Rithvik was driving his bike, looking distressed and angry. He was driving really rashly. Then he saw the headlights of the truck coming his way. He was about to hit the truck.

Rithvik opens his eyes. He was lying on a bed in the emergency room in the hospital. His mother is sitting by his side. She noticed that Rith opened his eyes. "Rithu, can you hear me? Are you feeling better?"

He sat up, clutching his head. "What happened?"

"Remember you had a headache and chest pain in college. Your friends brought you here?"

Rithvik looked around and saw that he is in the hospital. He seemed to be recalling what happened. He was thinking back, and things came back to him. His mother was speaking. "Your blood pressure had shot up. But you were given an injection for it. And a sedative. So you slept for a couple of hours. You seem better now. But we still need to do some tests. You need to be admitted. I am just going to fill in the papers..."

But Rithvik jumped down from the bed. "I need to get back to college."

"What?"

Rithvik noticed that he is not wearing shoes. He looked down and found his shoes placed near the bed. "What time is it?"

"Three. But where are you going? You can't go. I told you you need to be hospitalized. You need rest, Rithu."

Rithvik grabbed his shoes, "No. Mom, I am fine. I just really need to get back to college."

"You are not fine. Just lie down, Rithu."

"Trust me, mom. I am okay." He finished putting on his shoes and ran out.

Rithvik walked out, but then he saw Dhun sitting outside looking a bit too worried and tensed. He stopped as if he need not run anymore. He got what he wanted. He walked to her. She looked up and noticed him. She jumped upon seeing him. "Rith, are you okay? Are you feeling better? What had happened to you suddenly?"

But Rithvik was totally relaxed now. He was even happy. He was just looking at her, into her eyes. With happiness, longing and attraction(?) "Rith?" Dhun called him. Rithvik gave a soft smile. " What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Huh?"

"Even Ansh is not here. What are you doing here alone?"

"Ansh was here. He went back only just now."

"Okay. Then why didn't you go with him?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Are you that concerned about me?" He stepped closer, looking into her eyes. "That you ditched your boyfriend and is here?" He stepped even closer to her and softly touched her hand. He just looked way too happy.

Dhun looked up at him. "What are you doing?"

"Taking back what was mine."

"What yours?"

"I understand why it felt wrong all this time. Now I don't really have to feel guilty about feeling this way about you. Coz you were ever Ansh's. You were always mine."

Dhun stepped back, breaking their connection. And Rithvik got a bit cut off and was hurt at her action. "I remember everything, Dhun." Dhun looks at him with doubt. But Rith let out a deep breath and look down. "I guess we need to talk." He looked around. "It would be great if we can get some privacy though." They were surrounded by people. "Eh...one minute." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

Rithvik walked back into the ER while pulling Dhun along with him. His mother was walking out, and she saw him.

"Mom..."

"You are still here? Good."

"Mom, you were going to admit me, right? Admit me."

His mother seemed a bit confused at his sudden change of heart. She looked at his hand still holding Dhun's wrist. Dhun noticed her looking and tried to free her hand. But Rithvik was not letting go.

"Hello, Dhun Beta..." Sameera greeted Dhun.

"Hello, aunty" She tried to free her hand, but Rithvik had grabbed strong.

"I will get you admitted just now." His mother said.

"One patient room, please," Rithvik requested.

"Fine..." She walked off.

Dhun was still struggling to get her hand free. "I am not running away anywhere." She said, "You can leave my hand."

He looked at her.

"I am not leaving." She repeated.

"Promise?"

Dhun was a bit confused at his attitude but... "Why do I have to go as far as a promise? I have to talk to you as well. So, let go of my hand." So he softly let go of her hand.

Later, Rithvik was shifted to a room. His mother checked his blood pressure again. "It's still a bit high," Sameera said. "But it's not dangerously high. And it's okay. Just take some rest for tonight. It should be okay by tomorrow. "

Rithvik nodded. "You go along, Mom. You must be busy, right?"

"But will you be okay alone?" Sameera asked.

"Of course. I am okay now. Besides, Dhun is here," He looked at Dhun standing at the door of the room.

"Okay, then... Bye, Dhun," Sameera left the room.

As soon as she is out. Rithvik went and closed the door of the room and came back to Dhun. Dhun was confused. She blinked at him. But he took her into a hug. And snuggled closer. "I know it does not make sense. But it's like I missed you a lot."

Dhun is confused, but she softly put her hand around him. Rithvik stayed silent. He stepped back and look at her. She was still very unsure about everything. "What did you mean by you remember everything?" Dhun asked him.

"That I do remember everything. You turned back time on us, right?"

Dhun was a bit uneasy and alarmed and nervous. Rith watched her for a while and asked cautiously. "Tell me. Did I...die?" He sounded genuinely curious. She looked up at him. And her eyes told him the answer. "I did, didn't I?" Dhun's eyes lined up with wetness. Rithvik saying those words was too much for her. Him being this way with her was too much for her. So her eyes got lightly wet, and Rith got confirmation of his death.

