1 AM…
City Hospital…
Aditya was parking his car in the dimly lit parking area, while Saaniya hurried inside the hospital, her heart pounding with worry and frustration.
As she passed the reception counter, her eyes landed on Aniket. For Aniket, it was like a storm had just walked in uninvited — trouble personified.
He turned around sharply—and there she was, standing just a few feet away, her eyes blazing with anger and hurt.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Aniket muttered bitterly, “Are you some kind of lost spirit? Why do you always appear at the worst times?”
Saaniya rolled her eyes in exasperation, grabbed his wrist firmly, and dragged him toward a quiet corner, her voice trembling with rage and pain, “I’ll show you exactly who I am!”
She led him toward the garden outside, while on the other side, Aditya stepped inside the hospital, searching frantically for Saaniya. When she was nowhere in sight, he headed straight to the room Aniket had told him about.
As Aditya reached the door, the soft sound of a child’s laughter wrapped around him like a warm embrace. His breath caught in his throat as he saw her—Anamika—her face lit with a tender smile as she played gently with a small boy.
The boy, no older than eight, had faint bruises and scratches on his arms and legs. Beside him, his relieved parents sat, eyes glistening with gratitude.
This little child was the reason both Aniket and Anamika were in the hospital.
Aditya stood frozen, drinking in the sight of Anamika’s smile, while somewhere else his best friend was battling an emotional storm.
Saaniya’s voice suddenly broke the silence—sharp, furious. “If you were taking her, why didn’t you tell me? How could you have the nerve to take her without even telling me?”
Aniket ignored her outburst and said calmly, “Anamika wanted to help that child. It made her feel good, and honestly, so did I.”
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Saaniya’s eyes flashed with anger. “I asked you a question! How dare you take her without telling me?!”
Aniket shrugged and a cold edge entered his voice. “Look… that child was lost and scared. The parents were overjoyed to find him again. I didn’t want to disturb their happiness, so I paid the bills myself. Besides, the room had to be cleared for other patients.”
Saaniya stepped forward, hands on hips, fire burning in her eyes. “Answer me properly, idiot!”
Aniket shot her a glance, noting the fierce blush of anger coloring her cheeks, then turned away with a sneer. “Who do you think you are? I don’t owe you any explanations. If Anamika wanted to meet Aditya, I’d take her. End of the story.”
Something inside Saaniya snapped. She grabbed his wrist tightly to stop him. But Aniket jerked his hand free with a sharp flick.
Their eyes locked, and Aniket rolled up his sleeve, revealing fresh bandages wrapped around his wrist—wounds earned while saving that frightened child.
Aditya had told Saaniya how their car broke down on the way, and when Aniket stepped out to check, he found the child alone on the road, a speeding car bearing down. He had risked himself to save the boy, getting injured in the process. That’s why Anamika had rushed them both here.
But none of this mattered to Saaniya. Her fury was rooted in something deeper—because Aniket had taken Anamika to meet Aditya without her knowing. And what stung even more was that Anamika hadn’t told her either.
This anger wasn’t just about secrecy; it was a raw, aching fear—the fear of losing her friend, losing her place in the fragile world they shared.
Yet Aniket only saw it as wounded pride, a refusal to accept Anamika’s independence.
His bottled-up anger exploded. Grabbing both of Saaniya’s hands firmly, he hissed, “What? Your ego’s bruised? You’re upset because your puppet was about to act on her own, without asking your permission? Tell me—what right do you think you have over her? Honestly, you’re the reason she’s scared! You’re not even worthy of being her friend!”
Those harsh words reverberated in Saaniya’s ears, flashing through her mind as cruel faces of rejection and disdain.
The same exact look Aniket was giving her now.
Without hesitation, she tore her hands free, breathing hard and fast, but looking straight into his eyes, her voice low but fierce: “People like you will never understand me. You’re right—I’m not worthy of anyone’s friendship. That’s why I’ve never let anyone in. And Anamika isn’t my friend either.”
Aniket stared at her, disbelief and hurt warring in his eyes. “You’ve truly lost it.”
She said nothing more, only turned and walked away—her silence louder than any argument.
That silence haunted Aniket, stirring an unfamiliar ache of regret deep inside him.
Within that quiet moment were hidden secrets he tried to decipher but couldn’t.
On one side, a love story was just beginning—because Anamika had told Aditya that she would continue working with him under this contract. But on the other side, the relationship between Aniket and Saaniya was moving forward on a path no one could predict.
It wasn’t love, yet it wasn’t hate either.
Aniket did all this to complete his friend’s story, but in the process, he showed Saaniya the most terrifying truth of her life—
Saaniya, who had become a selfish girl in the eyes of the world just to give Anamika happiness, was now realizing, for the first time because of Aniket, that her care for Anamika was nothing but a cage.
So, who is really at fault here?
What will be the end of this?
Will Aniket ever understand the meaning behind Saaniya’s silence?
And will Anamika ever be able to erase this deep fear hidden inside her friend’s heart?
And yet, there is one more question worth pondering—how will Aditya manage all of this?
How will he give wings to Anamika’s dreams, and how will he make his friend Aniket understand that love isn’t something to possess… it’s something to feel?
Will he be able to make Aniket realize that because of him, he is hurting others?
