“And there’s no way I’m flying off to another country with you when my sister is still not completely recovered. Not when she still wakes up shaking in the middle of the night, zones outfor minutes at a time, and stares at the wall like she’s somewhere far away. You seriously expect me to ignore all that and just come to Dubai with you?” Kavya mutters bitterly.
That’s when I find my voice. “Please… stop arguing over me like I’m a burden.”
“Nisha, you are not a burden,” Kavya says immediately, her face tightening with hurt. “You’re my sister. You’re my heart. How can you even think—”
“I need you to trust me to stand on my own again, Kavya,” I cut in, my voice shaking. “Even if I fall, I need the space to heal. And I can’t do that with you watching me every second. I won’t get stronger that way. I’ll just start pretending and hiding how I feel so you can sleep at night.”
She blinks, visibly taken aback, but I don’t stop there. This is important. “I know you love me…” My voice cracks under the weight of it all, and suddenly all the guilt, all the helplessness I’ve been holding in, spills out. “I know you want to take care of me, but your care… it’s starting to feel like a gilded cage.”
Tears spring into her eyes. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s the truth,” I whisper.
Reyansh’s expression softens as he looks between us. He reaches for Kavya’s hand. “You’ve always been her strength, Kavya. But now she needs to find her own. And trust me, that doesn’t mean you’re abandoning her. It just means you’re giving her the space to stand on her own feet. She’s got more strength than any of us gives her credit for.” He squeezes her hand in reassurance. “Please understand I’m not asking you to stop caring. I’m just saying we can’t keep putting our lives on hold either. We’ll make sure she’s not alone. I’ll ask—”
“I’ll be here,” Sidharth says, cutting in, after his silence until now.
My mouth falls open. I wasn’t expecting that. A protest rises in my throat. I want to object, to say I don’t need anotherbabysitter. Especially not him. Not the one who makes my pulse stutter and my thoughts spiral every time he’s near me.
Kavya turns and narrows her eyes at him. “You?” she asks in disbelief.
“If it gives you peace, then yes,” he says, pushing off the wall he was leaning against. “Between me and Sunita Aunty, she won’t be alone for a second.”
“You’d check on her? Daily?” Kavya asks again, her tone skeptical.
“You’ve already seen that I’ve been here every day,” he says, holding her gaze steadily. “And I don’t plan to stop. I’m happy to do it, no pressure.” He glances at me, his eyes softening for a fraction of a second before returning to Kavya as if waiting for her reply.
“What about when the court trials begin?” she asks, her voice laced with a thousand fears. Her fingers instinctively tighten around the hem of her kurta, her gaze flickering to me for the briefest second before returning to Sidharth. “She’ll have to be there, and I don’t want her going through that alone.”
I swallow hard and look away. Kavya doesn’t need to know how just hearing the wordcourtsends a sharp twist through my chest.
“It’s not happening anytime soon. I’ve already filed for an extension, considering she needs time to recover, both mentally and physically.” My head jerks towards him at his words. My throat clenches, and I feel the sting behind my eyes as I watch him in stunned silence, a strange warmth blooming in my chest.
Kavya blinks, surprised. “You did?”
He nods, his arms still folded but his eyes softer now. “Yeah. I wasn’t going to let anyone rush her into reliving that hell while she’s healing.” He pauses for a second, as if choosing his next words carefully. “And whenever that day comes,” he continues, his eyes now meeting mine with unwavering intent, “I’ll be therewith her. Every step of the way. I’ll sit in that courtroom with her. I’ll handle whatever needs handling. And I’ll make damn sure it doesn’t become too much for her.”
Kavya’s lips tremble as she studies him carefully, like she’s trying to see through every word he’s just spoken. Whatever she finds in his face must be enough, because she doesn’t question him further. Instead, she turns to me. “Will you be okay with this?”
I nod. “I want you to have your future, Kavya. With Reyansh. With the baby. You deserve that.” Emotion chokes me, but I keep going. “You’ve done enough for me. And if this is what it takes for my sister to have her forever with the man she loves, then yes, I’m okay with it.”
She looks between me and Sidharth, then finally surrenders.
“Fine,” she whispers. “I’ll go. But only on the condition that Sidharth keeps an eye on you. Every single day. And he gives me updates. If you miss even one therapy session, skip a meal, or forget your medicine, I swear, I’ll come back and drag you to Dubai myself.”
I let out a shaky laugh, tears welling up in my eyes. “Deal.”
Reyansh wraps his arms around Kavya and pulls her close.
“I love you,” he murmurs, then looks at me, his eyes warm with gratitude. “Thank you.”
I nod at Reyansh, and then my gaze flickers back to Sidharth. And just like that, my pulse quickens again. I don’t know if I made a wise choice or just acted in the heat of the moment. All I know is that this man is becoming impossible to ignore. And that terrifies me. Because I’m still trying to gather pieces of myself back together, and I don’t know if I have room for someone who might be another disaster to my heart.
Chapter 6
Sidharth
“Sidharth, please tell me you’re not doing this because Reyansh is forcing you,” Kavya says, her eyes fixed on mine.
