Author’s POV
Ruhi woke to the weight of an arm around her waist.Aayansh was still asleep, his hold instinctive, protective like he was afraid she might disappear if he loosened it. For a moment, she stayed still, staring at the wall, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing behind her.
Then she gently lifted his arm away. No hesitation. No emotion.
She got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her.
Aayansh stirred a few minutes later. His hand reached out instinctively empty space. His eyes snapped open.
“Ruuh?” he murmured.The room was silent except for the faint sound of running water. He exhaled slowly when he realized she was in the shower and sat up on the bed, elbows resting on his knees, staring at nothing.
Waiting.
When Ruhi came out, her hair was damp, her face unreadable. She didn’t look at him. She walked past him as if he were just another piece of furniture in the room.
“Ruuh,” Aayansh called softly.No response.
He stood up and reached for her wrist, desperation slipping through his control. She immediately pulled her hand back, the movement sharp, final.
“Ruhi, please listen to me,” he said. “We hid it from you because we didn’t want to hurt you.”
She stopped then.Turned.And laughed.
Not amused. Not light.It was hollow.Her laughter wasn’t loud.
The kind that comes when something inside you finally gives up trying to stay intact.
“So now?” she asked quietly, her eyes fixed on Aayansh. “Now it’s okay because I already know?”
Aayansh stood up immediately. “Ruhi, listen”
“No,” she cut him off, her voice steady but trembling underneath. “You don’t get to decide when I’m allowed to feel pain.”
He moved closer. “We were trying to protect you.”
She looked at him then. Really looked.
That stopped him.
“You looked me in the eyes,” she continued, her voice rising now, cracks forming. “Every single day. You held my hand. You promised me honesty. And still you chose silence.”
“It wasn’t easy for us either,” he said, his tone hardening. “Do you think watching you smile, knowing the truth, didn’t kill me?”
She stepped back like his words had burned her.
“So you suffered,” she said bitterly. “And that makes it okay that I lived a lie?”
Before he could answer, the door opened.Rishabh had come in, alerted by the raised voices.
“Ruhi” he started.
She turned toward him like a storm changing direction.“You knew too,” she said. Not a question. A statement.
Rishabh’s shoulders fell.
“And you let me believe,” she went on, her voice shaking now, “that my father’s death was just… fate.”
Avni bhabhi rushed in behind him. , please listen”
“Don’t,” Ruhi snapped, her eyes flashing. “ I don't want to listen to any of you .”
The rest of the family gathered in the doorway, worry etched on every face.
“You all sat with me,” Ruhi said, her voice breaking as she gestured at them. “On his death anniversary. You watched me cry. You watched me blame destiny.”
Her chest heaved. “While knowing the truth.”
“Ruhi,” Rishabh said softly, stepping forward, “your father made a choice. To protect you.”
She shook her head violently. “No. I made the choice to leave. And he paid for it.”
“That’s not fair,” Aayansh said sharply. “Stop blaming yourself.”
“You don’t get to tell me what’s fair,” she shouted. “You don’t get to control my pain anymore!”
Silence slammed into the room.She wiped her tears angrily, straightening her spine.
“I waited,” she said quietly. “I trusted that you’d tell me. That you believed I was strong enough.”
She looked at each of them, one by one.“But you didn’t trust me.”
Her hand tightened into a fist.
“So don’t ask me to understand your reasons,” she said. “Because none of you tried to understand mine.”She turned and walked toward the door.
“Ruhi!” Aayansh called out, panic creeping into his voice. “Don’t leave like this.”
She paused.
Not turning back, she said, “I’m not running away.”
Then, finally, she looked over her shoulder eyes cold, resolved.“I’m taking space from the people who decided my life without asking me.”And with that, she walked out.
The door shut behind her, not slammed, not dramatic.Final.
The house stood frozen.Aayansh stared at the closed door, breath shallow, the echo of her words pounding in his chest.
For the first time, he understood.This wasn’t anger.This was Ruhi choosing herself.And that terrified him more than losing control ever had.
Ruhi left the house She drove aimlessly at first, the road blurring through her tears, her hands trembling on the steering wheel. Her thoughts were loud too loud crashing into each other until her chest started to tighten.
She knew this wasn’t safe.Not like this.
She slowed down abruptly and pulled the car to the side of the road, switching off the engine. The sudden silence made everything worse.
