1:00 AM…
Inside the hospital…
The moment Aniket stepped out of the car, he sprinted inside the hospital. Rivan followed right behind him.
Aditya parked the car and walked in a few seconds later.
He spotted Aniket and Rivan heading towards the elevator, so he went in the same direction.
As they approached the operation theatre, Aniket’s footsteps slowed down.
The light above the OT was still glowing — which meant the surgery was still in progress.
Meanwhile, Rivan walked towards Ruhi, who was sitting on a bench near the OT.
Her clothes were stained with blood.
Aditya reached her quickly, just in time to hear her trembling voice:
“Anamika had left her phone in my car, so I was going to her place to return it.
But on the road outside her house — there was a truck blocking the entire way.
The road is narrow, but it's the one most people use to get there.
When I went closer to check the driver, I saw… Saaniya. And a shadow — someone walking away.
He was already far away, and catching him felt like a waste of time because Saaniya was bleeding badly.
I called Rudra immediately. We brought her here as fast as we could. Rudra is the one handling her surgery.”
Rivan immediately asked, “So this is a hit-and-run case?! Did the police… Did the police come?”
Ruhi nodded. “Yes… they are trying to catch the driver.”
Aditya looked around quickly and asked, “Where is Anamika?!”
Ruhi lowered her eyes.
“Her phone is with me, so I couldn’t call her. BAnd everything happened so fast… I couldn’t go to her place to tell her either. She probably doesn’t even know about this yet.”
Aditya’s jaw tightened.
“If Saaniya still hasn’t reached home… she must be getting worried.
And if she finds out—”
He stopped, because he already knew— Anamika might not handle this at all.
He turned back to look at Aniket— and froze.
Aniket stood completely still, like a statue.
His breathing shallow.
His trembling hands like a leaf in the wind.
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Fear. Pain. Helpless worry — all in his eyes at once.
Aditya had never seen him like this before.
He stepped closer, and Aniket whispered only one question — “She told me nothing could ever happen to her… Adi, was that a lie too?”
Aditya placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“If she said nothing can happen to her, then nothing will. Rudra will save her.”
Aditya helped him sit on a bench.
Then he drew Rivan aside and spoke in a low voice—
“I think I need to stay here. But we can’t leave Anamika alone either.
Take Ira with you — go to her house, check the situation.
Once Saaniya’s surgery is successful, I’ll call you.
Then you bring Anamika here.
We’ll tell her about the accident ourselves.”
Rivan replied, “It will be very difficult to tell her!”
Hearing this, Aditya looked down, staying silent.
He thought of Anamika — her smile, her tears.
Every moment returned to him.
"How will she react?"
Rivan left, and moments later Ruhi walked up to Aditya.
“I thought you’d send me to Anamika.”
Aditya shook his head.
“Not now. If you show up suddenly, she’ll suspect something’s wrong.
But Ira? She acts on her own — Anamika knows that. If Ira and Rivan go, it will look normal.”
Ruhi nodded quietly.
“You should change. Those blood stains look bad. Go home, we are here.” Aditya said.
She hesitated, glancing at Aniket.
Aditya’s voice softened— “I said don’t worry. I’m here.”
Ruhi gave a faint smile. “Alright.”
After she left, Aditya sat beside Aniket.
No words were spoken — yet silence carried warmth, fear, hope… all together.
By the time Ruhi returned, the surgery had ended.
Just as she was about to call Aditya for the room number, someone tapped her shoulder twice.
A familiar voice— “Lost your way, sweetheart?”
Ruhi turned. Rudra stood behind her — smiling faintly.
She stepped forward urgently.
“Saaniya? How is she?”
Rudra gently held her hand and led her down the corridor.
“She’s stable. But…”
He stopped at a door.
Inside — Saaniya lay unconscious on the hospital bed.
Beside her — Aniket sat quietly, eyes fixed on her face.
Aditya wasn’t there; he had gone to buy medicines.
Rudra spoke with a serious calmness— “She’s out of danger.
But I can’t say when she’ll regain consciousness.”
Ruhi smiled softly. “She will wake up soon… I believe that.”
Rudra’s voice grew quiet — but firm.
“Stay with her.”
Ruhi looked at him carefully.
His eyes were fixed on Saaniya — intense, protective.
“I’m going to the police station. I want to know if they found the driver. I want that bastard caught — the one who did this to her.”
Ruhi asked softly, “You care about Saaniya a lot, right?
You really worry for her?”
Rudra understood the faint sadness in her voice.
He looked at her and said, “We either love too much or hate too much the ones who are like us!
Saaniya is like me… or maybe I’m like her.
Our world is very small — and we are in it for each other.
If someone hurts her, it’s my responsibility to punish him.”
Ruhi forced a tiny smile, though something inside her hurt.
She lowered her gaze — until Rudra gently placed his hand on her forehead, leaning a little closer.
His voice turned strangely tender— “You aren’t like us.
(smiles softly) And that’s exactly why we care for you.
I want to protect you. Always.”
Ruhi’s breath caught — and she looked up at him, eyes wide and unsure.
Rudra stepped back and walked away.
But inside his mind, another voice echoed— “Will you want my protection?
Or will you run from me like my father did… once you learn the truth about me?”
A woman’s voice resurfaced in his memory— “The world calls us monsters.
You are like me… and I like you.
The one person who was the sun of our life left us — because they learned the truth.
The truth can’t be changed. So hide it… always, so you can save yourself from the judgment of the ones you love.”
Rudra stared at his own hand — fingers curling slowly into a fist.
“Will you leave me too, Ruhi, just like my father did…? Or will you still be my sunlight?”
He exhaled sharply — and walked out straight toward the police station.
On the other side of the corridor, Aditya was heading to Saaniya’s room when his phone rang — Rivan.
Before Rivan could speak, a trembling voice burst through the call—
“Bhai… the delicate flower is missing!”
Aditya froze.
“What?”
Rivan took the phone back from Ira.
“Big bro… something’s wrong.
Anamika is not home. And the house… it looks terrible. Come fast!”
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