Kindly ignore the grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language.

Happy reading 🤗.

~~~

Author's POV-

He saw.

Her.

His RUHH

The girl who once lit up his world with just one glance.

The girl who had promised, "Main laut ke zaroor aaungi..."

But never did.

She was here. Laughing. Walking. Breathing. Existing.

Without him.

The ground slipped from beneath his feet.

The storm inside him twisted painfully. His chest ached.

He can't believe his eyes that he just saw her.

His RUHH.

After 7 years of pain, 7 years of struggle to find the reason behind the reason she gone away from him.

And here she is. Living without him.

His hand on Ronav's collar loosened. But not the storm in his heart.

She saw him and their eyes met. Something shifted inside her chest too but she couldn't recognise it.

She finally reached them, her brows furrowed.

“Kya ho raha hai yahaan? Aap dono lad kyun rahe ho?”

(What's happening here? Why are you both fighting?)

Her voice.

That same voice…

But there was no flicker of recognition in her eyes.

She looked at him like he was… no one.

Rivaan stepped back.

Stared.

His eyes welled up, jaw tightening. The storm of betrayal, grief, and longing took over again.

She had come back.

But not to him.

Before she could say anything more, Rivaan turned away. Without a word. Without a glance.

And left.

Behind him, Ronav stared at Ekakshi, who blinked in confusion.

“What happened?” she asked softly, concern lacing her tone.

(What happened?)

Ronav’s heart ached — for both of them.

For the boy whose love had burned through time…

And the girl who is struggling to find love but couldn't recognise it.

🥀

Rivaan rushed towards his room. His body is shivering with the intensity of the situation.

His heart is beating so fast that it feels like it could burst out of his chest.

He was holding his chest like he's preventing his heart to not come out of his body.

And then the door creaked.

Vivaan entered quietly, sensing the suffocating silence. He had seen his younger brother handle empires, wars in boardrooms, ruthless business decisions... but never had he seen him like this—fragile, broken.

“Rivaan…” his voice broke the silence like a whisper in a thunderstorm.

Rivaan didn’t turn. His knuckles were white from clutching the chest of his. But that one word—spoken by his brother—was enough to crack him.

Like a dam bursting after years of drought, he turned around and stumbled into Vivaan’s arms, his body trembling as his tears finally broke free.

“Bhai…” he sobbed, voice cracking, "Wo laut aayi bhai... Wo wapis aayi... Aur main use dekh raha tha... Par woh... jaise mujhe kabhi jaante hi nahi thi..."

(She's back bhai... She came back... But she... She's acting like she never know me)

Vivaan’s eyes welled up but he held him, strong and silent, letting his brother fall apart in his arms.

"Main haar gaya, bhai. Usne vaada kiya tha ki wo wapas aayegi… usne kaha tha woh kabhi mujhe chhodkar nahi jaayegi. Toh fir kyu... kyu nahi aayi woh?”

(I failed bhai. She promised me she will come back... She told me that she'll never leave me. But why... Why she didn't?)

Rivaan’s voice cracked with each word. His breath was short, his heart bleeding.

“Main har uss jagah gaya jahan uski yaadein thi. Har raaste ko dekha jahan hum chale the. Har pal intezaar kiya… par jab woh aayi, toh uski aankhon mein main tha hi nahi.”

Vivaan cupped his face.

“Rivaan... tu itna toot kyun gaya?”

He looked into his brother’s eyes—eyes that once had fire, now drowning in pain.

“Kyunki woh meri ruhh thi, bhai. Sirf ek ladki nahi… usne mujhe zinda banaya tha. Uske baad toh main bas saans le raha hoon…”

Vivaan hugged him again, tighter this time, wiping away his tears.

But he's in no mood of stopping himself. He's crying and crying. Letting his 7 years of pain float in his tears.

Just then, the door opened again.

Ronav stood there. Pain clouded his eyes, guilt weighing on his shoulders. He didn’t dare step in.

Rivaan's expression hardened the moment he saw him.

“Tu?” he growled. “Tujhse kaha tha baat mat karna. Tune sab kuch chhupaya mujhse. Tujhe toh sab pata tha na!”

“Rivaan... bas ek baar sun le. Ek baar meri baat poori ho jaan le,” Ronav pleaded, stepping closer, “Main sirf usse bacha raha tha. Tujhe bhi, usse bhi.”

“Bacha rahe the? Mujhse usse chhupake?”

"Tu jaanta tha mai usse kitna pyar karta tha! Ki...kitna chahta tha mai meri Ruhh ko! Tu sab... sab kuch jaanta tha par phir bhi___!"

Vivaan stepped between them. “Rivaan… please. Sun le. Please apne liye, apni ruhh ke liye. Ronav sirf ek baar kehna chahta hai.”

Rivaan’s chest heaved. “Aakhri baar.” His voice was cold.

Ronav nodded, stepped forward, and began.

“Us raat… jab wo wapis UK lout rahi thi, tab...tab uska Accident ho gaya."

Rivaan froze.

"Ac...accident?"

