Tears Of Pain

**Chapter 9: Shadows of the Past**

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Kavya’s life had been on an upward trajectory, but a strange unease had settled in her heart ever since Meera’s visit. She had accepted Meera’s apology, and things between Arjun and his mother seemed to be improving, but there was something unspoken that gnawed at the edges of her peace. Kavya tried to push the feeling aside, attributing it to her own insecurities, but the nagging sensation persisted.

One evening, as Kavya sat at her desk working on her novel, she received an unexpected message on her phone. The number was unknown, and the message was brief:

*“Do you really know who Arjun is?”*

Kavya’s heart skipped a beat. The message was unsettling, and its implications sent a chill down her spine. Who could have sent it? And what did they mean by it? She stared at the screen, her mind racing with questions. Was this someone’s idea of a cruel joke? Or was there something more sinister at play?

She decided not to mention the message to Arjun, at least not yet. Instead, she tried to focus on her writing, but the words wouldn’t come. The ominous message had planted a seed of doubt in her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, it kept growing.

Later that night, as Kavya and Arjun sat together in the living room, she noticed something different about him. He was more distant than usual, his responses shorter, as if his mind was elsewhere. Kavya couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“Is everything okay, Arjun?” she finally asked, her voice laced with concern.

Arjun looked up, startled by her question. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

“You seem a bit distracted,” Kavya replied, trying to keep her tone light. “Is there something bothering you?”

Arjun hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “No, just work stuff. It’s been a long day.”

Kavya nodded, but the unease in her heart deepened. Arjun had always been open with her, but tonight he seemed like he was hiding something. She decided not to press him further, hoping that whatever was on his mind would pass.

The next few days were a blur of normalcy tinged with an undercurrent of tension. Kavya continued to receive anonymous messages, each one more cryptic than the last:

*“Look closer.”*

*“You’re not seeing the whole picture.”*

*“He’s not who you think he is.”*

The messages unsettled her, but Kavya couldn’t bring herself to confront Arjun about them. She didn’t want to believe that there could be any truth to the ominous warnings. She loved Arjun, and she trusted him—but the seeds of doubt had been planted, and they were beginning to take root.

One evening, while Arjun was out on a work trip, Kavya decided to take matters into her own hands. She knew it was wrong, but she needed answers. She began searching through Arjun’s study, looking for anything that might shed light on the messages she had been receiving. She rifled through drawers and scanned through his files, but everything seemed normal—until she found an old, locked briefcase hidden at the back of his closet.

Kavya’s heart pounded as she stared at the briefcase. She knew she shouldn’t invade Arjun’s privacy, but something compelled her to open it. After a few moments of hesitation, she found a small key in one of the drawers and used it to unlock the briefcase.

Inside, she found a collection of documents, some of them old and worn, others more recent. As she flipped through them, she felt a growing sense of dread. There were letters, legal papers, and photographs—some of which depicted Arjun with people she didn’t recognize, in places she had never heard him mention. The more she read, the more it became clear that there was a side of Arjun’s life that he had never shared with her—a side that he had kept hidden, even from himself.

One document in particular caught her attention. It was a legal agreement, dated several years before Kavya and Arjun had met. The document outlined a business partnership between Arjun and a man named Ravi, detailing their plan to acquire and develop land in a remote part of Rajasthan. The language of the document was complex, but one thing stood out to Kavya: the land they were acquiring had once belonged to a local community that had been forced to sell under questionable circumstances.

Kavya’s hands trembled as she held the document. This was the reason for the anonymous messages. Whoever had been sending them knew about Arjun’s past, about his involvement in something unethical—something that could ruin him if it ever came to light.

When Arjun returned home later that night, Kavya was waiting for him, the document in hand. She knew she couldn’t keep this from him any longer.

“Arjun,” she began, her voice shaky, “I found something. Something you need to explain.”

Arjun’s eyes widened when he saw the document. His expression shifted from shock to anger to something else—something darker, more unreadable.

“Where did you find that?” he demanded, his voice cold and distant.

“In your briefcase,” Kavya admitted. “I know I shouldn’t have snooped, but I’ve been getting these messages, and I needed to know the truth.”

Arjun’s face hardened. “You had no right to go through my things, Kavya.”

“I had to,” Kavya replied, her voice breaking. “I had to know who you really are.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The air between them was thick with tension, and Kavya could feel the distance growing.

Finally, Arjun spoke, his voice low and dangerous. “There are things in my past that I’m not proud of, Kavya. Things I’ve tried to forget. But you had no right to dig them up.”

Kavya felt a wave of fear wash over her. She had never seen Arjun like this before, so cold and unyielding. “I’m sorry, Arjun. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just… I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

Arjun took a deep breath, his expression softening slightly. “Kavya, you need to trust me. Whatever happened in the past is behind us now. It doesn’t define who I am today, or who we are together.”

But Kavya wasn’t so sure. The shadows of Arjun’s past were closing in on them, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of something much darker. As Arjun walked away, she felt a deep sense of unease, knowing that the man she loved was hiding something—something that could tear them apart.

That night, as Kavya lay in bed, she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was racing with questions and doubts. She didn’t know what the future held, but she knew one thing for certain: their lives were about to change in ways they could never have imagined.

And as she drifted into a restless sleep, a single thought lingered in her mind: *Who is Arjun really?

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   Author aradhya ✨