At the hospital…
Aniket stood at the hospital gate. He looked exactly like a guy waiting for his girlfriend!
Saaniya and Rudra stepped outside together. Saaniya’s reaction was unclear, but Rudra definitely noticed him. As soon as Aniket spotted Saaniya, he ducked and hid — which made Rudra stop and signal Saaniya to do the same.
Before Saaniya could say anything, Rudra leaned in and whispered, “ do you also see aniket there… hiding near the gate!?”
Saaniya looked closely and saw Aniket sitting near the watchman’s seat, face buried in his arms. With a deep sigh, she said, “Now what’s wrong with this idiot?!”
She started walking toward him, but Rudra grabbed her hand and tried to lead her toward the parking lot.
“What the hell are you doing, Mr. Malhotra?! Let go of my hand!” she snapped.
“Wait! Just look back, quietly… is he following us?”
Saaniya subtly glanced over her shoulder — and sure enough, Aniket was stealthily following them, trying his best to remain unseen.
“He is! He’s actually following us!” she whispered.
In a serious tone, Rudra asked, “Tell me… do you like Aniket?”
Saaniya stopped in her tracks, yanked her hand away, and said, “Love…? Just ask that directly! And listen carefully… Love. Friendship. Concern. Empathy. Humanity. I don’t have any of these emotions! I’m not made for them. And that weirdo isn’t following me around for love either! I kind of know why he’s really after me!”
Without turning around, she said loudly, “Aniket! Come out right now. I know what happened last night! You and Aditya are both irresponsible! And that’s why I—”
Before she could finish, Aniket popped out from behind and shouted, “Wait! Please don’t make any decision out of anger! I know Aditya was careless this time, but believe me… Anamika just had a little bit to drink! She’s fine now! Probably even reached home by now!”
Rudra looked at him and said, ““Uh… Aniket, Saaniya didn’t know anything. Until now!”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Aniket stopped in his tracks. “What?! Are you serious?!”
Saaniya didn’t say a word. She just dialed Anamika’s number. Her jaw was tight, her fists clenched. If she heard even one wrong word from Anamika right now, she might have actually strangled Aniket on the spot.
On the other end, Anamika picked up the call with a smile and said, “Saaniya! How are you? Did you leave yet?”
With a blank tone, Saaniya asked, “Did you really drink last night? Tell me honestly… Did Aditya force you? Did he hurt you?!”
Aniket tried to interrupt, but one terrifying glare from Saaniya was enough to shut him up. He mumbled under his breath, “Ugh… why does this witch always look at me like she’s gonna eat me alive?!”
Meanwhile, Anamika, upon hearing the question, burst into tears. And what she said next, through her sobs, made Saaniya’s expression soften and her gaze drop.
She hung up and said quietly, “Alright! Stop crying. I’m coming over right now!”
Hearing that, Aniket blinked, confused. “Wait… why is Anamika crying??”
Saaniya shot him one last look, then walked off and got into her car without another word.
Aniket stood there puzzled, but Rudra looked even more confused.
He walked up to Aniket, put a hand on his shoulder, gave him a fake smile and asked in a sarcastic voice, “ Okay. So tell me—what did your beloved best friend really do to Saaniya’s friend?”
Aniket gave him a side-eye, shrugged off his hand, and said, “Oh shut up, man! Stop watching those old melodramatic movies! My friend isn’t the kind of guy who’d take advantage of a drunk girl! And as for Anamika drinking — that was more her fault than his! My friend wasn’t even there at that time! And Anamika… she can’t even tell the difference between juice and alcohol! If someone else’s order lands on her table, she won’t even realize it’s not hers! I don’t know how my stupid friend even fell for her!”
Rudra blinked and said, “Ohhh! So it was an accidental drink swap! My bad, man. I totally misunderstood your friend. But… where do you think Saaniya went now?”
Aniket looked toward the road where her car had vanished. “Where else? Obviously to her friend’s place! But I really wanna know… what did Anamika say to her? And why was she crying? I just hope this doesn’t turn into another mess for Aditya…”
One hour later…At the office…
Ruhi had already reached the office. She walked straight to Aditya’s cabin — but he wasn’t there yet.
She then checked Anamika’s room — also empty.
She frowned and murmured, “It’s been over an hour since they dropped me home… where are they?”
Her mind wandered back to what she saw at Aditya’s house… a smile formed on her lips — but tears welled up in her eyes.
Looking up at the ceiling, she said, “Dear God… why do You keep playing such cruel jokes on me? I only ever prayed for one thing all these years — to see love in Aditya sir’s eyes. And today, I saw it… but it wasn’t for me! Why… why does it always happen like this with me?! Why do I never become someone’s need?”
Flashbacks from her childhood started playing in her mind.
How her father always overlooked her and loved her brother instead.
How, when she started school, her classmates only befriended her for their own benefit, and once they were done — they dumped her like she never existed.
How, in college, when a professor asked her to write a speech for the college, she was thrilled, thinking she’d finally be seen and heard… but her heart shattered when he gave her speech to someone else to present.
She had started to believe that all of this happened because she wasn’t beautiful enough… wasn’t confident enough to speak well back then.
So, she changed.
She changed everything — her looks, her voice, her way of presenting herself.
She had transformed so much that she didn’t even remember who the real Ruhi was anymore.
But when she started working with Aditya, everything felt different.
The way he appreciated even her smallest efforts… noticed the tiniest things she did… it meant the world to her.
For the first time, she felt seen.
For the first time, she felt understood.
And she mistook that feeling… for love.
She fell for Aditya with all her heart.
But today, even that hope was taken away from her.
When the whole world ignores you, life becomes unbearable.
And in those moments, a tiny hope is what keeps you going — just like it had kept Ruhi going.
But now… what hope is left?
And one more question remains…
What exactly did Anamika say to Saaniya?
And where are Aditya and Anamika now? Why haven’t they reached the office yet?