Her breathing turned uneven. Short. Sharp.Not again, she thought, pressing a hand to her chest. She tried grounding herself counting breaths, focusing on the feel of the seat beneath her, the cool air against her skin.
Inhale. Exhale.It didn’t work.
Her vision blurred, her fingers went numb, and the familiar fear crept in the kind that stole her voice before it stole her control.
Her hands shook as she reached for her phone.
There was only one name she could trust right now. One person who knew her past. Who knew how broken silence could become.
She dialed.The call connected almost immediately.
“Hello?” came the voice on the other end. “Ruhi?”
She tried to speak.Nothing came out.Only her breathing ragged, uneven filled the line.
On the other side, Shrey sat up straight instantly.“Ruhi,” he said firmly, all traces of sleep gone. “Are you okay? Where are you?”
She swallowed hard, forcing air into her lungs. Her voice finally broke through, fragile and shaking.
“Shrey…” she whispered. “Can you… can you pick me up?”
That was all it took.
“I’m on my way,” he said without hesitation. “Don’t cut the call, okay? Just stay with me.”
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her.
He was already moving keys in hand, engine starting tracking her live location because he knew, better than anyone, that when Ruhi fell apart like this, speaking became impossible.
“Ruhi breath ok try counting or just talk,” he continued calmly. “Breathe with me. You’re not alone.”
Ruhi closed her eyes, clutching the phone to her ear as the road stayed still around her.For the first time since the truth cracked her world open, she let herself lean on someone.
The Raichand house was in chaos.
Ruhi’s room was empty. Her car was gone.
And with every passing minute, panic spread thicker through the walls.
Aayansh was pacing the living room, phone clenched in his hand, calling her number again and again each unanswered ring tightening the knot in his chest.
Rishabh stood near the window, trying to stay composed, but his eyes kept drifting to the door as if she might walk back in any second.
Then his phone rang.
Shrey.
Rishabh’s breath hitched.before he could even answer, Aayansh stopped pacing. “Put it on speaker.”Rishabh nodded and tapped the screen.
“Hello?” he said.
“Bhai,” Shrey’s voice came through, serious, controlled. “What happened? Why is Ruhi getting panic attacks again?”
Aayansh stepped closer instantly. “Is she with you?” he asked sharply.
“Yes,” Shrey replied. “I just picked her up. She’s at my place now sleeping.”
Aayansh closed his eyes for a brief second, relief crashing into him so hard it almost hurt.
“She wasn’t okay,” Shrey continued. “When she called me, she couldn’t even speak properly. She was already in the middle of a panic attack. Can someone tell me what the hell happened?”
The room fell silent.Rishabh swallowed hard.He told him everything.
About the accident. About the stalker. About the file.
And about the truth they had hidden from her the truth about her father’s death.
When he finished, there was a long pause on the other end.
Then Shrey spoke again.And this time, his voice wasn’t calm.
“Are you all out of your mind?”
Aayansh stiffened.
“You really think this was protection?” Shrey snapped. “You think lying to her was going to keep her safe?”
“Shrey” Rishabh tried to interrupt.
“No,” Shrey cut him off, anger sharp and unfiltered. “Rishabh bhai, you of all people should know better.”
His voice dropped, heavier now. “You know how much Ruhi hates lies. You know what she was like after Hiten uncle died.”
Aayansh’s jaw tightened.
“She stopped trusting people,” Shrey continued. “She shut herself off. It took years…years for her to even smile properly again. And you were the one who stayed up nights with her. You were the one who helped her learn to trust again.”
There was silence in the room.
“So how could you do this?” Shrey demanded. “How could you make her believe that the people closest to her were hiding things from her?”
Rishabh looked down, guilt heavy on his face.
“If you had told her the truth from the start,” Shrey said, voice breaking slightly now, “she wouldn’t feel this alone. You all could’ve faced this together. You could’ve fought together.”
Aayansh felt the words land like blows.
“But instead,” Shrey finished, “you made it worse. And now it’s happening again.”
His voice softened, but the damage was already done.
“She thinks she’s alone. Just like before.”
The call ended shortly after.
The speaker went silent. Aayansh stood frozen in the middle of the room, his chest tight, Shrey’s words echoing over and over in his head.
You made her feel alone.
For the first time, he didn’t know how to justify what he had done.
Because deep down… he knew Shrey was right.
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