The evening after the incident...

Rajvanshi Empire looked no different.

Employees hurried through the lobby with files in hand.

Meetings began on time.

The canteen was already filled with the aroma of fresh food.

Everything seemed normal.

Except...

The Chairman's office.

---

Chairman's Office

The atmosphere inside the cabin was suffocating.

The young executive stood before Arnav's desk, his palms damp with sweat.

He kept his eyes lowered.

Across from him...

Arnav Rajvanshi sat in absolute silence.

His expression revealed nothing.

After nearly a minute...

He finally spoke.

"Yesterday..."

"When you approached Chef Avni..."

"Did she encourage you?"

The employee immediately shook his head.

"No, Sir."

"She was actually refusing me."

"I interrupted her."

"She had just started saying..."

"...that she was married."

The room fell silent again.

For a fleeting second...

The image of Avni lowering her eyes flashed through Arnav's mind.

"I was going to tell him... that I'm married."

His jaw tightened.

Without looking at the employee again, he said,

> "Rajvanshi Empire pays its employees to work."

> "Not to turn the workplace into a dating ground."

The words were calm.

But they landed like a verdict.

"I won't repeat myself."

"The next time your personal interests interfere with your professional responsibilities..."

"...consider your resignation accepted."

The young man nodded repeatedly.

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"It won't happen again."

"You may leave."

The employee almost rushed out of the cabin.

The moment the door closed...

Silence returned.

---

A few minutes later...

Veer entered without knocking.

He leaned casually against the table.

"So..."

"The poor guy survived."

Arnav continued reading the file before him.

"He deserved a warning."

Veer folded his arms.

"And Bhabhi?"

Arnav's pen stopped.

Only for a heartbeat.

Veer noticed.

"You owe her one too."

Arnav slowly looked up.

"What?"

"A warning?"

Veer smiled faintly.

"No."

"An apology."

Arnav's gaze turned cold.

"I have nothing to apologise for."

Veer sighed.

"Maybe."

"But she certainly thinks she did something wrong."

For the first time...

Arnav had no reply.

Veer quietly picked up another file.

"I'll see you in the board meeting."

As the door closed behind him...

The office felt strangely empty.

---

Rajvanshi Mansion

The family gathered around the dining table.

Avni served everyone as usual.

"Uncle..."

"A little more dal?"

Raghav smiled.

"Bas beta."

She looked towards Revati.

"Dadi..."

"Roti garam hai."

Revati lovingly patted her hand.

"Tu bhi baith ja."

"I'll eat in a minute."

She finally reached Arnav.

Without meeting his eyes...

She placed his plate before him.

"Your black coffee..."

"...after dinner."

He simply nodded.

No conversation followed.

Yet...

The silence between them felt heavier than words.

Revati quietly observed both of them.

She understood.

Something had changed.

That Night...

After dinner...

The mansion gradually fell silent.

Servants retired to their quarters.

The lights in the corridors dimmed one by one.

Avni quietly entered her room.

Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it for a moment.

The silence felt unusually heavy tonight.

She walked toward the window and gently pulled the curtains aside.

The city lights shimmered in the distance.

Yet...

Her mind was still trapped in the canteen.

She closed her eyes.

His voice echoed once again.

> "Whether you have your memories or not..."

> "The world believes you're Mrs. Rajvanshi."

> "Don't let anyone forget that."

A faint sigh escaped her lips.

She hugged herself unconsciously.

"I was going to tell him..."

"...that I'm married."

Her own whisper dissolved into the quiet room.

"I didn't want anyone to misunderstand."

She looked at her reflection in the window.

A married woman...

That's what everyone called her.

Yet she wore no sindoor.

No mangalsutra.

And no memories of the man she was supposed to have spent her life with.

She smiled bitterly.

"Kitna ajeeb hai..."

"Main apni hi shaadi ka ek pal bhi yaad nahi kar pa rahi."

Her fingers instinctively brushed the bare skin around her neck.

Empty.

Just like the memories she searched for every day.

After a long silence, she whispered,

"Shayad..."

"Mr. Rajvanshi sahi keh rahe the."

"Mujhe pehle hi mana kar dena chahiye tha."

"I shouldn't have let that conversation continue."

A tear escaped despite her efforts to hold it back.

