Chapter 17 Trouble in Oberoi Paradise?
Chapter 17
Trouble in Oberoi Paradise?
The next morning exploded across the internet.
By 8 AM, every major entertainment and business page was flooded with the same headlines.
?"Billionaire Couple Facing Divorce?"
"Arjun Oberoi Seen Chasing Wife After Party Fallout."
"Who Is The Mystery Woman Between Them?"?
And worst of all—
Photos.
Blurry but dangerous photos.
Aadhira leaving the party with tears in her eyes.
Arjun grabbing her wrist.
The rain-soaked moment outside the mansion.
His hand on her waist.
His forehead against hers.
Even one photo of the kiss.
The internet went insane instantly.
Inside Oberoi Mansion, tension spread like poison.
Savita threw the newspaper onto the dining table furiously.
"This is humiliation!"
Nobody answered.
Not even the staff dared breathe loudly this morning.
Arjun sat at the head of the table in a black shirt, untouched coffee beside him, eyes fixed coldly on the newspaper.
He hadn't slept.
Not even for a minute.
Kabir carefully looked between his mother and brother before muttering under his breath, "Well... at least people think bhai is romantic now."
Savita glared at him immediately.
"This isn't funny."
"No," Kabir replied honestly, "what's not funny is bhabhi leaving because nobody in this house treated her properly."
Dead silence.
Savita looked offended instantly. "I'm tired of everyone blaming me."
Arjun finally spoke.
Quietly.
"She's gone because of me."
The exhaustion in his voice silenced the room.
Even his father looked at him carefully now.
Savita folded her arms sharply. "And now the media thinks your marriage is collapsing because of that employee."
Arjun's expression darkened instantly at the way she referred to Naina.
"She is an employee."
The sharpness in his tone surprised everyone again.
Savita scoffed lightly. "Then maybe you should've behaved like she was only an employee earlier."
That sentence landed badly.
Because for the first time—
Arjun couldn't fully defend himself.
He rubbed his forehead tiredly as another notification flashed across his phone.
More articles.
More speculation.
Some were already linking him romantically with Naina.
His jaw clenched hard.
Across the table, his father finally spoke calmly.
"Have you called Aadhira?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"She didn't answer."
Something painful crossed Arjun's face briefly before disappearing again.
Kabir sighed dramatically. "Obviously she won't answer immediately, bhai. You emotionally traumatized her."
Savita shot him a warning look.
But Kabir ignored it for once.
"You know what her problem is?" he continued bluntly. "She still loves you."
That sentence hit harder than expected.
Because Arjun knew it was true.
And somehow that made everything worse.
If Aadhira hated him completely—
Maybe this would've been easier.
But she loved him.
Still.
Even while leaving him.
Arjun suddenly stood from the table without touching breakfast.
"Where are you going?" Savita asked immediately.
"To work."
"Good," she replied quickly. "At least one of you is thinking practically."
Arjun stopped walking.
Then slowly turned toward his mother.
For a second, nobody spoke.
Then quietly—
Dangerously quietly—
"She cried in my arms last night."
The room went silent.
Savita's expression shifted slightly.
Arjun's eyes darkened painfully.
"She asked for love, Mom." His voice roughened. "Not luxury. Not status. Just love."
Nobody had an answer to that.
Because suddenly the entire situation sounded horribly simple.
And horribly tragic.
Arjun left without another word.
—
Meanwhile—
At Dadi's house, Aadhira sat curled near the balcony while Rhea aggressively scrolled through social media beside her.
"Oh my God."
Aadhira looked exhausted already. "What now?"
"People are literally making fan edits of you and Arjun bhai in the rain."
Aadhira almost choked on her tea.
"What?"
Rhea shoved the phone toward her dramatically.
The screen showed slowed-down edits of Arjun pulling her close outside the mansion with emotional music playing in the background.
The comments were even worse.
?"THIS MAN IS DOWN BAD."
"HE LOOKS OBSESSED WITH HIS WIFE."
"She better not divorce him."
"The way he looks at her???"?
Aadhira immediately pushed the phone away.
Her heartbeat betrayed her stupidly anyway.
Rhea softened slightly afterward.
"You still love him."
Aadhira looked away toward the balcony.
The silence itself answered enough.
Rhea sighed before sitting beside her quietly.
"You know bhai didn't sleep last night."
Aadhira's chest tightened painfully.
No.
She didn't want to know things like that.
Didn't want hope again.
Rhea studied her carefully.
"He's really breaking this time."
Aadhira laughed softly.
Broken.
Interesting word.
Because for three years she broke quietly while everyone called her emotional.
Now one night of losing her—
And suddenly Arjun Oberoi looked destroyed.
The unfairness of it almost hurt.
Aadhira lowered her eyes slowly.
"Maybe now he finally understands how loneliness feels."
Silence settled softly after that.
And miles away—
Inside his office—
Arjun stared at the same rain photo of them for the hundredth time that morning.
Unable to focus on anything else.
Because for the first time in his life—
Love had become bigger than his ego.