AUTHOR'S POV

“Come back to us, Rudra.”

Abhiraj says sitting beside him, watching his son in the quiet glow of the rooftop patio. The night sky opens wide above them, the city lights stretching like a restless ocean. Rudra leans back in his chair, cigarette between his fingers, the smoke curling upward before disappearing into the dark.

“Did you ever think I could love someone like this?” he asks, his eyes still fixed on the horizon.

Abhiraj exhales, resting his hand on the armrest.

“Neither did I dad. I never realized I was capable of loving like this.” he lets out a low chuckle. “But one thing I’ve always known is that I’m not capable of being loved like this.”

“You don’t have to tear yourself down like that,” Abhiraj says.

Rudra looks at him. “She loves Shaurya.”

“No. She doesn’t,” Abhiraj shakes his head, “Don’t let your insecurity decide that for you. I know the choice you made for her. And I stand by you.”

Rudra lets out a small scoff, staring down at his lap before dropping the cigarette to the floor. “For the longest time, I blamed Anvika for everything. She cheated, and I told myself she was the wrong person. I had given her everything, and she chose to tear it apart. That’s when it hit me, not every ounce of love you pour into someone is going to come back. Not every kindness is returned. And after that, I couldn’t stand the word love.”

He leans back in his chair, tilting his head toward the sky. A small smile brushes across his lips. “Then I met Saanvi. And everything changed. I changed, my thoughts, my feelings, even the way I saw the world. But no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t change her.” He closes his eyes, letting the memories settle around him. “I told myself it didn’t matter if she never loved me back. That it would be enough to just love her, quietly, without asking for anything in return. And for a while, I believed it.” His tears slip down as he opens his eyes again, locked on the stars.

“But then I realized she does love. Just not me.” His voice cracks as his smile falters, “And that… it destroys me. Because it hurts more than anything to see her give so freely to someone else the smile I’ve prayed for every single day. The smile I begged the universe for, that I’d have given everything to earn. She gives it to him without even thinking.”

He presses his hands to his chest, clutching at the tight ache in his heart. “Saanvi is the right person for me, Dad… but this time, I became the wrong person.” He sighs, “I always thought Mahir and Shaurya were the third person in my life, the ones who came between me and what I wanted. But now I see it clearly, I’m the third person. Even in my story, I was always the third person.”

“Rudra.” Abhiraj reaches for his hands, grounding him.

He leans back slowly, his body draining of energy, “I just wanted to know what it’s like to be loved by her. To be chosen, every day, to be the one she prioritizes, to be the one who makes her smile without asking. To be the one she runs to when nothing else matters. To feel her arms around me and believe, even for a moment, that I was the only man she ever wanted.” He exhales, looking up at the stars with a small, tight lipped smile, “Maybe in another life, I’ll get to experience that.”

Abhiraj watches him, he sees his son laid bare in a way he rarely allows anyone to see. He had always hoped Rudra would learn to love himself first, but now he sees how raw and vulnerable he really is. The old wounds, the ones he thought had healed, are still there.

“Dad,” Rudra calls softly, pulling him from his thoughts. “You and Mom… you treat her like your own. You’ll keep protecting her, right?”

Abhiraj feels a twist in his chest at the question. “Why are you saying this? Rudra, if you’re even thinking about hurting yourself—”

Rudra shakes his head, “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t hurt myself, don’t worry. Your son is stronger than that. What I meant is… if Saanvi and I part ways, it will only be the two of us breaking apart. For you and Mom, she’ll still be family. She’ll still be your daughter, no matter what happens between me and her so don’t ever stop being her father.”

Abhiraj sighs, “And I’m your father too, Rudra. I’m not leaving you alone in this.”

He looks at him, the corner of his mouth pulling in the smallest, weary attempt at a smile. “I know. And I’m grateful for that. You’ve always been the one I could speak to without feeling judged. You just listened, even when what I said didn’t make sense to anyone else.”

Abhiraj pulls him into a hug, “Everything will be alright, Rudra. You’re not carrying this by yourself. We’re with you.”

Rudra nods against him. He blinks, but his tears blur the lights in front of him until nothing is clear.

“Promise me,” Abhiraj murmurs, his hand tightening slightly on Rudra's back. “Promise you won’t take any wrong step.”

