CHAPTER 6 #3
"Already on it, boss."
Samarth ended the call and was halfway to the door when Saroj appeared.
"Samarth, have you seen Nimisha? She missed lunch, and she's not answering her phone."
"She's not here."
Saroj frowned. "What do you mean? Where would she go?"
"I don't know." The admission tasted like failure. "But I'm going to find out."
He strode past his mother, grabbing his jacket and gun from his office. Abhay and Armaan met him in the driveway.
"Anything?" he demanded.
"Nothing yet. But boss..." Abhay hesitated. "Maybe she just needed some space. Time alone. After everything—"
"After everything what?"
Abhay exchanged a glance with Armaan. "After the way we've all treated her. Your mother's comments. Kritika's presence. The staff ignoring her. Maybe she just needed to get away from all of it."
The words hit like physical blows.
Maybe she just needed to get away.
From this house. From this family.
From him.
Kritika appeared on the front steps, concern evident on her face. "Samarth, what's happening? Maa said Nimisha is missing?"
"She's not missing," he said, even though he had no idea if that was true. "She's just... out."
"For five hours with her phone off?" Kritika's voice rose slightly. "That's not like her. Something must be wrong."
"We're handling it."
"Let me help. I can call some people, ask if anyone's seen—"
"No." The word came out harsher than intended. "This is family business."
Kritika flinched as if he'd slapped her.
Saroj moved to her side protectively. "Samarth, Kritika is trying to help."
"I don't need her help. I need to find my wife."
He got in his car before anyone could say anything else, Abhay sliding into the passenger seat while Armaan took another vehicle.
As they drove, Samarth's mind raced through possibilities.
Kidnapping. Accident. Running away.
Each one made his chest tighten with something that felt uncomfortably like fear.
She wouldn't leave, he told himself. She has nowhere to go. Her family cut her off. This is her home.
But was it? Had he ever made her feel like this was her home? Like she belonged here?
He'd given her rules. Boundaries. Cold distance.
He'd touched her body but never her heart.
He'd claimed her physically but never truly let her in.
Maybe she just needed to get away from all of it.
His phone rang. Unknown number.
He answered immediately. "Ranawat."
Silence.
Then a voice he knew.
"Samarth."
Nimisha.
Relief flooded through him so fast it left him dizzy.
"Where the fuck are you?" The words came out harsh, angry, because anger was easier than admitting how terrified he'd been.
"I'm fine. I just... I needed some time alone."
"Your phone has been off for five hours."
"I know. I didn't think anyone would notice. Or care."
The quiet words gutted him.
I didn't think anyone would notice.
"Where are you?" he asked, forcing his voice to calm. "I'll come get you."
"No. I don't want... I just need tonight. One night to myself. To breathe. Please."
Every instinct screamed at him to demand her location, to track the call, to drag her back where she belonged.
But something in her voice stopped him.
Exhaustion. Defeat. A bone-deep weariness that spoke of wounds he'd helped inflict.
"Are you safe?" he asked finally.
"Yes."
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Nimisha—"
"Please, Samarth. Just one night. I'll be back tomorrow morning. I promise."
He should say no. Should pull rank, remind her of the rules, order her home.
Instead, he said, "Tomorrow morning. Six AM. If you're not back, I'm tearing this city apart to find you."
"I'll be back."
She ended the call.
Samarth sat in the car, phone in hand, jaw clenched so hard it ached.
"Boss?" Abhay asked carefully.
"She's safe. She'll be back tomorrow."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
And that terrified him more than he wanted to admit.
His wife had secrets. Places he didn't know about. A whole life he'd never bothered to learn about.
Because he'd been so focused on keeping her at arm's length that he'd never asked.
Never cared to know.
Until now.
Until she'd disappeared, and the thought of losing her had made him feel something he hadn't felt in years.
Fear.
"Take me home," he told Abhay.
"Boss—"
"Home. Now."
The drive back to the estate felt endless.
When they arrived, Saroj and Kritika were waiting.
"Well?" his mother demanded. "Where is she?"
"Somewhere safe. She'll be back tomorrow."
"That's it? That's all you're going to tell us?"
"That's all I know."
"Samarth, this is unacceptable. She can't just disappear—"
"She can do whatever she wants," he said coldly. "She's my wife, not my prisoner."
Even though he'd treated her like one.
He left them standing there and went to his office, locking the door behind him.
He poured a whiskey. Then another.
And waited for tomorrow.
For his wife to come home.
And when she did, things were going to change.
Because he'd learned something today.
The thought of losing her terrified him.
And that meant she'd gotten under his skin in ways he'd sworn would never happen.
She'd become important.
Dangerously important.
And he had no idea what to do about that.
Unknown Location - Nimisha's POV
Nimisha stood on the balcony of her brother's penthouse, looking out at the Mumbai skyline.
Abhay Shah had bought this place years ago as an investment. He barely used it, but he'd given her a key when she'd mentioned needing a space of her own sometimes.
A sanctuary.
She'd never used it before tonight.
But after last night—after Samarth had touched her with such intensity, had told her she was the only one he'd ever tasted, had carried her to bed with something almost like tenderness—
And then this morning had treated her like a stranger again.
She couldn't do it anymore. Couldn't keep ping-ponging between hope and heartbreak.
She needed space to think. To heal. To remember who she was before she became the unwanted Mrs. Ranawat.
Her phone sat on the table inside, still turned off.
She'd promised to go back tomorrow.
And she would.
Because despite everything, despite the pain and the loneliness and the constant feeling of not being enough—
She loved him.
God help her, she loved him.
And that was the most devastating truth of all.