*******††††† (AAIRA POV) ††††††***********
I let my eyes flutter open, slow and reluctant, as though they feared the weight of reality waiting on the other side.
The room felt distant-hushed, suspended between pain and something softer.
And then I saw him.
Kabir sat on the sofa across from me, his posture slightly slouched, as if the night had settled into his bones. There was a quiet exhaustion etched beneath his eyes, but his gaze-steady, unwavering-was fixed only on me.
Beside me, Ishika leaned closer the moment she noticed the faint shift in my breathing.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice threaded with worry.
I didn't answer right away. Instead, I reached for her and wrapped my arms around her, holding on as if grounding myself back into the world.
"I'm fine..." I murmured, though my voice lacked conviction.
She tilted her head, then leaned in, her lips brushing near my ear as she whispered,
"So... you said yes to a date without telling me?"
There was a hint of teasing in her tone, but it was softened by concern.
I lowered my gaze, a faint flush rising despite everything.
"It's not like that... I just couldn't refuse."
Before she could respond, I felt it-his presence shifting closer. Kabir had risen.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked.
Simple words. Carelessly arranged.
Yet they carried something heavier-something unspoken.
His voice stirred fragments of memory within me-
his hands steadying me when the world tilted...
the quiet urgency in the way he carried me to the bed...
the warmth pressed gently against my lower abdomen-
a silent attempt to ease a pain he could not take away.
And then-nothing.
A blank space where the night dissolved.
I looked at him, confusion laced with something deeper.
"You... stayed? All night?"
For a fleeting second, his gaze shifted away, as though the truth was too bare to hold.
"You were in pain," he said simply.
No embellishment. No claim.
But nothing about it felt simple.
A sudden jolt of memory struck me-sharp, breathless.
My family.
Panic rose within me like a storm breaking loose. My fingers curled into the bedsheet as my chest tightened.
"I have to tell them..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "If I don't, they'll... they'll say things about my character..."
The fear wasn't new-it lived inside me, quiet but suffocating, waiting for moments like this to take over.
Ishika immediately held me, her grip firm yet gentle, as if anchoring me before I could fall apart.
"No, it's not like that," she said softly. "I've already talked to them. I explained everything."
I shook my head, tears stinging the corners of my eyes.
"No... Ishika, you don't understand. They won't listen to you... they're not like that.
They're-" my voice broke, "they're cruel when it comes to things like this."
Before my thoughts could spiral any further, another voice cut through the chaos-steady, unyielding.
"I've already spoken to them."
Kabir.
I froze.
"You... talked to them?" I asked, my voice
barely above a whisper, laced with disbelief... and fear.
Why would he do that?
How much did he say?
What must they think now?
A thousand questions collided inside me.
He stepped closer, his gaze firm yet calm, as if he could see every storm raging within me.
"Don't worry," he said quietly. "No one is going to say anything to you. Not anymore."
There was something in the way he said it-
not reassurance...
but certainty.
"But you don't know them," I insisted, my voice fragile, almost pleading.
He exhaled softly, then raised a finger to his lips.
"Shhh..."
Two letters-yet they silenced everything.
"I know enough," he murmured. "And I know you."
Those words... they didn't just calm me-
they unraveled something deep within.
"Now," he continued, his tone gentler, almost careful, "go freshen up. And drink this."
He handed me a warm glass-steam curling softly into the air. It will help you with cramps
"Then you need to eat... and take your medicine."
It wasn't a request.
It was care, structured like command-
firm, protective, and impossibly steady.
We ate after that-if it could even be called eating.
Every bite felt like something I was being gently persuaded into, not by words, but by him.
Kabir didn't say much, yet his presence lingered over every small action-making sure I finished my food, that I drank enough water, that I didn't skip my medicine.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and before I realized it, evening had settled in.
The sky outside had softened into hues of fading gold and quiet blue as Kabir drove Ishika and me back home
When we reached my house, the car slowed to a stop.
I stepped out, but something made me pause.
I turned back.
Kabir was still there, hands loosely gripping the steering wheel, but his eyes-
his eyes were on me.
And there it was.
That unmistakable flicker of concern.
Not loud, not dramatic-
but deep enough to make my chest tighten.
As if... he didn't want me to leave.
What is this, Kabir?
What are you...?
The question echoed in my mind, unanswered yet overwhelming.
I broke the gaze first, turning away before my thoughts could betray me any further.
Taking a steady breath, I walked toward the door-each step laced with a strange hesitation.
But the moment I stepped inside...
Everything shifted.
The air felt different.
Too soft.
Too... warm.
I froze.
Everyone was there-and yet, not the way I had imagined. Not the storm I had braced myself for.
Their expressions... weren't harsh.
Their voices... weren't accusing.
They were gentle.
Unfamiliar. Almost unreal.
They made me sit down carefully, as if I might break.
Jhalak handed me a glass of water, her eyes filled with concern instead of judgment.
I stared at them, stunned.
What... is happening?
This wasn't the home I had prepared myself to face.
This wasn't the reaction I had feared.
And suddenly, a soft, incredulous smile broke through me. I couldn't help it-a quiet laugh escaped my lips, light and disbelieving.
Because deep down... I knew.
Kabir... what have you done?