Rudra closes his eyes, his lashes damp as the tears slip free. He leans into his father’s hold, his fingers curling weakly into Abhiraj’s sleeve like a child searching for an anchor. “I promise.”

But what Abhiraj doesn’t know is that, some promises are held not to be fulfilled, but because they’re the last ones destined to break and the cruelest part is knowing you can’t hold the person accountable anymore, because how do you accuse someone of breaking that promise when they no longer exist to hear you?

✿✿✿✿✿

“Ma’am?”

Saanvi blinks out of her thoughts and turns to see Naina watching her.

“Yeah?” she answers, her gaze drifting back down the hospital hallway where nurses and visitors move in and out of the wards.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look okay,”

Saanvi exhales, lowering her eyes to the file resting in her lap. Her fingers trace its corner. “Are you happy, Naina?” she asks then lifts her head to meet her eyes. “Happy that you gave Vedant a chance?”

A soft smile spreads over Naina’s face before she even answers. “A lot, ma’am.” She looks ahead, “Now that we’re dating, I look at him and I know it was worth it. He’s trying so hard, and I can feel myself falling for him more every day. The way he tucks my hair behind my ear, how he always keeps a rubber band on his wrist and even a clutcher in his pocket for me, it’s silly but it matters. Sometimes he asks me, ‘I’m doing good, right? If I do something wrong, tell me and I’ll work on it.’ Those little things… they make me want to marry him.” Her cheeks flush as she speaks.

Saanvi presses her nails into her palm, unease curling through her. The thought rises before she can push it away, if she had given Rudra that chance, if she had let herself believe in something between them, would they have been like Naina and Vedant now? Or is it already too late to wonder?

Her eyes lift almost unconsciously, and she sees him. Rudra standing near the OPD, speaking to a woman, another doctor. What stops her is the curve of his mouth. He isn’t laughing, not even smiling broadly, but the small curve of his mouth aimed at someone hurts deeper than she expects.

“…and I was so scared when I heard about the hospital siege a few days ago,” Naina continues beside her. “I was out with Vedant when he found out and—”

But Saanvi doesn’t hear the rest. Her eyes are fixed on Rudra, her vision blurring as tears prick and gather. The ache in her chest arrives suddenly, sharp enough to make her clutch at it.

Has he fallen out of love with me? The thought claws its way through her mind.

She rises to her feet, the file slips slightly under her arm, and walks away without a word. Naina frowns after her, confusion clouding her expression as she watches Saanvi disappear down the hall.

SAANVI'S POV

“Ma’am, Mr. Singhania is asking for you.”

My hand freezes. I look up at Naina, then set my pen down on the file and push my chair back. My legs move before I even think, carrying me out of my cabin and down the hall toward his office. Relief rushes through me. It’s been almost two weeks since he last spoke to me. Two weeks of being invisible to him. He ignored me in meetings, avoided me in hallways and shut me out completely. Not once has he called me Pearl. I never thought I’d crave that word, but here I am, pathetic enough to beg for it silently inside my head.

I knock on his door and step in. He’s at his desk, eyes on his iPad. He doesn’t look up, doesn’t greet me with that smile or smirk, he always used to give me even when I rolled my eyes or snapped at him. The absence of it hurts, a lot.

“You asked for me,” I say, stopping in front of his desk.

“Yes, Dr. Malhotra,” he replies flatly, still focused on the screen.

“Dr. Malhotra?” I cut in, frowning.

The words sting. Dr. Malhotra? I blink at him, disbelieving. Even when I asked him to be professional in the beginning, he never was. Not even when we first met, I had snapped at him back then, insisting he call me Dr. Malhotra but he never did. He would only ever say doctor playfully, or pearl, always with a trace of love.

He finally lifts his eyes, but his expression doesn’t change. “I’m MD here. That’s how I should address my employees.”

The calmness in his voice only fuels my anger. I circle his desk and slam my palm down on the wood. “What the hell is your problem, Rudra? You’ve been ignoring me for weeks. And then I see you smiling with that woman earlier, like it costs you nothing, while you can’t even look at me. What is that supposed to mean? And stop calling me Dr. Malhotra. I’m married, it’s Singhania.”

He pushes his chair back and stands. “You are going back to being Dr. Malhotra.”

