Sia dialed Arjun fifty times in half an hour. Again and again, without stopping, without even taking a proper breath.
No one answered.
Finally, overwhelmed by anger and helplessness, she threw her phone on the ground. The sound echoed sharply in the silent room. The moment her anger cooled, panic rushed in. She picked it up quickly.
The phone was still working.
But a deep scratch cut across the screen.
The sight of it triggered something inside her. Her thoughts spiraled like a chain reaction. Tears began to fall harder, faster. Arjun was the only ray of hope left in her life.
She had met him when she was just seventeen.
Arjun—charming, confident, known for his backbencher-yet-topper image. Girls talked about him a lot. Not because he wasn't handsome—he was—but because he was distant, arrogant, and stayed away from them.
Until the day he met Sia.
She was late on her very first day of high school. The teacher sent her straight to the principal's office. Arjun was already sitting there on the bench, clearly not new to the place. He noticed her and shifted slightly, keeping his distance.
Sia sat quietly beside him.
Her anxiety made her legs move up and down unconsciously. The bench started shaking.
"Stop."
She froze.
"What are you doing? Don't you have manners?"
Her innocent eyes filled instantly. She almost cried, but she said nothing.
A few minutes passed. Without realizing it, her legs started moving again.
This time, Arjun exploded.
"Are you mad or what? Don't you have any civic sense? How to behave in public?"
He stood up, anger flashing in his eyes.
"I don't know how people even get admission in these colleges."
Sia was stunned. Her vision blurred. She opened her mouth to respond but couldn't find her voice.
After a moment, she finally said, "I think you don't have any common sense about how to talk to someone. Maybe you should work on your anger instead of scolding people over small inconveniences."
Without waiting for his response, she entered the principal's office as the principal had just arrived. Arjun followed.
The principal was old and strict. He scanned Sia carefully.
"You are Raghav's daughter?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Oh. You look like him."
"But how do you know?" she asked, shocked.
"He was the vice principal here for a long time before his death."
Sia went silent. She didn't want to cry in front of them.
"It's your first day and your first mistake, so I'm letting you go," the principal said. "Your father was a great man. I hope you follow his path and stay away from wrong people."
As he said "wrong people," his eyes shifted to Arjun.
"And you, Mr Hero—just because you bring good grades doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. Why did you beat Saket?"
"Sir, he was misbehaving with me."
"Oh? What did he do?"
"He didn't agree with my statement."
"This is your last warning, Arjun. People are allowed to have different opinions."
"Go take fifty rounds of the ground."
They walked out.
Sia tried hard not to cry. She told herself she couldn't break down every time someone mentioned her parents. But her emotions refused to listen.
Her eyes blurred again. She didn't see the small brick on the path.
She fell.
Arjun, walking behind her, rushed forward and lifted her immediately. Her knee was badly scraped. Blood trickled down. Without thinking, he pulled out his handkerchief and gently cleaned the wound.
Her control shattered. Tears dropped onto his hand.
He froze for a second. He had never handled a crying girl before. But he didn't panic. He tied the handkerchief around her knee carefully.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I shouldn't have been rude. And… I'm sorry about your father. Please don't cry."
She paused and whispered, "Your sorry comes from sympathy. You're not genuinely sorry."
"No, I am," he replied quickly. "I know your father shouldn't have died, but—"
"I'm not talking about my father," she interrupted. "You're not sorry for scolding me."
"What?"
"Nothing."
She stopped crying, but Arjun kept looking at her.
"I really shouldn't have shouted at you," he said finally.
She looked up with swollen eyes. She couldn't see his face clearly, but something warm stirred inside her. No one had ever apologized to her like this. No one had ever picked her up when she fell. No one had ever tried to stop her tears.
Without thinking, she hugged him tightly and started sobbing again.
Arjun didn't know what to do. He gently patted her head for a long time.
The memory faded.
Sia was back in the present. Her phone was still silent.
Four years of love.
Gone without explanation.
Her boyfriend—Arjun—had disappeared just when she needed him the most. And now, she was about to be married to a stranger whose face she had never seen.
How could she marry someone she couldn't love?
Arjun had promised her marriage. But when it was time to face her uncle and aunt, he vanished.
She decided she couldn't wait anymore.
She washed her face, changed into a red kurti, wore long jhumkas, applied kajal, and left her hair open. He liked her like this.
It was 9 PM.
"Aunty, I'm going to Nisha's place," she said.
"It's too late. Go tomorrow."
She couldn't wait.
"I'll come back soon."
"It's far."
"Then I'll stay there."
"No, Sia."
"Let her go," Mahesh said. "After marriage, she won't get time to meet friends."
"Go safely," he added.
She rushed out before anyone changed their mind.
In the taxi, her legs kept shaking. She messaged Nisha.
I'm going to Arjun's place. I told Aunty I'm coming to you.
He didn't call back?
No. I'm confronting him.
After forty-five minutes, she reached his place.
She rang the bell. No response.
She knocked. Nothing.
The door opened slightly.
Inside, the lights were on. Soft music played. A wine glass sat on the table. Another lay shattered on the floor. The room looked messy—like a fight had happened.
She walked toward the bedroom.
At first, she couldn't understand what she was seeing. The light was dim. Two people. Movement.
Then her mouth fell open.
Her world collapsed.
She lost consciousness and fell to the floor.