22
Chapter 22
What Really Happened Five Years Ago
Aarav stared at her.
For a few seconds, he couldn't say anything.
The anger he'd been carrying since learning the truth was still there.
But now something else had joined it.
Shock.
Because this wasn't the explanation he'd expected.
"Someone threatened you?"
Anaya nodded.
Her eyes looked distant.
As if she was seeing the past instead of the apartment around them.
"I didn't tell anyone."
Aarav's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
"Because I was terrified."
The honesty in her voice hurt.
Because he'd never seen Anaya afraid back then.
Worried.
Stubborn.
Frustrated.
Yes.
Afraid?
Never.
Not until now.
---
Slowly, Anaya sat down on the couch.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Aarav noticed.
He hated it.
Five years later and he still hated seeing her upset.
"Tell me everything."
The words came out softer than he'd intended.
Anaya looked at him.
Then nodded.
"A few days after I found out I was pregnant, I started noticing a black car."
Aarav immediately focused.
"The same car?"
"Almost every day."
Her fingers tightened together.
"Outside my apartment. Outside work. Outside the places I visited."
The room felt colder with every sentence.
"At first I convinced myself I was imagining things."
A sad laugh escaped her.
"I wanted to believe I was imagining things."
Aarav remained silent.
Letting her continue.
"Then one night, I came home and found an envelope."
His expression hardened.
"What was inside?"
Anaya swallowed.
"A photograph."
"Of what?"
"Me."
The answer landed heavily between them.
"Someone had taken pictures of me."
A dangerous look entered Aarav's eyes.
The same look people feared.
The same look that usually appeared before someone regretted their life choices.
---
Anaya looked away.
Unable to watch his reaction.
"There was a message."
Aarav waited.
"What did it say?"
Her voice became barely audible.
"'Leave him. Or you'll lose both of them.'"
The silence that followed felt endless.
Because there was only one way to interpret that message.
Her.
And the baby.
Aarav slowly closed his eyes.
For years he'd imagined dozens of reasons why she'd left.
Not once had he imagined this.
Not once.
---
"What did you do?"
Anaya laughed bitterly.
"What do you think I did?"
The answer was obvious.
She ran.
Because she was pregnant.
Alone.
Terrified.
And trying to protect a child.
For the first time since discovering the truth, Aarav saw those five years through her eyes.
And he hated what he saw.
Not because she left.
Because she'd been forced into a position where leaving felt like the only option.
---
"I tried to tell myself I was overreacting."
Anaya's eyes filled with tears.
"But then someone approached me."
Aarav immediately looked up.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
The answer frustrated him instantly.
"It was a man."
The memory clearly unsettled her.
"He stopped me outside the hospital."
The room became completely silent.
"He knew I was pregnant."
Aarav's hands clenched.
"Nobody should have known that."
"I know."
That was exactly the problem.
The pregnancy had been a secret.
Yet somehow, someone already knew.
"He told me the child would never be safe as long as I stayed with you."
For the first time, genuine guilt appeared on Aarav's face.
Because she wasn't wrong.
His world had never been safe.
Back then, enemies were everywhere.
Threats were common.
And he had underestimated how much danger could reach the people he loved.
---
Anaya wiped her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you."
His gaze snapped to hers.
"What?"
"I tried."
The confession stunned him.
"What do you mean?"
Anaya laughed softly.
The sound carried years of sadness.
"The night I planned to tell you, you never showed up."
Aarav froze.
Because he remembered that night.
Perfectly.
The night he'd missed their dinner.
The night an emergency forced him away.
The night everything changed.
"You waited?"
She nodded.
"Three hours."
His chest tightened painfully.
Because suddenly he understood.
One missed meeting.
One delayed conversation.
And five years had been lost.
---
Neither of them noticed the tears in Anaya's eyes until she looked away.
"I was angry."
The words surprised him.
"At you?"
"At everything."
That made more sense.
At fate.
At fear.
At circumstances.
At a life that suddenly felt impossible.
"I thought if I stayed..."
Her voice broke.
"...my baby would die."
The words shattered whatever remained of Aarav's anger.
Not completely.
He was still hurt.
Still heartbroken.
Still furious about losing five years.
But for the first time, he understood.
And understanding changed everything.
---
The apartment fell quiet.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Aarav asked the question that had been bothering him since she started talking.
"Why didn't you come back later?"
Anaya's eyes immediately dropped.
That reaction alone told him he wasn't going to like the answer.
"What happened?"
She hesitated.
Then finally whispered:
"Because after I left..."
Aarav waited.
"...I saw you with Rhea."
His entire expression changed.
"What?"
The word came out so fast she almost laughed.
Almost.
"You were together."
"No."
"You were."
"Anaya."
Aarav looked genuinely horrified.
"We were not."
For the first time that night, a tiny spark of irritation appeared in her eyes.
Good.
He preferred irritation to tears.
"I saw her hugging you."
Aarav stared.
Then realization dawned.
Followed immediately by disbelief.
"You're talking about the hospital."
Anaya froze.
How did he-
Then she remembered.
Of course he knew.
---
Aarav ran a hand through his hair.
Looking completely frustrated.
"That was the day her father died."
Anaya blinked.
"What?"
"She hugged me because her father had just died."
The room went silent.
"Oh."
Aarav looked offended.
"That's it?"
"Oh?"
"You disappeared for five years because of an 'oh'?"
Anaya suddenly wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
Because when he put it like that...
It sounded really bad.
---
For the first time since the confrontation began, a tiny bit of their old dynamic returned.
Not enough to erase the pain.
Not enough to fix the damage.
But enough to remind them who they used to be.
Then a small voice interrupted.
"Mumma?"
Both turned.
Kabir stood in the hallway again.
Half asleep.
Again.
Apparently dramatic family revelations were impossible in this apartment.
The little boy rubbed his eyes.
Then looked at Aarav.
And smiled.
"Dad?"
The world stopped.
Completely.
Because Kabir hadn't said it knowingly.
He'd said it accidentally.
Sleepily.
Without understanding.
But the single word hit both adults like a lightning strike.
And none of them were prepared for what would happen next.
To be continued...