I blink at him, confused. Before I can say anything, he reaches for an envelope on his desk. He pulls out a set of papers and hands them to me. I take them, and when I see the bold heading, my vision blurs. Divorce papers? My eyes snap up to his face in shock. 

“I’ve already signed them, all that’s left is your signature so the filing can move forward. That’s the only reason I called you here. You may leave now, Dr. Malhotra.”

My legs feel rooted to the floor. My eyes sting as I stare at the papers, then back at him. “Are you giving up on me?” I manage to ask. The thing I feared most is finally here, and I’m living it.

“I’m giving up,” he says. “Not on loving you, I’ll love you until my last breath. I’m giving up on the thought of ever having you beside me, because it's not possible. I’ve accepted it. And I’m letting you go. I don’t want to cage you anymore. I know exactly what I am, the monster you named me. You were right.”

For months, I begged for this distance, for him to stop clinging, for him to surrender the idea of us, I wanted him to let me go, to release me from the grip of what I thought was obsession. And now, as he hands it to me without a fight, it feels nothing like relief. It feels like punishment, it feels like the very air has been pulled out of my lungs. I thought I wanted freedom but freedom tastes like ashes when it comes this way.

"On my first day here… when you treated my palm," he continues, "You promised to break my illusion of having you back. You kept that promise. You broke it completely."

Tears sting, blurring my sight until all I can make out is the outline of him. What kind of cruelty is it, to wound the very hand that reached out to hold you? He deserved a chance, at the very least, he deserved my honesty. But I built walls instead and convinced myself I was safer behind them. Maybe I was. But he was left outside in the storm.

“You’re not my home anymore, Dr. Malhotra. And my redemption ends here with me letting you go. I won’t come for you again. I just hope life gives you the peace and happiness I could never give. That’s all I’ll ever want for you.”

“Stop!” I scream, I’m sure I’m only a breath away from another panic attack. My chest tightens, begging for him, for the safety of his arms. He always knew, he always came without me asking, but this time… he just stands there, no hug, no comfort, nothing.

His eyes meet mine and then he takes a half step closer. His hand rises slowly to reach me but it stops mid air near my cheek. He swallows, pulls his hand back and exhales a long breath. "Don’t cry."

That should have been mercy, but it feels like cruelty. He isn’t holding me, he isn’t wiping my tears. And it is the absence of him, the absence of what he always was, that makes me break. I clamp my lips shut, trying to hold myself together, but it hurts like being skinned alive.

"I’m not mocking you. This is your choice, and if your heart says this is where it ends, then I’ll stand by it. You don’t owe me a fight, you don’t owe me a reason. You only owe yourself peace, and if peace means walking away from me, then I won’t chain you to what hurts you. But remember this, loving you was never a mistake for me. Maybe one day you’ll understand, I’m leaving not because I stopped loving you… but because I love you enough to step back.” he says softly and my fists curl around the divorce papers.

And then he walks past me, just like that. A man who once felt like the pulse in my veins, leaving me as though I am air he no longer needs to breathe. My knees weaken, and I clutch the desk.

I can’t live without him. I love him with a desperation that terrifies me. He has always been the gravity that held me to the earth, and without him, I am only drifting dust. The realization pierces me, but it comes too late.

Why did I push him so far away? Why did I not give him the chance to love me in the way he always wanted? I built walls in the name of pride, of fear, of logic. I told myself I was protecting myself. But all I did was strangle the very thing that could have saved me. I thought I was strong for shutting him out, but strength without love is only loneliness disguised. I regret every silence, every harsh word, every time I choose distance over trust. I regret not seeing the way his patience was a language of devotion.

The cruelest irony is that I finally understand him in the moment I lose him. His absence is a mirror, showing me how I mistook his love for a burden when it was the only shelter I ever had. And what does a person do when they destroy their own refuge?

I think of him as a harbor I refused to anchor in, always afraid of being tied down. And now the storm has hit, and I have nowhere to dock.

✿✿✿✿✿

| NEXT  DAY |

I sat curled on the edge of my bed, knees pulled tight to my chest as I stare out at the moon through the window. My grip around my legs stiffens. The sudden ring of my phone breaks through my thoughts and I glance down and see Kabir’s name flashing across the screen.

“Doctor? Is Rudra with you?”

I frown, “No. Isn’t he at the residence?”

