The apartment didn't feel like home anymore.
It felt monitored.
Controlled.
---
Aarohi noticed it in small things first.
The extra guards.
The calls Veer took in another room.
The way he always knew where she was.
---
"Where are you going?"
His voice stopped her halfway to the door.
Aarohi turned slowly. "Out."
"Where?"
That one word—
sharp.
Immediate.
---
Aarohi frowned. "Since when do I need permission?"
Veer stepped closer, his expression unreadable. "Since someone tried to blow up your car."
"That doesn't mean I stop living," she shot back.
"It means you stay where it's safe."
---
Safe.
The word irritated her now.
---
"Safe for who?" she asked. "For me… or for your control?"
Veer's jaw tightened. "Don't twist this."
"I'm not twisting anything," Aarohi said, her voice rising slightly. "You're turning this into a cage."
---
Silence.
Heavy.
---
"I'm trying to protect you," he said.
"And I'm trying to breathe."
---
That hit.
Harder than anything else.
---
Aarohi stepped closer, her eyes sharp now.
"I didn't survive everything just to feel trapped again," she said. "Not even by you."
A pause.
"And definitely not for this."
Her hand moved to her stomach.
---
Veer exhaled slowly, controlling himself.
"You think I'm the problem?" he asked quietly.
"I think your world is," she replied.
"And I'm part of it," he said.
"Yes," Aarohi answered.
"And that's exactly why I'm scared."
---
That was the truth.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
---
For a moment—
neither of them spoke.
---
Then Aarohi grabbed her bag.
"I'm leaving."
Veer's eyes darkened. "You're not going anywhere."
That tone—
that control—
---
Aarohi froze.
Then turned back slowly.
"Watch me."
---
Before he could stop her—
she walked out.
---
The door shut.
And just like that—
the silence returned.
But this time—
it wasn't calm.
It was dangerous.
---
---
The stepfather's house looked the same.
Old.
Familiar.
Deceptive.
---
Aarohi stood outside for a moment longer than necessary.
Her instincts whispered something was wrong.
But her emotions were louder.
---
She knocked.
---
The door opened almost instantly.
Her stepfather stood there—
surprised.
Then smiling.
Too quickly.
---
"Aarohi… you came back?"
His voice sounded warm.
But something in his eyes didn't.
---
"I just need a place to stay," she said.
He stepped aside immediately. "Of course… you're always welcome."
---
That was the first warning.
Too easy.
---
As Aarohi stepped inside—
she didn't notice the man sitting in the corner of the room.
Watching.
Silent.
---
And somewhere far from there—
Veer stood still, staring at the closed door she had left behind.
---
For the first time—
he wasn't angry.
He was uneasy.
---
Because Aarohi didn't just leave him.
---
She walked straight into something worse.
And this time—
he wasn't there to stop it.