Anisha was completely stunned by Arvik's weird behavior.
She couldn't even figure out what she was supposed to say to him.
Anisha might not have understood anything—but that girl understood everything perfectly.
Every single word Arvik said hit her like an emotional earthquake.
Seeing Arvik's affection toward Anisha made her burn with jealousy.
She stared at Anisha as if she could kill her with just her eyes.
But Anisha?
She didn't even notice.
Because honestly, Anisha wasn't affected by that girl at all—
she was busy being confused by Arvik.
Till yesterday, he barely spoke to her.
Last night, he was openly irritated with her.
And today?
This sudden affection?
It was completely beyond her understanding.
A few moments later, Arvik walked past that girl with Anisha and went downstairs to the hall.
While walking, Arvik thought to himself,
"Good. At least today this girl showed up herself. I indirectly rejected that proposal without saying a word."
The girl Arvik had been talking to was Priya Sahay.
Priya Sahay was the younger sister of Sameer Sahay, Arvik's best friend.
Arvik always considered Priya like his own younger sister.
But reality?
Priya had feelings for Arvik.
And honestly—who wouldn't?
Arvik was dangerously handsome.
Six months ago, Priya had confessed her feelings to Arvik.
But Arvik never replied.
At that time, Priya was studying at a London university, and since she didn't get any response, she left for London to complete her studies.
After reaching London, Priya tried everything to contact Arvik—but failed.
For six whole months, she had no way of reaching him.
Still, she was absolutely sure of one thing—
No other girl had entered Arvik's life.
And she was so sure because Arvik had never shown interest in any girl.
Arvik generally had zero interest in women.
But the moment he saw Aditi for the first time—
he fell in love.
Deeply.
Madly.
Blindly.
Aditi loved Arvik's money.
But Arvik loved Aditi so much that he couldn't see the truth.
Even today, Arvik had no idea about Aditi's reality.
How could he?
He couldn't even find her anymore.
After Priya left for London, Aditi entered Arvik's life.
That's why Priya had no idea about the new tragedy that had happened in Arvik's life.
And marriage?
Priya couldn't even imagine Arvik getting married—not even in her worst nightmare.
For her, Arvik being married was like a bad dream—
one she simply refused to accept as reality.
And why would she?
No girl can ever accept the fact that the man she loves is married to someone else.
Ironically, Arvik himself was stuck in the same situation.
He had dreamed of spending his life with someone else.
Planned a future with someone else.
But ended up married to someone else entirely.
After everything that had happened, Arvik's life felt like a cruel joke—
one that kept repeating itself,
one he couldn't digest no matter how hard he tried.
Even after Arvik and Anisha left, Priya stood there like a statue.
Frozen.
Numb.
As if she had turned into ice.
Just then, Mahi, who had stepped out of her room to go downstairs for breakfast, noticed Priya standing there motionless.
"Why is she standing here like this?" Mahi muttered, scratching her head.
"Did she see a ghost or something?"
Mahi walked up to Priya and lightly tapped her on the head.
"Why are you standing like a statue?" she asked.
"Looks like you've seen a ghost."
Hearing Mahi's voice, Priya finally snapped back to reality.
She forced a fake smile and said,
"Oh… Mahi, it's you. How are you?"
"I'm fine," Mahi replied, narrowing her eyes.
"But you? You don't look fine at all."
Mahi's words reminded Priya of what Arvik had said earlier.
Her chest tightened.
She felt like crying—but she couldn't cry in front of Mahi.
So she kept that fake smile intact and said,
"No, nothing's wrong. I'm absolutely fine."
"Anyway, I should go now. I have some important work at home."
And just like that, Priya walked away—
not even giving Mahi a chance to say anything.
Mahi watched her leave, confused.
"Something is definitely wrong," she muttered dramatically.
"I met this Priya after six months, but it feels like I don't even know her anymore."
"Something happened… something she doesn't want to share."
"But it's okay," Mahi added, flipping her hair dramatically.
"One day or the other—I'll find out the truth."
With that, Mahi headed downstairs for breakfast.