A heavy sigh comes through the line. “I don’t know where the fuck this bastard disappeared. He isn’t picking up his phone either.”

“He didn’t come to the hospital today either. Wasn’t he with you all?” I stand without realizing, the unease pulling me up from the bed.

“No. He wasn’t with us. He hasn’t answered since morning. Avyaan and I both tried, then we came to the residence, but he’s not here either. So I thought maybe he was with you. Never mind.”

Before I can say more, the call ends. I stare at the blank screen. Where is he? I dial Rudra’s number, it rings and rings, but he doesn’t pick up. I type out a quick message, hoping he’ll reply, but nothing.

My eyes flick to the clock on the wall. 10:45 p.m. Maa and OG are still at the office and won’t be back for a while. I let out a long breath, frustration and worry coiling together in my chest. Khalid’s already off duty for the night but I can’t just sit here waiting. I need to see him.

Clutching my phone in one hand and my car keys in the other, I step out of my room.

-------------------

While driving, I call Kabir.

“Did you find him?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the road.

“No. Checked almost everywhere he might have gone but couldn’t find him.”

I exhale and change the gear. “I’ll check near the highway, that’s close to the residence. Maybe he’ll be there.”

“No, you’re not going out. Stay at the mansion, Doctor. It’s not safe for you—”

“I’m already on my way, Kabir,” I cut him off before he can finish.

“Fuck!” he curses. “Your husband will kill me if something happens to you. God, you both, husband and wife are pain in the ass.”

“Stop talking nonsense and focus on finding him,”

“Fine, but send me your live location for safety,” he mutters.

“Alright.” I hang up, send him my location, and keep driving toward the highway.

It takes me almost an hour to reach the highway. The road is deserted, swallowed in darkness, not even the streetlights are working, just darkness pressing in from both sides.

My phone rings again, lighting up the car screen with Dhruv’s name.

“Dhruv, I’m a little busy. I’ll talk to you later,” I answer, eyes fixed on the road.

“Are you alright?” he asks,

“Yeah, I’m okay. But Rudra isn’t at the residence. He’s not even picking up his calls. I have to find him, and I’m driving, so I’ll just talk to you later.”

“You’re out at night?” His voice rises. “Di, what the hell? It’s dangerous. You need to go back home.”

“I’m hanging up,” I mutter, my hand already moving toward the screen.

“No! Wait!” Dhruv snaps quickly. “Fine, just send me your location. I’ll help you too. I can’t leave you out there alone.”

“Dhruv, there’s no need—”

“Just send me your location.” His voice leaves no room for argument before the line goes dead.

I pull over with a sigh, drop him my location, and toss the phone aside. My head tips back against the seat. A strange unease creeps over me, my forehead dampening with sweat, my stomach twisting so hard it feels like it’s folding in on itself. Maybe it’s just overthinking, but something inside me won’t quiet down.

Shaking my head, I shove the phone into my pocket and step out of the car for air. Leaning back against the hood, I close my eyes and press a hand to my chest, forcing myself to breathe slowly.

When I open them again, I see a figure standing a little ahead, leaning against a tree at the side of the road. I hadn’t noticed him before. My brows knit. I take some cautious steps forward. The moonlight slips across his face, faint but enough and my heart lurches into my throat. “Rudra?”

His head lifts at the sound of my voice, his movements sluggish. Relief floods me so suddenly it’s almost anger. I start walking faster toward him. “Are you out of your mind? Where the hell did you disappear to? Do you even realize—”

I stop dead. The words die in my mouth as I see him clearly. Blood streaks down his temple, cuts across his forehead, dried and fresh. My breath falters. “Rudra…”

He pushes himself off the tree, staggering, swaying like the ground is unsteady beneath him.

“Rudra, what happened to you—” Before I can finish, he stumbles forward and collapses into me. His arms lock tight around me, his full weight knocking me backward until we both hit the road but I barely feel the pain because his hand cradled the back of my head, shielding me from the ground, his other arm wrapped at my waist desperately.

“Rudra!” My voice cracks, panic rises sharply in my chest. I instinctively hold him, my hands moving across his back to steady him. That’s when I feel it, wetness soaking through his shirt.

Confused, I bring my hand closer to my face and my stomach drops because my fingers are coated in blood.

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