The tension in the air was palpable, but no one could put their finger on what was coming. Tarini's silence after Dhruv's attack had lulled many into a false sense of security, but Karan  knew better. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach—a storm was brewing.

The days leading up to Sneha’s discharge from the hospital had been calm, but Karan remained vigilant.

Sneha’s injuries were healing, but the emotional scars from the attack still lingered. Her eyes often scanned the corners of rooms, her hands trembling slightly when they found themselves in a quiet place alone. She trusted Karan, but there was something about Tarini that shook her to her core—an unspoken fear that she could never outrun.

As they arrived back at the Kapoor estate, Sneha breathed in the familiar scent of home, but even it couldn’t wash away the lingering dread. Karan, walking beside her, carried the weight of the last few weeks on his shoulders, his investigative mind never resting.

"Finally home," Misthi said, her voice soft, but with an undertone of weariness.

Karan wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "You’re safe here, Sneha. I won’t let anything happen to you."

Sneha smiled weakly, but in her heart, she wasn’t so sure. She had seen the darkness in Tarini’s eyes. Tarini didn’t just want revenge—she wanted annihilation.

---

At the same time, Dhruv and Nandini were trying to piece their lives back together. Nandini did her best to be the perfect wife—supportive, kind, and endlessly patient with Dhruv’s scattered memories. But there was something off about him. Every now and then, he would look at her as if trying to decode something. As if he wasn’t entirely sure who she was anymore.

The memory of Tarini’s attack still haunted him. The flashes of the incident were vivid—Tarini’s eyes wild with hatred, her hand gripping the gun—but when he tried to put together the full picture, it blurred. Sometimes he saw Nandini in those flashes, her face twisted in anger instead of love. It confused him, gnawed at him from the inside.

"Dhruv, are you okay?" Nandini asked, sitting beside him as they lounged in their newly renovated living room.

"I don’t know..." Dhruv admitted, staring down at his hands. "I keep trying to remember what happened that day. But every time I think I’ve got it, the memory shifts. Sometimes, it’s Tarini pulling the trigger, but other times, Nandini... it’s you. And I know it doesn’t make sense, but—"

Nandini’s heart skipped a beat. Was he suspecting her? The very thought made her skin crawl, but she knew it was the result of Tarini’s manipulation. Tarini had wanted to tear them apart from the beginning, and it seemed like, in a twisted way, she had succeeded.

"You know it wasn’t me," Nandini said softly, her eyes locking with Dhruv’s.

"I know," Dhruv whispered. "I just wish I could be sure. I want to put it all behind us, but the confusion... it’s there."

Nandini nodded, holding his hand tighter. "We’ll get through this. Together."

---

While they struggled with the past, Tarini was deep in the midst of planning her next move. She had been laying low, watching, waiting, and learning from her past mistakes. This time, she wouldn’t let emotion cloud her judgment. No, she had something far more methodical in mind.

The target now wasn’t just Dhruv and Nandini—it was Sneha and Karan.. Tarini had seen how they had gotten close, how Karan’s constant investigation had put her under pressure. He had come too close to uncovering her secrets. Sneha, though an innocent bystander, had become collateral in this twisted game.

But that didn’t mean Tarini wouldn’t take pleasure in watching her fall.

Sitting in her dimly lit apartment, Tarini studied the layout of the Kapoor estate. The security, the routines, the blind spots—it was all mapped out in meticulous detail. Abir was careful, but even he couldn’t be on guard every second of the day.

As she gazed at the blueprints on her screen, a dark smile crossed her lips.

"Enjoy your peace while it lasts," she whispered to herself. "Soon, it’ll all come crashing down."

---

Later that evening, Karan sat alone in his study, going over the notes he had compiled over the last few months. Tarini’s every move, every potential hiding spot, and every past connection he could dig up was in that file. He knew she wouldn’t give up so easily, and something in his gut told him she was planning her next strike.

He looked at the photograph on his desk—himself, Sneha, Dhruv, and Nandini, all smiling at some event long before the madness had begun. The thought that one of them had nearly lost their life, and that Sneha had been so close to death’s door, made his blood boil. He wouldn’t allow Tarini to win.

Just then, his phone buzzed. It was an anonymous message.

“I know who’s next. Watch your back, Rajvansh.”

Karan’s heart raced as he stared at the screen. His eyes narrowed, his instincts kicking in. Whoever sent this message knew more than they should, and he had a sinking feeling that Tarini was already one step ahead.

Without thinking, he grabbed his keys and rushed out of the study. He had to warn Sneha. He had to protect her—now more than ever.

---

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Sneha sat by her window, watching the night sky. She had tried to relax, to put the fear out of her mind, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw Tarini’s face.

A knock on the door startled her, and for a moment, her heart leapt into her throat.

"Sneha, it’s me," came Karan ’s voice from the other side.

She opened the door, relief flooding her, but when she saw the look on Karan’s face, her worry returned.

"What is it? What’s wrong?" she asked.

Abir handed her his phone, the message still on the screen.

"I think Tarini’s going to strike again. And this time, it’s us she’s after."

---

The next morning, the Kapoor estate buzzed with activity as preparations for the final pre-wedding rituals began. Nandini tried to immerse herself in the festivities, but there was an air of tension that refused to leave. Dhruv’s scattered memory, the looming shadow of Tarini, and the unresolved fears of the past still weighed heavily on her mind.

But Tarini, hidden among the crowd in disguise, was already setting her plan into motion. The chaos she was about to unleash would not only ruin the wedding but destroy the lives of everyone who had wronged her.

As the festivities carried on, no one noticed the masked figure slowly making her way towards Karan and Sneha.