Chapter 7 The Night He Followed Her
Chapter 7
The Night He Followed Her
Aadhira could not breathe properly inside that room anymore.
The tension.
The staring.
The sudden intensity in Arjun's eyes.
It all felt too overwhelming.
Without another word, she picked up her shawl from the bed and walked toward the door. This time nobody stopped her immediately.
Not even Arjun.
Naina quietly stepped aside to let her pass.
But the moment Aadhira disappeared down the hallway, something inside Arjun snapped painfully.
Go after her.
The thought came instantly.
Violently.
He ignored it.
Instead, he grabbed the whiskey glass sitting near the table and drank half of it in one go. The alcohol burned his throat, but it did nothing to calm the restlessness spreading through his chest.
Naina watched him silently for a moment.
Then finally-
"You love her."
Arjun's fingers tightened around the glass.
"No."
The answer came too fast.
Too defensive.
Naina almost smiled sadly.
For years she had wondered whether Arjun still carried feelings for her somewhere deep inside. Savita certainly hoped so. The media practically worshipped the idea of them together.
But tonight destroyed every illusion.
Because men do not look at women they don't love the way Arjun looked at Aadhira.
Like losing her would destroy him.
"You know," Naina said softly, "your wife hates me for all the wrong reasons."
Arjun finally looked at her.
"She thinks I stole you from her." Naina gave a quiet bitter laugh. "Truth is... you were never mine to steal."
Silence.
The only sound came from the rain beginning outside.
"She loved you long before you noticed," Naina continued. "Your siblings used to tease you about her constantly."
Arjun remembered.
Painfully well.
Kabir calling him obsessed because he drove two hours just to bring Aadhira her favorite dessert during exams.
Rhea laughing because he remembered Aadhira's coffee order better than his own schedule.
Back then, everyone noticed his feelings before he did.
Then somewhere between ambition and pressure... he stopped showing them.
Maybe he even convinced himself they disappeared.
Until tonight.
Arjun suddenly placed the whiskey glass down hard enough to make Naina flinch slightly.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Naina looked at him calmly.
"Because if you really loved me," she said softly, "you would've noticed when I left too."
The room went silent.
That truth landed brutally.
Years ago, their breakup had barely affected him beyond temporary frustration. He respected Naina. Trusted her professionally.
But he never burned for her.
Never lost sleep over her.
Never looked terrified at the thought of losing her.
Aadhira was different.
Dangerously different.
Arjun suddenly grabbed his car keys from the table.
Naina frowned slightly. "Where are you going?"
He didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
Aadhira.
-
Rain poured heavily outside Oberoi Mansion.
Aadhira stood under the covered porch near the garden, arms wrapped around herself tightly as cold wind brushed against her skin. The mansion lights glowed behind her while thunder echoed faintly in the distance.
She felt exhausted.
Emotionally drained.
Three years of pain finally spilling out in one night had left her hollow.
A soft voice interrupted her thoughts.
"You'll get sick standing here."
Aadhira stiffened instantly.
Of course he followed her.
She didn't turn around immediately. "Go back inside."
Arjun ignored her completely and walked closer until he stood beside her beneath the porch roof.
The rain reflected in his grey eyes strangely tonight.
Softer.
Less guarded.
Aadhira hated how dangerous that made him look.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then suddenly-
"You stopped wearing the bracelet I gave you."
Her breath caught slightly.
What?
Slowly, she looked toward him in disbelief.
Out of everything happening tonight...
That's what he noticed?
Arjun's gaze remained fixed on her wrist. "You wore it every day."
Aadhira looked away quickly.
Because she had stopped wearing it after waiting six hours alone at a charity event while Arjun attended another "urgent dinner meeting" with Naina.
That bracelet had once meant something precious.
Now it only reminded her of disappointment.
"You notice strange things suddenly," she whispered.
A faint bitter smile touched his lips.
"I always noticed them."
"No," she replied quietly. "You just stopped caring."
The words hurt.
He felt it immediately.
Arjun stepped closer slowly until barely any distance remained between them.
Rainwater dripped from the edge of the roof nearby while tension thickened heavily in the air.
"Aadhira," he said lowly, "look at me."
She shouldn't have.
God, she really shouldn't have.
Because the moment her eyes met his, her heartbeat became unstable again.
There was no coldness left in his expression tonight.
Only frustration. Desire. Fear.
And something far more dangerous-
Regret.
"You think I don't care?" he asked quietly.
Aadhira's voice shook slightly despite herself. "I think you realized my worth only after I stopped begging for your attention."
Silence.
That silence answered everything.
Arjun suddenly lifted his hand slowly toward her face.
Aadhira froze.
His fingers brushed lightly against her cheek, wiping away rainwater-or maybe tears. Even he didn't know.
But the touch felt devastatingly intimate after years of distance.
Her breath trembled softly.
"Do you know what's driving me insane tonight?" he murmured.
She couldn't answer.
His thumb moved slightly against her skin.
"The thought of another man touching what belongs to me."
Aadhira's eyes widened instantly.
"There," she whispered shakily. "That's exactly the problem."
Arjun's jaw tightened.
"You're not an object."
"Then stop treating me like property whenever your ego gets threatened."
His expression darkened immediately.
But before he could respond-
A car suddenly entered the mansion gates.
Headlights flashed across the rain.
Both of them turned instinctively.
Aadhira's face paled slightly the moment she recognized the car.
Arjun noticed instantly.
"Who is that?"
The gates opened slowly.
And standing outside beside the arriving black car-
Was the one man Arjun Oberoi had never expected to return into Aadhira's life.