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हसरतों की जलन, हम बड़े दिन सहे
हाल जो भी रहा, न किसी से कहे
तेरी ज़ुल्फ़ों तले, अब तो जीना मुझे मांग ले तू अगर, जान भी दूँ तुझे
अदा, अदा, अदा, अदा ने ही लूटा है
The Moonlight loved her
But not as much as my shadows
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The call with Sameer ended, and for a long moment, I just... sat there. The quiet around me felt too loud, like the silence had teeth. The phone was still in my hand, heavy in a way that had nothing to do with its weight. My thumb lingered against the cooling glass, as if the conversation might somehow still be there, pulsing faintly through the metal and wires.
Inside me, the storm had shifted. Not gone—storms like mine never just vanish—but the wild churn had slowed, curling in on itself until it was something else entirely. Something colder. Heavier. More deliberate.
I had heard her voice. Shaken, yes. Frightened, yes. But alive. Still mine.
And that was enough to turn the fire into ice.
After speaking to Sameer, I knew he understood the rules now. Men like him didn't waste energy on sentiment—they protected what they couldn't afford to lose. Now he knew what she was to me. Now he knew what would happen if she came to harm. Whatever doubt I'd had about trusting him... it didn't matter anymore. Because I didn't need to trust him. I just needed him afraid enough of losing what he valued. And now, he was.
That bought me something I hadn't had since this began.
Time.
The urgency in my chest didn't disappear, but it... changed shape. It was no longer a wildfire eating me alive from the inside. It was ice now—sharp, dangerous, patient. A hunter's cold.
