66. The Breaking Point #2
A soft laugh escaped her. "He said the name suited me because even in complete silence, I had a presence. Like a sound that was there even when nobody could hear it. He said one day my voice would return, and when it did, the world would hear it again."
The irony wasn't lost on either of us.
"He had no idea my name was actually Dhwani." She shook her head. "The only thing that changed was my surname." Her eyes softened."And honestly, I never wanted my old surname back. I am proud to call myself Dhwani Rathore instead of Dhwani Ranawat."
"Does he know your past? I mean what you went through... and about your family?" I asked carefully. I didn't want to hurt her by mistake. At this point, I couldn't even tell whether talking about everything was helping her heal or forcing her to relive the worst days of her life.
Dhwani shook her head. "He doesn't." Her answer came without hesitation. "He asked me once."
A faint smile appeared on her lips as if she still remembered that conversation clearly.
"I wrote on a piece of paper that I didn't want to talk about it. That I wanted to bury it and forget it like a nightmare. And do you know what he did?" She looked in my eyes.
I waited.
"He never asked again." The smile on her face grew a little. "Not once. Not in all those years.He treated me better than his own blood sister. He never made me feel like I owed him an explanation. He never looked at me with pity. He never tried to force the truth out of me."
There was pride in her voice now.
They shared the kind of bond people build when they survive each other's worst days.
"In those few years, he became my entire family." Her eyes turned distant. "And then one day he suddenly disappeared. You know the rest.'
I could understand why she loved him so much and was even ready to destroy herself in the process of saving him.
"Come here."
I leaned back against the headboard and pulled her into my chest. Her grip tightened on my shoulder immediately, as if she was afraid I would disappear if she let go.
"I'm sorry." Her voice came out small. "I didn't tell you about all this before. Please don't hate me because of my past."
I gently held her chin between my thumb and forefinger, making her look at me.
"Are you mad?" I asked. "Why would I hate you?"
Fresh tears gathered in her eyes. "You're the strongest person I have ever met in my life, Dhwani. Most people would have given up long ago. You didn't."
Her lips trembled.
"That means you trust me?" she asked quietly. "I swear I wasn't involved in that drug case."
The fact that she still needed reassurance after everything she had survived made something inside me ache.
"Of course I trust you." I brushed away the tears clinging to her cheeks. "I trust you more than myself."
She kept looking at me as if searching for even the smallest sign of doubt. "There is nothing in this world that can make me believe you were involved in that."
A shaky breath escaped her.
"Now give that mind of yours some rest and try to sleep, okay?"
She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat before resting her face against my chest.
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
But sleep refused to come anywhere near me and Dhwani didn't sleep either, because I could feel the small circles she was making on my chest with her finger.
My eyes remained fixed on the wall while my mind replayed everything Dhwani had told me tonight.
My thoughts drifted towards something Ishaan had said in my office.
That woman looked hurt. Devastated. Completely broken when Dhwani pushed her away.
At that time I had ignored it. Now I couldn't.
Because after hearing Dhwani's side of the story, one thing didn't make sense. If she truly didn't trust her mother, why did she go to her?
Why did she sit in that apartment and fold her hands in front of her? Why did she trust her with my case?
Dhwani was many things, but she wasn't foolish.
She wouldn't hand over something this important to a person she completely distrusted.
Which meant somewhere, beneath all that anger and hurt, she still trusted her mother. Maybe she didn't realize it herself. Maybe she didn't want to.
But it was there and Ms. Arora agreed too. Despite the threats, the risks.
No. Something was missing.
A very important piece of this story was missing.
So far, I had only heard Dhwani's side. I still didn't know why Mrinalini Arora never reached that courtroom seven years ago. And until I knew that answer, I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to this story than anyone realized.
"Yugant..." Dhwani's soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I looked down. "Yes, love?"
Her eyes were half closed from exhaustion.
"I love you." My heart softened. "Please never leave me alone."
I lifted her face carefully and pressed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you too."
She looked at me silently with those does like big eyes. "And I promise," I continued, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, "I will never leave you."
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
"Even if you're wrong. Even if the whole world stands against you. You will always find me standing beside you."
Her lips trembled.
"Not in front of you. Not behind you. Beside you."
