I usually get around 2k reads, but only around 400 votes, so I'm setting a target. If I get more than 800 votes and 60 comments, I will upload the chapter tomorrow; otherwise, it will be on Wednesday. I will not delay much but please give your votes. Pleaaasssssseeeeeee....Setting a target also pushes me to write and deliver on time; otherwise, I tend to slack off. So, it's up to you guys when you want the update.

I hope you will like the chapter. Do give your comments, I love them. ❤️❤️

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INAYAT'S POV:

I woke up in the morning and blinked my eyes to see where I was and why the surroundings seemed so different, but then I realized that okay, something big happened yesterday and now I am at Aryan bhai's friend's apartment.

Then I got flashbacks about Shivansh coming here. I facepalmed myself thinking about all this. Now I need to do something about him. I got up from bed, freshened up, took a bath, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

While I was cooking, I missed Rhea and the kids a lot. Every morning they keep shouting for food because they're hungry. I smiled thinking about this. Now I have to get used to being without them because soon I will be leaving from here.

Sighing, I served my breakfast and ate it. I suddenly remembered that now I need to tell Rhea everything about Vedant. I got ready and went to the office, deciding that the first thing I would do after reaching there was to tell Rhea everything.

I reached the office and went to the room where Rhea and Advay bhai would be. I got there and opened the door. I raised my eyes and saw that Advay bhai was panting and sweating and Rhea was standing behind him with a file.

She was also looking a bit odd. What's wrong with these two, they always behave strangely. Anyway, right now I have something more important to talk about, so I asked Rhea to come with me and she quickly agreed and came along. We went to a waiting room adjacent to that room.

I made her sit, and I sat opposite her. "Rhea, I want to tell you something really very important."

"Yeah, continue, Inu." I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. I didn't know why I was nervous. Rhea is my best friend—more than my best friend, a sister. I've shared everything with her my entire life, but today I was nervous as hell.

"C'mon Inu, aisi bhi kya baat hai jo tu itna darr rahi hai?"  (C'mon Inu, what could be so serious that you're this scared?) Her brows furrowed with concern, questioning my silence.

I gathered my strength and started explaining, "I am really very, very sorry, Rhea. Mein tujhe yeh abhi bata rahi hoon because I never got time to explain to you." (I'm telling you this now because I never got the time to explain it to you before.)

Her furrow deepened, and when she was about to say something, I placed my hand on hers and cut her off, "Please let me complete and then say."

I started explaining that Vedant had confessed that he likes me and offered for me to come with him to the US and settle there.

I had accepted his proposal, and after the completion of this project, Vedant and I would be leaving India and moving to the US. As I finished explaining everything, her expression scared me, making my heart race and pound against my chest.

Her mouth was open, eyes wide, brows furrowed, and her expression seemed to ask, "Are you serious?"

She didn't utter a word. I licked my lips and shook her hand to say something, "Are you fucking serious, Inayat?" Her voice trembled and came out as a breath.

I swallowed a lump. She stood up from her seat, loudly thumping her palm on the desk, and I flinched, my eyes widening at her reaction.

"You are not kidding me, are you? You are my Inu, right? Inayat, I am asking you something. Answer me, damnit!"

I was in utter disbelief. I had never seen Rhea getting this angry with my decision.

In fact, she used to support me in everything. I took a step towards her, trying to grab her hands. She took a step back and stopped me with her finger.

"Inayat, pata bhi hai tu kya karne jaa rahi hai? Are you out of your fucking mind, Inayat? You are playing with three lives, you are destroying three fucking lives, Inayat!"  (Inayat, do you even realize what you're about to do? Are you out of your fucking mind, Inayat?)

She scoffed and continued, "I can't believe you took such a silly decision. Tell me why you are doing this?"

I was blank and confused, trying to understand what she was saying. She again thumped her palm on the desk, making me flinch, and repeated, "Why the fuck did you do that?"

Somehow, I tried to utter, "I need to move on from Shivansh and—"

"And you are using Vedant for that? Huh?" she cut me off, screaming in disbelief.

I tried to explain, "But Rhea—"

I was cut off by the loud thud of the door slamming against the wall behind me, making both Rhea and me flinch.

There stood Shivansh, looking dangerous. I will not lie; his presence there was terrifying.

His eyes were red and dark, pupils dilated, nose flaring with anger, sweat lining his forehead, hands clenched into tight fists and trembling, jaw clenched, and breathing uneven.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Rhea, please leave." His eyes were pinned on me while ordering Rhea, his gaze burning a hole in my body. Rhea didn't move.

"I asked you to fucking leave, Rhea, please. I wanna talk to her," he shouted.

