Ranjishein

Prologue

He felt her before he saw her. The soft scent of her perfume enveloped him, bringing back memories he had fought to bury. She wrapped her arms around him.

"I am sorry, Arnav," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.

Years of emotions and guilt buried inside her all came rushing back when she saw him after so many years.

His jaw clenched. He had to stay strong, had to keep his distance. Gently, but firmly, he grasped her elbows and detached her from him. Her eyes met his, and he saw the hurt in them, a pain that mirrored his own. But he couldn’t let himself fall into that trap again.

"We're not the same anymore, Navya," he said, his voice steady, masking the storm inside.

True, they were no longer the twenty-two-year-old Navya and Arnav. Things had changed between them and around them.

She was no longer the Navya who played with people's emotions, molding them according to her whims, then tossing them aside when she got bored.

He was no longer the Arnav whose innocence could be played by her, a man whose eyes were mirrors to his feelings.

He needed to control his feelings and emotions around her. She was nothing but the mother of his daughter now.

She wiped away a tear, her red-rimmed eyes searching his for a hint of the love he once shared.

"Go to Arisha. Spend some time with her, and then I'll drop you home." He knew that the more time she spent with their daughter, the better Arisha's mental health would be. She had been through so much, especially after the heart surgery. Arisha was happiest around Navya, and for her sake, he had to put aside his own pain.

"I lost you, didn't I?" she said, her lips trembling as she spoke.

His gaze fell on those parted lips, once his addiction, now a reminder of the past he needed to forget. He clenched his jaw fighting the urge to comfort her. The old Arnav would have crumbled before her tears but the new him would not.

He turned around and walked towards his room, shutting the door behind him, giving her his silent answer.

She was a closed chapter in his life. He had controlled himself all these years, he could do it now too. If not for his daughter, he would never have met her again. Navya Kapoor was just the mother of his daughter and his boss. That was the only importance she had in his life.

• ♠ •

He hates her for the past she can't change. She longs for the man he once was. Their love is a dangerous dance of passion and pain, but their daughter needs them both.

Tangled in a web of longing and resentment, can their hearts heal from the scars of the past?