I love you, Alara.
My love for you knows no bounds-I would sacrifice everything for you!!
To...
Fuck you, Alara.
You think I killed your brother? You think I could ever hurt someone you loved?
You hate me now, and maybe that's worse than death.
But...
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"I love you."
A beat.
"I'm sorry."
And just like that, my whole world tilted again.
"I love you." Oh. Of course. As if that was the only thing I needed to hear right now.
I took a step back.
No. No, no, no. This was too much.
Whatever the hell was happening—it was all so fucking much.
I came to Florida to breathe. To run away from the mess I could no longer clean up back home. Rehan bhai's murder, the courtroom whispers, the weight of my mother's silence, Papa's fury, Ishita's broken face—God, Ishita. I left all that behind. I thought I did.
And now... Now this?
He had no idea what he was doing to me. Or maybe he did. And that's what made it worse.
Why? Why do I have to suffer again and again?
What kind of cruel loop was this?
Where do I even run now?
I'm tired—of running, of pretending, of stitching myself together only to be torn apart again.
I left that place without a word. No explanations. No goodbyes. Just... silence.
And silence, somehow, screamed louder than any goodbye could.
I pushed the car door open, my voice barely holding together.
"Josh," I whispered, my throat dry. "Take me home."
He glanced at me through the rear-view mirror—uncertain, maybe worried. But he didn't ask.
"Y–yes, ma'am," he replied softly.
The engine started, but inside me? There was nothing but the sound of everything falling apart.
Rehan tried to stop me. Tried to hold my wrist, tried to call my name—but I wasn't in my senses. Everything felt distant. Muted. Like I was underwater and the world was screaming above the surface.
I got in the car without a second glance.
We reached home. And that's when it all cracked open.
Tears.
Of course.
Guess who didn't want drama and is now knee-deep drowning in it?
Me.
Freaking me.
I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, trying to hold in the sobs. Didn't work.