Rhea took a deep breath, nodded, and moved towards the door. Standing beside him, she warned him, "I know whatever she is doing is wrong, but don't you fucking dare to repeat your mistake, or this time, I will chop your fingers off myself."

His eyes left me for a moment and glared at Rhea, which she returned before leaving, closing the door behind her.

I didn't want to talk about anything with him, so I started leaving after Rhea.

When I laid my hand on the door knob, Shivansh gently grabbed my wrist. I lifted my eyes and glared at him, "Leave me," I ordered.

He calmed his anger, though it was evident in his eyes. He sternly said, "Baby, I wanna talk to you."

"I don't wanna talk to you about anything. Just fucking leave me," I repeated, my voice breaking, "and don't fucking baby me."

Ignoring my statement, he dragged me and forcefully made me sit on the couch. I wiggled and tried to free myself from his grip.

He bent in front of me, pulling me close to his face, and warned me with his eyes.

He sat opposite me, but I didn't let him dominate me. I stood up, and in another second, I was pinned against the wall. "Shivansh!" I shouted in his face.

"Chillao matt, Inayat," ( Don't shout Inayat) he cut me off with the same intensity.

Then he took a deep breath, calming his anger. I was still glaring at him sternly. "Aap kya bol rahi thi Rhea se?" ( What were you saying to Rhea?) he asked calmly and softly, but I could see the flame of anger in his eyes.

I was finding words to answer but was unable to do so. His eyes were questioning me, and I could see hurt and pain in them.

"Tell me, Inayat," his voice soft but still making me flinch and pulling me out of my thoughts. I composed myself and spoke with every ounce of confidence, looking into his eyes.

I swallowed a lump in my throat and said, "I-I like Vedant, and... and I want to be with him. I will settle with him in the US."

He burst into laughter, my eyes widened in confusion. He spoke, "So you are indirectly asking me to kill him, right, baby?"

A smile played on his face, his eyebrows cocked, asking me the expected answer.

Rage crawled through me as I replied, "You'll not do anything to him. You'll not even touch him. You got that, Shivansh?" He didn't answer.

I continued speaking against his mouth, "Agar tumne usse kuch bhi kiya, I swear to God I will kill you, Shivansh." ( If you do something like this, then I swear to God I will kill you, Shivansh)

He chuckled and said "And you think I will get scared of this little threat of yours, baby? You think I'll be scared of getting killed by you?"

He took out his gun and made me hold it against his head, his hand over mine, making me hold the gun. My eyes widened, hands shaking, breaths uneven.

I tried to free my hand, but his hold was firm. He was pressing my index to trigger but I did everything in my strength to stop him.

"C'mon, shoot me. I will die happily. Main khushi khushi taiyaar hoon apke haathon se marne ke liye, Ina." ( I will happily die by your hands)

I managed to free my hand from his hold. The gun fell to the ground, making me flinch, and I stepped back from the fallen gun, my eyes on it.

He grabbed my chin, tilted my head up, and came close to my face, his hot breath fanning over me, his lips brushing over mine as he said, "I am here, ready to die. But before that, I.will.kill.Vedant." pressuring every word.

"You think you can just control everything, don't you? You think you can make me stay by threatening me? You can't force me to love you, Shivansh. You lost that right a long time ago."

His eyes softened for a moment, a flicker of pain crossing his face. "I know I made mistakes, Inayat. But I can't let you go. I can't lose you to someone else. It drives me mad."

"And it kills me to think you would hurt him just to keep me. That's not love, Shivansh. That's obsession." My voice was trembling with emotion, the tears I had been holding back starting to spill over.

Shivansh's grip on my chin loosened, and he stepped back, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't know what to do, Ina. I can't stand the thought of you being with someone else. It drives me mad."

"I will burn the whole fucking world, Inayat, but I am not going to see you with someone else rather than me. You are fucking mine. And call this whatever you want to. I FUCKING LOVE YOU"

I was utterly shaken by his words. A pang of anguish shot through my chest upon hearing his confession. I had placed my trust in every word he uttered. For once, I had genuinely fallen for his charm, but those damning and bitter voices replayed in my mind.

"DON'T EVER SHOW ME YOUR FACE"

"I WILL KILL YOU"

"I'VE FUCKED MANY WOMEN."

"YOU'RE JUST LIKE AYESHA."

"AYESHA GIFTED ME THIS SHIRT."

Those words haunted me since yesterday, even invading my dreams. I couldn't bring myself to trust him. They were driving me to the verge of madness. Each repetition of his betrayal was a knife twisted deeper into my heart.

"You don't fucking love me!"

I screamed, pushing him away with every ounce of strength I possessed. My breath came in ragged gasps, each exhale filled with the bitter taste of betrayal.