"Haan accident. Doctors ne kaha uski brain injury serious hai wo..woh bach nahi payegi. Par wo bahut himmat wali hai yaar, wo bach toh gayi par...!" He started sobbing. Tears flowing from his eyes.

Vihaan handed him a glass of water and concoled him. He continued.

" 4 saal! 4 saal tak wo COMA me thi. Uske bachne ke chances sirf 0.0001% the. Hum har rooz uske bachne ki duaen karte the! Bhagwan ji ke saamne rote gidgidate the par...!"

“Aur jab hosh aaya, toh wo sab bhool gayi thi. Uske dimaag mein sirf woh yaadein thi jo woh saat saal ki umar tak ki thi. Uske baad ka har pal... Har lamha...sab kuch gayab ho chuka tha.”

Tears pooled in Rivaan’s stunned eyes.

“Woh tujhse door nahi gayi thi... usne tujhe bhool jaane ka faisla nahi liya. Woh tujhe pehchaan hi nahi paayi.”

Ronav was crying continuously. “Aur har raat... har ek raat woh cheekh kar uthti thi. Usse pata hi nahi hota tha kyun... lekin uska dil dard se phata jaata tha. Panic attacks, therapy... medication. Aaj bhi woh bina pills ke nahi so sakti.”

Rivaan’s legs gave way and he slumped on the couch behind him.

Vivaan sat beside him, holding his hand tight.

Ronav, between sobs, continued.

“Main keh nahi saka... kyunki tujhe bhi samhalna tha. Tu uske intezaar mein jal raha tha... aur woh us dard se lad rahi thi jiska uske paas koi sabab nahi tha.”

"Tu apni zindagi ke uss mod par tha jis ko khona munasib nahi tha. Aur uske laut aane ki guarantee bhi toh nahi thi. Usko khone ka dard tu sambhal nahi pata. Isliye... Maine tujhe nahi bataya."

"Tum dono ke baare me maine kisi ko nahi bataya. Tum dono ke rishte ke baare me koi nahi jaanta tha isliye... Maine kisi ko kuch nahi bataya."

"Wo tujhe bhool toh gayi hai Rivaan par... par wo tujhe bhula nahi paayi. Wo har raat neend me tera naam leti hai tujhe bulati hai par! Subah tak sab kuch bhool chuki hoti hai."

The room fell quiet. So quiet, the echoes of their breaths were loud.

Rivaan whispered, broken, shattered:

“Mujhe laga usne mujhe chhod diya... par asli baat toh yeh thi... ki usse khud ka hi pata nahi tha.”

Vivaan finally broke, a tear slipping down his cheek.

Rivaan closed his eyes, her smile flashing before him.

“Meri ruhh... sab kuch bhool gayi thi... aur main sirf uske yaadon mein zinda tha.”

The silence returned, not as emptiness—but as the weight of truth that would now define their paths.

~ At Night ~

The air outside the palace was thick with silence, yet within Rivaan, a thousand storms had calmed—only to awaken something deeper. The truth, like a dagger, had pierced the years of pain he had held close. But in its wound… there was clarity.

He stood by the balcony, the breeze playing with the soft ends of his kurta. Eyes closed, he remembered her laugh. Not the one he had seen now—uncertain, reserved—but the one his Ruhh carried in the rhythm of her breath. And then... he opened his eyes.

Not in agony.

Not in anger.

But with a resolve.

Just then, Vivaan stepped beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Tu theek hai?”

Rivaan didn’t answer immediately. He kept his gaze fixed on the courtyard.

“Main kabhi theek nahi ho paaya tha, bhai... par ab, main theek hona chahta hoon. Uske liye. Mere liye. Hum dono ke liye.”

Vivaan smiled faintly. “Matlab?”

Rivaan’s eyes sparkled faintly, somewhere between pain and hope.

“Main usse dobara jeetna chahta hoon. Na uske past se, na apne haq se… par ek ajnabee banke.”

He paused.

“Jisse woh phir se pyar kar sake. Agar ho saka.”

Vivaan looked at his brother—finally not the Rivaan who had been broken for years, but a man ready to rise again… not to erase memories, but to create new ones.

“Aur agar usse kabhi kuch yaad aaya toh?” Vivaan asked carefully.

Rivaan exhaled. His voice lowered.

“Toh main usse sirf ek baat kahunga—tumne wapas aane ka vaada kiya tha... aur tum aayi. Mujhe aur kuch nahi chahiye.”

"Mai sirf uska pyaar chahta hoon! Aur mujhe pata hai... Mere pyar par bharosa hai ki wo mere paas zarur laut aayegi."

Vivaan smiled, patted his shoulder. His voice is full of excitement and proud.

"Aur tera kaam aur bhi aasan hogaya."

"Kaise?" He asked confusingly.

"Jis ladki se teri shadi tay hui hai woh aur koi nahi...

Teri RUHH hai."

❣️｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡❣️

How was the chapter?

I hope you liked it.

What do you say about his RUHH aka Ekakshi ?

Was that accident really an accident or something else happened?

What do you say about Rivaan's reaction?

What would be his reaction after knowing his love is marrying him?

Please Vote if you are liking it.

Drop a Comment about your favourite part of the chapter.

Blurb: Their first conversation.

Thank you 😊.