Aanya couldn't breathe properly after the call ended.
Her phone slipped from her hand.
Riya's words… Rudra's voice… everything was echoing at once.
"He never left you. He only hid the war."
"I told you to stay away from her."
Aanya whispered to herself,
"Nothing is real… nothing is real…"
But her heart didn't agree.
Suddenly—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Slow.
Controlled.
Familiar.
Aanya froze.
Her body already knew before her mind did.
She walked to the door slowly.
Opened it.
Rudra Rathore stood there.
Black shirt.
Cold eyes.
Same presence… but heavier.
More dangerous than before.
Aanya stepped back instantly.
"You… you were just on the call…"
Rudra didn't answer immediately.
He stepped inside without asking.
Locked the door behind him.
Click.
Silence.
Aanya's voice trembled.
"What are you hiding from me?"
Rudra looked at her.
Long.
Quiet.
Then finally—
"Everything I built after you left."
Aanya frowned.
"I never left you—what are you talking about?!"
Rudra's jaw tightened.
"You left emotionally."
A pause.
"And I rebuilt myself into something you shouldn't have seen again."
Silence fell hard.
Aanya shook her head.
"Riya sent me your photo… your empire… your weapons—why are you doing this again?!"
Rudra stepped closer.
Slow.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
Until the space between them disappeared.
"I never stopped," he said quietly.
"I only paused."
Aanya's eyes widened.
"For what?"
Rudra looked at her directly.
"For you."
Silence shattered instantly.
Aanya whispered,
"Don't say things like that…"
Rudra's voice dropped lower.
"Because it scares you?"
A pause.
"Or because it feels true?"
Aanya stepped back.
"I don't know you like this…"
Rudra nodded slowly.
"That's the truth Riya is using."
Aanya froze.
"What do you mean?"
Rudra exhaled.
"She knows what I was before you."
A pause.
"And she knows what I became because of you."
Aanya's heart tightened.
"I didn't change you…"
Rudra stepped closer again.
"You did."
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
Then Rudra finally said it—
"Before you, I didn't hesitate to destroy anything."
A pause.
"After you… I started thinking before every bullet."
Aanya's eyes filled slightly.
Rudra continued softly,
"And that hesitation… made me dangerous to my own world."
Suddenly—
A loud explosion echoed far outside.
Glass in the apartment trembled.
Aanya flinched.
Rudra didn't.
He just closed his eyes for a second.
Like he already knew.
Then—
"Riya started again," he said quietly.
Aanya grabbed his arm.
"What is she doing?!"
Rudra looked at her hand.
Then at her face.
And said the line that broke everything again—
"She's forcing me to choose between my empire… and you."
Silence.
Aanya whispered,
"And what will you choose?"
Rudra didn't answer immediately.
For the first time…
he looked afraid of his own answer.