Chapter 16: The Gentleman's Retreat
The peace in the hospital room was fragile, held together by the warmth of Advik's hand. For the first time in weeks, the air between us wasn't freezing; it was soft, filled with the quiet understanding of two people who had nearly lost everything.
Then, the heavy door swung open.
Aman stood in the doorway, his chest heaving as if he had run all the way there. His eyes took in my bandaged head and the monitors, then shifted to Advik. The air instantly thickened with tension.
"Ananya!" Aman rushed to the other side of the bed, his face pale with worry. He glanced at Advik's hand still holding mine, and his jaw tightened.
"She's stable, Aman," Advik said, his voice remarkably calm. He didn't growl. He didn't threaten. He stood up slowly, smoothing the wrinkles in his suit.
Aman looked Advik straight in the eye, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and bravado. "Malhotra... please. I need to talk to her. Alone. Can you give us some time?"
I looked at Advik, expecting a flash of that old, dark possessiveness. I expected him to say this was his hospital, his wife, and his rules.
Instead, Advik did something that shocked me more than any of his outbursts.
He looked down at me and offered a small, sad, yet genuinely kind smile. It wasn't the smirk of a villain; it was the smile of a man who was finally putting my needs above his own ego.
"Of course," Advik murmured. He leaned down, his shadow falling over me one last time. "I'll be right outside if you need anything, Ananya. Rest well."
He gave my hand a final, gentle squeeze and turned to leave. As he passed Aman, he didn't even cast a glance of hostility. He simply walked out, the click of the door marking the quietest exit he had ever made.
"I can't believe he just left," Aman whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking my hand. "Are you okay? What happened? The police said your car—"
"I'm okay, Aman," I said, but my eyes remained fixed on the door where Advik had disappeared.
Aman started talking—about the future, about how he had found a lead on a new apartment, about how we only had to endure a few more months. He was saying all the things I used to want to hear, but for some reason, the words felt like they were coming from a distance.
I was looking at Aman, the man I loved, but all I could feel was the ghost of Advik's smile. It was the smile of a man who was letting me go, piece by piece, even though it was clearly killing him.
"Ananya? You're not listening again," Aman said softly, a hint of hurt in his voice.
"I am," I lied, forcing my gaze back to him. "Tell me more about the apartment."
But as Aman talked, I realized the "friendship" Advik had promised wasn't a game. It was a sacrifice. And as the sun began to set through the hospital window, I wondered if I was truly ready for the quiet life Aman offered, or if I had become too used to the storm that was Advik Malhotra.