Authors pov
Ruhi stood frozen, the file clutched tightly in her hands. Every word, every photo, every document she had just read weighed on her like a stone pressing into her chest. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even think.
someone calling her name panicked, desperate but they didn’t reach her. Aayansh and Rishabh were looking for her, their eyes wide with worry, their steps urgent. “Ruhanika!” Rishabh shouted again, voice cracking.
A security guard spotted her and quickly pointed her out. “Sir! She’s over there!”
Aayansh and Rishabh reached her at the same time. Rishabh reached out, touching her arm gently. “Ruhi… doll… talk to me,” he urged, but there was no response. She was still trapped inside the storm the file had unleashed.
“Ruhanika!” Rishabh screamed, louder this time. His words finally broke through her daze. Her eyes blinked rapidly, realization crashing over her. She screamed an anguished, heart wrenching scream and stumbled, falling to her knees.
Aayansh and Rishabh’s panic intensified. Aayansh moved instinctively, taking the file from her trembling hands. His gaze scanned the contents just long enough to understand she knew everything. The truth was out, raw and unfiltered, and it had shattered her.
They tried to comfort her, both speaking at once, their voices layered with concern and fear, but nothing worked. Ruhi’s sobs rose louder, shaking her body uncontrollably, until suddenly her knees gave way, and she fainted.
“Ruhi!” Aayansh shouted, shaking her gently, but she remained unconscious. Rishabh immediately scooped her into his arms, holding her carefully. Aayansh followed, jumping into the driver’s seat as Rishabh positioned her in the back. His hands gripped the wheel with deadly focus, adrenaline sharpening every sense.
“Hold on,Ruhh. We’re taking you to the hospital,” he muttered under his breath, voice low but fierce.
The car sped through the streets, every red light and honking horn fading into the background. Inside, Ruhi lay still, fragile, yet the weight of truth heavy even in unconsciousness. Aayansh’s jaw was tight, eyes flicking to Rishabh as if silently asking, how did we not see this coming?
Neither spoke. Words couldn’t reach her now. All that mattered was getting her safe, getting her help, and somehow, somehow holding the fragments of a world that had just shattered.
……
The hospital corridor was unnaturally quiet, the kind of silence that made every second feel louder. Aayansh paced back and forth outside the room, running a hand through his hair again and again, while Rishabh stood still, arms folded, eyes fixed on the closed door.
Inside, the doctor was examining Ruhi.
And she still hadn’t woken up.
Minutes stretched endlessly. Every time a nurse passed by, both of them looked up, hope flickering and dying just as quickly.
Finally, the door opened.
Both Aayansh and Rishabh straightened instantly and moved toward the doctor.
“How is she?” Aayansh asked, his voice tight, controlled with effort.
The doctor offered a reassuring nod. “She’s stable now. She fainted due to extreme shock and stress. Physically, she’s fine.”
Rishabh exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Why isn’t she waking up?”
“She’s resting,” the doctor explained calmly. “Her mind needs time to process whatever caused the stress. She’ll regain consciousness soon.” Then his expression turned serious. “But you must be careful. No arguments, no emotional pressure, no sudden revelations. Any more stress could worsen her condition.”
Aayansh nodded immediately. “We’ll be careful,” he said, firmly.
“You can see her now,” the doctor added. “But only for a short while.”
They thanked him and walked toward the room.
Ruhi lay on the hospital bed, pale and fragile, machines humming softly beside her. The fierce, unshakeable woman they knew looked heartbreakingly small under the white sheets.
Aayansh stopped just inside the doorway. Seeing her like this silent, unconscious, broken by a truth he had failed to shield her from hit him harder than any confrontation ever could.
Rishabh moved closer, his voice barely a whisper. “She didn’t deserve this.”
Aayansh clenched his fists. He knew that already.
And somewhere deep inside him, a cold resolve settled in whoever had done this, whoever had dragged the past back to destroy her present, would pay for it.
……..
While Ruhi lay unconscious in the hospital room, unaware of the storm gathering around her, the man who had started it all was already moving again.
Across the city, in a dimly lit apartment, he stood by a window, watching traffic blur into streaks of red and white below. His phone rested in his hand, screen glowing softly.
A slow smile curved his lips.
“She’s in the hospital,” he murmured to himself, not surprised. Shock always did its job well.
He tapped the screen and opened the hospital’s CCTV access something he’d arranged weeks ago, quietly, patiently. The feed flickered, then stabilized.
There she was.
Ruhi.
Still. Pale. Vulnerable.
His gaze lingered, possessive, almost tender.
“Aayansh will think this is the end,” he said softly. “That I’ve played my last card.”
He chuckled under his breath.“This is just the beginning.”
He wasn’t sorry.
Not for the pain. Not for fear. Not for what she was about to endure.
“I’m not sorry for what you’re going through,” he muttered to the empty room, his voice low, edged with bitterness. “It’s your fault.”
His jaw tightened.
“You forgot me,” he continued, anger bleeding through each word. “And not only that”
He clenched his teeth.
“you started loving Aayansh.”
The name left his mouth like a curse.
“So now,” he said quietly, almost calmly, “you need to suffer.”
A pause.
Then his tone shifted softened, twisted into something far more disturbing.
“But don’t worry,” he added. “I still love you. So… for now.”
His gaze returned to the hospital feed on his phone. Ruhi lay unconscious, fragile beneath the harsh white lights, unaware of the war being fought over her.
“Rest well,Doll,” he whispered. “When you open your eyes, nothing will feel the same.”
He turned off the lights.
