I didn't remember walking back to my room.
I didn't remember closing the door.
All I remembered was Riyan's voice—
soft, cold, devastating:
"The last person my brother spoke to… was you."
But how?
When?
Why didn't I remember even a second of it?
My heart pounded painfully as I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket like it was the only thing keeping me together.
I wasn't the kind of person who forgot people.
Especially not someone connected to a tragedy.
So how could I forget him?
Unless…
No.
No, there was no unless.
There was no missing memory.
I would've remembered.
Wouldn't I?
A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me.
The room tilted slightly before steadying itself.
I pressed my hand to my forehead.
Maybe I was exhausted.
Maybe I was overwhelmed.
Maybe…
Maybe there really was something I didn't remember.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand.
My breath caught.
Another message?
But when I picked it up, it wasn't from the unknown number.
It was from an old contact—
someone I hadn't spoken to in years.
Maya (College Friend)
My fingers trembled as I opened the message.
Maya:
Aarvi, please call me. It's urgent.
Urgent?
My heart tightened.
I dialed instantly.
She picked up on the first ring.
"Aarvi?" Her voice was breathless, anxious. "Thank god. I wasn't sure you'd still have the same number."
"Maya, what's going on?" I whispered. "Why did you text me after all these years?"
She hesitated.
"Aarvi… do you remember that boy who used to wait outside our college gate sometimes?"
I frowned.
"What boy?"
"You know…" Her voice lowered. "The one who kept asking for you."
A cold shiver ran through my spine.
"I don't remember anyone like that," I said honestly.
Maya inhaled sharply.
"That's exactly why I messaged you."
My skin prickled.
"What do you mean?"
"Aarvi, that boy—" she paused as if gathering courage, "—he was Riyan Malhotra's younger brother."
The world froze.
Air.
Sound.
Time.
Everything blurred.
"Maya… no. That's impossible. I didn't know him. I swear—"
"You don't remember," she whispered. "That's the frightening part. You talked to him for weeks."
My stomach dropped.
"That's not true," I whispered, shaking. "I would've remembered something like that."
"Aarvi," she said quietly, "you don't remember because… something happened."
My breath hitched.
"Happened?" I echoed.
"I don't know the details," she rushed on, "but one day he stopped coming. And the next month… rumors spread that something terrible happened in his family."
My hands went numb.
"No," I whispered again. "No, Maya. I never knew him. I never spoke to him. Why would I forget an entire person?"
She fell silent for a few seconds.
Then she said the words that made my heart stutter to a stop.
"Aarvi… don't you remember the accident you had right after college?"
My body went still.
"What… accident?" The words scraped out of my throat.
"You fell down the hostel stairs," she said gently. "You hit your head. You were hospitalized for two days. The doctor said you might forget bits of that month."
A hollow ringing filled my ears.
No.
No, that couldn't be true.
I would have remembered something that important.
Wouldn't I?
My knees buckled and I sank onto the edge of the bed.
"Aarvi," Maya whispered, "I don't know what's happening now, but… if Riyan blames you for something involving his brother, it probably happened during the time you lost."
Lost.
Lost.
Lost.
The word echoed inside me, cold and heavy.
My phone slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.
I stared at the wall, heartbeat thundering, breath shaking.
A missing month.
A boy I didn't remember.
A tragedy I was somehow tied to.
And a husband who believed I was the reason his brother's life collapsed.
My vision blurred as panic overwhelmed me.
If there were memories missing from my past…
If there were conversations I had forgotten…
If there were moments I lived but couldn't recall…
Then maybe—
Just maybe—
I wasn't as innocent as I believed.
My hands curled into fists.
I had to know the truth.
Whether it broke me or saved me.
I had to know what happened during the month I lost.
Even if Riyan didn't want me to remember.
Even if remembering destroyed everything.