CHAPTER 3

The moment the door closed behind Revti, the room fell silent again.

Avni remained standing near the window.

Her fingers slowly closed around the velvet box which was containing Arnav's ring.

Her mind was drowning in thoughts.

Everything that had happened tonight.

The Rayzada family.

Revti's tears.

Harshvardhan's cold eyes.

The story she had told them.

She slowly walked toward the bed and sat down.

For a few seconds, she simply stared at the floor.

Then—

A cold voice broke the silence.

“You did well.”

Avni froze.

Her head snapped toward the sound.

The room was empty.

Or at least, it had been.

A section of the wall behind her slowly moved.

A hidden door opened with a quiet click.

A tall man stepped through it.

His expression was unreadable.

His presence alone was enough to change the atmosphere of the room.

Harshvardhan Singh Rayzada.

Avni immediately stood.

“Sir…”

He closed the secret door behind him.

His eyes remained fixed on her.

“That was almost convincing.”

Avni said nothing.

Harshvardhan took a few slow steps toward her.

“You almost made it sound as though you really met Arnav that night.”

Avni lowered her eyes.

“It was the story we agreed upon.”

“Yes.”

His voice remained cold.

“But you performed it well.”

Avni remained silent.

Harshvardhan stopped a few feet away.

“Do you remember our contract clearly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Every condition?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

He glanced toward the clock.

“Tomorrow morning, we're going to court.”

Avni looked up.

Harshvardhan continued.

“We will officially submit a claim that Arnav Singh Rayzada is still alive.”

Her expression remained calm.

“The news will spread within hours.”

“Every major media outlet will pick it up.”

“Television.”

“Newspapers.”

“Social media.”

“International media.”

He looked directly into her eyes.

“By tomorrow evening, the entire world will know that the missing heir of the Rayzada Empire is alive.”

He paused.

“And that his wife is carrying his child.”

Avni nodded.

Harshvardhan turned toward the window.

“For seven years, Arnav has disappeared from every search.”

“Perhaps he stopped looking at the world.”

“Perhaps he stopped caring what happened to his family after he left.”

“But there is one thing I refuse to believe.”

He turned back.

“That he has stopped caring about his family.”

Avni listened quietly.

Harshvardhan's voice became lower.

“If he sees that his family is still trying to reach him…”

"Or"

“If he sees that someone is faking claim that his child exists too decieve…”

“If he sees that his fake wife is standing inside this house…”

“Maybe he will come back.”

Silence.

Avni hesitated.

“Sir…”

Harshvardhan looked at her.

“May I ask you something?”

“You may.”

“Why are you deceiving your own family?”

For the first time, something shifted in Harshvardhan's expression.

He didn't look angry.

He looked tired.

“I am not deceiving my family.”

Avni remained silent.

“I am protecting them.”

He looked toward the family photographs visible through the partially opened door.

“I have tried everything.”

“Seven years.”

“Seven years of searching.”

“Seven years of waiting.”

“Seven years of watching my wife lose a little more hope every day.”

His jaw tightened.

“I can't lose my son without trying one final time.”

Avni watched him carefully.

Harshvardhan continued.

“I don't care whether Arnav carries my blood.”

“He is my son.”

His voice became firmer.

“The son I raised.”

“The son I held when he was a child.”

“The son whose first steps I watched.”

“The son I taught to stand on his own.”

“The son I prepared to inherit everything I built.”

He paused.

“And no piece of paper can change that.”

His eyes became slightly softer.

“I just want Arnav to know one thing.”

Avni waited.

“He will always be my eldest son.”

A pause.

“And he will always be the heir of Rayzada Empire.”

“Blood doesn't decide that.”

“Love does.”

Avni lowered her eyes.

For a moment, she saw something completely different in the man everyone feared.

Not the chairman.

Not the lawyer.

Not the powerful patriarch.

Just…

a father who had run out of ways to bring his son home.

Harshvardhan finally turned away.

“This is my last wager.”

Avni looked up.

“What happens if he doesn't return?”

“Three months.”

He turned toward her.

“If Arnav doesn't come back within three months…”

“I will announce that you suffered a miscarriage.”

Avni's eyes widened slightly.

“The story ends there.”

“And you will leave this family with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life.”

Avni remained quiet for several seconds.

Then she shook her head.

“I don't need your money.”

Harshvardhan looked at her.

Avni continued.

“I'm doing this because of something else.”

His expression hardened slightly.

“What?”

“Four months ago…”

She paused.

“It wasn't Arnav who saved me.”

Harshvardhan said nothing.

“It was you.”

His eyes narrowed.

Avni continued.

“You found me that night.”

“I was terrified.”

“I had nowhere to go.”

“You didn't ask me unnecessary questions.”

“You gave me somewhere safe to stay.”

“You arranged food.”

“Clothes.”

“A job.”

“And eventually…”

“A chance to start my life again.”

She looked directly at him.

“You gave me something I had never really had before.”

“Freedom.”

Harshvardhan's expression remained unreadable.

“I am grateful for that.”

“That is why I'm doing this.”

“I know this is a strange way to repay someone…”

A faint smile touched her lips.

“But I don't want your money.”

“I only want to repay the person who gave me a second chance.”

Harshvardhan stared at her.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then—

The corner of his lips lifted slightly.

Not quite a smile.

But close.

Because he knew something Avni didn't.

Not every part of her story was false.

She had suffered.

She had survived things no young woman should have had to endure.

And despite everything life had taken from her…

She had somehow kept her dignity.

Her pride.

Her ability to stand on her own feet.

That was precisely why he had chosen her.

Harshvardhan had met countless people who would have used the Rayzada name the moment they were given an opportunity.

Avni had been given something far more valuable.

A place inside the Rayzada mansion.

Yet she had asked for nothing.

That made him trust her.

At least enough to take this final gamble.

He walked toward the door.

Then stopped.

“Get some rest.”

Avni looked at him.

“Tomorrow will be a long day.”

He opened the hidden door.

Before disappearing through it, he looked back once.

“And Avni…”

“Yes, sir?”

“Don't forget the most important part of our agreement.”

She waited.

“If Arnav comes back…”

His eyes became cold again.

“The truth ends with us.”

The secret door closed.

Avni stood alone.

The silence returned.

She slowly sat down on the bed.

Her eyes fell on the velvet box.

She touched it gently.

Tomorrow, the world would hear that Arnav Singh Rayzada was alive.

Tomorrow, the world would hear that his wife was carrying his child.

Tomorrow, the Rayzada family would have hope again.

And yet…

The pregnancy was fake.

The marriage story was a lie.

And the woman carrying the secret had no idea whether the man at the center of it all would ever return.

Avni slowly lay down.

Her eyes remained open for a long time.

Thinking about Arnav.

Thinking about Harshvardhan.

Thinking about the three-month wager.

And thinking about the impossible question that had begun haunting her—

What would happen if Arnav actually came back?

Eventually, exhaustion won.

Her eyes slowly closed.

And somewhere beyond the walls of the Rayzada mansion…

the past was already moving toward them.

END OF CHAPTER 3