"Papa…!"
Om jolted upright on the hospital bed, his voice tearing through the silence like a shockwave.
Everyone in the room froze.
The suddenness of it… the fear in his voice… it sent a chill through every single person standing there.
Sharda, who had been sitting right beside him, immediately pulled him into her arms, her hands trembling as she held his face.
"Om, my child… are you alright? Tell me you're okay!"
Tears streamed down her face as she checked him again and again, as if afraid he might disappear if she let go.
But Om…
Om was still lost.
His eyes were wide… confused… shaken.
Inside his mind, everything was spinning.
"How… how am I here? I saw it… I clearly saw Dad… he was killing someone… screaming… was that… a dream?"
His breathing was uneven as he looked around.
The entire room was filled—his family, the Kathwani family, the Mayor and his people… everyone was there, watching him like he had just come back from the dead.
Slowly… reality began to settle.
He hugged Sharda tightly again, trying to ground himself.
"Dad isn't in this world anymore… I must've imagined it… and I'm in a hospital… which means…"
His jaw tightened slightly.
"…the danger that was over my family… I stopped it."
He exhaled softly, then said in a calm, reassuring voice—
"Don't worry, Aunt… nothing's going to happen to me. I've got your and Uncle's blessings with me."
Hearing that, Sharda finally breathed… but only for a moment.
The next second—
Smack!
A light slap landed on his cheek.
Her eyes filled with anger and fear at the same time.
"Don't you dare get into fights like that ever again! Do you even know how close you came to dying? Is this why we love you… so we can see you covered in blood?!"
Her voice broke.
"Om… don't ever do anything that makes me worry like this again…"
And just like that… she broke down again.
Vijay stepped forward, placing a steady hand on Om's head.
"Son… are you okay?"
Om gave a small smile, nodding, trying to calm everyone down.
His eyes moved across the room—Manoj… the Mayor… Kathwani… everyone…
And then—
They stopped.
On Anshika.
She was standing there…
Staring at him.
Not with relief.
Not with softness.
But with anger.
Pure, burning anger.
After a while, everyone left the room, letting Om rest.
Everyone…
Except her.
Anshika walked toward him slowly, her gaze still locked on him.
Om smiled lightly, trying to ease the tension.
"What happened, Anshika? Why are you so angry?"
Her eyes flickered… then she spoke.
"You're not a killer, Om."
Her voice wasn't loud… but it hit harder than a shout.
"That night… when I came to your house with Dad… and saw you lying there, covered in blood…"
Her voice trembled.
"…I broke inside."
Om's expression softened slightly.
"Three days, Om. Three days you were lying here without moving. Do you even have any idea what everyone went through?"
Om tried to say something—but she raised her hand, stopping him.
"Enough. This isn't a joke. Life and death aren't some game!"
Her voice rose now, filled with frustration and fear.
"Yes, you're strong. Yes, you know how to fight. But fighting is not a life!"
"Why do you throw yourself into battles like this?! Do you even think?!"
Om's expression hardened slightly.
"He was going to kill my family! What was I supposed to do—just stand there and watch them die?!"
Their eyes locked.
Tension.
Fire.
Emotion.
Anshika didn't back down.
"Saving your family isn't wrong! But there are other ways to protect them too!"
Her voice cracked.
"There's no guarantee you'll always win! This time you survived because of luck… but will luck save you every time?!"
Her eyes filled with tears now.
"Do you even think about the people who care about you? Your aunt… your uncle… Riya… Soumya… everyone…"
Her voice broke completely.
"…me?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful.
Then slowly… she spoke again.
"You don't understand, Om…"
Her tears fell freely now.
"Fights… violence… they took everything from me."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"I lost my sister… my brother… my mother…"
Om froze.
"I hate fighting… I hate violence…"
She looked at him, her eyes trembling.
"When I first met you, I thought you were different… calm… far from all this…"
A faint, broken smile appeared.
"But then I saw you fight… and I thought it was just small things… normal…"
Her voice shook again.
"But that day… when I saw you lying there… bleeding… scared…"
Her body trembled.
"My soul… shook."
She stepped closer.
"I've already lost my mother…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper filled with fear—
"…please… I don't want to lose you too."
And before he could react—
She wrapped her arms around him.
Tightly.
Crying against him.
Om went still for a moment… surprised…
Then slowly…
He wrapped his arms around her too.
Firm.
Protective.
Silent.
He didn't say a word.
Because sometimes…
Words ruin what silence understands.
After a few moments…
She slowly pulled away.
But not completely.
Their faces were still close.
Very close.
So close… that their breaths began to mix.
Om could feel it—
Her heartbeat.
Fast.
Unsteady.
Her breathing… uneven.
Her eyes… slowly closing.
Her lips… trembling.
She was leaning in.
Closer.
Closer.
Om's heart started racing too.
He knew what was happening.
He should've stopped.
He tried.
But for some reason…
He didn't want to move away.
After everything… the pain… the fear… the chaos…
This moment felt different.
Soft.
Real.
Alive.
Slowly…
He closed his eyes too.
And leaned in—
Their lips just inches apart…
The world around them… fading into silence…