"This is your room ma'am. Please make yourself comfortable." The staff guy in his early thirties said, placing her bag inside the room.

Shalvi nodded absentmindedly while the guy left the room. She closed the door and locked it from the inside. Turning around, she took a step and then another and a few more to reach near the bed when suddenly her body gave up. She felt too tired to take another step. She gasped as if someone took her breath and her remaining strength away from her and she stumbled before falling on her knees. She held the edge of the bed to steady herself somewhat but couldn't really do that. A lone tear left her eye that she was holding back for so long. The only thing she could hear was His name with someone else, with her cousin. And all she could see in front of her eyes was the rage in his eyes for her. The tiny amount of hope that she tried to keep alive in her heart had died today. He was someone else's. He was no longer her Hridansh. He had forgotten her and moved on. Her heart beat for him, but she was no longer in his heart.

Another day, another pain added, but today was worse than what she went through every night. She rested her head on the edge of the bed as her form was comfortable on the carpeted floor, although it felt like she was sitting on thousands of nails pricking her heart until it bled. She blinked slowly once and then again, trying to fix the things in her head. Losing your love pains you. Not getting your love pains you. But... watching your love getting married to someone else and having to pretend to be happy all the while is worse than dying. It was unbearably painful.

She couldn't even run away from here, although she wanted it so badly. She couldn't hide, as she had to follow what her parents said. She couldn't see him with Adhira, as it would break her already shattered heart. Then what should she do? Die every moment watching him get married to her cousin while putting on a heartbreaking and fake smile on her face and wishing them a happy future together? After all, he was never hers.

With her blurry vision filled with tears, she could only see some faded, beautiful memories of her life. At least for her, they were beautiful.

She could see him holding her hand and entwining their fingers together before pulling her toward him, making her fall into his arms.

Then she lifted her hand and looked at it. It felt so empty. Just like her body felt... without a soul. Just like her heart felt... without its beat.

She let out a chuckle looking at her hand, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

"Shikayatein bhi kis se karein 

Sab kismat ki baat hai 

Teri soch me bhi na rahi main 

Tu har lafz lafz mujhe yaad hai."

She whispered those four lines in a broken tone and tried to smile—the same smile she would have to wear for the whole week she was here... to attend her cousin's wedding with her love.

That's when her phone rang. She diverted her eyes toward the phone screen and saw Chitra was calling. She composed herself and took the call.

"Hello, ji Maa," she said slowly, in the most convincing tone, as if she had never been crying.

Chitra told her to come downstairs for dinner after freshening up. She felt scared. She knew she couldn't hide, but she didn't have the strength to face him again so soon. So, she tried to say something, although she knew her father, Bhavesh, who must be somewhere around her mother, wouldn't accept any excuse.

"Maa, I... I... am a bit tired due to the journey. Can I take rest? I d... don't feel like having dinner. If it's okay?" Shalvi uttered slowly.

Chitra was silent for a couple of seconds, and then Shalvi heard Bhavesh's voice.

"This girl always has her excuses ready. I told her no drama here, but she doesn't understand."

She understood. Her father must have overheard—perhaps the phone was on speaker. She smiled sadly, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Shal..." Chitra was about to say something, but Shalvi interrupted.

"Let it be, Maa. I am coming after freshening up. Just 15 minutes," she said in a low voice before disconnecting the call.

She put her phone on the bed and, gathering her broken pieces, got up. She walked to her bag, opened it, and took out a light pair of clothes. Then, she went to freshen up.

...

After some time, she was ready in a green salwar suit, with the dupatta pinned properly to her left shoulder. She took a deep breath and, gathering the courage she barely had, made her way out of the room. The palace was huge, and as she walked through the corridor, she prayed not to run into him. She continued walking, went downstairs, and asked one of the servants about the dining area. He led her there.

Reaching the dining area, she saw a large table where her parents were sitting with many people. She didn't know most of them. Pranika saw her and asked her to join them. Once again, Shalvi put on her fake but convincing smile and approached the table as Pranika and Samarth introduced her to everyone. She greeted everyone politely. They were relatives and Hridansh's family. The elders blessed her. Much to her relief, Hridansh wasn't there.

"Bhavesh ji, I must say your daughter is so beautiful," a middle-aged lady said.

Shalvi gave a small smile, as did her parents. She sat beside Chitra and in front of Adhira, who was looking at her, but she didn't lift her gaze. Dinner was served. She took very little food onto her plate—her appetite had long vanished. She was merely chewing her food and gulping it down, maintaining the same fake expression. She could barely pay attention to their conversations as her mind kept drifting toward someone who wasn't there. If a part of her didn't want his presence so she wouldn't have to face him, another part of her desperately longed to see him again. She had yearned for his face every single day for the past four years—it had never blurred from her dreams.

...

