Chapter 15: The Price of a Lie
The rain in Mumbai was relentless, blurring the world into a grey smudge. I drove fast, my vision clouded by tears. My mind was a chaotic mess of Aman's disappointed face and the image of Natasha's silk scarf on our stairs.
I had played so many games—fake accidents, fake dates—that I didn't see the real danger until it was too late.
The truck hydroplaned, a wall of steel screaming toward me. I slammed on the brakes, but the car spun out of control. There was a sickening crunch of metal, the explosive pop of the airbag, and then… total, suffocating darkness.
The Awakening
The first thing I smelled was antiseptic. The second thing I felt was a throbbing, white-hot pain in my ribs.
"Ananya? Jaan, can you hear me?"
The voice was broken. It wasn't the Ice King. It wasn't the indifferent stranger. It was a man on the edge of a breakdown.
I opened my eyes slowly. The hospital room was dim, but I could see Advik sitting by my bed. His tuxedo was wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was clutching my hand so hard his knuckles were white.
"Advik?" I whispered, my throat feeling like it was full of glass.
He let out a shaky, jagged breath that sounded like a sob. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against the side of my mattress. "I thought… when the call came, I thought it was another game. I almost didn't come, Ananya. I almost stayed in that study like a fool."
"I'm sorry," I choked out, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. "I'm so sorry for the lies."
Advik looked up, and the mask was gone. There was no Natasha, no ice, no indifference. There was only a raw, bleeding honesty. "I watched the footage of the crash. If you had died thinking I didn't care… I would have ended it all tonight."
"You were so cold," I sobbed. "I just wanted to feel like I mattered to you."
Advik reached out, his thumb gently wiping a tear from my cheek. His hand was trembling. "You matter more than my own life. That's why I had to go cold. Seeing you with him… knowing you wanted to leave… it was killing me. I thought if I acted like a monster, you'd find it easier to walk away when the year was up."
"I don't want to walk away in hatred," I said, reaching for his hand. "Can we just… be friends? For this year? No more Natasha, no more games. Just be there for me while we find Ishaan."
Advik closed his eyes, a pained expression crossing his face. He knew being "just friends" with the woman he loved would be a slow torture, but looking at my bandaged head, he couldn't say no.
"Okay," he whispered, kissing the back of my hand. "Friends. I'll be whatever you need me to be, Ananya. Just stay alive."
I felt a wave of relief, but as I looked at him, I realized the tragedy of our deal. I was holding the hand of the man who saved me, while dreaming of the man I was supposed to marry.
We had a year of "friendship" ahead of us, but in the mafia, a year is a lifetime. And as Advik tucked the blanket around me, I saw the red silk scarf poking out of his pocket—he had kept it to remind himself of the role he had to play.