ASHVI'S POV:
"I can't see anything.
Everything is dark. Just... darkness.
The only thing I can hear is a voice.
"Let me go... please... let me go..."
It was a man's voice.
But why?
I could feel my breathing becoming faster. I wanted to open my eyes, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't.
Someone was calling my name, and then—
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the darkness.
That was it.
I jolted awake, my eyes flying open. My entire body was drenched in sweat, and my breathing was ragged and uneven.
"Ashvi! What happened?"
Ruhaan rushed to my side.
"Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, .
But I couldn't answer.
Instead, I looked around.
This wasn't where we had been with AJ.
And it definitely wasn't my home.
A few wires were attached to my hands.
"Ruhaan... where are we?"
"In the hospital," he replied.
"What? But how did we get here? Where's AJ? When did all this happen? How did it happen? Why can't I remember anything?" I looked at him in panic. "A-And... are you okay? He attacked you too, didn't he?
What is going on?"
Ruhaan simply stared at my face, as if he was trying to figure something out.
"Say something!" I shouted.
"Ashvi..." he called my name softly. "You... don't remember anything?"
The moment those words left his mouth, fear settled deep inside me.
Because this wasn't the first time.
Something like this had happened before.
"W-What did I do?" I whispered as tears began streaming down my face. My voice cracked with every word. "Please... tell me. What did I do?"
"Hey, hey... no, no. Don't cry, okay?" Ruhaan said gently, pulling me back from the edge of panic. "You didn't do anything. Nothing at all."
He waited until I looked at him before continuing.
"AJ took you with him. I reached there just in time, but by then you'd already lost consciousness. I stayed with you, trying to wake you up, and while I was distracted... he escaped."
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
"So relax, okay?
*********************************
RUHAAN'S POV:
*Flashback *
I tried to get up, but it was hopeless
I couldn't.
AJ had targeted my legs the most. Every movement sent waves of pain through my body.
I was furious.
Worried.
Where had he taken Ashvi?
If that son of the b***h had done anything to her... I'll kill him.
Just then—
Bang!
A gunshot.
My entire body froze.
Did I really just hear a gunshot?
It felt as though the ground had disappeared beneath my feet.
My mind instantly filled with the worst possible scenarios.
Please... don't let them be true.
I gathered every ounce of strength I had left. I didn't care about the pain anymore. In that moment.
Using the wall for support, I forced myself to my feet and dragged my injured legs toward the room where the gunshot had come from.
The moment I stepped inside, my heart stopped.
AJ lay motionless on the floor.
Blood was spreading across his chest.
A few feet away, Ashvi sat curled up on the ground, hugging her knees tightly. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably as silent sobs shook her.
There was a gun in her hand.
Her fingers...
They were covered in blood.
For a second, the world around me came to a standstill.
I rushed to her side and knelt beside her.
"Ashvi."
She didn't respond.
"Ashvi," I called again, gently this time. "Look at me... please."
She didn't even lift her head.
She just kept shaking.
"Ashvi..."
This time, my voice was barely above a whisper.
Slowly...
She looked up at me.
There were no tears left in her eyes anymore.
She simply stared at me, as if she couldn't recognize where she was.
Her lips moved.
She whispered something so softly that I could barely hear it.
"Her eyes fluttered shut, and before I could react, she slumped forward. I caught her before she hit the floor."
*Present*
I was explaining everything to Ashvi's dad, and the more I spoke, the more worried he looked.
"Ruhaan... just tell me one thing," he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Any idea... the room where AJ took Ashvi was dark?"
It was such a weird question.
"Yeah... it was dark. Even when I reached there, the room was still pretty dark."
The moment he heard that, his face went completely pale. It was enough to make me suspicious, but before I could ask anything...
Ashvi suddenly woke up.
Her breathing became rapid, and she was completely drenched in sweat.
I immediately ran to her.
"Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she kept looking around the room, trying to figure out where she was.
"Ruhaan... where are we?" she asked.
"At the hospital," I replied.
"What? How did we get here? Where's AJ? When did all this happen? I... I can't remember anything."
She kept asking me questions, but I couldn't say a single word. I was just staring at her face.
She looked genuinely confused.
She really didn't remember anything.
How?
"Say something!" she shouted.
"Ashvi..." I said softly. "You... don't remember anything?"
The moment I asked that, fear spread across her face.
"What did I do?" she asked, her voice breaking as tears started rolling down her cheeks.
Shit why did I even asked that
"Hey... hey, no , no You didn't do anything, okay? Relax."
I just told her that AJ had escaped.
Hearing that, she finally calmed down a little.
But after everything that happened today, I'm more confused than ever.
There's something seriously wrong with her... something even she doesn't know about.
And then, someone popped a party popper behind me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
_______________________________________
Everyone was there, holding a cake and balloons.
Mansi immediately walked over to Ashvi and hugged her tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Ashvi. I wasn't there, and instead they used my name to kidnap you. I only found out about everything after Ruhaan told me."
"You knew they were going to kidnap me, and you still let them use your name? Why, Mansi?" Ashvi asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Never, Ashvi! Why would I ever do that?" Mansi replied, looking genuinely worried.
"Then why are you apologizing?" Ashvi said with a smile on her face.
"It's not like you knew those stupid fellows were going to use your name to kidnap me."
"Now forget all that. You guys brought a cake, right? Come on, let's cut it and eat. I'm hungry anyway."
Ashvi Mehra was officially back to her foodie self.
"What is wrong with this girl?" Harry joked. "She got kidnapped, ended up in the hospital... and still the only thing she can think about is food."
But it looked like Ashvi had taken his comment seriously.
"Yes, I want food! And now cake alone isn't going to be enough. I want proper food too. I don't even know how long I've been lying on this bed. I bet I was hungry even while I was unconscious. So go, hurry up and bring me something to eat!" she shouted.
Everyone chuckled.
"What do you want to eat?" Yash asked softly.
Ashvi didn't even take a second to think, as if she'd already planned the entire menu.
"Pizza, pasta, ramen... a cold coffee..."
She kept going, and the longer her list got, the wider everyone's eyes became.
"What the hell, Ashvi?" Harry interrupted again. "Is your stomach human or does it belong to some giant? Who eats that much... especially while lying in a hospital bed?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"There's absolutely no need to eat that much," Ashvi's dad said. "For now, you'll only have something light."
"Dad..." she tried to protest.
But of course...