"Oh! My god... I am so sorry, Dhun." He hugged her again. " You had to go through that."

Dhun wrapped her hands tightly around Rithvik as well. She hid her face so that he do not see her tears. Her fingers clutched to his patient gown. They stayed like that for a minute. Rithvik asked hesitating, "Did you have to see my dead body?"

"Yeah."

"Ugh! Crap...Damn..." He looked honestly tormented that Dhun had to go through that.

"Not just once." Her voice was filled with pain, "Over and over...Several times." Rithvik stepped back and looked into her eyes, and saw the pain and horror she went through, and his heart broke for her. "You tried to save me? How many times?" He asked.

"I don't know. I didn't count." She was crying now, "But it failed every time... Every time..." She wiped her eyes. And she looked confused and looked up at Rithvik. "How do you remember all this? You are not supposed to know all this."

"I don't know, I had been getting these weird dreams for a while. But they were not dreams. They were memories. I know now. And the moment I saw and touched that time-turner...It was like everything rushing back to me. And Boom - there was an explosion in my head." Dhun looked at him confused. "But's it's all still a jumble. Still feels like something that happened inside a dream. Distant." He looked as if he did not like that. "But one thing I am certain is that..." He smiled, "You were my - No, you are my girlfriend. Not Ansh's..." He looked totally happy about that. "You love me. Not Ansh. You are mine."

He was elated. He tried to kiss her. But Dhun stepped back immediately as if avoiding fire. Rith looked at her confused and then he felt hurt. He was hurt that she stepped back. "Dhun...??"

Dhun just looked too alarmed and confused. She clutched her head, "Oh my god, this got whole messed up again."

"What?"

"You are not supposed to know." She cried. "Now you will die again."

Rithvik could not stand her tears, so he tried to hug her again, "No. No...Dhun. I won't."

She pushed him away from her. "Oh! Just Fuck off, Rith. What do you know about it? Why do you think I have been doing all this? I tried a hundred times and failed, okay? Whatever I do, you go and die, okay?"

Rithvik felt helpless. He could just look at her. Dhun continued to cry, "This was my last try. This had to work."

"Then why didn't you just give up? Just let me die." He sounded irritated.

She looked at him with anger in her eyes. "Oh yeah! I should have, right? You could just die and not feel anything. But you left everyone in a mess. Me, Ansh, Roli, your parents. If you don't know, I had to live four fucking weeks in a world where you were dead and gone. Four fucking weeks."

Rithvik was confused. "You didn't turn back time immediately? Why?" Then he remembered. "Oh... You forgot about the time turner of course. You did not remember it."

"Yeah. But then I had it. It fell into my hands. And everyone was already living in hell without you. What should I have done while having the time turner in my hand? Just give up when it did not work one time??? Or spend the rest of my life in this nightmare trying over and over again? In hope I will succeed one day?"

Rithvik realised how painful this was for her. He realised his mistake. Dhun closed her eyes with her hand. "You were not supposed to know this. I needed to divert the flow of time. Everything is messed up now. How did this happen???" She looked agonized and tired.

Rithvik felt for her. "I am sorry. But it is not my fault. It was not in my control."

Dhun looked at him. And he looked miserable.

"I was not blaming you." She kept looking at him, who looked a bit too sorry. "I am sorry. You need to take some rest. You are not well. Lie down."

"Are you going to leave?" He did not want her to leave, "Don't leave."

She was unsure. But his eyes were looking into her eyes, requesting her to stay. "I will stay for a bit longer."

She made him get back to bed. He sat up and patted the space beside him. She sat by him. Rithvik took her hand in his hand. Threaded his fingers through her fingers and held her hand like that. "So what do we do now?" He asked.

"I don't know. But I won't see you dead for another time, Rith. I don't want to go through this process one more time. Believe it or not, this was the most difficult one for me."

He squeezed her hand.

"We just need to keep things the way it was, I guess," Dhun said,

"What? You being with Ansh? Why are you with Ansh anyway? To stop him being with Roli?"

"You remember about Ansh and Roli?" She gasped.

"Yeah. I told you I remember everything. I just don't remember the moment I die. I even remember the truck coming at me. So I do remember Ansh and Roli." He was angry now, "Disgusting creatures. Backstabbers."

Dhun just looked frustrated at his anger.

"Break up with Ansh," Rithvik said.

"No," Dhun replied.

"What?"

"Do you want to die again?"

They left their hands and looked at each other. "Why is you being with Ansh the solution for that? Why are you with him anyway? You love me. You being with Ansh is the stupidest thing ever."

"I needed to stop him from pursuing Roli. I feel like that's the key to save you."

"Okay... But why do 'you' have to be with him for that?"

"What else could I have done?"

"I don't know. Something... You could have set him up with some other girl."

"Yeah. Will some other girls be as dedicated or as desperate as I am??" She was angry and frustrated.

"Still..."

"What's your problem?"

"What's my problem? I have to watch my girlfriend being with someone else?? I swear, Dhun if he even touches you..."

"Shut up," she shouted.

"What?"

