The study door closed behind Veer.

Silence settled over the room.

Arnav stood motionless before the floor-to-ceiling window, one hand tucked into his pocket.

His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the garden below.

Avni...

She was sitting beside Dadi on the garden swing, helping her separate fresh jasmine flowers.

Every now and then...

She laughed.

A light...

Carefree laugh.

The kind that echoed through the silent mansion.

His brows furrowed.

"She laughs so easily..."

"As if the world has never hurt her."

For a brief second...

His eyes lingered on her.

Then he looked away.

"It doesn't matter."

"She'll leave too."

His phone vibrated.

The screen displayed—

Unknown Number.

He answered immediately.

"Haan."

A familiar voice came from the other side.

"Sir..."

"We found another update."

Arnav's expression turned unreadable.

"Kis baare mein?"

"Mrs. Kavya Rajvanshi."

Silence.

His fingers tightened around the phone.

"Speak."

"She shifted to another city six months ago."

"She still lives with her second husband."

"They travel frequently."

"There are no financial issues."

Another pause.

Then the man added carefully,

"And..."

"She never once asked about Mr. Raghav..."

"...or about you."

For a long moment...

Arnav said nothing.

His face showed no emotion.

Only his eyes turned colder.

"I expected nothing else."

The call disconnected.

He slowly placed the phone on the table.

Without realizing...

His mind had already travelled years back.

---

Years Ago...

Rajvanshi Mansion...

Looked very different then.

The house wasn't silent.

It echoed with arguments.

Employees came every day asking for unpaid salaries.

Banks called endlessly.

Creditors stood outside the gates.

Inside the study...

Raghav Rajvanshi sat with both hands covering his face.

Business files lay scattered across the table.

His voice sounded exhausted.

"Kavya..."

"Bas thoda sa waqt aur."

"Main sab theek kar dunga."

A cold laugh echoed inside the room.

"No."

"I've waited enough."

Young Arnav...

Barely eighteen...

Stood outside the half-open door.

Hidden from their sight.

His mother's voice continued,

"Main apni zindagi barbaad nahi kar sakti."

She placed divorce papers before Raghav.

"I want a divorce."

Raghav looked at her in disbelief.

"Kya...?"

"Ab?"

"Jab sabse zyada tumhari zarurat hai?"

She looked away.

"Exactly."

"Isi liye."

"I don't want to sink with a drowning ship."

Each word pierced deeper than the last.

Raghav whispered,

"Kavya..."

"Ek baar Arnav ke baare mein toh socho."

For the first time...

She smiled.

Not warmly.

Coldly.

"He'll survive."

"And so will you."

She picked up her handbag.

Along with the jewellery.

The property documents in her name.

Everything she legally could.

Raghav stood up helplessly.

"Kavya..."

"Please..."

"Yeh paisa company bachane ke liye chahiye."

She didn't even turn around.

"Not my problem anymore."

The sound of her heels echoed through the hallway.

Young Arnav stood frozen.

He waited.

Just once...

For her to look back.

To hug him.

To say—

"I'll come back."

But she didn't.

She walked past him...

As though he wasn't even there.

The mansion door closed.

And with it...

Something inside eighteen-year-old Arnav broke forever.

---

Present

Arnav slowly opened his eyes.

The memory disappeared.

The pain didn't.

He looked toward the garden once again.

Avni was now helping the old gardener carry flower pots.

Despite the gardener refusing repeatedly...

She insisted with a smile.

"Nahi Kaka..."

"Dadi daantengi agar aap itna heavy uthayenge."

The old man laughed.

"Theek hai Choti Malikain."

She smiled innocently.

Without pride.

Without arrogance.

As though caring for everyone came naturally.

Arnav watched silently.

"Why?"

"Why is she like this?"

Every woman he had known...

Wanted something.

Money.

Status.

Power.

But Avni...

She thanked servants.

Touched elders' feet.

Cooked for everyone before herself.

She expected nothing.

His jaw clenched.

"No..."

"Don't be fooled again."

"People don't change."

"She's no different."

"The day she remembers everything..."

"She'll leave this house."

"Just like..."

He stopped himself.

His eyes hardened.

---

Meanwhile...

Downstairs...

Revati sat knitting quietly.

Avni walked in carrying a tray of fresh fruit.

"Dadi..."

"Uncle ko fruits de diye."

Revati smiled.

"Aur tumne?"

Avni shook her head.

"Nahi..."

"Pehle sab kha lenge."

"Phir main."

Revati gently held her wrist.

"Nahi."

"Pehle tum."

Avni smiled shyly.

"Main baad mein kha lungi."

After a brief silence...

She looked upstairs.

"Dadi..."

"Hmm?"

"Mr. Rajvanshi..."

"Office mein lunch karte honge na?"

Revati noticed the concern in her eyes.

"Pata nahi beta."

Avni lowered her gaze.

"Subah bhi kam khaya tha unhone..."

"I hope time se khana kha lete honge."

Revati simply smiled.

Without saying a word.

---

Back inside the study...

Arnav's eyes fell upon the empty lunchbox lying on his desk.

He remembered opening it during lunch.

Without noticing...

He had finished every bite.

Slowly...

He picked it up again.

His fingers traced its lid absentmindedly.

A strange thought crossed his mind.

"If she's pretending..."

"Why does none of it feel fake?"

He frowned immediately.

"No."

"I won't make the same mistake twice."

He placed the lunchbox back.

A little harder than necessary.

As if trying to silence his own thoughts.

---

Outside the study...

Veer had returned to collect a forgotten file.

Just as he reached the door...

He heard Arnav's voice from inside.

Low.

Almost emotionless.

> "I don't trust women."

Silence followed.

Veer closed his eyes for a moment.

A faint smile touched his lips.

Not because he agreed...

But because he finally understood.

Softly, almost to himself, he murmured,

> "Bade Bhai..."

> "Ek aurat ne aapka bharosa toda tha..."

> "Lekin shayad..."

> "Ek aurat hi usse wapas bhi laayegi."

Without knocking...

He quietly walked away.

Inside the study...

Arnav remained unaware that the walls he had spent years building around his heart...

Were beginning to crack.

Very slowly.

Because of a girl...

Who couldn't even remember his name...

Yet somehow...

Remembered to care for him every single day.

— End of Chapter 12 —