Rehaan's POV

I didn't close the door yet, knowing or rather hoping that she would turn around again. That she would remember some other important thing she wanted to let me know. That she would stay by my side for a few seconds more.

Alas! It didn't happen. She didn't turn and when she got a phone call I knew it was a lost case. She would get busy attending the call to think of anything about me.

Although the chances were slim, I still waited near the door. Even if she didn't come back, the least I could do was to see her till she got on the elevator.

"Hello Di, I am just on my way home," she said happily as soon as she picked up the phone.

I huffed at her happy tone. All the sadness and worry seemed to disappear as soon as her 'Di' called.

"What...do you mean don't come?" Muskaan questioned as she suddenly stopped walking.

My eyebrows furrowed in worry as I heard the change in tone.

"What?!" She shouted in alarm, before hurriedly asking, "Ananya Di, are you okay? No one was hurt, right?"

Muskaan moved her hand to clutch her hair as she paced around while she continued to talk.

I was curious about what was happening, but stayed back as it would seem like intruding. However the moment Muskaan uttered the words that 'it was unsafe for her', I was already on my way towards her. Fortunately, I moved on the right time because it was the moment Muskaan lost her balance.

"Muskaan! Careful," I said, before helping her on her feet.

Her eyes widened for a second, probably not having expected me.

I gestured towards her phone, hinting with my eyes that her Di was still talking.

Muskaan slowly nodded at me, before focusing back on the call. "Di, what are you saying?" she questioned out loud, before whispering, "I don't have anywhere to go."

I rolled my eyes at her. Both at her sentence and at her art of whispering.

"Muskaan you don't understand. They weren't normal burglars who broke into the house. They were there for you!"

I could hear her from the phone because of how loudly she said it. Probably trying to put it across the thick skull of Muskaan.

Muskaan froze upon hearing it. I too got scared at her words.

For her? What would have happened if Muskaan had left early?

"For me?" Muskaan snorted, still taking it lightly. "What treasure would a person like even have to get stolen?

Her Di said something from the other side, making Muskaan freeze. All her bravery vanished in one second.

"Wh...at? But why would...anyone...I don't understand," Muskaan stammered, barely managing to hold the phone in her now trembling hands.

"Let's get inside," I said to Muskaan in a calm voice, before taking her phone and talking to her Di, "Give us a minute."

I was anything but calm. However, I had to be. While both the girls were panicking, someone had to be calm to think about what to do.

I guided her inside, making her sit on the couch, before putting the phone on speaker. I couldn't handle the half-assed conversation. I needed to know exactly what happened.

"Rehaan...is that you?" Ananya Di asked in a scared voice, after having heard my voice.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't worry; Muskaan is safe here with me." I assured her. "Can you please explain to me what has happened? In detail, please," I requested.

I heard her intake a huge breath, before she began, "Some goons entered and trashed the whole place searching for Muskaan's belongings."

"Did you have a lot of valuables?" I asked Muskaan, wondering if she was like this because something close to her heart got stolen.

"They burned her identification documents, along with her certificates or any paper that had her name on it," Ananya Di answered instead.

My eyes widened and my breath got caught as realization dawned upon me.

Her documents. They were destroyed again.

Something was majorly wrong. This didn't seem like a coincidence. However, it wasn't the time to dwell on the mystery. My first focus was on Muskaan who looked like she had lost all hope.

Placing my hand in hers, I reassured her. "Don't worry; this is the time and era of digitalization. Who cares if they burned off the paper copies? We can always print them again from the government portals."

Muskaan's head raised in hope, only to hide back in her palms as Ananya Di's voice came from the phone.

"You cannot," Ananya Di said, in a broken voice. "There are no traces of Muskaan left. Hacking, bribing, they have used all sorts of techniques for making Muskaan disappear on paper."

"How do you know all this?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing at the piece of information. As much as this was shocking, it made no sense for Ananya Di to know all this to such an extent.

"There was a man in some fancy suit standing outside the house while goons rummaged through everything. I heard him talking on the phone.

"Apparently the time Muskaan spent caring for you in the hospital was enough for them to make her vanish from every legal document."

