~ MUQAABIL ~

~ Raaz ~

AVINAASH'S POV

I had been restless ever since Adhrit left. My mind wouldn't settle, and neither would my body. I paced the length of the living room, my thoughts tangled in a web of unease and unanswered questions. Every minute felt like an hour, and I found myself checking the clock far too often, willing the time to pass faster, hoping for some news—anything to break this suffocating tension.

But there was nothing. Just the silence of the room, broken only by the sound of my own pacing. I couldn't even sit still. The weight of the unknown pressed heavily on my chest, making it hard to breathe. What was happening with Adhrit? What had Mr. Ravishankar told him?

The doorbell rang, cutting through my thoughts like a sharp knife. I dashed towards the door, heart pounding, hoping it was Adhrit returning with some answers. But as I flung the door open, the sight that greeted me sent a chill down my spine.

It was Mr. Ravishankar, standing there with an expression that was unreadable, yet something in his eyes told me that the news he brought was anything but good.

"Where is Adhrit?" I blurted out, the question escaping my lips before I could even think.

"He fainted and is currently hospitalized," Mr. Ravishankar stated, his voice flat, devoid of emotion.

I stood there, frozen, as his words slammed into me like a physical blow. Fainted? Hospitalized? My mind struggled to process the information, my thoughts spiraling into a whirlpool of shock and disbelief.

I felt the color drain from my face as the reality of the situation began to sink in. What on earth could have happened to him? What had he heard, or seen, that had caused him to collapse?

"How... how is he?" I finally managed to ask, though my voice barely resembled my own.

"Stable, but unconscious," Mr. Ravishankar replied, his tone measured, as if he was trying to shield me from the full gravity of the situation. "The doctors are monitoring him closely."

I was beyond shocked, a mix of fear, confusion, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness flooded my mind. I wanted to rush to the hospital, to see Adhrit with my own eyes, but something in Mr. Ravishankar's demeanor held me back, kept me rooted to the spot. There was more—more that he wasn't saying, more that I needed to know.

"What happened to him? What did you tell him?" I demanded, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger.

Mr. Ravishankar's eyes flickered with something—regret, perhaps?—but he remained silent for a moment, as if weighing how much he should reveal. The silence between us grew heavy, almost suffocating, and I could feel the weight of his unspoken words pressing down on me, threatening to crush the air from my lungs.

"Kaainaat has been arrested under the crime of breaching the data she was trying to retrieve," Mr. Ravishankar said, his voice grave.

I was beyond shocked. Wasn't she trying to retrieve the data? My mind raced. Then why is she arrested? The questions swirled in my head, each one more confusing than the last. This didn't make any sense—Kaainaat wasn't a criminal, she was the one trying to fix everything!

Mr. Ravishankar's eyes met mine, a shadow of something I couldn't quite place darkening his gaze. "Ek aisa raaz hai, joh aaj tak koi suljha nahi paya," he said, his tone heavy with the weight of secrets. He sat down on the couch, gesturing for me to do the same.

"Kaisa raaz?" I asked almost immediately, desperation lacing my voice. I needed answers, and I needed them now.

"Do you know why Adhrit jumped off the building? Do you know why he tried to commit suicide?" he asked, his voice low, the questions sounding more rhetorical than anything else.