Chapter - 20
Nani couldn't move.
He stood beside the window at Dew's villa, staring into the garden.
There.
Between the trees.
A woman.
Long dark hair.
Pale coat.
Standing beneath the dim garden light.
Nani's breath caught.
His fingers tightened around the curtain.
"...Her."
He didn't know why that word came out.
He couldn't remember her face.
But something about her felt horribly familiar.
The woman lifted her head.
Their eyes met.
Nani's heart slammed against his ribs.
For one second, neither moved.
Then-
She disappeared.
Nani rushed toward the window.
He pushed the curtain aside.
Nothing.
Empty garden.
No footsteps.
No figure.
Nothing.
"Where the hell did she go...?"
He looked around frantically.
His breathing grew uneven.
That perfume.
He remembered it.
He didn't remember her.
But he remembered that smell.
---
A few minutes later...
Nani sat curled up on the corner of the sofa, knees pulled toward his chest.
His phone rested beside him.
He kept staring at the window.
Dew stood near the door, worried.
"Nani."
No response.
"Nani, talk to me."
"I don't know her."
His voice sounded small.
"But..."
"I know her."
Dew's expression tightened.
Before he could answer, his phone buzzed.
Tee.
Dew picked it up.
"Hello?"
Tee's voice came through.
"Is Nani okay?"
Dew looked toward the bed.
"...Not really."
A pause.
Then Tee lowered his voice.
"I'll tell Boss."
Dew sighed.
"Tee-"
Too late.
The call ended.
Dew muttered,
"...Great."
---
Twenty minutes later...
A black car stopped outside the villa.
The door opened.
Sky stepped out.
He didn't wait for anyone.
He walked straight inside.
The guards moved aside.
Tee followed behind him.
"Boss, slow down."
Sky ignored him.
His expression had gone completely cold.
Not angry.
Worse.
Focused.
He reached Nani's room.
The door opened.
Nani looked up.
The second he saw Sky...
Something inside him broke.
"Sky..."
Sky crossed the room.
"What happened?"
Nani shook his head.
"I saw someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Sky crouched in front of him.
"Look at me."
Nani did.
His eyes were glassy.
"I saw a woman outside."
"She looked familiar."
"I can't remember her."
Sky's jaw tightened.
"Did she come inside?"
"No."
"Did she speak to you?"
"No."
"Did she touch you?"
Nani shook his head.
Sky exhaled slowly.
"Good."
Then he noticed Nani's trembling hands.
His expression softened.
"Come here."
Nani didn't argue.
Sky slid one arm beneath his knees and the other around his back.
He lifted him effortlessly.
Nani instinctively wrapped his arms around Sky's neck.
"Sky..."
"I've got you."
Sky carried him to the bed and sat down.
Nani remained close.
Instead of moving away, he curled against Sky's chest.
Sky looked down at him.
"You've been scared this whole time."
Nani nodded.
"...I'm really scared, Mr. Sky."
Sky's eyes narrowed.
"Don't call me that."
Nani blinked.
"What?"
"Sky."
"Call me Sky."
Nani swallowed.
"...Okay."
A pause.
"Sky."
Something in Sky's face changed.
He wrapped both arms around him.
Firm.
Protective.
Nani buried his face against his chest.
Sky's hand moved slowly across his back.
"You're safe."
Nani's fingers curled into Sky's shirt.
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm here."
"But what if she comes back?"
"Then she'll regret it."
Nani looked up.
"That's a very scary answer."
"It's an honest one."
Nani almost smiled.
Almost.
Sky pulled the blanket around him.
"You don't have to figure everything out tonight."
Nani whispered,
"But I want to know."
"I know."
"My family is hiding something."
"I know."
"And someone knows what happened."
"I know."
Nani looked at him.
"You believe me?"
Sky's answer came without hesitation.
"Yes."
That was all Nani needed.
His shoulders finally loosened.
He curled against Sky again.
Sky lowered his chin against Nani's hair.
For several seconds...
The room was quiet.
Then-
Bzzzt.
Nani's phone vibrated.
He froze.
Sky's eyes dropped toward the screen.
Another unknown message.
Nani hesitated before picking it up.
The message contained only one sentence.
?You saw her, didn't you??
Nani's blood turned cold.
Another message appeared.
?Then you're finally ready to remember.?
Sky's expression hardened.
"Give me the phone."
Nani handed it over.
Sky read both messages.
His jaw clenched.
"Whoever this is..."
He looked toward the dark window.
"...they're watching you."
Nani whispered,
"Sky..."
