I mean, obviously I didn’t run background checks on him when we were dating. I wasn’tthatparanoid. Given that I’d already taken care of all personal threats—including my parents’ families by that point.
And Sahil—the PI I hired—only focused on present-day surveillance. Just those two years after I left Advik. Nothing beyond that.
Still... how did I never notice?
And why does my chest ache knowing he kept something like this from me?
God, how hypocritical is that? I’ve hidden so much more. So many darker things I simplycouldn’tshare.
“The problem is much larger than that.”
My ears replay the sentence like a warning bell.
“What problem?” I blurt out.
He blinks. “What?”
“You said,‘the problem is much larger than that.’What problem?”
There’s a sudden pressure in my lungs, like if I don’t get an answer right now, I might implode. I need to know.
Why, though?
His expression tightens. “Uh... you want to know about Khushi?” he asks cautiously.
“Yes,” I say. “And the problem.”
The edge in my voice surprises even me. I’ve stopped filtering. The usual calculations—the ones that weigh each word before I speak—are gone. Just... gone.Fuck.
And I know exactly what this means.
The last time I felt the filter slip was years ago, when I first met him. When we used to speak in fragments of truth and unfinished thoughts and somehow still understood each other. Before everything went to shit.
This is bad.
“Why now?” he asks gently. “Are we... on one of those talking days?”
I force a smile. It probably looks more like a grimace.
“I’m in a listening mood,” I say. “Let’s not waste that.”
His shoulders relax slightly, and he gives me one of those boyish smiles—the kind that used to melt me. Not because it was charming, but because it was reverent.
“Have a seat, Greesha.”
And just like that, I know what he’s doing.
He wantsherto listen. Not Aadya the soldier. Not Aadya the agent.
Greesha.
And stupidly, for the first time in a long time, she’s actually in the room.
SEVENTEEN
Advik
“So yeah... that’s basically it. We just started talking about it. Vikram encouraged me to open up to my parents and... it helped.”
