Ruhi’s POV
I was sitting with Avni bhabhi, talking about random things, trying to pretend that everything was normal.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll check,” I said, getting up before she could. As soon as I opened the door, I froze.
Aayansh was standing there.
For a second, neither of us spoke. Then he didn’t wait, didn't ask, didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and pulled me into his arms.
Tight. Protective. Like he was making sure I was real.
I didn’t say anything either. I just held on to him, my forehead resting against his chest, breathing him in. In that moment, the fear I’d been carrying silently finally loosened its grip.
And for the first time since all of this started, I felt safe again.
I hadn’t realized how tense my body was until Aayansh wrapped his arms around me.
The moment he pulled me into that hug, something inside me broke.
Not loudly. Not dramatically.
Just… silently.
I pressed my forehead against his chest and let myself breathe.
He didn’t say anything at first.
Neither did I.
And somehow, that silence felt safer than words.
When we pulled apart, I saw it in his eyes.
The worry. The kind that comes from imagining things you were never meant to imagine.
I knew then. Rishabh bhai had told him everything.
I asked him to come inside, but even as we walked, his hand never left mine.
Not once. Like if he let go, something terrible might happen.
Avni bhabhi looked at us and understood immediately. She didn’t ask questions. She just smiled softly and walked away, giving us space.
We sat together on the couch.
Close. Too close for comfort, yet not close enough to quiet the unease in my chest.
“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked gently.
I looked down at our hands.
“I didn’t want you to worry,” I said. “You were already dealing with so much at work.”
I felt his grip tighten.
He didn’t raise his voice. But when he spoke again, it felt heavier.
“Nothing is more important than you telling me when you’re scared.”
My throat tightened.
“I tried not to be,” I whispered. “But when I saw that note… it felt like someone had stepped into my space without permission. Like I wasn’t alone anymore.”
He pulled me into him again.This time, it felt protective.Final.
“You don’t have to be strong with me,” he said quietly. “Ever.”
That’s when the fear finally reached my eyes.
I nodded, holding onto him like an anchor.
Because the truth was even now, in his arms, I still felt watched.
He told me I wouldn’t go anywhere alone anymore.
His voice wasn’t angry. It was certain.
And instead of feeling trapped, I felt relieved.
Because for the first time since all this started, someone else was carrying the weight with me.
I rested my head against his shoulder, listening to his heartbeat.
Steady. Grounding.
But somewhere deep inside, a cold thought whispered
If he was brave enough to leave that note… If he was bold enough to almost meet me…
Then this wasn’t over.This was only the moment before something crossed a line.
And I didn’t know yet that while I was holding onto Aayansh, someone else was already planning how to make me let go.
Unknown’s POV
I watched her melt into him.Not on a screen this time. Not through a camera lens or a reflection.
In real time.
The way her shoulders relaxed when he held her. The way her fear softened into something warmer. Safer.
It irritated me more than I expected.
I had planned for panic. For isolation. For her to sit alone and replay the note until fear hollowed her out.
Instead, she chose him.
I leaned back in the driver’s seat, fingers tapping slowly against the steering wheel as I watched the lights inside the house dim one by one.
He was there. Of course he was.
Aayansh Singhaniya always arrived when things felt just a little too late.
I smiled.
Not angry. Not rushed.Amused.
“Comfort first,” I murmured to myself. “Then loss.”
People always thought fear came from threats. They were wrong.
Fear came when safety was taken away after it was offered.
I pulled my hood lower and checked my phone.
No new messages from her mother.
Good.
She trusted me to handle this part.
I replayed the moment again in my mind—
the way Ruhi leaned into his chest like it was instinct.
Like it was a habit.
That would have to change.
I wasn’t here to hurt her. Not yet.
I wanted her to be aware. Unsettled. Unable to tell where the line between protection and obsession blurred.
A soft knock on the window beside me made me glance sideways.
Just a passerby. Nothing important.
Still, my hand moved instinctively to the note in my pocket.
The second one.
Not for today.
Soon.
Very soon.
Because now that I’d stepped out of the shadows, now that she knew someone was close enough to touch her world
I didn’t need to chase her.
She would start looking over her shoulder. She would hesitate. She would depend.
And eventually…
She would break away from him on her own.
I started the car and drove off slowly, blending back into the city.
Behind me, she was safe. For now.
Ahead of me, the game had finally begun.
And this time, I wasn’t watching from a distance anymore.
Author’s POV
The next morning arrived without incident.
No messages. No notes. No unfamiliar cars.
Normality returned the way it always does after fear slowly, convincingly.
Ruhi woke up to sunlight slipping through the curtains and for a moment, she allowed herself to believe that maybe last night had been the peak. Maybe the worst had passed.
Aayansh was still there when she opened her eyes.
Sitting in the chair near the bed, jacket tossed over the back, sleeves rolled up, phone pressed to his ear as he spoke in a low voice. When he noticed she was awake, he ended the call immediately.
“Good morning,” he said softly.
She smiled. A real one this time.“I didn’t know you stayed,” she murmured.
“I didn’t leave,” he corrected gently.
That should’ve made her feel safer.And it did.
Which is why she didn’t notice what was already moving around her life.
By noon, Ruhi returned to work reluctantly, surrounded by security, Aayansh watching her like he’d memorized the shape of her fear.
The office looked the same. It sounded the same. Even smelled the same.
Nothing felt wrong.That was the problem.
At exactly 1:17 PM, the receptionist called her cabin.“Ma’am, there’s a package for you.”
Ruhi frowned. “From whom?”
“There’s no name. Just… flowers.”
She hesitated.
Aayansh was on a call, pacing near the window, his voice sharp and focused. She didn’t want to worry him over something that might be nothing.
“Send it in,” she said finally.
She told Aayansh she will call him later and hung up the call.
A small bouquet was placed on her desk.
White lilies. Fresh. Fragrant.
No note.
Her chest tightened anyway.
She stared at them for a long moment, searching for hidden meaning.
Nothing.Just flowers.
Relief came slowly.
Shame followed it maybe she was overreacting.
She reached out and touched one petal.
That’s when her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
A single message appeared.
They were your favorite right because your dad always gives it to you .
The room seemed to tilt.Ruhi’s hand froze mid air.
Her breath came shallow.She looked around the room.
Glass walls. People moving. Laughter drifting from somewhere down the corridor.
Normal.Too normal.
She didn’t reply.
Another message followed almost instantly.
Relax. This isn’t a threat.
I just wanted you to smile today.
Her phone slipped from her fingers onto the desk.
Across the city, in a quiet café, a man lowered his phone and took a sip of coffee.
She hadn’t screamed. Hadn’t called for help. Hadn’t run.
Good.
He didn’t want her to panic yet.He wanted confusion.
That evening, when Aayansh came to pick her up, he noticed the flowers immediately.
“Who sent those?” he asked casually.
Ruhi forced a smile. “No idea. Probably a client.”
He studied her face.Too carefully.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded.
Because how do you explain fear that arrives wrapped in something beautiful?
As they walked out together, Ruhi felt it again.
That sensation.
Like someone was close enough to know her past… but careful enough not to touch her present.
From the far end of the parking lot, unseen, someone watched them leave.
“Harmless,” he whispered to himself.
“That’s how trust cracks.”
And somewhere deep inside Ruhi not fear, not yetbut doubt
began to bloom.
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