[][] Sonakshi's POV [][]
"Don't you try to defend your so-called brother in front of me." My voice cracked through the room like glass shattering on marble.
Sai froze in front of me.
The soft concern in her eyes only made my anger burn deeper.
"Sonu, bhai is not—"
"Stop." I pointed toward the door before she could finish. "I don't want to hear anything about him. Not today. Not ever again."
The room suddenly felt suffocating.
The curtains danced slowly with the evening wind while my chest tightened with every breath. I could still see the scene downstairs replaying again and again in my mind.
Kalki.
Sitting beside Noor.
Selecting engagement invitation cards.
As if nothing mattered.
As if my heart was not breaking right in front of him.
Sai took a hesitant step closer. "At least eat something first. Since morning you haven't—"
"Shut up and leave me alone, Sai!"
Her lips parted slightly.
Hurt flashed in her eyes.
And guilt stabbed me immediately.
But pain was louder than guilt.
Much louder.
"Par..." she whispered softly.
That softness.
That same affection.
That same tone Kalki used whenever he called me Sonu.
Used.
Past tense.
Because now those same eyes looked at another woman.
"LEAVE!"
My scream echoed across the room.
Sai flinched.
For a second, I thought she would argue.
Instead, she silently placed the food tray on the table and walked away.
The sound of the closing door shattered whatever strength I had left.
The moment I was alone, my body gave up.
I collapsed on the bed.
Tears soaked the pillow beneath my face while silent sobs wrecked through my chest.
I knew this day would come.
I had prepared myself for it.
How could a girl like me ever belong beside a man like Kalki Watson?
But knowing something and surviving it were two completely different things.
Seeing him choose invitation cards for his engagement felt like someone had pushed a knife directly into my chest and twisted it slowly.
Everyone knew I loved him.
Everyone.
The servants.
His siblings.
Even Dadi.
Everyone except the one person who mattered.
Or maybe...
Maybe he knew.
And still chose someone else.
That hurt even more.
[][] Dylan's POV [][]
"Did she come out?"
The moment I entered the mansion, I asked the first question that had been haunting me since morning.
Sai looked exhausted.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
"No, bhai," she answered quietly. "She threw me out of the room. Since then she hasn't replied to anyone."
My gaze fell on the untouched plate lying on the centre table.
Cold food.
Just like the atmosphere of the mansion.
Nobody had eaten properly since morning.
"This is getting too much," Rajveer muttered while rubbing his forehead.
I looked around.
The mansion had never felt this lifeless before.
Usually Sunakshi's laughter filled every corner.
She fought with Rudra.
Teased Shivaay.
Forced Sai to take breaks.
Dragged Rajveer into random conversations.
And somehow... she had connected all of us together.
Before her, we lived in the same mansion but like strangers.
Now one broken girl had managed to silence the entire house.
"I'll talk to Kalki," I said finally. "Where is he?"
"Not home since yesterday," Rudra replied while coming out of the kitchen carrying another untouched tray.
My jaw tightened.
"Did anyone call him?"
"His phone is here," Shivaay answered bitterly. "He left it behind."
For a second, nobody spoke.
Only silence.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Scary.
"Maybe office?" Sai suggested hopefully.
I shook my head.
"I came from there. He wasn't there either."
The room fell silent again.
Rudra looked upstairs nervously.
"She still didn't eat," he whispered.
My chest tightened.
Sunakshi loved food.
No matter how upset she was, she always ate something.
But today...
Today she looked empty.
"Maybe she's asleep," Rajveer said, though even he didn't sound convinced.
Then Shivaay spoke.
Small.
Scared.
"What if she did something to herself?"
The words sent cold fear through my body.
Immediately.
Violently.
No.
Sunakshi was strong.
She fought the world smiling.
She wouldn't...
Would she?
"She is not stupid," I snapped harshly, more to convince myself than them.
Still, my hands had started trembling.
Sai stood up quickly.
"I have the spare key. I'll check on her."
"Go," Rajveer said immediately.
The second Sai disappeared upstairs, Rudra broke.
He buried his face in my shoulder and started crying.
Shivaay sat beside Rajveer, wiping his eyes helplessly.
