---

The Next Morning

Warm rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains.

Avni stirred slightly before opening her eyes.

A dull ache pulsed behind her temples.

"...Ah..."

She winced, pressing two fingers against her forehead.

"Sir itna heavy kyun lag raha hai...?"

She closed her eyes, trying to remember the previous night.

Nothing.

Not a single memory.

Only an unexplainable heaviness lingered inside her.

As if...

She had cried herself to sleep.

But why?

She couldn't remember.

After a moment, she shook her head with a faint smile.

"Maybe... I'm just overthinking."

---

She freshened up and walked downstairs.

Revati looked up first.

"Good morning, beta."

"Good morning, Dadi."

Raghav folded his newspaper.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Uncle."

Just then...

Arnav descended the staircase.

Impeccably dressed in his usual black suit.

His gaze instinctively searched for her.

She looked...

Perfectly normal.

No fear.

No tears.

No trace of the nightmare that had shaken her only a few hours ago.

She smiled politely.

"Good morning, Mr. Rajvanshi."

He gave a slight nod.

"Good morning."

For a brief moment...

Their eyes met.

She smiled faintly before lowering her gaze.

Arnav understood.

She remembered nothing.

Not the nightmare.

Not the promise.

Not the way she had clung to him as though he was the only safe place left in the world.

---

The entire day...

One thought refused to leave Avni's mind.

Yesterday.

The canteen.

The misunderstanding.

His words echoed inside her again and again.

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

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

> "Don't let anyone forget that."

By evening...

She finally gathered enough courage.

---

That Evening

Arnav had just returned home.

He had barely removed his wristwatch when a soft knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly.

Avni stepped inside.

Her fingers nervously twisted the edge of her dupatta.

"Mr. Rajvanshi..."

"Hm."

"I... wanted to ask you something."

He looked at her, silently waiting.

She lowered her gaze.

"Kal..."

"...canteen mein jo hua..."

"I kept thinking about it."

A brief silence settled between them.

"I don't want..."

"...aisi misunderstanding dobara ho."

She paused.

Choosing every word carefully.

"Main..."

"...na sindoor lagati hoon..."

"...na mere paas mangalsutra hai."

Her fingers unconsciously touched her bare neck.

"Us din..."

"...jab maine poocha tha..."

"...aapne kaha tha..."

"...shayad woh accident mein kho gaya."

She smiled awkwardly.

"Shayad..."

"...isi wajah se unhe laga hoga..."

"...ki main unmarried hoon."

She took a slow breath before continuing.

"If you're okay with it..."

"...I think I should start wearing them again."

"So that..."

"...future mein kisi ko bhi hamare rishte ko lekar koi galatfehmi na ho."

Silence.

The room became impossibly still.

Arnav simply looked at her.

His expression remained unreadable.

His eyes gave nothing away.

She wasn't asking for expensive jewellery.

She wasn't asking for the rights of a wife.

She wasn't even asking him to accept her.

She was only trying...

To protect the dignity of the family whose name she unknowingly carried.

His jaw tightened ever so slightly.

After a long pause...

He spoke.

"...Theek hai."

"I'll arrange it."

That was all.

Yet...

Those three words carried a weight only he understood.

A soft smile bloomed across Avni's face.

Relief.

Gratitude.

Nothing more.

"Thank you..."

"...Mr. Rajvanshi."

She turned and quietly walked out.

The door closed behind her.

---

The room fell silent once again.

Arnav remained standing where he was.

His eyes rested on the closed door.

A strange thought crossed his mind.

A mangalsutra...

Sindoor...

From tomorrow...

She will wear the symbols of my name.

He let out a slow breath.

Another lie.

Another promise.

Another step into a life that was never meant to be theirs.

How much longer...

How much longer will I keep playing the husband of a woman who doesn't even remember me...

He closed his eyes.

He could have refused.

He should have refused.

But he hadn't.

Because refusing would have meant breaking the fragile world she was trying so hard to rebuild.

For the first time...

This wasn't just a lie anymore.

It had become his responsibility.

Outside the room...

Avni walked down the corridor with a lighter heart.

She had no idea...

That her simple request had quietly shaken the man who had built walls around his heart years ago.

And somewhere deep inside those walls...

The first crack had finally appeared.

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