"Where the hell are you both, dumbheads?" Yuvaan almost shouted as he finally got a call back from one of the two people he'd been trying to reach for the past hour.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure you know my ears are perfectly fine, so no need to shout," the guy on the other end said in a light tone, chuckling.

"Shut up! I am in no mood for jokes right now, Mr. Ishvaan Rajvansh," Yuvaan said, annoyed.

"Hey Yuvaan, chill buddy. We just went to roam around the local market," another voice chimed in lightly. Yuvaan knew the phone was on speaker for both of them.

"Fine, Advay. But couldn't you guys pick up the calls? ... (Sigh) Whatever! We'll discuss it later. For now, just come back fast. It's serious," Yuvaan said in a grave tone.

"Yuvaan? What happened?" Advay asked, sensing something wrong in his tone.

No answer...

"Is everything okay, Yuvaan?" Ishvaan asked this time, as they hadn't heard a response from him.

"It doesn't seem okay. Hridansh is not okay. It's getting messy. I don't know... but we certainly don't want that," Yuvaan said.

"What? What happened? You're making us confused. Say clearly, Yuvaan!" Advay demanded.

"Gear up your speed and pull your way back to the palace with Ishvaan right now, Advay! Can't explain everything on the phone," Yuvaan said before disconnecting the call.

Sliding the red button, he stared into empty space as a chain of past memories flashed before his eyes. His expression hardened—a mix of pain, anger, and something unreadable. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment before turning around.

But the moment he did, his eyes darkened with fury.

There, walking through the lobby, lost in her own thoughts, was none other than Shalvi.

As if sensing his piercing gaze, she lifted her eyes and met the storm raging in his. Her steps faltered, and she came to an abrupt stop. Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy, as neither moved.

His jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides. He held her gaze for a lingering moment—his fury, his resentment, everything he felt toward her burning in his glare. Then, without another word, he turned and walked away, his shoulders rigid with anger.

Because right now, he didn't trust himself.

He didn't know what he would do to her for what she had done to his best friend.

...

Terrace:

Yuvaan found him standing by the terrace railing, staring at the night sky, lost in a storm of emotions. The moon cast a pale glow on his face, but his expression was dark, weighed down by a past he never wished to revisit. The cold wind brushed against them, but nothing could cool the fire raging inside Hridansh.

"Hridansh, stop doing this to yourself. Don't let the past control you," Yuvaan said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

Hridansh let out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head. His fingers tightened around the railing as if he were holding on to his last thread of restraint.

"Past?" he scoffed, his voice laced with agony. "I could stop thinking about it if it had truly stayed in the past. But tell me, Yuvaan, how the hell am I supposed to ignore it when my most painful, gut-wrenching past is standing right in front of me, mocking me? When every damn time I close my eyes, I see her face, and now, even when I open them, she's still there!"

His voice rose with each word until he nearly yelled the last part. His breathing was heavy, uneven, as he turned to face Yuvaan, his eyes burning with raw pain.

"You tell me, Yuvaan," he continued, his voice trembling with suppressed rage, "what the hell am I supposed to do when the woman who broke me, shattered my very existence, is here—standing under the same damn roof—as my fiancée's cousin! At my wedding!"

Yuvaan clenched his jaw. He knew this was coming. He had expected the fury, the pain, but seeing Hridansh this broken still unsettled him.

"Hridansh, just calm down," Yuvaan urged, trying to keep him from spiraling further.

"Calm down? Seriously, Yuvaan?" Hridansh scoffed, stepping away from the railing and running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Just give me one fucking reason why I should be calm right now! That girl is right here, and I'm supposed to act like nothing happened? Like she didn't destroy me? How?"

His voice cracked at the end, betraying the pain hidden beneath the anger. Yuvaan exhaled heavily, not knowing what to say that would make any of this easier.

At that moment, footsteps echoed against the stone floor, breaking the thick silence.

"What the hell is going on here?" Advay's voice cut through the tension as he and Ishvaan stepped onto the terrace, concern evident on their faces.

Hridansh and Yuvaan turned towards them, but neither spoke immediately. The cold breeze carried the weight of unspoken words.

Ishvaan and Advay exchanged a glance. From the tension in the air, the clenched fists, and Hridansh's rigid stance, they knew something was terribly wrong.

"Yeah, why do you look like you're about to kill someone, Bhai?" Ishvaan asked cautiously. His eyes flickered to Yuvaan, searching for an explanation. "And what were you talking about earlier, Yuvaan? You said it was serious. What the hell is going on?"

Hridansh didn't answer. His jaw tightened, and he turned his gaze away, looking into the vast emptiness of the night. His mind was elsewhere—trapped in a vicious cycle of memories he couldn't escape.

Yuvaan sighed, running a hand down his face before speaking in a low, almost hesitant tone.

"She's here."