Sky immediately looked back at him.
"I'm here."
The phone vibrated again.
This time, there was a photograph attached.
Nani stared.
His face drained of color.
It was an old photograph.
Taken on October 8th, 2021.
His father stood outside their old house.
Blood covered his shirt.
The mysterious woman stood several feet behind him.
And beside her...
Was a younger Nani.
Standing in the shadows.
Watching everything.
Nani's lips parted.
"I..."
His voice disappeared.
Sky stared at the photograph.
Then at Nani.
The room went silent.
Because one horrifying truth had just surfaced-
Nani hadn't merely witnessed that night.
He had been there from the beginning.
-----------
Nani couldn't stop shaking.
His eyes remained locked on the photograph in Sky's hand.
His father's blood-covered shirt.
The woman.
The old house.
And then-
That face.
Niran.
Nani's lips parted.
"...Niran."
Dew looked at him.
"What?"
Nani pointed at the photograph with a trembling finger.
"Niran was there."
The room went dead quiet.
Sky looked at the photograph again.
Then at Nani.
"You're sure?"
Nani nodded, but his breathing had already changed.
"I remember..."
"Not everything."
"Just pieces."
He squeezed his eyes shut.
A flash.
Rain.
A car.
His father's voice.
Then Niran standing near the gate.
Nani opened his eyes again.
"He was talking to Dad."
Dew's face hardened.
"What the fuck..."
Nani grabbed his own hair.
"Why can't I remember?"
Sky caught his wrists before he could hurt himself.
"Hey."
"Look at me."
Nani's eyes were wet.
"I saw him."
"I know."
"No."
"I saw Niran that night."
Dew stood frozen.
"Then the marriage..."
His voice faded.
Nani looked at him.
"What if it wasn't about Dad's business?"
Nobody answered.
Because the thought had already entered the room.
And none of them liked where it led.
---
Nani suddenly remembered another fragment.
A hallway.
His father's voice.
Niran's voice answering.
And someone saying-
"The boy can't know."
Nani's face went white.
"He said..."
Sky immediately focused on him.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"I can't..."
Nani pressed his palms against his temples.
"It's all mixed up."
Dew moved closer.
"Nani, breathe."
"I remember Niran."
"I remember Dad."
"I remember the woman."
"But why?"
His voice cracked.
"Why the hell were all three of them there?"
Dew looked at Sky.
"This is seriously messed up."
Sky's expression had gone cold.
"It gets worse."
He tapped the photograph.
"Nani was there too."
Dew stared.
"And nobody told him."
Nani whispered,
"Why would they hide that from me?"
Sky's jaw tightened.
"Because whatever happened that night..."
"...someone didn't want you remembering it."
---
Nani looked at the photograph again.
His vision blurred.
The room seemed to tilt.
"Sky..."
"I'm here."
"I feel..."
His voice weakened.
Dew immediately noticed.
"Nani?"
Nani tried to sit upright.
"I can't..."
Sky caught him.
"Nani."
His body went limp.
"Nani!"
Sky pulled him against his chest before he could fall.
Dew rushed forward.
"Shit!"
Sky held Nani firmly.
His face had lost every trace of the cold composure he usually wore.
"Nani."
Nothing.
"Nani, wake up."
Dew checked his breathing.
"He's breathing."
"He's probably overwhelmed."
Sky didn't answer.
He kept looking down at Nani.
His hand moved carefully through Nani's hair.
"Enough."
His voice dropped.
"Whoever is doing this..."
His eyes returned to the photograph.
"...they're going to regret dragging him back into it."
Tee stood near the doorway, silent for once.
Dew looked at Sky.
"This isn't just some random old family secret."
"No."
Sky's gaze hardened.
"Someone has been waiting for Nani to remember."
Dew swallowed.
"And now he has."
Sky looked down at the unconscious figure in his arms.
"Then we're going to find out why."
---
Minutes later...
Nani stirred.
His fingers moved weakly against Sky's shirt.
His eyes opened halfway.
"...Sky?"
"I'm here."
Nani swallowed.
"I saw him."
"Who?"
"Niran."
Sky went still.
Nani's voice trembled.
"He wasn't just there..."
"He was talking to Dad."
Then Nani whispered the words that made everyone freeze.
"...And I think he saw me."
Dew stared.
"What?"
Nani's eyes slowly closed again.
"I think..."
"He knew I was watching."
Silence.
Sky's expression turned murderous.
Because suddenly the marriage proposal didn't look like desperation.
It looked planned.
And the person who had been trying to force Nani into it...
might have known the truth all along.