And for the first time in years, I realized something terrifying.
Sunakshi wasn't just a guest in this mansion anymore.
She had become our home.
[][] Sai's POV [][]
"Sonu?"
I knocked softly before unlocking the door.
No response.
Fear crept into my chest.
"Sonu, I'm coming inside."
The room was dim.
Curtains covered the sunlight.
And there she was.
Curled up on the bed like a broken doll.
Her cheeks were stained with dried tears.
Her hair covered half her face.
My heart shattered at the sight.
"Sunakshi," I whispered.
No movement.
I slowly sat beside her and held her hand gently.
Cold.
"Sonu... are you listening to me?"
Nothing.
Maybe she was asleep.
Or maybe she was trying to escape reality.
I brushed her hair away carefully.
"Take rest today," I whispered while tears filled my own eyes. "But tomorrow... tomorrow you have to become strong again."
Her fingers twitched slightly.
"Please forgive us for being selfish," I continued quietly. "We need you. This house needs you."
The moment those words left my mouth, she pulled her hand away.
Even in sleep.
Even unconscious.
She refused to accept this pain.
And honestly...
I couldn't blame her.
At that moment I hated Kalki.
Truly hated him.
Because the girl who spent years healing all of us was now breaking alone.
[][] Sunakshi's POV [][]
"I don't want to eat."
I repeated the same sentence for the hundredth time.
Shivaay sighed in frustration while sitting across from me in the garden.
The weather was beautiful.
Cool wind.
Soft sunlight.
Flowers blooming around us.
But none of it mattered.
Because inside me everything had already died.
"Please," Shivaay begged quietly.
I looked away.
I didn't have energy left to scream anymore.
Didn't have energy left to cry either.
"Sunakshi," Dylan bhai said firmly while standing beside the chair. "You need to eat something."
I slowly looked into his eyes.
"I have no appetite."
For a moment he just stared at me.
Trying to understand something even I couldn't explain.
Then without another word, he walked away.
Nice.
Everyone leaves eventually.
Maybe Sai would leave too.
Maybe Rudra and Shivaay would stop caring.
And honestly?
Why shouldn't they?
What relationship did I even have with this family?
Nothing.
I was nobody.
Just a girl living in someone else's mansion while foolishly loving a man who would never love her back.
"You can't lose hope, Sonu," Sai whispered.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Hope?
What a funny word.
"You are our Bhabhi," Rudra said immediately. "And you always will be."
My eyes turned toward him.
"The one who was supposed to love me doesn't even want me. What am I supposed to do with everyone else's love?"
Silence.
Painful silence.
Then suddenly the clicking sound of heels interrupted everything.
I looked up.
Noor.
And behind her...
Dadi.
Wonderful.
Exactly what I needed.
"Oh, you're here, Sunakshi," Noor said sweetly while smiling.
Fake.
Everything about her felt fake.
"What do you want from me now?" I asked coldly.
"I need to talk to you alone," Dadi spoke firmly.
The moment she said that, Shivaay, Sai, and Rudra exchanged worried glances before quietly leaving.
I crossed my arms.
"Say whatever you want."
Noor sat gracefully across from me.
Then she smiled.
"I want you to plan my engagement."
For a second I genuinely thought I heard wrong.
"What?"
"You heard me." She leaned back casually. "You have excellent taste. Every event you organize becomes perfect. I want my engagement and wedding with Kalki to be perfect too."
My fingers curled tightly around the armrest.
The audacity.
The cruelty.
"Do you even hear yourself, Noor?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Yes. I know you love him. But he's going to be mine. So I'm giving you the chance to be part of his wedding." Her smile widened. "The bride just won't be you."
Something inside me snapped.
I wanted to slap her.
Scream.
Break everything around me.
But before I could speak, Dadi interrupted.
"And don't even think about creating drama."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"If you want payment, we can arrange that too," Noor added carelessly. "I'll ask Kalki."
Payment.
As if my love was some cheap service.
As if my heart could be purchased.
They both stood up.
Then Dadi delivered the final blow.
"And if you refuse, find another place to stay. After marriage, this room will become Noor's closet anyway."
My breath stopped.
Closet.
The room where I cried.
Laughed.
