TejRan - Arranged Love

🔅CHAPTER 28🔅

Hello everyone. Your most awaited story is here. Hehe. Happy reading 😝.

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Ranbir stood there quietly for a moment, watching Tejasswi as she wiped her tears and composed herself. Karan remained beside her, his hand still on hers, his eyes shifting between the siblings with a growing sense of concern.

Tejasswi looked up at her brother. "Ranbir... tell me honestly. Why was Papa stressed? Is the business going down or something?"

Ranbir shook his head immediately. "No, didu. The business is doing well. There's no loss, no tension there."

"Then what is it?" she asked, her voice low but firm. "What's making him this stressed?"

Ranbir hesitated before saying, "It's you, didu."

Both Tejasswi and Karan looked at him in shock.

"It's you and your marriage... the divorce," he continued. "He's been trying to act like he's fine with it, but he's not. The night before, one of our relatives-someone who's also a business partner-came home for a casual dinner. Everything was fine at first, they were chatting normally, and then they asked about you. About your marriage. They said they heard the divorce is happening soon. You know how fast these things spread among relatives."

Tejasswi's lips parted in disbelief. Her heart dropped.

Ranbir's eyes softened. "Abhi Papa and Maa were both shocked. They didn't expect someone outside the family to know. Abhi Papa didn't say anything in front of them, just smiled through it. But after they left, he kept pacing around. He was talking about you, saying things like... what will Teju do after the divorce? That he doesn't want this to happen. That he just wants you to be happy, didu."

Tejasswi's throat tightened.

"He didn't even eat dinner properly," Ranbir added quietly. "He just went to the bedroom mid-meal. Locked himself in. Me, Aditi, and Maa were just standing there, watching him walk away like that, and none of us knew how to stop him or what to say."

The weight of Ranbir's words fell heavy between them.

"And then..." he swallowed, "the accident happened yesterday morning."

Tejasswi closed her eyes, the pain crashing down in waves. Karan reached for her hand, but she didn't move. Her eyes slowly opened and turned to him, her gaze unreadable-but the hurt was evident.

Tejasswi jerked her hand away from Karan's grip. The touch that once brought her comfort now felt like a burn. Karan was taken aback, frozen for a moment as he stared at her in disbelief.

Without sparing him a single glance, Tejasswi turned to Ranbir. "Go inside, Ranbir. Be with Maa and Aditi," she said firmly, her voice laced with pain.

Ranbir hesitated, glancing at Karan for a second before nodding. He knew it wasn't his place to stay. He quietly walked back into the room, leaving the storm behind.

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Tejasswi walked away from the corridor in silence. Karan stood still for a moment, confused and overwhelmed, guilt clawing at his chest. The image of Abhi lying in the hospital bed flashed in his mind. And the truth hit him like a truck-if they hadn't dragged this divorce mess so far, if he hadn't created drama in Tejasswi's life, maybe Abhi wouldn't be in this condition.

Without thinking further, Karan followed her. His feet moved on their own, trailing behind her until they reached the small park area near the hospital-quiet, empty, shaded by trees and surrounded by the soft hum of the city beyond.