On the other side...

The moment Akanksha disappeared from his sight, Yogesh remained standing exactly where he was.

Frozen.

As if someone had suddenly taken away his ability to move.

He could still hear the hurried sound of her footsteps fading through the lobby.

One step.

Then another.

And then silence.

But inside his head, there was anything but silence.He kept staring at the direction in which she had disappeared, his mind replaying those few seconds again and again.

The way her face had changed the moment her eyes met his.

The sudden stillness in her body.

The colour draining from her face.

The way her fingers had tightened around the strap of her purse until her knuckles had almost turned pale.

The tremor in her hands.

The way her breathing had changed.

And then that voice...

That shaky, almost unfamiliar voice when she had spoken to Sorab.

Yogesh had noticed everything.

Every little thing.

And perhaps that was what hurt the most.

Because he knew exactly what it meant.

She wasn't okay.

Not after seeing him.

He had wanted to say something.

Anything.

Akanksha...

Are you okay?

I'm sorry.

Please wait.

So many words had risen to his throat.

But not one of them had made it past his lips.

He couldn't even move.

Because the moment she had looked at him, he had seen something in her eyes that he had never wanted to see again.

Pain.

Not anger.

Not hatred.

Pain.

The kind of pain that made him realise that perhaps time had not erased what he had done to her.

He swallowed hard.

"Yogesh..."

One of his fellow members called his name.

He didn't respond.

"Yogesh?"

He blinked and finally looked toward him.

"Huh?"

The other man frowned.

"Where are you? I've been calling you."

Yogesh forced a small smile.

"Nothing... bas thoda zone out ho gaya tha."

His friend looked toward the lobby.

"Where are you going?"

Yogesh immediately looked away.

"Washroom."

He didn't wait for another question.

He simply walked away.

But the moment the washroom door closed behind him, the expression he had been forcing disappeared.He walked toward the mirror.Stopped.

And looked at himself.For several seconds, he said nothing.

Just stared.

As if the reflection in front of him was someone he didn't recognise anymore.

Then his eyes lowered.

A painful breath escaped him.

"Kya kar diya tune, Yogesh..."

His own voice sounded strange.

He placed both hands on the edge of the sink.

"Tune us ladki ko itna hurt kar diya..."

His jaw tightened.

"Jo tujhe sabse zyada trust karti thi."

His eyes became moist.

"Jo har baar tere paas aayi... jabki tu hi baar-baar usse door karta raha."

He looked back into the mirror.

And suddenly, memories began rushing back.

The villa.

Their arguments.

Her tears.

The moments when everyone had turned against her.

The times when she had stood alone while people judged her, laughed at her, or targeted her.

And he remembered himself standing there.

Sometimes silent.

Sometimes angry.

Sometimes becoming another reason for her tears.

His face fell.

"Tu dekh raha tha sab..."

His voice cracked.

"Phir bhi kuch nahi kiya."

He shook his head.

"Jab sab uske against the, tab bhi tu uske saath khada nahi hua."

A tear escaped.

He immediately wiped it away.

"Sab bolte hain usko strong hona chahiye tha..."

He gave a bitter laugh.

"Lekin kisi ne yeh nahi socha ki usko strong banne ki zarurat hi kyun padi."

He looked down.

"Usko akela kisne kiya tha?"

Silence.

Then he whispered,

"Main."

The word seemed to crush him.

"Sabki wajah se nahi..."

His eyes closed.

"Sabse zyada meri wajah se."

He remembered what Akanksha had once told him about herself.

Her fear of being left.

Her fear of people walking away after making her believe they would stay.

And he had known.

He had known that.

Yet somehow, he had become exactly that person.

"Usne mujhe apne baare mein sab bataya tha..."

His voice trembled.

"Usne mujhe bataya tha ki usse chhod diye jaane se kitna darr lagta hai."

He stared at his reflection.

"Phir bhi maine wahi kiya."

He slowly shook his head.

"Main uska sabse bada darr ban gaya."

For a moment, he couldn't speak.

Then a whisper escaped him.

"Usne mere upar trust kiya tha..."

His eyes filled again.

"Pata hai sabse zyada dard kis baat ka hai?"

He looked at himself.

"Ki maine uska trust toda... aur phir aise behave kiya jaise kuch hua hi nahi."

He took a shaky breath.

"Main kaise bhool gaya ki woh bhi insaan hai?"

His gaze dropped.

"Kaise soch liya ki woh sab handle kar legi?"

He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then another thought struck him.

But wasn't this what you wanted?

His expression changed.He heard the question inside his own head.

You chose your path.

