Author pov

9:00 pm

The bell of Sorab's apartment rang.

Sorab looked toward the door, expecting a delivery. But when he opened it, he found Akanksha standing there, looking completely exhausted.She has been living here at sorab's place since she has not found appropriate place till now in Mumbai.

She walked inside without saying much.It had been a long day.

A really long day.She dropped her bag on the side, slipped off her shoes and walked straight toward the sofa. The moment she reached it, she practically fell onto it, closing her eyes.

"Finally..." she murmured under her breath.

Her life had changed completely after Splitsvilla.

From the outside, everything looked perfect.Shoot after shoot,Brand promotions,Fan meet-ups and

Interviews.

People wanted to know about her life, her journey and everything that had happened inside the show.

And she smiled through all of it.

She answered questions.

She laughed.

She posed for pictures.

She met her fans.

She made everyone believe that she had moved on.But today had been different.

Today was her first podcast after Splitsvilla.Her first time sitting in front of cameras and talking about everything after what had happened.

The podcast at FilmGyaan had actually gone well.Disha, one of the members and a creative team member at FilmGyaan, had made her feel comfortable. Akanksha had genuinely enjoyed talking to her.

For a few hours, she had forgotten everything.Or at least, she had tried to.But then one question, one sentence, one small mention of the past was enough to bring everything back.

Yogesh.

His name.

Even now, she couldn't understand why that one name had so much power over her.

The moment she heard it, she became silent.

Her smile disappeared.

Her words stopped.

And memories she had been desperately trying to bury came rushing back.The last time she had seen him was during the finale task.After that day, she had made a promise to herself.

She would never see him again.

Never meet him.

Never allow herself to go back to that chapter of her life.

Because he had hurt her.More than she wanted to admit.Yet, somewhere deep inside her heart, there was still a small, unwanted corner that belonged to him.She hated that part of herself.

Because despite everything, she still cared.

Maybe because she had genuinely liked him.

Maybe because she had trusted him with her whole heart.

Maybe because whatever she had felt for him had never been fake.

She had believed in him.

Trusted him.

And somewhere along the way, she had allowed herself to imagine that he would be there when things became difficult.But he wasn't.He had left her when she was already fighting her own fears, her enemies and everything happening around her.

He had left her to face it all alone and chose his ex ruru over her.And that was something she could never forgive.

Not because she didn't care anymore.

But because she had cared too much.

She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

Why was forgetting him so difficult?

Every time she convinced herself that she was finally moving on, something brought him back.

A fan edit.

A photograph.

A social media post.

An interview.

Sometimes she didn't even have to look for him.The memories found her themselves.Akanksha sighed and closed her eyes again.She just wanted peace.

For once.

"Why are you so low?"

Sorab's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing," she replied without opening her eyes. "Just tired."

Sorab stared at her for a moment.

"No."

Akanksha opened her eyes.

"There is something," he said. "And you know I know you."

She looked away.

"Nothing happened."

"Akku."

His voice softened.

"Look at me."

She slowly turned toward him.

And the moment their eyes met, her expression changed.

Her eyes became glassy.

She tried to blink away the tears, but it was too late.

One tear rolled down her cheek.

Sorab immediately understood.

He didn't need her to explain.

He had seen her happy.

He had seen her angry.

He had seen her pretending to be strong.

But he also knew the version of Akanksha that nobody else got to see.

The one who broke down when she was finally alone.

Her brother.

Her safe place.

Her support system.

The one person in Mumbai in front of whom she didn't have to pretend.

"What happened, Pluto?" he asked gently.

That was all it took.

Her tears started falling freely.

"Akku, tell me," Sorab said, moving closer to her.

"If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know what's hurting you?"

She said nothing.Instead, she stood up and walked toward him.The moment she reached him, she buried her face against his chest and tightly held onto his T-shirt.Sorab wrapped his arms around her.

He didn't force her to speak.

He simply let her cry.

Sometimes, words weren't necessary.

After a few moments, he gently asked the question that he already suspected the answer to.

"Is it about Yogesh?"

Akanksha froze.

Just hearing his name was enough.

Her grip on Sorab's T-shirt tightened.

And then she broke down even more.

Sorab clos

ed his eyes for a moment.

He didn't need an answer anymore.

He already knew.

The past she had been trying so hard to leave behind...

was still following her.