𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞: 𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐨 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲

Chapter 39

A A R A V I

It's been almost a month since that night... and yet, the aftershocks still echo inside me. That night didn't just leave bruises on my body—it shattered something deep within me.

They've started training me—to fight, to survive, to not be helpless again. Not just with fists, but with fire. So that I can stand tall. So that I don't have to wait for someone to come save me... because this time, I'll save myself.

Karate. Martial arts. Self-defense. Every move, every strike—they're trying to rebuild me. Stronger. Fiercer.

And ever since that night, I haven't been left alone. Not even for a heartbeat.

Ansh bhai... Nikshant ji... even Rishabh, Yash, and Aarav bhai—they hover around me like my shadows. Every step I take is guarded. Every breath I take, someone's watching.

They treat me like I'm made of glass—like one wrong word, one sudden noise, and I'll break all over again. Whether I want to step outside, or sit quietly on the balcony... someone has to be with me. Always.

I know they care. I know this suffocating protectiveness is their way of loving me. But God... some days, it feels like I'm drowning in it.

Just once... I want to sit alone in silence. Just once... I want to breathe without someone waiting to catch me if I fall.

And even now... even after everything... I haven't forgiven Nikshant ji. Maybe I never will. Especially after knowing the real reason behind the way he treated me in the beginning.

But still.

When he's around... when his presence brushes against mine, like a whisper I didn't ask for—my heart betrays me. It skips, stutters, races like it remembers something my mind refuses to accept.

When he looks at me, not the cold man he once was, but the man he is now—soft, wounded, trying—a thousand butterflies flutter in my stomach, and I hate how my body still reacts.

I hate how a part of my heart still wants him to forgive.

Isn't that the cruel thing about love? Maybe someone was right when they said—when you truly love someone, no matter how much pain they cause, your heart simply refuses to hate them. Even when it should.

And I get that now. I really do.

I've been cold... distant. I've pushed him away with every sharp word, every harsh glance. I wanted him to hurt the way I did. But his eyes—they never reflected anger. Never once. They only ever held longing. Guilt. Care. Maybe... even love.

And that's what breaks me.

I close my eyes, and against my will, memories sneak in. The soft ones. The ones wrapped in warmth and stolen smiles.

Even if it was fake... even if it wasn't forever... for a moment, I believed I could be loved. Despite my scars. Despite my past. Despite everything.

My mind feels like a storm—chaotic, loud, unbearable. A mess of thoughts crashing into each other, and it won't stop. It's pounding, like my skull can't contain the noise anymore. And this headache... it's not just in my head, it's in my chest, in my breath, everywhere.