"Shut up. Okay? Just get - get silent and listen to me for once." She got up from the bed and faced him. "You died. Okay? You can still die... This is not the time to discuss who I am with or why I am with him. You get that? We need to save you. And I am not even sure if this is going to work, but right now, I have somewhat changed the direction of how things go. I need to see if this works or not. And I can't break up with Ansh, because he... he..." She does not finish her sentence.

"He what?"

"Nothing."

"You were telling me something? Tell me."

"Eh...It's nothing. Just that I can't break up with him. It's better this way."

"Dhun," he yelled at her annoyed.

"Do you want to die?" She yelled back.

"No," he said.

"Then just let things be the way it is."

Rithvik looked down.

"Trust me, Rith. This is the way to save you. I had tried everything else. Everything... I don't want to see you die one more time. Please... I am begging you."

"This is what you want?" Rithvik looked up at her.

"Yeah."

"Okay... I will do what you want." He sounded sad, "Plus I don't want to die either."

"Thank you..."

Rithvik smiled softly and sadly. Dhun sat back down on the bed. "We have got no other choice, right?"

"Hm..."

He smiled sadly and tilted his head to her shoulder. "Rith..." She called him.

"Just for tonight. Just for some time."

She just let him be. They held hands again. "I wish if we can stop time with us both in it. Dhun took out the time turner from her pocket and they look at it."

"Me too," she said.

After Rithvik went to sleep, Dhun remembered what happened earlier that day. She was waiting outside the Emergency Room while the doctors were checking Rithvik.

EARLIER THAT DAY :

Ansh walked up to her. "He is with his mother. She is taking care of him." He said. Dhun nodded.

"They have given him medicine. He will be okay." Ansh reassured her. Dhun nodded, still looking at the door of the emergency room. Ansh analysed her. He remembered her hugging Rithvik in the canteen.

"There is nothing much we can do here. Let's go back to college." Ansh told her.

Dhun looked at him. "I will stay a while more."

"I told you there is nothing we can do."

"Even then..."

Ansh looked at her. " Dhun, I think you need to move on." His tone was serious. "I know you loved him. But are we not doing this for him? If you keep having feelings for him, where will that end up? The same place? Are we not trying to change that?" Dhun looked at him. "Look Dhun, we already have come to a place where you and Rith can't be together anymore. In public, to the whole college, you are my girlfriend. Do you think Rithvik ever date his best friend's girlfriend? He is filled with principles and rules when it comes to who people can date. He won't ever be with you."

Dhun looked a bit as if her internal wish was exposed. "Even if he does, you guys will be looked at with bad eyes. I don't want that to happen. Besides, we need to save him, right? You were in this to save him, right? Then...let's just save him."

"I didn't say I want to be with him again," Dhun said.

"Good," Ansh said.

"But my feelings are mine. I don't have to give you explanations for that."

Ansh felt frustrated. "Dhun, I am just worried for you. You can't be in love with him forever. You have a life as well. Live your life."

"I am living my life."

"No. You are not."

Dhun looked up at him with sharp eyes. Ansh continues. " Look, your whole life does not start and end at Rithvik. You have your life. We can like other people. I also thought I can't come to like anyone besides Roli. But..." He stopped talking a bit guilty. Dhun looked up at him with a bit of suspicion. "You need to see who is in front of you, Dhun... See them for real. That is all." Ansh concluded.

Dhun understood the situation now. Getting what he was trying to say. "If I don't? What if I go back to Rithvik? Then?"

"Then..." he thought for a second. "I guess I have to go back to Roli."

"Ansh..."

"You don't give me a choice."

"You know what that means. And are you blackmailing me?" Dhun asked him.

Ansh looked frustrated. "Look, you don't have to make me the bad guy here, okay?" He said.

"You just blackmailed me."

"I don't want to, okay... But..." Ansh was looking really disturbed and helpless now. "I don't want you to go to him right now. Can't we just let things be the way it is... Rith will be saved. And we...we can move on. Together. Life can take us to another place. Was it not you who said that we don't have only one choice in life. Life is full of choices. We can go to another choice and be at another place which may not be such a bad place either."

Dhun was looking bitter as ever.

" Come. I will drop you home if you don't want to go back to college." Ansh told her.

"I told you I am staying here." She said, cold, "You go if you want to go."

"Dhun..."

"I didn't know you were such an asshole." She said to him.

"Do you think I want to be an asshole? You give me no choice. I am just worried for you."

"I love him, okay? Do you get that...??? His and my relationship is on a whole lot deeper and another level than you can even imagine. I can't just leave him when he is in the hospital like this. I can't. I am not coming with you right now. You leave. I will stay here. Till he wakes up."

Ansh looked at her without a choice. Dhun forced her to be a bit calm and tried to be a bit diplomatic. " Look, I am not saying that I am going to be with him or anything. I am not. I just want to stay here till he wakes up. Make sure he is okay. And then I will go home. On my own. I don't need your help with that. But I will see you tomorrow in college. I will call you tonight if you want me to. But I am staying here for now."

Ansh nodded without a choice. He nodded at her and then he turned to go.