Song:- Aaoge Jab Tum.

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Sunlight filtered through the blinds, stretching golden fingers across the room, landing on the tousled figure tangled in a duvet. Arjun stirred, a low groan escaping his lips as he reached out instinctively.

His hand met coldness.

His eyes snapped open.

The space beside him was untouched—smooth, vacant, lifeless. Cold. As if no one had ever been there at all.

His chest constricted. No...

Last night had been real.

He shot upright, the sheet slipping from his waist. The silence in the room clawed at his ears. His pulse quickened as he glanced at the bathroom door.

She must be inside.
His hands raked through his hair.

Everything about last night was still burned into his skin—her touch, her taste, her warmth pressed against him like a promise. Her soft moans, her trembling breath, the way she whispered his name like it still belonged to her. Like he still belonged to her.

It was real.

Every second of it.

And he wouldn't trade it for the world.

But the stillness around him... it felt wrong.

He waited. Seconds ticked by.

Then his heart sank.

"She's not here..." he muttered under his breath, voice cold, quiet, dangerous.

He stormed into the bathroom. Empty. Spotless.

The panic hit him like a slap.

He turned to the mirror—and his breath caught. A purple mark bloomed over his collarbone, a vivid memory of her lips. He stared at it like a man possessed.

Then, with a guttural snarl, he punched the mirror.

Glass shattered.

Blood dripped from his knuckles, but he felt nothing.

Nothing—except the ache in his chest.

Is she okay?
Where did she go?
Why didn't she wait?

She was drunk. He should've known better. He should've waited. Held back. Been stronger.

But he hadn't.

Because for the first time in four years, she had looked at him with something close to love. And he—weak, desperate, obsessed—had drowned in it.

He took a cold shower, bandaged his hand with shaking fingers, and drove straight to the Rajvansh penthouse. The silence there was suffocating.

Her room—empty.
The kids' room—empty.
Her number—switched off.

Panic turned into rage. Rage into helplessness.

He drove to the hospital next, ignoring the stares, the whispers. He stormed through the corridors like a man on fire. Her department—vacant. Her cabin—locked. Her assistant—clueless.

Where the fuck was she?

Where was his Anaya?

For the next sixteen hours, there was nothing. Not a message. Not a whisper. Just silence.

Arjun's fists trembled around the glass of scotch he downed in one go. The burn was nothing compared to the inferno in his chest.

"I don't want to hear excuses," he snapped into the phone. "Find her. Comb the city if you have to. And if there's even a scratch on her—everyone will pay."

He slammed the phone down, shattering it into useless pieces.

His blood was boiling. Not at her.

Never at her.

At himself. At the world. At the chaos he had created.

She was in pain. He knew it.

It had been her first. He saw it in her eyes, felt it in her trembling touch. And she had given herself to him—even in her haze, even in her brokenness.

And now she was gone.

The room swirled around him. His eyes landed on the photo frame on his desk. Anaya sat on the grass, laughing, Aryana curled up in her lap. That moment had been captured accidentally, but Arjun had framed it like it was the last sacred thing left in the world.

His girls.

His entire world—in one frame.

And now both were slipping from him.

He thought she would be beside him this morning, flushed cheeks and sleepy eyes, wrapped in his arms like nothing had ever broken them.

But instead, he had woken to coldness. To silence.

To regret.

A knock came at the door. He didn't move.

"She's here..." Vedika's voice was soft.

The glass dropped from his hand and shattered on the floor.

Arjun didn't wait. He ran.

And then—

There she was.

Standing in the hall, pale and distant, beside him. Samual. His arm protectively wrapped around her as if he had the right.

Arjun stopped in his tracks.

She didn't even look at him.

His eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

Samual whispered something to Krish. "She had a panic attack... she needs rest."

Arjun's chest tightened.

Panic attack.

His Anaya. His delicate, strong, selfless Anaya.

Was breaking.

And he had been the one to push her over the edge.

They led her to her room. She looked numb, as if she wasn't really present. Arjun followed silently, a shadow behind her.

He stood at the doorway as they laid her down, his fists clenched, helpless.

He could barely process Vedika's words.

"She was under treatment. In L.A. She saw you... with Aryana and Ruhanika."

No...

"She was there for therapy. On medication."

No.

Vedika's voice broke.

"Your one decision... cost her everything, Arjun. Everything."

He couldn't breathe.

He turned and walked out. His body moved on instinct, back to her room.

Back to her.

He opened the door without a sound and stepped inside. She lay there, eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her hands trembled slightly against the sheet.

She knew he was there.

He knelt beside her bed, resting his head on the edge of her mattress, unable to face her.

A single tear escaped his eye and splashed onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry... love," he whispered.

She didn't move.

Didn't blink.

Didn't even breathe differently.

But he knew she heard him.

His voice cracked. "It all started after my discharge from the hospital... you remember?"

He tilted his head back, gazing up at the ceiling like it held their past between the cracks.

His voice softened. "That day... I made a choice. One I thought would protect the family. One I thought I could survive."

He turned slightly, just enough to look at her.

"But I never survived it, Anaya. I just... existed. Until last night."

She didn't speak.

But a single tear rolled down her cheek.

And that was enough.

He reached up slowly, gently brushing it away.

"You're here," he whispered. "You're still here."

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Hey Guys,

I am continuing this plot in chapter 29 only well because this chapter was incomplete in the first place.

The next chapter will take a turn in many lives. Trust me you guys must have not expected the twist and I can guarantee that the villain Arjun will become a favorite if many of you guys

So sorry, if the next chapter is delayed.

If you wish to complain and don't like anything please DM me on Instagram. @shobha_scribbles.

Also, just one things guys, it's easy to just comment on anything and everything, especially negative comments, but try to be a little polite, and please don't go on a personal level.

Thank you,

Author.