“Shit,” I mutter under my breath, closing my eyes for a second as last night flashes through my mind… Nisha calling Sunita Aunty, telling her she was staying at my place and would be home today. But now, instead of taking her home, I’ll be driving her straight to the hospital. And I have no fucking idea how I’m going to tell her this.
“I’ve got men watching the hospital,” Viraj says, his voice slicing through my thoughts and dragging me back to the ugly reality. “Prakash is desperate to get to Nisha. He’s pulling the same move he did last time… hurting the people she loves, hoping to break her all over again.”
My hand tightens around the phone, my jaw locked so tight it feels like it might snap.
“Then he just made the biggest fucking mistake of his life.” My voice is low, deadly calm. “Because if he thinks he can use the people Nisha loves to get to her, he’s already signed his death warrant.”
“I know you want them behind bars, Sidharth. Hell, so do I. But this time, we have to be smart,” Viraj says, his frustration seeping through. “Because last time, when I told you we couldn’t afford to play it safe, when warned you that we had to move fast before that bastard did something reckless, you didn’t listen. And now look what’s happened.”
I slam my palm down against the counter. “Spare me the damn lecture, Viraj. You think I wanted this? You think I wantedto screw it up?” My voice is rough with restrained fury. “You think I haven’t played out every worst-case scenario in my head since the day this started?”
He sighs. “I’m not lecturing you, man. I’m just as pissed as you are. But blaming each other isn’t going to help.”
“You’re right,” I grit out, forcing down the storm in my chest. “Just keep me updated. And let the doctors know I’m on my way.” My eyes flick towards the bedroom, and my heart sinks. “I also need to tell Nisha.”
“She’s going to take this hard,” he says.
Like hell I don’t know that.
And worst of all—it’s me. I’m the one who has to give her the news that’s going to shatter her.
“We’ll be there soon,” is all I say before hanging up.
Throwing the phone on the counter, I draw in a tight breath and run a hand down my face, trying to steady myself.How the hell do I tell Nisha this? How do I wake the woman I love just to break her heart?
As if the universe wants to gut me deeper, I hear her soft, sleepy voice.
“You are cooking for me?”
I turn around and see her leaning against the doorway, wearing nothing but my shirt. Her hair’s a wild, beautiful mess, her face glowing, and that shy smile tugging at her lips punches the air right out of my lungs. She’s looking so happy, and I’m about to destroy her bubble. Fuck! This isn’t how I imagined our morning would go.
She steps into the kitchen, padding barefoot across the floor.
“Hey, you okay?” she asks, coming to stand in front of me, her brows pinched with concern.
I take a breath that does nothing to calm me, and my hands come up to cup her face.
“Nisha…” I begin, her name catching in my throat, even though every part of me screams not to say it, not to let her know. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Her face changes instantly. Her lips part and the color drains from her face just enough to push her dangerously close to the edge of fear.
“What is it? Please… just tell me. You’re scaring me.”
I brace myself, every muscle in my body coiled tight. There’s no easy way to say this, so I just blurt it out.
“It’s Sunita Aunty.”
Two words, and I watch her whole body lock up. She looks at me, full of dread, silently begging me to keep going even though she doesn’t want to hear it.
“She’s… she’s in the hospital,” I say, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “There was a break-in this morning. She was attacked.”
“No, no, no…” she whispers, her hands flying to her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief and horror. She stumbles back a step and slips from my hold. But I catch her before she falls and pull her into my arms, holding her tight as she starts to break.
“She’s okay,” I assure her, kissing her hair. “She’s stable.”
Her whole body trembles against me. “God, I—I just spoke to her last night,” she chokes out. “If something had happened to her…”
The rest of the words die in her throat, swallowed by the sob that racks through her, and all I can do is hold her tighter, as if somehow my arms can keep her world from falling apart.
