.
Anaya looked away.
"Not really."
The lie sounded weak.
Aarav clearly thought so too.
"Then why do you look nervous?"
Because Rhea knew the truth.
Because Rhea wouldn't stop pushing.
Because she was becoming impossible to ignore.
But Anaya couldn't say any of that.
Instead, she forced herself to focus on the documents.
Unfortunately, Aarav wasn't finished.
"She visited you."
Anaya froze.
The statement was calm.
Too calm.
"How do you know that?"
"I have security around your apartment."
Right.
She hated that he had a point.
Aarav studied her carefully.
"What did she want?"
For a moment, Anaya considered telling him everything.
The photographs.
The threats.
The messages.
All of it.
The temptation lasted only a few seconds.
Then fear won.
Because if the truth came out now, she wouldn't control what happened next.
"I already told you."
His jaw tightened.
"No. You avoided answering."
The tension between them returned immediately.
Neither seemed willing to back down.
Before the argument could continue, Aarav's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Then frowned.
"Take five."
Anaya watched him walk away to answer the call.
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Lately, they seemed to spend more time arguing than talking.
And somehow that felt familiar.
Painfully familiar.
---
That evening, Kabir was sitting at the dining table doing homework when he suddenly looked up.
"Mumma?"
"Yes?"
"Can I ask a question?"
Anaya immediately became suspicious.
Questions were dangerous.
Very dangerous.
"What is it?"
Kabir tapped his pencil against the table.
"When people love each other, do they stop loving each other?"
The question caught her off guard.
"Why are you asking that?"
"My friend said his parents got divorced because they stopped loving each other."
Anaya sat beside him.
For a moment, she wasn't sure how to answer.
Then she spoke carefully.
"Sometimes people still love each other."
Kabir blinked.
"Then why do they leave?"
The innocence behind the question hurt.
Because she had spent five years asking herself the same thing.
Finally, she smiled sadly.
"Sometimes life becomes complicated."
Kabir seemed to think about that.
Then he nodded.
As if he'd accepted the explanation.
Children really were incredible.
They accepted answers adults spent years struggling with.
---
Later that night, Aarav received another message from Vikram.
This one included a photograph.
Not of Kabir.
Not of Anaya.
Of Rhea.
She was meeting someone outside a restaurant.
Someone Aarav recognized immediately.
His expression darkened.
Because the man wasn't one of Rhea's employees.
He was connected to an old rival organization.
A dangerous rival organization.
The kind that should have stayed buried in the past.
Aarav immediately called Vikram.
"What do we know?"
"Not enough."
"Find out."
The answer came instantly.
"We're already trying."
Aarav looked at the photograph again.
A bad feeling settled in his chest.
The kind he had learned never to ignore.
Whatever Rhea was planning...
It wasn't just about exposing secrets anymore.
Something bigger was happening.
And somehow, Anaya and Kabir were right in the middle of it.
To be continued...