A beat of silence.

"Who?" Advay asked, frowning.

"Who is she?" Ishvaan echoed, glancing between Yuvaan and Hridansh.

Hridansh still didn't speak. His grip on the railing was now so tight that his knuckles had turned white.

Yuvaan hesitated, then gave them a knowing look.

It took only a second.

Realization dawned upon them, and their expressions turned to shock. They couldn't believe what they were hearing—what they were understanding.

"No..." Advay whispered, his face paling. "No way. Please don't tell me the name starts with 'S' and the surname is Arya." His voice held a desperate edge, as if refusing to believe the worst.

"Because," Advay continued, his voice rising slightly, "I am not in the mood to witness a dramatic disaster instead of a happy wedding."

Yuvaan let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head.

"You're not as dumb as I thought, Advay," he muttered, his tone carrying a strange mix of sarcasm and sadness.

Ishvaan let out a sharp breath, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"SHALVI ARYA?!" Ishvaan burst out in disbelief. "You're telling me she's here? At your wedding?! What the actual—!" His gaze snapped to Hridansh, who stood as still as a statue, his head bowed, his body trembling with restrained fury.

The air grew heavy between them. The three of them knew what this meant. Hridansh's love, his suffering, his agony—nothing had been hidden from them. They had seen him break into pieces, trying to rebuild himself after she left.

Advay exhaled, shaking his head. "What the hell does she want now? And why is she here, of all places?" His voice was tight with restrained anger.

Hridansh didn't answer. His silence was more deafening than words.

Because the truth was—he didn't know what hurt more.

That she had returned, or that despite everything... a part of him still ached for her.

Breaking the silence, Yuvaan exhaled and answered flatly, "She's a guest."

"A guest?" Ishvaan repeated, confusion flickering across his face.

Yuvaan nodded. "Yeah... She's Adhira's cousin. Her mama and mami's daughter."

"What? And Adhira never told us this?" Ishvaan asked, his brows furrowed.

"Because she didn't know either," Yuvaan explained. "It was just as shocking for her. She only knew she had a cousin she'd never met... until today."

A heavy silence followed his words. Their gazes instinctively shifted toward Hridansh, who stood motionless, as if lost in another world.

His mind was drowning in a flood of memories—blurred flashes from the past hitting him like crashing waves.

Her laughter ringing in his ears as he hugged her from behind, their friends teasing them mercilessly...
Their hands entwined as they danced under the soft glow of fairy lights, the cheers of the crowd echoing around them...
That night when she surprised him with an unexpected, breathtaking proposal...
The taste of her lips in his car on a rainy night, the windows fogged up from their warmth...
The way she had once looked at him, as if he was her entire world...

And then, just as suddenly, the beautiful flashes twisted into something dark—tears, heartbreak, the unbearable weight of betrayal.

"I love you, Mr. Black Coffee."

Her voice echoed in his head, so real, so close—until a hand on his shoulder jolted him back to the present.

"Hridansh," Advay's voice was steady yet concerned.

He blinked, snapping out of his trance, before his eyes drifted back toward the empty sky.

"We know what you're feeling right now," Advay said gently. "But you need to hold yourself together, buddy. Please... just calm down."

Hridansh's expression twisted with a thousand emotions—anger, frustration, pain. His eyes burned with unspoken torment, and his chest tightened like a vice. He clenched his fists, feeling a searing rage bubbling within him.

"Isn't it just... amazing?" he muttered darkly, his voice laced with sarcasm. "For once, just once, I thought I could move on. I told myself that if I couldn't fix everything in my life, I could at least try to build something better. I wasted years torturing myself over the past, and finally... finally, I convinced myself to let it go."

His breath hitched, and his grip on the railing tightened.

"And now, just five days—five damn days—before I'm supposed to marry Adhira... she has to show up out of nowhere," he spat, his voice rising with each word. "What kind of twisted joke is this?!"

"Hridansh bhai..." Ishvaan began, but he was immediately cut off.

"No, Ishvaan!" Hridansh snapped, his anger unraveling. "It's not enough! You know what the worst part is? It still affects me. Even after everything she did, after every promise she broke, after all the pain she left me with... it still fucking affects me. And like always, she is completely unaffected."

His voice cracked with the weight of his emotions. He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head.

"I curse myself every damn day for ever falling in love with her. But tell me—was that such a big crime? To love someone? To trust them?" His voice was hoarse, broken. "Why do I still get punished for it? Why do I still suffer while she walks around like none of it ever mattered?" His eyes were blazing with torment. "I fight with my own heart every single day just to live, just to breathe without her shadow haunting me. And now, she's back. Why? What the hell does she want now?"

Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.

Then, Yuvaan spoke, his voice calm but firm. "This shouldn't be your concern anymore, Hridansh."

Hridansh's gaze snapped toward him, searching for something—reason, assurance, anything.