She quickly wiped it away.

"Nahi..."

"I won't cry."

"Unhone kuch galat nahi kaha."

"Woh sirf..."

"...Rajvanshi naam ki izzat bachana chahte the."

She paused.

Then smiled sadly.

"Par pata nahi kyun..."

"Unki narazgi..."

"Mujhe itni buri kyun lagi?"

The question lingered unanswered.

Even she didn't know.

Perhaps...

It wasn't because he was her husband.

Perhaps...

It was because he was the first person who made a stranger feel safe.

She switched off the bedside lamp.

The room slipped into darkness.

Pulling the blanket over herself, she closed her eyes.

"I hope..."

"Kal sab theek ho."

Within minutes...

Sleep claimed her.

Midnight

The mansion slept beneath a sky heavy with rain.

The only light still glowing belonged to Arnav's study.

He sat on the sofa, laptop open, reviewing contracts.

The ticking clock echoed through the room.

Then...

A faint sound reached his ears.

A muffled cry.

He looked up.

Another one followed.

This time...

Clearer.

"...Nahi..."

His chair scraped against the floor.

Within seconds...

He reached Avni's room.

The door was slightly open.

She lay curled beneath the blanket.

Her forehead glistened with sweat.

Her breathing had turned uneven.

Tears slipped silently from beneath her closed eyes.

She whispered between broken breaths,

"Please..."

"Mujhe mat le jao..."

"I... I didn't do anything..."

Another frightened sob escaped her lips.

Her hands searched helplessly through the sheets...

As though trying to escape invisible chains.

Arnav froze.

For a brief moment...

He wasn't looking at the cheerful girl who filled the mansion with warmth.

He was looking at someone...

Who had survived something terrible.

He quickly sat beside her.

"Avni."

No response.

"Avni..."

She continued trembling.

Suddenly...

She cried out,

> "Nahi...!"

Startled awake...

She sat upright.

Her breathing was frantic.

Her frightened eyes searched the dark room.

She couldn't understand where she was.

Instinctively...

She grabbed the nearest thing she found.

Arnav's shirt.

Her fingers clutched the fabric tightly.

"Please..."

"They'll take me again..."

"I don't want to go..."

Her entire body shook uncontrollably.

Arnav looked at her for a long second.

Then...

Very gently...

He placed one hand over her head.

His voice remained calm.

Steady.

Certain.

> "Look at me."

Slowly...

Her trembling gaze lifted to meet his.

> "You're safe."

> "No one will touch you."

> "Not while you're here."

She stared at him through tear-filled eyes.

Her breathing gradually slowed.

As though his words alone had anchored her back to reality.

Still trembling...

She leaned forward without thinking.

Resting her forehead lightly against his shoulder.

Not out of love.

Out of fear.

Arnav remained completely still.

He didn't push her away.

He didn't hold her either.

He simply stayed there.

Allowing her to believe...

She was safe.

After several quiet minutes...

The medicine finally pulled her back into sleep.

Her grip on his shirt slowly loosened.

He carefully helped her lie down again.

Pulling the blanket over her.

Before leaving...

His gaze lingered on her sleeping face.

He whispered so softly...

Even he barely heard himself.

> "Whatever you're running from..."

> "It won't reach you again."

He switched off the bedside lamp.

And walked out.

---

His phone buzzed

Arnav answered immediately.

"What is it?"

Veer's voice had lost its usual playfulness.

"Boss..."

"We searched the warehouse."

A pause.

"We found something."

Arnav's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

Veer spoke carefully.

> "The people who kidnapped Avni..."

> "...weren't after her."

Silence.

"They were searching for something."

Arnav's expression turned dan

gerously cold.

"What do you mean?"

Another pause.

Then Veer said,

> "Our informer heard one sentence before the warehouse was abandoned..."

> 'Find the girl.'

> 'She has it.'

Arnav frowned.

> "Has what?"

Veer exhaled.

> "That's the problem, Boss..."

> "No one knows."

> "But whatever it is..."

> "People are willing to kill for it."

The call disconnected.

Arnav slowly turned towards Avni's room.

She slept peacefully...

Completely unaware...

That somewhere inside her forgotten past...

She was carrying a secret even she couldn't remember.

— End of Chapter —