"What?"

How did they know? How did they know?

My eyes immediately went towards Muskaan to see her already looking at me. Someone was keeping tabs on her...or us?

Gulping, I turned my attention back towards the mobile. "Did this happen because of me?" I asked no one in particular.

"Did my attacker come after her?" I asked in a dreaded tone.

Please say no, please say no.

I would never forgive myself if I was the cause of Muskaan's pain. If it happened because of me...

"Probably yes," Ananya Di answered, making the ground slip beneath my feet.

"Di!" Muskaan yelled, "Don't speak nonsense." She then turned towards my trembling form, forgetting her own fear.

"Listen listen, Di is just guessing. Nothing is sure, okay. So don't blame yourself. It might not be the same attacker and even if he was, then it's not your fault."

Muskaan grabbed my face gently, making me face her, and said, "This is not your fault."

"It's actually the other way round," Ananya Di admitted. "It's partly Muskaan's fault."

"What?" Muskaan asked, taking the mobile from my hands and frantically asking Ananya Di what she meant by her words.

"Rehaan is half right. His attacker and the person behind what happened today are the same. However, it seems that Rehaan wasn't the only one they were looking for."

"What?" Muskaan whispered in shock. My eyebrows furrowed too in confusion.

"He spoke about having wasted his time. That this would have been long done and dusted with if you had written the right address in your documents."

The phone slipped from Muskaan's hands as she looked at me with guilt. "I am sorry," she whispered in a broken voice, looking like she had committed a crime.

"At the end, I was the culprit behind your accident," she said as tears ran down her face.

"I don't understand," I whispered, my hands moving to console her, I let them fall back on my side when she shook her head in a no.

"I don't deserve your goodness," she muttered, before explaining, "My rental home situation isn't exactly legal. So, I wrote your address in my documents. They came for me and you got caught in crossfire."

My eyes closed for a second as the realization dawned upon me. The attack, they had come for her. To destroy her documents and got me instead.

"I am so glad," I said, before moving to hug her.

She stilled for a second, making me second guess my actions, but then relaxed into the hug.

"You should hate me," she mumbled into my shoulder, before pulling out of the hug and asking, "Why are you glad? Why would anyone be glad about getting attacked?"

"Because it was me instead of you."

Her breath hitched at my words, making me smile.

I was being genuine. I don't know what I would have thought about this situation before the accident, but right now I was genuinely happy that it was me who got hurt instead of Muskaan.

"Who knew getting fired would actually turn out to be a blessing." Ananya Di's voice rang through the phone, making us jump.

We totally forgot about her presence.

Clearing my throat, I asked her if she had any more information. "Any idea why they were after Muskaan?"

"About that...," Ananya Di trailed off.

"What is it?" I questioned calmly, feeling there was more to the situation.

"They found out the address because of Muskaan, yes. But I don't think they are only after Muskaan."

"What?" Instead of clarification, I was getting more and more confused.

"Rehaan, check whether your documents are there or not. I believe if they went after hers then they would have gone after yours too. Probably the attack was because of those documents. Unlike Muskaan, you were at home. So to get those documents they would have hurt you."

"Your theory is not making any sense," Muskaan told her bluntly. "Why would they go after both of us? It is understandable if they came for one of us and the other got caught in the crossfire. We have no relation other than being an employer and employee."

Too soon.

Muskaan winced as soon as those words left her mouth, immediately understanding her folly. I rolled my eyes at her, gesturing to her to continue speaking.

She held her one ear, muttering a sheepish apology, before turning her attention back to Ananya Di.

"I am a nobody. I don't have bad blood with anybody. And Rehaan, he is someone who doesn't even have friends. Forget about enemies."

"Not rude at all," I muttered, making her bare her teeth at me in frustration, before continuing.

"I don't understand why anyone would come after us. And us both together, impossible. We didn't even talk normally before the accident happened. What connection would we have for someone to come after both of us?"

"Fire," Ananya Di answered, making our hearts stop.

"That man talked about the fire seven years ago."

The only connection Muskaan and I had. A fire that engulfed our parents.