๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ,
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐โค๏ธ,๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐.ย ย ย ย ย ย
๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌย ๐ฆ๐ โจ
___________________________
Sidharth pov
Dangerous
I knew something was wrong the moment Maa's voice trembled on the phone.
"Siddharth... Roohi hasn't come home yet."
That was all she said.
No accusation.
No panic loud enough to alarm the house.
Just worry-thin, controlled, dangerous in its calm.
I stood near the window of my room, staring at the dark lawn outside the mansion, my fingers tightening around the phone.
"What do you mean she hasn't come?" I asked, already knowing the answer would not sit well inside me.
"She left college hours ago," maa said softly. "She always reaches by now."
Roohi was punctual in ways even time respected.
If she was late, it meant something had stopped her.
I dialed her number immediately.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
The number you are trying to reach is not reachable.My jaw clenched.
I dragged a hand through my hair, trying to stay calm. She could be with friends. Or maybe-
Sarika.
The thought came sharp and unwanted.I dialed Sarika's number.
She picked up after three rings.
"Yes?" Her tone was flat, bored.
"Roohi is not home," I said without greeting. "Is she there?"
There was a pause. Then a short laugh.
"No," Sarika replied casually. "Why would she be here?"
"She hasn't reached yet," I said, my voice firm now.
"Do you know where she is?"
Another laugh. Louder this time. "How would I know? These days girls roam around freely. Maybe she has an affair with someone."
Something snapped.
"Stop," I said sharply.
There was silence on the other end.
"Don't cross limits, Sarika," I continued, my voice low but dangerous. "She is not like that. And if you ever speak about her with that filth again-"
"You'll do what?" she mocked.
I cut the call.
My hand was shaking.
I stared at the phone like it had betrayed me.
"She's not like that," I whispered to no one. The words felt like a promise I was trying to keep alive.
Just then, Ankita rushed into the room, her face pale, phone clutched tightly in her hand.
"Bhai," she said breathlessly, "you need to see this."
She turned the screen toward me.
A video.
I didn't want to watch it.
Something inside me resisted, like my heart already knew what it would see.
But my eyes fell on the screen anyway.
Roohi.
Standing in the college corridor.
Bending.
Touching someone's feet.Laughter in the background.
My chest constricted painfully.The video was cruel. Cropped in a way that stripped dignity. Turned respect into humiliation.
I could almost hear her silence in it-the way she would have bendย there quietly, accepting whatever came her way without defending herself.
My thumb hovered over the screen.
I couldn't watch more.
"This is nonsense," I said hoarsely.
"She's missing, bhai," Ankita whispered. "And this is spreading everywhere in college."
That was it.Enough.
I dialed the college authorities without a second thought.The principal.
The head.Security.Even the police.
My voice didn't shake when I spoke. It went cold.
"My family member is missing from your campus," I said. "And I want answers. Now."
Ankita watched me silently as I grabbed my keys and moved toward the door.Rain began to fall the moment we stepped outside.
Not gentle rain.
Heavy. Angry.
The kind that broke against the windshield like fists.
Thunder followed, loud enough to make the sky tremble.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Roohi hated storms.
She always flinched at thunder, her shoulders stiffening even if she tried to hide it. She would pretend she wasn't scared, but her fingers would curl into her dupatta unconsciously.
I pressed the accelerator harder.
Ankita glanced at me. " Bhai Drive carefully-"
"She's scared of rain," I said, not taking my eyes off the road. "She must be terrified."
The college gates appeared ahead, blurred by rain.
Security looked confused, unprepared.
"No student is missing," one of them said nervously.
I didn't stop walking.
"Then find her," I said, my voice cutting through the noise. "Because if something happens to her inside this campus-"
The principal paled.
Ankita leaned closer to me. "Bhai... I think Rinki knows something."
I stopped.
"Who?" I asked.
"That girl from the video," she said quickly. "She has a history."
My jaw tightened.
The principal immediately dailed Rinki to his office.
She lifted the call pretending innocence, confidence misplaced.
"She was with you last," the principal said gently. "Do you know where Roohi is?"
Rinki shrugged. "I don't know."
I took the phone from the principal's hand slowly.Held it to my ear.
Then I spoke.
Calmly.
"Listen carefully," I said. "This is Siddharth Malhotra."
Her breath hitched.
"If anything happens to her," I continued softly, "your name will not just be in college records. It will be in police files."
Silence.
Then-fear.
"She... she's in the old storage room," Rinki blurted out. "Near the back corridor."
The principal went white.
"That room is locked," he whispered. "And it has insufficient oxygen."
I didn't hear anything else.
I ran.
The corridor was dark, rainwater seeping inside, footsteps echoing loudly.
Ankita struggled to keep up.
The door stood at the end-rusted, forgotten, sealed.
I didn't hesitate.
I kicked it once.
It didn't budge.
Again.
Pain shot up my leg, but I kicked harder.
The lock broke with a sharp crack.
The door flew open.
The air inside was heavy. Suffocating.
And then I saw her.
"Roohi."
My voice didn't sound like mine.It broke somewhere between my chest and my throat, as if the darkness of that room had already clawed into me.
She lay on the cold floor, half-curled, half-still-like someone who had stopped fighting because even hope had grown tired.
