At Arvik's Office
Arvik was sitting inside his office cabin, completely lost in thought.
A rare sadness was visible on his face. Usually, Arvik wore an emotionless mask—but today, his expressions were clearly reflecting the chaos inside his heart.
In his hands, he held a photograph.
The picture showed a beautiful girl sitting on a swing, while a boy stood behind her, gently pushing it. Both of them were smiling—genuinely happy.
The boy and the girl in the photo were none other than Arvik and Aditi.
That picture had been taken during one of their visits to a stunning garden.
Arvik stared at it with complex emotions swirling in his eyes—pain, love, and hatred tangled together.
Running his fingers softly over the photo, he whispered,
"Aditi… why did you leave me?"
"What was my fault that you abandoned me like this?"
"If I did something wrong, you could've scolded me… yelled at me…
But why did you have to walk away?"
As he spoke, his gaze softened with love.
Even though Aditi had never truly loved him, Arvik had loved her deeply.
She was the first girl he ever loved.
Somewhere deep inside, he still hoped she would return.
Suddenly, his expression hardened. His jaw clenched as he muttered,
"No matter what happens, I will find you."
"And I'll make you answer every question I have."
Since the day Aditi disappeared, Arvik had used every bit of his power to search for her—but she remained out of reach.
It felt as if she had vanished into thin air, and that helplessness made him furious.
What was going on inside his mind at that moment—only Arvik knew.
Meanwhile, at Jindal Mansion
Anisha was sitting on her bed, looking extremely tense.
Her head felt like it was about to burst.
Rubbing her temples, she whispered,
"God… please show me a way. How am I supposed to face Buaji?"
"I don't even have the courage to talk to her."
"I made such a huge life decision without informing her…"
"She raised me like her own daughter.
She never let me feel the absence of anything."
"For my sake, she even left Mumbai and shifted to Mussoorie…"
Tears welled up in Anisha's eyes.
"I don't know how she must've reacted when she found out about my marriage," she murmured.
"I'm sure she must've been furious with Papa and Mrs. Arora."
"And now she must be angry with me too…
That's why she hasn't tried to contact me."
Suddenly, realization hit her.
She lightly slapped her forehead and sighed,
"God, I'm so stupid."
"Even if she tried to contact me, how would she?
Arvik threw my phone out of the car that day."
Anisha felt terrible.
Not just today—she had been feeling terrible for the last eight days.
She desperately wanted to talk to Buaji but didn't have the courage to face her.
Standing up, Anisha took a deep breath and said firmly,
"No matter what happens, I have to talk to Buaji."
"I can't live without speaking to her."
"And I know she'll forgive me."
"I just need to go to Arora Mansion and meet her."
As soon as Anisha stepped out of her room—
She suddenly collided with someone.
Losing her balance, she fell to the floor with a loud thud.
The boy she bumped into also failed to steady himself and fell right beside her.
Rubbing his waist, he snapped,
"Are you blind? Can't you see where you're going?"
Before he could finish—
He froze.
Seeing Anisha's face, he was stunned.
And Anisha looked just as shocked.
Because the boy she had collided with was none other than Ishaan Verman.
The same Ishaan Verman who had once helped her.
Neither of them had expected to meet like this.
Anisha kept staring at him wide-eyed,
while Ishaan had already gotten up.
Extending his hand toward her, he said,
"Come on. Get up."
Hearing his voice, Anisha realized she was still sitting on the floor.
She immediately placed her hand in his and stood up.
Still shocked, she asked,
"Ishaan… what are you doing here?"
Ishaan raised his eyebrows playfully.
"That's exactly what I should be asking you."
"What are you doing at my house?"
His words confused her.
"My house?" she asked.
"I mean… this is the Jindal house, right? And your surname is Verman."
Ishaan smiled slightly and replied,
"You're right. My surname is Verman."
"But this is my maternal uncle's house."
"So technically… it's my house too."
Listening to him carefully, Anisha finally understood—
Ishaan Verman was a part of this family.