I could see his fury intensifying, but today I refused to back down. How could he claim to love me when he still give shelter to feelings for that bitch Ayesha?

"Don't you fucking dare repeat that again, Shivansh."

His eyes darkened, and he struggled to rein in the beast within, ready to unleash destruction. I didn't care.

I glared directly into his soul, paying no heed to the consequences. My glare cut through the tense air, challenging him, defying him.

I stepped closer, driven by an all-consuming rage. Seizing his collar, I pulled him toward me, my fingers trembling with a mixture of anger and hurt.

"Mr. Shivansh Kapoor, you can never love me. It's all a façade."

His eyes bore into mine, a vein throbbing at his temple.

I pressed on, my voice breaking slightly, "What did you say yesterday? You've fucked many women, I'm just like Ayesha, that filthy shirt was her gift and it's your favorite. What else?"

I yanked him closer still, our breaths intermingling in uneven gasps. I was blinded with rage; so was he, but again, I didn't care.

"You're merely toying with me and my emotions. Shivansh, cease this charade. This time, I won't be swayed by your insincere words. Hear me clearly: "I hate—

He seized my wrist in a vice-like grip, making me wince in pain, and slammed me against the wall.

His voice, low and husky, sent tremors through my body as he commanded, "Stop it, Inayat."

His eyes and words made the hairs on my neck stand on end, but I remained defiant and again continued screaming on his face.

"I hate you and will hate you for the rest of my life and will never comeback to you, ever again. Do you hear that? NEVER, Mr. Shivansh Kapoor."

In an instant, he roared, "I fucking said stop it, Inayat!"

His fist hurtled toward me. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the impact, but the punch landed beside my face, striking the painting on the wall.

The glass shattered, shards cascading around me. The sound of breaking glass echoed in my ears, mingling with my ragged breaths.

Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I turned to look at the spot where his fist had hit, then slowly met Shivansh's gaze.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes downcast, struggling to contain his fury.

I was in utter shock when I saw blood streaming from his knuckles. In a swift motion, he grabbed the nape of my neck and pulled me closer.

His touch was both tender and fierce, mirroring the wild, conflicting emotions that defined our relationship.

"Inayat, now listen to me," he said sternly, his voice a low, husky murmur that sent shivers down my spine.

"Everything that happened yesterday was scripted. I lied every fucking sentence just to make that bastard believe. And talking about last night, I said those words just to see my expected outcome.

I wanted to see your jealousy. Because, my love, I wanted you to realize that you still care for me and still love me, that your hatred is but a mask. Why won't you admit that you still love me, Inayat?"

His words pierced through the haze of my fury. I gazed into his eyes, seeking any hint of falsehood, but all I found was raw, unfiltered emotion.

Could he be telling the truth? The intensity in his eyes mirrored my own turmoil, the sincerity in his voice cracking the walls I had built around my heart.

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still, and all that existed was the fragile, desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth.

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VEDANT'S POV:

I was doing my work in my chamber when someone came and opened my door. I looked up to find it was Shivansh. He opened the door and then went somewhere again. Sometimes he behaves so strangely.

Anyway, shrugging the thoughts away, I started working again, thinking that maybe he forgot something and would come back.

But after 15 minutes, I heard some yelling sounds coming from outside, and if I wasn't mistaken, it was Shivansh and Inayat's voices, and they sounded very serious.

I got up and went outside to check and saw that many employees were gathered near the waiting hall. Don't they have any sense, creating a scene in front of so many people?

But what are they fighting about so intensely when everything was fine yesterday? I moved closer.

On seeing me, all the staff quickly dispersed from there. From outside, I could hear the yelling but couldn't make out the words clearly, so I slowly opened the door, and what I heard next shocked me.

Shivansh said, "Everything that happened yesterday was scripted. I lied every fucking sentence just to make that bastard believe.

And talking about last night, I said those words just to see my expected outcome. I wanted to see your jealousy.

Because, my love, I wanted you to realize that you still care for me and still love me, that your hatred is but a mask. Why won't you admit that you still love me, Inayat?"

What? Inayat loves Shivansh?

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Congratulations to all the Indians over here for yesterday's massive win. Who are into cricket they must be feeling very overwhelmed right now and I am also one of them. I am just very proud of My Country and My Players. I am feeling it as a personal win. I think you all also must be feeling the same. Again again again a big thank you to TEAM INDIA for making us proud and finally bringing out all of us out from the trauma of 19th Nov 2023.. It was really a very interesting match with nail biting moments and till the last you just could not get who is gonna win but that one wicket bowled by Pandya and caught by Surya changed the game... It's such a happy moment... Again congratulations to all of us. 🥳🏆🇮🇳

Jai Hind! 🇮🇳

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