What did you say...
what did you change...
what did you walk into for me-
-that turned a house I feared into a place that, for once...felt safe ???
I put my phone aside for a while and forced myself to study-exams were approaching, and I couldn't afford to fall behind.
Later, I walked into my room and lay down. It was the second day, and the pain had dulled slightly-still there, but no longer unbearable.
A small relief.
Out of habit, I reached for my phone.
And froze.
More than twenty messages.
Missed calls... too many to count.
All from Kabir.
A sudden wave of panic rushed through me.
What if something's wrong?
My fingers trembled as I quickly dialed his number. The call connected-
"Are you okay?"
We both spoke at the exact same moment, voices laced with the same urgency... the same fear.
For a second, silence followed.
"I-yeah, I'm fine," I said, still trying to steady my breath. "But... why so many calls?"
There was a pause on his end, then his voice came-lower, tense.
"You weren't replying to my messages... not picking up calls. I thought... maybe something happened."
Something about the way he said it-
not dramatic, not exaggerated-
just raw, unfiltered concern.
And strangely... it made me smile.
"I'm okay," I reassured softly. "Did you reach home?"
"No."
I sat up immediately. "What? Why? It's been so long-"
"I called you after dropping Ishika," he cut in, "but you didn't answer. So I... came back."
"...Came back?" I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.
"Yeah. I'm near your place."
For a moment, I couldn't process it.
He came back... for me?
Why?
Since when did I matter this much?
And then, something inside me shifted-
for the first time, even my own thoughts weren't fighting me.
They weren't doubting.
They weren't pulling me down.
It almost felt like...
maybe he cared.
Maybe more than that " HE LIKES ME ???
"I'm sorry..." I murmured, a strange guilt settling in.
"Sorry for what?" he replied instantly. "You're not well."
"I'm fine now," I said quietly.
"Good," he answered, a softness slipping into his tone. "Then I'll hang up. I should go home."
I don't know what stopped me-
or what pushed me.
"Suno..."
He paused. "Hmm?"
"Your jacket is with me... don't you want it back?"
A brief silence.
"Okay," he said. "Come downstairs."
My heart skipped.
I quickly stood up, fixing my hair in the mirror, trying to look... normal. Presentable.
And then I paused.
A sudden thought crossed my mind-
He has already seen me at my worst.
The pain. The tears. Even the bloodstains I was so conscious about.
So why was I trying so hard now?
Taking a deep breath, I walked downstairs.
Not perfectly composed.
Not perfectly okay.
I stepped downstairs, my heartbeat strangely uneven-like it sensed something I didn't.
But the moment I reached outside... I stopped.
Kabir's Ferrari wasn't there.
A cold wave of unease slipped through me.
The night felt... wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
The street that was usually lit with scattered lights now lay drenched in shadows, as if the darkness had swallowed everything whole.
Even the air felt heavier, pressing against my skin.
I turned on my phone's flashlight, the small beam trembling slightly in my hand.
"Kabir...?" I called out, my voice softer than I intended.
No response.
"Kabir, are you here?" I tried again, a little louder this time.
Nothing.
Only silence-thick and suffocating.
I took a few cautious steps forward, my eyes scanning the empty street.
"Kabir...?"
My voice echoed faintly, but it felt like the night itself was swallowing it before it could travel.
And then-
A sudden sensation.
As if someone had just moved behind me.
My breath hitched.
I turned around instantly-
No one.
The street stood empty, lifeless.
A chill ran down my spine.
"This is stupid..." I whispered to myself, trying to brush it off, even as my grip on the phone tightened.
I turned back, walking a little further, my senses now painfully alert.
And then-
Something shifted.
Too fast.
Too close.
Before I could even react-
A sharp force struck the back of my head.
Pain exploded through me, sudden and blinding.
A scream tore from my throat as I staggered, my vision spinning wildly. I tried to turn, to see-to understand-
But a hand clamped over my mouth.
Rough. Unforgiving.
A cloth pressed against my face, suffocating, carrying a strange, overwhelming scent that burned through my senses.
I struggled-instinctively, desperately-
But everything was slipping.
The world around me began to blur...
the darkness closing in, swallowing the edges of my vision.
My voice faded into muffled silence.
My strength... dissolving.
My eyes fluttered open-slow, heavy, as if even consciousness resisted returning.
Everything felt distant.
Voices echoed around me... muffled, overlapping-men talking, laughing under their breath, as though I was nothing more than a passing detail in their world.
My head throbbed violently. A sharp, pulsing pain spread through my skull, making it hard to even breathe properly. I tried to move, but my body felt weak... unresponsive.
I forced my eyes to focus.
I was lying inside a car.
The realization sent a cold wave of fear through me.
I gathered what little strength I had and tried to lift my head, my vision still swimming, refusing to settle. The world outside blurred past for a moment-shadows, dim lights, unfamiliar paths.
And then-
The car slowed.
Stopped.
My breath hitched.
With trembling effort, I turned my gaze forward...
And what I saw-
felt like the ground beneath my soul had been ripped away.
A massive haveli stood in front of me-grand, illuminated in a way that made it look almost surreal. Its architecture was breathtaking... intricate carvings, tall arches, glowing lights outlining its structure.
Beautiful.
Deceptively so.
Because just above the entrance-
those words.
"RATHORE BROTHEL" !
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