Outside the hospital, a shadow shifted near the entrance someone lingering longer than necessary, watching doors slide open and shut, counting time in heartbeats.
And inside, as the machines beside her continued their steady rhythm, Ruhi slept on…
unaware that the man who claimed her had already begun tearing her world apart from the inside.
……
Ruhi stirred.
A soft movement at first. A slight shift of her fingers. Then her lashes fluttered open.
Aayansh noticed instantly.
He was on his feet before the monitor beside her could even beep. “Ruuh…” His voice cracked with relief.
Rishabh rushed to the bedside too. “Ruhi… kaisi ho?” he asked gently, trying to catch her eyes.
But Ruhi didn’t respond.Her gaze stayed fixed on the ceiling. Empty. Distant. Like she was somewhere far away, replaying things none of them could see.
Aayansh swallowed hard. “Ruuh, look at me.”
Nothing.
His relief slowly twisted into fear.
“Why did you go alone?” he asked, trying to keep his voice calm. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
Silence.
Something snapped inside him.
“Ruhi,” his voice sharpened, frustration bleeding through worry. “Speak now.”
That’s when she turned her head.Slowly.
Her eyes met his and they weren’t scared.They were hurt.
“What should I do then?” she asked, her voice trembling but loud. “Tell me, Aayansh. What was I supposed to do?”
He opened his mouth but she didn’t let him speak.
“You all would have told me, right?” she continued, her voice rising. “I waited. I stayed patient. I trusted you. I kept telling myself they’ll tell me when the time is right.”
Her hands clenched into fists.“But no one said anything,” she screamed. “No one!”
Rishabh stepped forward. “Ruhi ”
She turned on him, tears spilling freely now.
“It’s about my dad!” she cried. “My father is dead and you all decided I don’t deserve the truth?”
Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe.
“You are no one,” she shouted through sobs, “no one to keep me away from this. It’s my life. My past. My pain!”
Aayansh felt every word like a blow.
“Ruuh please ” he tried, reaching for her.
But she recoiled.
Her hands flew to her head. “My head… it hurts… it hurts so much…”
Her breathing turned erratic. Shallow. Panicked.
“Ruhi,” Rishabh said urgently, panic flooding his voice.
Her sobs turned into gasps. Her body shook uncontrollably.The monitor beside her started beeping faster.A nurse rushed in, followed by the doctor.
“What’s happening here?” the doctor demanded.
“She’s having a panic attack,” the nurse said quickly.
The doctor turned sharply to them. “You both need to step outside. Now.”
“But” Aayansh protested.
“Outside,” the doctor repeated firmly.
Rishabh and Aayansh were forced out as the doctor administered an injection, speaking softly to Ruhi as her sobs slowly dulled into weak breaths.
The door closed. Silence fell in the corridor.
Minutes later, the doctor stepped out, his expression stern.
“She’s stable now,” he said. “But what you did there was irresponsible.”
Aayansh stiffened.
“She fainted from shock,” the doctor continued, voice sharp. “And instead of letting her recover, you overwhelmed her again.”
Rishabh looked down, guilt crushing him.
“No stress,” the doctor warned. “No confrontations. No raised voices. If you push her like this again, the consequences won’t be this mild.”
He walked away.
Aayansh leaned against the wall, running a hand through his hair, chest tight with regret.
Inside the room, Ruhi slept again, tears dried on her cheeks.And for the first time, both men realized something terrifying.
They hadn’t protected her. They had broken her.
Aayansh stood outside the room long after the doctor had left.
The corridor smelled of disinfectant and guilt.
Through the glass panel, he could see Ruhi lying still again sedated, pale, fragile in a way he had never seen her before. The machines hummed steadily, indifferent to the storm he carried inside.
He had always believed he was protecting her.Keeping things from her. Holding back the truth. Deciding when she was strong enough.
But now… standing here, watching her sleep because they had pushed her too far
He wasn’t so sure anymore.
Rishabh broke the silence. “She didn’t even look at us,” he said quietly. “Did you notice?”
Aayansh had noticed.
The way her eyes had slid past him, as if he wasn’t someone safe anymore. As if he was just another obstacle standing between her and the truth.
“I raised my voice,” Aayansh said, his own words tasting bitter. “She was already hurting… and I told her to speak.”
Rishabh didn’t reply. He didn’t need to.
Aayansh’s gaze drifted back to Ruhi.
There was a time when she would calm down the moment he walked in. When his presence alone was enough to ground her. When she trusted him without needing explanations.
Now she had flinched.Pulled away.Accused him.
You are no one to keep me away from it.
The words replayed in his head like a wound that refused to close.
For the first time, a terrifying thought took shape in his mind:
What if she didn’t see him as her safe place anymore?
What if, in trying to shield her, he had become exactly what she feared someone who controlled her life instead of standing beside her in it?
His fingers curled into a fist.
“If she wakes up and doesn’t want to talk to me,” he said softly, almost to himself, “I won’t blame her.”
Rishabh looked at him then. “Aayansh”
“No,” he cut in, voice low. “I crossed a line. I chose authority over honesty.”
A nurse passed by, reminding them gently to keep their voices down.
Aayansh took a step closer to the glass, resting his forehead against it.
“Ruuh,” he whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear him. “I thought I was protecting you.”
His chest tightened.“But I forgot to trust you too.”
Inside the room, Ruhi shifted slightly in her sleep.
And Aayansh realized something that shook him deeper than fear ever had Losing her trust didn’t mean losing arguments.
It meant losing the right to be the first person she turned to when she was breaking.And that that terrified him more than anything else.
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