𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞: 𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

Chapter 37

The toughest chapter I have written so far, I poured all my emotions into this chapter, I cried while writing it.

N I K S H A N T

8 hours.

8 fucking hours, 45 minutes, and 30 seconds.

And still-nothing.

We couldn't find her. Not a single trace. And with every passing second, the weight of helplessness crushed me deeper into despair.

My fists clenched. My breathing was uneven.

"Bhai, are you okay?" Aarav's voice broke through my thoughts.

I barely turned to look at him.

Yeah, I had called Rishabh, Yash, and Aarav to Italy to help search for her. If some local goons had taken her, we would've found them by now. But whoever did this... erased every single trace.

They didn't just kidnap her. They made sure we wouldn't find her.

"Tujhe dekh ke lag raha hai ki main theek hoon?" I snapped, my voice rough, my patience thinning.

( Do I look like I'm okay to you? )

Aarav didn't argue. He just shook his head and continued searching.

But my mind-it couldn't focus on anything but her.

"Jaan, please come back," I whispered, placing my palm against my chest," it hurts here badly."

I was on the verge of breaking.

My emotions-rage, helplessness, fear-all twisted together into something unbearable, something suffocating.

8 hours.

8 goddamn hours.

"AATH GHANTE HO CHUKE HAIN! TAB TAK TUM LOG USSE TRACE KAR PAYE?!" I roared, my voice cracking with frustration. My fingers tangled into my hair, pulling in desperation. I was losing my mind.

( Eight hours have passed! Were you able to trace her by then? )

"We're trying to trace her," the four of them said in unison, their voices stiff, controlled.

Trying.

That word felt like a knife to my gut. Trying wasn't enough.

"Kabh?" I gritted out, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. I stalked toward them, my heart hammering against my ribs.

( When. )

I leaned over the laptop, my eyes scanning the screen as Aaransh's fingers moved across the keyboard-fast, calculated, robotic.

His face was blank, but his eyes held the same urgency as mine.

"Just a few seconds... and we'll have her location," he muttered, his voice devoid of emotion.

I swallowed hard and nodded.

A few seconds.

That was all I had left in me before I lost my sanity.