DREAMY TALES

Arylie || Aracunum: The Past ||

Wednesday, 8:43 AM, at Rathore Mansion

Tu guzar raha ha mere dil se mere rooh tak
Tu hi toh sukoon mera tu hi hai junooniyat

Aryan leaned forward to place a tender kiss on Imlie's forehead. Her eyes fluttered briefly before she pushed him away, startled by his proximity.

Imlie sat up abruptly. "How... how did we get here? Weren’t we in the hospital?"

Aryan, gazing deeply into her eyes, replied, "I came, Imlie. Now you're safe here with me. I don't know how, but Rupi didi is in coma, and it wasn’t safe for you to stay there alone. So, I brought you here."

Imlie smiled politely. "Thank you for thinking about me so much, Aryan. But now I must leave. I can't stay with you. What right do I have to stay? I understand your concern, but even concern requires a relationship, and we have no such relationship."

Mere haal se bhala kyun nahi tu wakif
Ishq ke mutabiq yeh nahii ha munasif

Aryan held her wrist as she tried to leave. "What need do you have for a relationship, Imlie, when you know my concern is for your safety?"

Imlie stared into his eyes. "But society demands a relationship. What will you say when people ask what we are to each other, what relationship we have, why I am staying with you?"

Aryan pulled her closer with a sudden yank, and she landed straight into his arms. Her hands rested on his chest, and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Yeh jo deewana pan haii tumse hi adatan hai
Tere sang lamha lamha jee raha hun katra sa

Aryan gripped her tighter. "If anyone asks, I'll tell them you are Aryan Singh Rathore's love, the desire for which I can even annihilate myself."

He pulled her even closer. " Mere woh manzil ho jiske liye mein kuch bhi bhula sakta hun. Woh junnon ho jiske liye mein tumhe bhi mita sakta hun."

Pyaar tumse lakh hai duhan duhan ya rakh hai
Roz jal raha ha muhjmein khain kuch jara saa

Imlie tried to push him away. "Aryan, let me go. You are not in your right mind. Saying such things doesn't change anything."

Aryan pulled her closer, his breath warm against her chin. Caressing her face with his knuckles, he whispered in a husky tone, "Then marry me, Imlie. You'll have a relationship, and I'll have you."

Imlie struggled harder to push him back. "What are you saying, Aryan? How can I marry you when I feel nothing for you?"

Aryan, his anger boiling, gripped her even tighter. "You feel nothing for me? Being near me doesn’t affect you? You didn’t understand back then, and you still don’t understand now."

She exhaled deeply. "Aryan, leave me... I said let me go." He released her.

She adjusted her dupatta and prepared to leave, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, twisting her arm behind her. He embraced her from behind. "Shhhh..."

Jaayaz haii tujpe deewangi mere
Ragoon se rooh tak ha rawangi tere

Aryan traced his nose along her neck. "Just marry me, Imlie. I promise you'll never have cause for complaint."

Imlie elbowed him hard in the stomach and freed herself. "If you try this again,  aisan peeth mein koni maari haina saara shadi ka bhoot utar jayega. And don't you dare to follow me, Aryan Singh Rathore, stay away from me," she said, and left.

Aryan slammed his fist against the wall. "You always underestimate me, Imlie. But I'm Aryan Singh Rathore, and what is mine will remain mine. Now you will see my obsession."

Back in her room, Imlie closed the door and leaned against it, tears filling her eyes.

She muffled her cries, but suddenly her head started to spin, and her chest heaved as the room filled with smoke.

She struggled to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. "Is... anyone there?"

Ankh jo yeh bhar gaye ha jaane kya yeh kar rahi ha
Yeh bhi janati hai ki dil pe kyaa guzar rahi hai

She clutched the doorknob as a sharp pain struck her head, and she collapsed unconscious beside her bed.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and someone stepped inside with a guitar in hand. He pushed his glasses back and sat beside Imlie, a smirk on his face.

Imlie's eyes fluttered open for a moment. She raised her hand and murmured, "Ar... Aryan?"

Aryan Singh Rathore smiled as he caressed her face. "Tch tch tch, Imlie. You know you can't run from me because I'm Aryan Singh Rathore. Why do you always run when you know how much I love you?"

Ik tu hi bekabar hai mere haal se
Waqt chal raha tha aur main kahin thehra

Imlie stirred in her sleep as memories flooded back—

They were in the same college, where Aryan was completely obsessed with her, a fact she despised. He wouldn't even let her talk to other boys. After graduation, she moved to another city due to her father's transfer, secretly relieved to leave Aryan behind.

Aryan’s rage was uncontrollable when he discovered she had left. He used all his resources to find her. She relocated to Kashmir, occasionally missing Aryan, but she never gave those feelings much thought.

She lived a contented life until her parents began searching for a groom for her. They chose Aditya Kumar Tripathi, the son of her father's friend. Aditya wasn’t interested in marriage but had ulterior motives for Imlie. Although she didn't want to marry him, every time she thought of marriage, Aryan’s face haunted her.

Under family pressure, she reluctantly agreed. On the wedding day, however, she refused to marry Aditya at the altar, but he forcibly married her. Rupi, Aditya's sister and Imlie’s friend, couldn’t intervene.

After the wedding, Aditya brought her some papers to sign, claiming they were marriage certificates. She signed without reading them, and he left with a sinister smile, leaving a teary Imlie in her wedding attire.

Suddenly, someone covered her mouth and dragged her to the backyard.

She recognized his presence and pushed him away. "Leave me, Aryan. What are you doing here? This is outrageous!"

Aryan pinned her against the wall. "Outrageous is what you're doing, Imlie. How dare you marry someone else when you know you’re mine? I’ll destroy anyone who comes between us."

Imlie took a deep breath. "Look, Aryan, I'm married now. Even if I wasn't, I would never love you because what you call love is madness."

Aryan pulled her closer and whispered, "I don't care if you call my love madness. If it is, then so be it. I don't care if you’re married or not. I still love you and always will. I will destroy anyone who stands between us."

Imlie pushed him away. "Leave me, Aryan. I don't want to spend another second with you."

She tried to leave, but he grabbed her again, twisting her wrist. " Agar Imlie Aryan Singh Rathore ki nahii toh kisi kii nahii, mark my words Imlie," he whispered in her ear before letting her go. She hurried back to her family, glancing back at him once.

After a while —

After the wedding, As imlie's parent's car drove away, aditiya was already inside, while imlie adjusted her lhenga. Suddenly, a loud explosion shattered the air.

She looked up, covering her ears, and screamed. Rushing towards her parent's, burning car. She found everything engulfed in flames.

Devastated, she collapsed in the middle of the road, crying. Suddenly, a bullet hit her from behind, blood and salvia spilling from her mouth. Before she could turn, two more bullets struck her, snatching away her life.

With her last breath, she managed to turn her head, tears filling her eyes as she saw Aryan standing there.

To be continued...