No one ever knows when death will arrive.
But when it does…
most of the time, it comes through the hands of the person we trusted the most.
That night, something similar happened to me.
The ICU corridor of the hospital was wrapped in an unnatural silence — the kind of silence that exists only when life and death are standing face to face, staring at each other without blinking. The white lights above were so bright that they burned my eyes, yet inside me, everything felt dark.
I was lying on the bed.
My body had gone completely numb.
An IV drip was attached to my hand.
Every breath I took depended on a machine.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
With every sound of the monitor, it felt as if my life was being pulled backward, second by second.
And then…
He entered the room.
Karan Malhotra.
My husband.
My love.
My world.
And… the biggest mistake of my life.
He removed his expensive coat casually, as if he wasn't inside an ICU but a luxury suite in a five-star hotel. There was no trace of panic on his face. No fear. No desperation.
Only fatigue.
The kind of tiredness someone has after finishing an important task.
"I spoke to the doctor," he said in a calm, almost bored tone.
"You're strong, Aarohi. You'll survive."
Hearing his words, my lips moved into a faint smile.
God, I was such a fool.
"I knew… you would come," I whispered.
My voice was so weak that I thought only I could hear it. But Karan heard me. He stepped closer, stood beside the bed, and looked at me from head to toe.
There was no love in his eyes.
No worry.
No guilt.
Only a strange calculation.
As if he were evaluating profit and loss.
"Aarohi," he said, "you get emotional very easily. Even at a time like this."
I felt confused.
"W-what do you mean?"
He sighed, as if I were annoying him.
"I mean… you should rest now."
Rest?
My body was covered in bruises.
My accident…
the one that happened on the highway…
The brakes of my car had failed.
After the accident, I remembered—
One call from Karan.
Just one.
After that… darkness.
"Karan…" I gathered all my strength and asked,
"how did the accident happen?"
For just a split second, something flickered on his face.
A very small moment.
But it was enough.
"You should stop overthinking," he replied coldly.
"Everything is under my control."
Something felt wrong.
Terribly wrong.
"My mother…?"
"My father…?"
Karan glanced at his watch.
"They must be outside."
A lie.
I knew him too well.
Whenever he checked his watch, it meant he wanted to end the conversation.
"Karan," tears filled my eyes,
"am I going to die?"
I didn't ask that question out of fear.
I asked it to see his reaction.
If he loved me…
He would deny it.
He would hold my hand.
He would lie to comfort me.
But instead, he only said—
"Life and death are not in our hands, Aarohi."
And at that moment…
Everything became clear.
This wasn't an accident.
This was planned.
I remembered the papers I had signed without reading.
Company shares.
Insurance documents.
The property that was in my name… but under his control.
"I trusted you…" my voice broke.
Karan looked at me.
For the first time, his eyes held honesty.
"Trusting me was your biggest mistake."
After that…
The beeping of the machine grew louder.
Doctors and nurses rushed into the room.
Karan stepped back — as if his job was done.
My eyelids felt heavy.
My heart felt unbearably full.
My life…
was ending because of a lie.
Darkness.
Complete darkness.
But then…
Light.
I sat up abruptly.
My breathing was uneven.
Sweat covered my entire body.
My heart was pounding violently.
"Th-this… was a dream?"
I sat on the bed and checked my body.
No injuries.
No IV drip.
I was in my room.
My old room.
Pink curtains.
A wooden cupboard.
The same study table where I used to write college assignments.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
My face…
It was young.
Not exhausted.
Not broken.
I picked up my phone.
The moment I saw the date, my breath stopped.
Five years earlier.
"Impossible…" my lips trembled.
I looked at the calendar.
Checked my diary.
Email notifications.
Everything said the same thing.
I had returned to the past.
To a time when I wasn't even married to Karan.
To a time when I was still innocent.
Every word from that night echoed in my mind.
Trusting me was your biggest mistake.
This time…
I wouldn't make that mistake.
I got off the bed.
Stood in front of the mirror.
And looked into my own eyes.
There was no fear.
No love.
Only one thing remained—
Revenge.
"This time, Karan Malhotra," I whispered,
"I won't just take your life…"
A slow smile spread across my lips.
A dangerous smile.
"I will destroy you while you're still alive.