For the first time that night, a peaceful smile appeared on her face.
I leaned down and pressed my lips softly against hers. She kissed me back for a brief moment before her eyes slowly closed.
This time, sleep finally claimed her.
?????
My eyes stayed fixed on Yugant as I watched him struggle with his tie for the last ten minutes while I stood in front of the mirror, setting my hair. My makeup was done, and I had already twisted my hair into a loose bun.
I sighed and slowly turned towards him, placing the comb on the vanity.
My hands reached for his collar. The moment our eyes met, he relaxed and dropped his hands.
"What happened? Where are you lost?" I asked softly while fixing his tie.
He exhaled.
"Nowhere. Just thinking about Dhrithi."
"Dhrithi?" I frowned. "Why suddenly Dhrithika?"
"I saw her through the window last night. She was walking around the corridor for hours." His brows pulled together. "I even thought about checking on her, but you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up."
My hands paused for a second before continuing.
This man.
"You should've checked on her, Yugant. What if she needed something?"
"Maybe."
I straightened his collar and smoothed it down.
"I just..." He looked away for a moment. "I think I've been avoiding her a lot lately. It's been days since I properly talked to her. She seems worried all the time now, and she avoids looking at me. Especially since this case started."
He wasn't wrong.
Now that I thought about it, Dhrithi had become unusually distant. She barely came to my room anymore, barely sat with us during meals, and most of the time she looked lost in her own thoughts.
Was something wrong?
"Don't worry," I said. "I'll check on her. You go have breakfast. Once we're back from court, you can talk to her properly."
He nodded but still didn't look convinced.
"Is she still going to therapy regularly? I haven't checked in days."
"Yeah." I gave him a reassuring smile. "I've seen her leave for her sessions myself. Don't worry so much. I'll talk to her."
"Okay." He adjusted his watch. "I need to discuss something with Ms. Arora before we leave. You go bring Dhrithi for breakfast."
I nodded and walked out of the room before he could say anything else.
Honestly, I thought she was probably worried about Rohit. Between everything happening in our life and the court case, I never got the chance to tell Yugant much about their relationship.
I just hoped everything was fine.
Walking through the corridor, I stopped outside Dhrithi's room and knocked.
No answer.
I knocked again. Still nothing.
"Dhrithi?" I called. "Open the door."
A few seconds later, the door opened. The moment I saw her, my stomach dropped.
She looked pale. Terrified.
As if she hadn't slept all night.
I stepped inside immediately, and she quickly locked the door behind us.
"Dhrithi..." I turned towards her. "What happened? Why aren't you coming outside?"
"Dhwani..." Her voice shook. "Wh-where is your phone? I've been calling you since last night."
"My phone?" I frowned. "Oh. It's in the room. I haven't checked it since yesterday evening. I think it's on silent."
I grabbed her cold hand. The temperature of her skin made my heart skip a beat.
"Dhrithi, you're scaring me. Is everything alright?"
Her eyes instantly filled with tears.
"Dhwani..." She shook her head. "No. Nothing is alright."
A knot formed in my stomach.
"What happened?" I asked quickly. "Did Rohit do something?"
She looked away. For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer then she swallowed hard.
"Dhwani..." My pulse started racing. "He..."
"What?"
Her lips trembled. "Dhwani..." A tear slipped down her cheek. "He isn't Rohit."
I blinked. "What? I didn't understand."
She closed her eyes for a second before looking at me again.
"He is Ruben." My brows furrowed.
"Ruben?"
"Ruben Kingsley."
The world seemed to stop. My ears rang. My grip loosened around her hand.
Olivia's brother.
"No..." The word barely left my lips.
Dhrithi broke down completely. "Yes."
I stared at her. Unable to move. Unable to think.
"But you said his name was Rohit. Adhvait's business partner, so..." I stopped mid-sentence as the pieces suddenly started falling into place.
God. It made sense. Too much sense.
So it was Ruben all along. Not Rohit.
Why the hell had I never paid attention to him properly? Why did I never question it? How did I let something this important slip right past me?
I dragged a hand through my hair.
"Has he done anything?" I asked immediately. "Can he create any problem in today's hearing?"
That was the only reason I could think of for Dhrithi to tell me the truth now.
She lowered her head.