The corridor fell silent again.
The door to the conference room closed.
Aarav slowly stepped out of the shadows, his heartbeat still racing.
"You heard that," Rishan whispered.
Aarav didn't reply.
His mind wasn't processing the whole committee anymore.
Only one thing.
Reyaan.
"I'm not waiting anymore," Aarav said firmly.
Before Rishan could stop him, Aarav walked straight toward the conference room.
"Aarav—wait!" Rishan hissed.
Too late.
Aarav pushed the door open.
Inside, the room froze.
Five pairs of eyes turned toward him.
Shock.
Anger.
Suspicion.
And Reyaan—
Reyaan stood up immediately.
"Aarav?" he said, clearly not expecting this.
Aarav's voice was steady, but his eyes burned with anger.
"Let's stop pretending."
Silence.
The other committee members exchanged glances.
"This is a restricted meeting," one of them said coldly. "You're not allowed here."
Aarav didn't even look at him.
His eyes were locked on Reyaan.
"You knew," Aarav said.
Reyaan's expression hardened.
"Knew what?"
"About Meher," Aarav snapped. "About what they're planning."
The room grew tense.
Reyaan walked a few steps closer.
"You shouldn't be here," he said quietly.
"And you shouldn't be doing this," Aarav shot back.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Aarav said the one thing that changed everything—
"They want to remove her."
A sharp silence filled the room.
Now everyone was alert.
Reyaan's jaw tightened.
"Lower your voice," he said.
"Why?" Aarav asked. "Afraid the truth will sound louder?"
One of the committee members stood up angrily.
"This is enough. Who let him in?"
Rishan stepped inside at that moment.
"I did."
All eyes turned to him.
"So it's you again," the cold voice from earlier said. "Interfering where you don't belong."
Rishan didn't flinch.
"Someone has to," he replied.
Reyaan looked between Aarav and Rishan.
"This isn't helping," he said. "You're making things worse."
Aarav stepped closer.
"Then explain," he demanded. "Right now."
Reyaan stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then finally—
"Yes," he said.
The word hit the room like thunder.
"I'm part of the committee."
Meher's fear… Rishan's warnings… everything was true.
Aarav's fists clenched.
"And you still expect me to trust you?" he asked.
Reyaan met his eyes directly.
"I never asked for your trust."
"Then what?" Aarav challenged.
Reyaan's voice lowered.
"I asked you to stay out of this."