You made your decision.

You chose Ruru.

You made your plans.

So why does seeing Akanksha hurt you now?

Yogesh slowly looked back at the mirror.

"Khush hona chahiye na mujhe..."

He tried to smile.

"Yahi toh chahta tha main."

His smile disappeared almost immediately.

"Phir kyun nahi hoon?"

He looked away.

"Uski aankhon mein woh dard dekhkar mujhe itna bura kyun lag raha hai?"

He clenched his fists.

"Usko dard dene wala bhi toh main hi hoon."

His voice became quieter.

"Toh phir uska dard mujhe kyun tod raha hai?"

He closed his eyes.And for the first time, he allowed himself to admit something he had been avoiding for months.

"Shayad..."

He stopped.

His breathing became heavier.

"Shayad mujhe khud nahi pata tha ki main usse kitna..."

He couldn't finish.

His eyes opened suddenly.

"No."

He shook his head.

"No, Yogesh."

He stepped away from the mirror.

"Yeh sab mat soch."

He rubbed his face.

"Jo ho gaya, woh ho gaya."

He looked at himself again.

"Ab uski life mein wapas jaake aur kya karega?"

His voice became firmer.

"Usko aur confuse karega?"

"No."

"Usko phir se umeed dega?"

"No."

"Phir khud confused hoga aur usko dobara hurt karega?"

He shook his head.

"Bilkul nahi."

He took a deep breath.

"Usko mujhse door rehna hi behtar hai."

But the thought itself hurt.And perhaps that was the punishment he had chosen for himself.He wanted to tell her everything.He wanted to tell her that what had happened in the villa had never been as simple as it had looked from outside.

That there had been plans before everything began.

That somewhere along the way, those plans had become complicated.

That he hadn't expected his heart to become attached.

That he hadn't expected to care.

That he hadn't expected her.

He whispered,

"Kaise bataun tumhe, Akanksha..."

His eyes filled again.

"Kaise bataun ki jo kuch bhi hua, uska regret mujhe har din hota hai?"

His voice broke.

"Kaise bataun ki jab villa mein tum roti thi na..."

He swallowed.

"Main bhi andar se theek nahi hota tha."

He lowered his head.

"Lekin main kuch kar nahi paaya."

A painful pause.

"Ya shayad... maine kiya hi nahi."

He looked up.

"Kaise bataun ki maine kabhi nahi socha tha ki tum mere liye itni important ho jaogi?"

He stopped.

Then the truth almost slipped out.

"Main toh..."

He breathed in.

"Main toh tumhe choose karne ka sochne laga tha."

His eyes widened at his own words.

Silence.Then he immediately shook his head.

"No."

He stepped back.

"Bas."

He covered his ears with both hands.

"Bas, Yogesh."

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Ye sab dobara mat soch."

His voice trembled.

"Ab iska koi matlab nahi hai."

He lowered his hands.

"Jo decision lena tha, le chuka hoon."

His eyes became distant.

"Chahe jo bhi reason tha..."

He paused.

"Main Ruru ke saath hoon."

The words sounded more like a reminder than a statement.He looked at his reflection again.

"Ab Akanksha ko meri confusion ka hissa nahi banana."

His voice softened.

"Usne already bahut kuch seh liya hai."

He swallowed.

"Main usko apne unfinished emotions ka bojh nahi dunga."

But there was something else.

Something he couldn't say aloud.

Something even he was afraid to name.

His expression changed when Ruru came to his mind.

"Ruru..."

He whispered the name.

Then fell silent.

His eyes hardened for a moment.

There was a truth there.

A truth about Ruru.

A truth about their relationship.

Something he knew.

Something he had never told Akanksha.

And perhaps something he wasn't ready to tell anyone.

He looked at himself one last time.

"Jo bhi hai..."

He took a slow breath.

"Woh mera matter hai."

Then, almost painfully, he added,

"Akanksha ko is sab se door hi rehne do."

He opened the washroom door.

Before stepping out, he stopped for one last second.

His eyes closed.

And in a voice so quiet that even he could barely hear it, he whispered-

"I'm sorry."

Then he walked back toward everyone.

His face was composed again.

His eyes were dry.

His expression normal.

As if nothing had happened.

As if he hadn't just broken down in front of his own reflection.

As if he hadn't spent the last few minutes fighting with a truth he was terrified to accept.

Because there were some things Yogesh could hide from everyone.

But he couldn't hide them from himself.

And what exactly was he hiding about Ruru?

What had happened between them?

Why was he so determined to keep Akanksha away from it?

For now...

Only Yogesh knew.