TENU DEKHA🫣

Chapter 13: Five Years Later

Five years had passed since that storm that shattered their lives, and yet, time had done little to heal the wounds that were left behind.

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Shanaya's POV

Shanaya stood in the quiet lecture hall at Jammu University, gazing out the window at the mountains beyond. She had come a long way from Mumbai and left her dreams at the Singhania Institute behind. Her life now revolved around teaching, helping young students pursue their dreams—a part of her that was once Dhruv’s influence.

She adjusted her glasses and turned back to the stack of papers on her desk, pushing down the memories that occasionally surfaced. Five years. Five years of silence, heartbreak, and trying to move on. Yet, in the quiet hours, when she was alone, the memories would flood back.

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Flashback - 5 Years Ago

When the MMS leak had turned her life upside down, Shanaya had felt like she was drowning in shame and despair. The institute she had once loved, where she’d made friends and memories, had suddenly turned cold. She remembered the whispers, the judgmental looks, the feeling of being alone.

Her only solace had been her brother Vishal, who had rushed to Mumbai the moment he’d heard. He’d wrapped her in his arms, promising that he’d never leave her side.

"Bas, Shanaya. Tumhe ab yahan aur nahi rehna," he had said one night, after seeing her break down again. "Hum Jammu ja rahe hain. Tumhe wahan ek nayi zindagi milegi."

At first, she’d refused. Leaving her dreams behind wasn’t easy, but when Dhruv stopped answering her calls, stopped reaching out, she felt her heart breaking in ways she’d never imagined. Every day, she hoped that Dhruv would come, would stand by her, would tell her that he believed her. But that day never came.

Her brother’s presence was the only thing that kept her from collapsing entirely. So, when he suggested a job opportunity in Jammu, Shanaya finally relented. Her dreams of becoming a top IT expert had been crushed, but her brother had shown her a new path—to teach, to guide others.

And just like that, she left Mumbai, her dreams, and Dhruv, hoping that distance would ease her pain.

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Present Day - Dhruv’s POV

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Dhruv’s empire had only grown. Singhania Institute was now the leading name in the IT world, and his business was booming. To the world, he was the face of success. But within him, there was an emptiness, a void that even his achievements couldn’t fill.

Sitting in his office, Dhruv looked around at the accomplishments he had once dreamed of, the empire he had built. Yet, the peace he craved was nowhere to be found.

"Success has a price," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. And the price, he realized, was love. True love. The kind he’d once shared with Shanaya.

In the years that followed their split, Dhruv had thrown himself into his work. He had tried to move on, to forget her, to forget the betrayal he thought she had committed. But then, a year after she left, he uncovered a painful truth.

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Flashback - 4 Years Ago

He was sitting at his desk when his investigator came in, holding a thick file.

"Sir, ye woh saboot hain jo aapne maange the," the investigator said, placing the file down.

Dhruv opened it, and his world turned upside down as he read through the details. The video in which the venomous Shanaya was shown—it was a morphed video, planted by none other than her own father and stepmother. They had planned the entire thing to break Dhruv and Shanaya apart, so they could profit from Shanaya’s misery.

But the most shocking revelation came when he learned the real reason behind his parents' tragic deaths. Dhruv’s parents had once tried to help Shanti Devi, Shanaya’s biological mother, when they discovered that Shanaya’s stepmother and her father had been plotting to steal her inheritance. Dhruv’s parents had even hidden documents that proved Shanti Devi’s ownership of multiple properties.

When Shanaya’s stepmother found out, she had conspired with Shanaya’s father to eliminate anyone who could get in their way. And so, they orchestrated a car crash that killed Dhruv’s parents and took away the one family he had left.

As Dhruv pieced it all together, rage filled him. He was furious at himself for believing the lies, for abandoning Shanaya when she had needed him the most. He had been manipulated, just as she had. And in his anger, he realized the cruel irony—he had lost Shanaya to the same people who had taken his parents from him.

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Present Day - Shanaya's POV

Shanaya sighed, looking at the empty lecture hall as the final bell rang. She was content with her job, her students, but she missed the passion she once had, the love that had once lit her life. She tried not to dwell on it, but sometimes the pain felt as fresh as the day she left.

She finished grading the last paper and leaned back, thinking of Dhruv. She wondered where he was, if he ever thought about her, if he knew what had happened to her after she’d left. She’d heard rumors of his success, but they only made her feel that he had moved on, built a life without her.

And yet, a small part of her heart held onto hope—a hope that one day he’d find her, understand her pain, and love her again.

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Dhruv’s POV

Dhruv leaned back in his chair, staring at a picture he kept hidden in his drawer—a picture of Shanaya from their days together. The hurt was still there, and now, guilt had taken residence in his heart.

After discovering the truth about her parents, he had searched for her, trying to reach her, to apologize. But she had left no trace, no means for him to find her. Jammu, he had learned, was where she’d gone. But he had been too late; she had already begun a new life there.

"Shanaya," he whispered to the empty office, feeling the weight of his regrets.

In the years since, Dhruv had thought of going to her, explaining everything. But he feared what she’d say, feared she wouldn’t forgive him. He had broken her heart by not standing by her side when she needed him most.

But now, with each passing day, he felt the pull stronger. He had to see her. He needed her to know the truth, to understand that he had never stopped loving her, despite everything.

He pulled out his phone, opening an old, unsent message he’d written to her years ago.

"I’m sorry, Shanaya. I was a fool. I should have believed in you. I let my anger blind me, and I lost you because of it. If I could take it all back, I would. I love you, and I always will."

He stared at the message for a moment, wondering if it was finally time to send it.