Reha quietly shut the door behind them and locked it. Her hands were shaking, not from fear, but from everything that almost happened tonight. Her eyes welled up, but she blinked the tears away. This wasn't the time to fall apart. Ved needed her.
She turned to him.
He was barely standing, fighting the effects of the drug still in his system. But his eyes were searching for something. Someone.
"Reha... you're... It's you, right?" he whispered, voice drowsy.
"Yes, Ved. It's me. Just me."
She walked over to him and gently placed her hand on his chest, steadying him. He closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if her touch calmed him.
"You need to rest," she said softly. "Come."
She led him to the bed like a child being guided home. He didn't resist. He sat down, eyes half open, like he was scared she'd disappear.
Reha gently pulled off his shirt, not out of intimacy, but out of care. She covered him with a soft blanket, slid a pillow beneath his head, and sat next to him.
As she reached to turn off the bedside lamp, Ved caught her wrist—feebly, but firmly enough to stop her.
"Don't go… Reha… please don't go…"
"I'm not going anywhere," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
She slipped under the blanket, still in her saree, and lay beside him. She didn't hold him tightly. She just rested her hand lightly on his chest, letting him feel that she was there.
"I've got you, Ved. No one can take you away from me now."
He was already half-asleep, mumbling her name like it was the only word he remembered.
And as sleep finally took over him, Reha just stared at him, her eyes filled with tears of rage and relief. Not because he gave in… but because someone dared to try and take advantage of her Ved.
She whispered under her breath, "You're mine. You always will be."
The sunlight poured softly through the blinds, hitting Ved's closed eyes as he stirred awake. His head throbbed—a dull, punishing ache from the drugged haze of last night. With a groan, he rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.
And then he saw her.
Reha.
Still asleep beside him in last night's dress, her face peaceful, innocent, unaware of the chaos waiting to swallow them again. For a moment, Ved just watched her. Breathing. Alive. His.
He didn't dare wake her.
Instead, he got out of bed quietly, his footsteps feather-light against the floor. He walked into the kitchen, moving as silently as possible. Every clink of the mug, every hiss of the coffee machine, he did everything gently, cautiously. Like waking her would somehow break the little pocket of peace they were living in.
Then his phone buzzed. He frowned.
Mr. Khanna.
He answered, his voice cold and clipped, "Hello?"
"Ved," came the familiar voice, firm and indifferent as always. "When are you bringing Reha back?"
Ved froze.
The words struck like bullets. His fingers went numb around the phone. His breath hitched.
"What?" he asked, voice hollow. "But… there's still a week left."
"There's no more police threat," Mr. Khanna said casually, like this wasn't about tearing someone's world apart. "And the sooner I get Reha's father to sign the documents, the better. Do one thing—shift back to your mansion today. And tomorrow, I'll take her from there."
Click.
The call ended.
Ved stood there, frozen in the quiet of the kitchen. The mug in his hand trembled slightly.
Take her?
Just like that?
Their time—their world—was ending. The truth, though unspoken, had always lingered like a shadow. But neither of them had dared to look at it in the eye.
Now it was standing at their door, ready to take everything away.
Ved walked out of the house in silence. He didn't wake Reha. He didn't leave a note. Because how do you even begin to tell the person you love that the time is up?
Instead, he drove. Quietly. Aimlessly. Until his car turned toward a place only he knew.
The hidden room in his mansion.
A room no one had ever stepped into.
It was where his mother's belongings were kept. Her books, her silk sarees, her old perfumes still untouched. It smelled like a memory frozen in time. Whenever the world outside became too loud, whenever Ved couldn't decide between loyalty and heart, he came here. To her.
And today, he needed her more than ever.
He sank into the old couch by the window, the morning light kissing his face as he closed his eyes and whispered to no one—
"Ma… I don't know what to do anymore. I was supposed to protect her. But they're going to take her from me. And I… I don't know how to let her go."
Inside the forgotten room cloaked in the scent of old memories, Ved fell to his knees.
His fists slammed against the cold floor as if that would silence the scream building inside him.
Tears, raw and unstoppable, fell from his eyes—this wasn't the Ved the world knew. This wasn't the cold, untouchable mafia man. This was a boy who had found love too late and was now being forced to lose it.
"I want my love back, Ma," he sobbed, choking on every word. "Please... do something. Without her, even breathing feels like a punishment. She's mine. My heart—my soul—everything belongs to her. I can't let her go."
And there was no one there to hold him.
No one to tell him that love was enough to rewrite destiny.
Elsewhere, in the apartment wrapped in soft morning light, Reha stirred awake. The bed felt cold, Ved was gone, but she didn't panic. She smiled softly to herself. He probably went to work early today...
Still wrapped in last night's warmth, she reached for her phone and typed:
"Where are you? I need to tell you something."
She couldn't wait to speak to him. To tell him how much last night meant. To confess that what she felt for him… wasn't temporary.
She walked into the bathroom, humming to herself. Shower. Coffee. She was glowing.
But that glow lasted only till 10 a.m.
Because Ved walked back in, and he wasn't the man she remembered from last night.
His eyes were distant. His aura is cold. His presence, unfamiliar.
"Pack your bags," he said flatly, his voice like ice. "We're leaving."
Reha blinked, confused but trying to keep it light. "Where? Don't tell me you're surprising me with a vacation?" she smiled, tilting her head playfully.
But Ved's eyes didn't soften.
His jaw tightened. "You're kidnapped. What the fuck are you even imagining?"
That word. Kidnapped. It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.
"What?" she whispered.
"Go and pack your bags," he said again, sharper now, his voice holding no warmth.
Reha stared at him, her heart thudding against her ribs. This wasn't Ved. This wasn't her Ved.
"Okay, okay… why are you sounding like this today?" she asked gently, walking toward him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her cheek against his back, seeking the man she knew just a few hours ago.
But he flinched.
And then he pushed her away.
Hard.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he shouted. "You're supposed to be scared of me, Reha. Not hugging me like some... lover."
His words hit harder than his hands.
She took a step back, her voice trembling but firm. "I never feared you, Ved. Not even the first night. Because somehow... You made me believe in something I never thought I'd feel—something raw, something real. You showed me what unconditional love looks like. So what the fuck is going on?! Why are you pushing me away like I never mattered?"
Ved looked her straight in the eye. His expression was unflinching. Cold.
"Hey. Hey!" he snapped, waving a hand mockingly. "Let me make this clear—I don't love you. We had to spend a month together. That's it. We had a fun time, that's all. Don't make it more dramatic than it is. Don't imagine I'm in love with you or any of that bullshit."
Reha's lips parted, but no words came.
Because that was the moment everything inside her shattered.
The kisses. The laughter. The quiet mornings. The way he used to watch her like she was the only person that mattered.
All of it—he just called it fun?
She stood there, breathless.
Not because of love—but because of the gaping hole he had just ripped open inside her.