The Sisodia heirs stood unrivaled in control and possession, their world a testament to their might. To onlookers, their lives were a manifestation of perfection, with their family and surname commanding respect, prestige, and reputation.
Yet, behi...
This part is dedicated to Vedika and Sidharth. [A/N:I've kept it as a separate read so the flow of the rest of the chapter doesn't feel diverted. If you want to skip, move to the next part. You've got the gist from the title.]
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The sky was a deep shade of indigo, the stars piercing the darkness like scattered needles of light. Sidharth approaches Vedika, who was standing at the railing of the balcony, lost in thought.
"Vedika," he says softly, standing behind her.
Her body stiffens lightly at the sound of his voice, his gentle tone a stark contrast to the dilemma that he seemed to carry beneath it. She could feel the weight of his stare, yet she doesn't turn around, her gaze fixed on some point in the distance.
Sidharth's eyes hold onto her profile, feeling a pang in his chest. He struggles to contain the whirlwind of emotions swirling within him — longing, defeat, regret, and a crippling fear of losing her again.
The toll of their separation weighs down on him, the torment of believing she had been lost to him forever still lingering.
He could see the tension in her posture, her hands gripping the railing. She looked fragile, like a delicate glass sculpture that could shatter into a thousand pieces with even a single wrong move or word. She would, he knew.
The silence between them was oppressive, stretching out like an endless chasm. Vedika finally she breaks it, asking, "Devanshi left?"
Her tone was neutral, but her features betray a flicker of pain. Her mind seemed far away, and the peacefulness of the surroundings did little to calm the turmoil within her that threatened to surface.
"She did, but she's waiting there for her mother to arrive. Our daughter is right in the place where she should be, and where you should be too," he replies, observing her for any reaction.
As Vedika turns to him, her eyes meet his, and for an instant, Sidharth thinks he has witnessed within them a glimpse of something. Something timeless and hauntingly familiar. But it was quickly gone, replaced by a subtle warning, a caution against pursuing the topic further.
Without a word, she walks back into the room, her palm brushing against her forehead in a fleeting gesture of fatigue.
"Who are you walking away from?" he asks from behind, causing her steps to falter for a second. But then she resumes her pace, sinking on the sofa, her shoulder sagging in weariness.
Sidharth follows her inside, and adds, "Me, our children, or yourself?" his tone filled with a desperate edge that only emphasizes the distance between them.
"Haven't we suffered enough according to you that you still want to keep doing this? At least, tell me, is it me you are trying to punish, or yourself? What will it take for you to get back?" His questions weren't accusations, but a cry from a soul torn apart by the shadows ghosting him again.