The air inside the room was thick, heavy, pressing down on my lungs, but I barely noticed it. All I could see was her face. Pale. Damp with sweat. Eyelashes trembling as if she was stuck between this world and another.
I dropped to my knees beside her and gathered her into my arms.
She was light. Too light.
Her head lolled weakly against my shoulder, and for one terrifying second, I thought I was too late.
"Roohi," I whispered again, closer this time, my forehead brushing her hair. "Look at me."
Her eyelids fluttered.Slowly. Uncertainly.
Then her eyes opened just a little.
They were unfocused at first, lost in the dark. Then-recognition.
Her fingers moved.Weak. Searching.
They found my arm and clutched it with everything she had left.
"S... Siddharth?" she breathed, disbelief laced with fear.
"You... you came for me?"
Those words did something to me.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just a quiet, devastating shift somewhere deep inside my ribs.
"I'm here," I said immediately, tightening my hold on her. "I've got you."
Her forehead creased, tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes.
"I thought... I thought I would die today," she whispered. "I kept calling you in my head... but you didn't come... and then I thought maybe... this is it."
My arms closed around her without thought.
I pulled her into my chest, holding her as tightly as I dared, as if the dark itself was trying to steal her away.
"Don't say that," I murmured into her hair, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it. "Don't ever say that."
Her body trembled.
She pressed her face against my chest, breath uneven, frightened beyond words.
"Please," she whispered, barely audible. "Please don't leave me. I'm scared."
Those five words undid me completely.
"I won't," I said, my voice low and fierce. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner."
Her breathing suddenly changed-shallow, rushed, panicked.
Ankita knelt beside us instantly, rubbing Roohi's feet, her hands shaking.
"Bhai... she's not breathing properly."
I felt it then.
The air.
Or the lack of it.
Roohi gasped, her chest rising unevenly, her fingers digging painfully into my shirt as if she was drowning.
"No," I muttered. "No, no, no..."
I couldn't watch her fade like that.
Instinct took over.
I loosened my tie, tugged off my suit jacket, and wrapped it around her shoulders to keep her warm.
Then, without thinking, I bent down and sealed my lips over hers, breathing into her-slow, desperate, uneven breaths.
Once.
Twice.
"Breathe," I whispered against her mouth. "Roohi, stay with me. Please."
Her lips trembled under mine.
She coughed weakly, then gasped-air finally finding its way back into her lungs.
I pulled back just enough to rest my forehead against hers, my breath harsh, my hands still shaking.
The sound of sirens cut through the chaos outside.
Relief crashed into meย I lifted her carefully and rushed her out.
The ambulance doors were open, paramedics already moving toward us.
As they placed her on the stretcher, her hand shot out again, gripping mine tightly.
Her eyes were glassy, filled with tears.
"Please," she whispered brokenly. "Don't leave me... I'm scared."
I cupped her face gently, my thumb brushing away a tear that refused to fall.
"I promise," I said softly. "I'll come back. I'm right here."
I leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead-not hurried, not dramatic. Just steady. Certain.
Her eyes slipped shut as a single tear rolled down her temple.
The doors closed.
The siren wailed.
And something inside my chest stayed behind with her.
I didn't go to the hospital.
Not yet.
Some fires needed to be put out before they burned again.
The drive to Sarika's house was a blur of rain, anger, and something darker-something that had been building quietly .
Police jeeps were already outside when I arrived.
I stepped out of my car slowly, rain soaking through my clothes, my jaw clenched so tight it hurt.
Rinki was dragged out first.
She was crying. Shouting. Pretending.
Sarika followed, wailing loudly,
clutching her dupatta like a shield.
โPlease understandโmy daughter is innocent.โSarika screamed. "You can't arrest her!"
One of the officers looked at her coldly.
"She locked a girl inside a room with insufficient oxygen," he said. "This is an attempt to murder."
Sarika froze.
"Who told you this?" she demanded. "Who accused my daughter?"
I stepped forward then.
Quietly.
Steadily.
"I did."
She turned to me, shocked.
"Siddharth... you? You're her-"
"Yes," I said, cutting her off. "I'm her husband. Roohi's husband. Siddharth Malhotra."
The rain hit harder, like punctuation.
Her face drained of color.
I moved closer, my voice calm but unforgiving.
"Youย asked me what I would do if someone crossed the line with her,"
I said. "This is my answer."
Rinki sobbed louder as the police pulled her away.
Sarika stared at me, tears spilling freely now-not from regret, but from defeat.
I looked at her once more.
"This is your final warning," I said quietly. "If anyone ever dares to harm my wife again... there won't be words next time."
I turned away before she could respond.
The hospital lights were too bright.
Too cold.
I walked down the corridor slowly, my steps heavy, my mind still trapped in that dark room.
She was alive.
That was all that mattered.
I stopped outside the ICU, my reflection staring back at me from the glass-tired eyes, rain-soaked hair, a man who had almost lost something he didn't know how to name.
I rested my forehead against the wall and closed my eyes.
For the first time that night, I let myself breathe.
And somewhere between the sound of machines and the echo of her last whispered don't leaveme,
I realized some fears don't come from losing love-
They come from finally understanding what your life looks like without her.
______________________________________
๐๐๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ!ย
โข Did this chapter make your heart race like it did mine while writing it?
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