Yuvaan held his stare, his expression unwavering. "She shouldn't matter. Not anymore."

Hridansh swallowed hard, his throat dry.

Yuvaan took a step closer. "Look, I know what you're going through. I know how hard you've been trying to escape her memories, how much you've fought to rebuild yourself. But don't throw it all away now. Don't let her ruin you again. She's here, yes, but so what? That doesn't change the fact that your life is moving forward. You made a choice to marry Adhira... So now, let the past go. Let her go."

Hridansh inhaled sharply, his heart hammering against his ribs.

Was it really that easy? To just... let go?

"Yuvaan is right, Hridansh," Advay added. "Take as much time as you need—we won't force you to act like nothing happened. But this time, it's not just about you. Think about the girl you're starting a new life with."

Hridansh's fingers curled into fists as he looked between them, their words hitting him like bitter truths he couldn't deny.

"It pains until we hold onto it. You have to let it go, one way or another. You are getting married to Adhira, not Shalvi, so you better know who should be your concern right now. Think about Adhira's feelings. Who knows if she might be feeling insecure? She already knows everything about you both, and your sudden change in behavior with Shalvi's presence might be affecting her. So, it's your responsibility to care about your fiancée rather than your BETRAYER EX-GIRLFRIEND," Yuvaan said firmly.

Hridansh's eyes flickered with guilt as he closed them for a brief moment. He hadn't even considered how Adhira might be feeling. Had he unknowingly hurt her? Overlooked her, consumed by thoughts of Shalvi?

Yuvaan placed a reassuring arm around his shoulder and sighed.

"Once, I never imagined I would say this," he admitted. "Back then, I thought you and Shalvi were perfect together. I even considered her like my sister. But we were all wrong about her, Hridansh. We misjudged her character. And that's life—we make mistakes in understanding people. But dwelling on that pain, letting it control us? That's just self-destruction."

"He is right, Bhai. I know it's not easy for you, but I trust you. Don't let yourself get hurt by her again. I can't see you suffering like that once more, and none of us want that. Choose your happiness. Give preference to your priority, Hridansh Bhai, and you know who that is right now. Don't let any nobody ruin it for you or Adhira. She is a closed chapter of your life—you said it yourself. Just follow your own words. I know it's not as easy as we're saying, but I also know that you are strong enough to handle everything," Ishvaan said, giving him a small, reassuring smile.

Hridansh gave a slow nod, forcing a small smile. He understood their words, but it was still too hard for him. Deep inside, he knew they were right—he couldn't let Shalvi control his emotions anymore.

"Buddy, we are all with you, and you know that. Just don't punish yourself for her mistakes," Advay added.

Hridansh looked at them, lost in thought. After a moment, he gave a slow nod and a faint smile, acknowledging their support.

Ishvaan, Advay, and Yuvaan had tried to make him understand, and for a brief moment, he felt a little better. But how could he ignore the fact that his ex-girlfriend was right there at his wedding? The thought alone was enough to ignite a storm inside him. He made up his mind—he would try to ignore her presence, but deep down, he knew it was impossible. The fire of his anger was already burning, and if she crossed his path, she might just get caught in it.

"I know what you all are trying to say. I understand, but not everything is in my control, no matter how much I try. I can suppress my emotions and pain, but I can't suppress the anger that raged through me the moment I saw her. I feel like lashing out at her, but it would be as useless as she made me feel... because she won't care about anything."

He let out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head.

"I don't understand why this is so hard for me," Hridansh muttered with a sad smile.

"When it comes to love... it's never easy. It never was," Yuvaan said quietly.

"When it comes to love... it's never easy. It never was," Yuvaan said, his voice quiet but firm.

Hridansh let out a bitter laugh, his jaw clenching as he took in Yuvaan's words. "I hate her. I HATE SHALVI ARYA WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING! My heart holds no emotion for her except hate. Yes, I may still feel the pain, but that's only because I made the mistake of loving the wrong person." His voice dripped with raw emotion, a storm raging within his eyes.

Yuvaan held his gaze, nodding slowly. Once upon a time, those eyes had softened at the mere mention of her name. Now, they burned with fury—a fire that could consume anything in its path.

"Maybe," Yuvaan said, "but hatred like this? It only exists when love was once just as deep. Your love didn't disappear, Hridansh—it transformed."

Hridansh scoffed, shaking his head. "I don't care what it was. All I know is that I loved her so intensely that it shattered me. And now, if she dares to cross my path again, she will regret it. I SWEAR, I WON'T LET HER OFF THIS TIME. I MEAN IT!" His voice was cold, final—a declaration of war against his past.

Yuvaan exhaled, exchanging a look with Advay and Ishvaan. No words were needed. They all understood. Hridansh wasn't just angry—he was ready for destruction.