The rain had been falling since dawn. Heavy. Relentless. As if the sky itself was mourning something.

Towering prison walls stood beneath the storm, cold and unforgiving after all these years.

Across the street, a luxury black sedan waited silently. Its engine off. Its owner staring at the prison gates. Waiting.

After six years...

The day had finally arrived. The driver's door opened. Expensive leather shoes stepped into a puddle. Water splashed around them. The camera of fate slowly tilted upward.

Arnav Raizada emerged from the car. Tailored black suit. Rain immediately soaking through the expensive fabric. Fresh white lilies rested in one hand.

His grip around them was careful. Almost protective. As if they carried six years' worth of hope.

Six years' worth of unanswered questions. Six years' worth of love.

Rain dripped down his face. But he didn't seem to notice. His eyes never left the prison gates. For the first time in years... Arnav looked nervous. Hopeful. Like a man standing on the edge of getting his life back.

Like a man waiting to hear the answer he had spent six years searching for.

"Six years..."

The thought echoed quietly inside him. Six years of wondering. Six years of pain. Six years of waiting for the woman he loved.

His fingers tightened slightly around the lilies. A faint smile touched his lips.

"I am waiting to hear it was all a lie."

The flowers trembled slightly in his hand. His gaze lowered toward them. White lilies. Her favorite. At least, he hoped they still were.

"Do you still like lilies?"

The question carried six years of longing. Six years of hope. Six years of unfinished love. Then—

The prison gates opened. A guard stepped outside. Rain pounded against the pavement between them.

"Mr. Raizada?"

Arnav immediately straightened. His heart skipped. A hopeful smile appeared instantly.

"Khushi Sharma."

The guard nodded. Arnav glanced past him toward the gate. Searching. Waiting. Expecting her to appear at any second.

"Is she ready?"

No answer. His eyes remained fixed on the entrance. Looking for her face. Looking for the woman he had never stopped loving.

A small laugh escaped him. Soft. Nervous. Familiar.

"She's always late."

The guard didn't laugh. Instead... His expression changed. Awkward. Uncomfortable. Almost guilty.

"Sir..."

Something about his tone made Arnav's smile falter. The guard looked away.

"…you didn't know?"

Confusion replaced hope.

"Know what?"

The rain seemed louder suddenly. The world quieter. The guard spoke carefully. Almost apologetically.

"Khushi Sharma was released three months ago."

Silence. Everything stopped. The rain. The wind.

The beating of Arnav's heart. For one horrifying second...He simply stared. Unable to process the words.

Three months. Three months. Three months.

The guard continued softly.

"Somebody picked her up."

The lilies slipped from Arnav's fingers. White petals scattered across the rain-soaked pavement. Destroyed instantly beneath the storm.

Just like the hope he'd carried for six years.

Arnav remained standing outside the prison gates. Frozen. Motionless.

The rain continued falling. Minutes passed.

Slowly... The hope inside his eyes began to disappear. Piece by piece.

"So it was all true..."

A painful smile appeared on his lips. Broken. Empty. Defeated.

"...you really moved on."

At some point, he finally turned away.

The crushed lilies disappeared into a puddle. He didn't even notice. Didn't care.

Moments later... A black Defender vanished into the endless rain.

Late that night. Darkness filled the penthouse. No lights. No music. No company. Just silence.

Arnav sat alone. A bottle of whisky beside him. A glass in his hand. His eyes were empty. Hollow. Like something inside him had already died.

"You didn't love me."

The words felt bitter. Poisonous. A harsh laugh escaped him. He shook his head. Rejecting even his own lie.

"No..."

Another laugh. More painful than the first.

"You never loved me."

Rain tapped against the glass walls of the penthouse. His gaze drifted toward the storm outside. And then...

A memory surfaced. A memory he had spent years protecting. A memory that still hurt.

The baby. His jaw tightened. Pain twisted into something darker. Something colder.

"The baby..."

His fingers tightened around the whisky glass.

"Everything was a lie."

CRASH.

The glass exploded inside his hand. Shards scattered across the floor. Blood dripped between his fingers. Mixing with spilled whisky. But Arnav didn't react. Didn't even look down.

The physical pain meant nothing compared to the one inside his chest.

"For six years..."

Slowly... He reached for a framed photograph resting nearby. Khushi's smiling face stared back at him. Happy. Beautiful. Alive.

The woman he had loved more than himself. His blood-covered thumb gently brushed across her cheek.

One last time.

"I kept hoping you'd prove me wrong."

His eyes closed. A single tear escaped. Sliding silently down his face.

"I gave you my heart."

For a brief moment... The man who loved her still existed. Then he opened his eyes. And he was gone. His expression hardened. The tear disappeared beneath a cold smile.

"Now you'll earn my hatred."

His grip tightened around the frame.

Crack.

The glass fractured. Spiderwebs spreading across her smiling face.

"I will find you."

The frame trembled. His eyes no longer carried love. No longing. No hope. Only anger. Only betrayal. Only obsession.

"And when I do..."

CRUNCH.

The photograph crumpled inside his fist. Blood stained Khushi's smiling face. And somewhere deep inside him... Something finally broke.

The love died.

"…you'll regret the day you betrayed me."

Across the city...

Khushi stood alone on a balcony. Rain fell endlessly beyond the railing. The cool night wind brushed against her skin. Without warning—

A strange pain settled inside her chest. A sudden chill. A feeling she couldn't explain.

Her hand instinctively rose to her heart. Her brows furrowed.

"Why does my heart suddenly hurt?"

Far away... Neither of them knew it.

But fate had already started moving again.