Dreamed.
Loved him silently.
Would become her closet.
I watched them walk away.
Everything blurred.
"Di?" Rudra's worried voice reached me. "What happened?"
I didn't answer.
Couldn't answer.
I simply stood up and walked back toward my room.
Then locked the door.
And broke completely.
[][] Kalki's POV [][]
The mansion gates opened slowly as my car entered.
But something immediately felt wrong.
Marshall's car was parked outside.
And he himself leaned casually against the bonnet with his arms crossed.
Why was he here?
The moment I stepped out, he looked at me once and then ignored me completely.
My irritation rose instantly.
Before I could ask anything, the mansion doors burst open.
"Where were you since yesterday, bhai?"
"Why weren't you answering calls?"
Rudra and Shivaay practically ran toward me.
Then my eyes landed on her.
Sunakshi.
Walking out of the mansion with luggage.
My heartbeat stopped.
What the hell?
"Sunakshi di, please say something," Rudra pleaded while following her. "Why are you leaving?"
She ignored him.
Completely.
"Di please stop!"
"Put these inside, Krish," she instructed the man standing near the car.
Then she turned toward Marshall.
"Let's leave."
"Fine," he replied immediately while opening the car door for her.
Something dangerous twisted inside my chest.
I stepped forward and slammed the door shut before she could enter.
"Where are you going?"
She didn't look at me.
Not even once.
"None of your business, Mr. Watson."
Mr. Watson.
Not Kalki.
Nothing.
Just Mr. Watson.
I grabbed the edge of the door harder.
"Where are you going, Sunakshi?"
This time my voice was calmer.
More controlled.
But she still refused to look at me.
Instead, she walked around the car and sat on the other side.
Marshall got into the driver's seat immediately.
And before I could stop them again...
The car drove away.
Leaving behind silence.
Leaving behind confusion.
Leaving behind something inside me that suddenly felt terrifyingly empty.
I stared at the disappearing car until it vanished beyond the mansion gates.
Then slowly turned around.
Everyone looked broken.
Sai was crying.
Rudra's eyes were red.
Shivaay looked furious.
And for the first time since she came to my life ...
I felt afraid.
"What happened?" I demanded.
Nobody answered.
"I asked what happened!"
Rajveer stepped forward first.
His jaw was tight.
"You tell what happened?."
The words hit harder than expected.
"Explain clearly," I snapped.
"where were you?" Shivaay shouted suddenly. "Do you even know what she went through since yesterday? She cried the whole night! She didn't eat anything!"
I looked at the closed mansion doors.
At the empty staircase.
At the place where she usually sat.
And suddenly every small thing started making sense.
Her silence.
Her avoiding me.
The pain in her eyes.
The way she stopped calling me by my name.
Something cold settled in my stomach.
No.
No, this wasn't supposed to happen.
I never wanted her to leave.
Never.
"Where did she go?" I asked immediately.
"We don't know," Dylan answered quietly.
That was the first moment real panic hit me.
Because for years Sunakshi had always been there.
In the mansion.
At breakfast.
In arguments.
In laughter.
Everywhere.
I never imagined a day where she would actually leave.
And now...
The mansion suddenly felt empty.
Lifeless.
Like someone had stolen its soul.
Marshall's car had disappeared far away by now.
But my eyes still remained fixed on the gate.
As if expecting her to return.
As if refusing to believe she was truly gone.
And somewhere deep inside me...
For the very first time...
I realized something terrifying.
I couldn't breathe properly without her.
[][] Sunakshi's POV [][]
I didn't look back.
Not once.
Because if I looked back...
I knew I would break.
Marshall drove silently while the city lights blurred outside the car window. Rain clouds had started gathering in the sky, covering the fading sunlight little by little, as if even the weather understood the heaviness sitting inside my chest.
The mansion gates slowly disappeared behind us.
That mansion.
The place where I had laughed for the first time after years.
The place where I had unknowingly fallen in love.
The place that never truly belonged to me.
My fingers tightened around the edge of my dupatta while I tried controlling the tears threatening to spill again.
I was tired.
Emotionally.
Mentally.
Physically.
Everything inside me felt hollow.
"You okay?" Marshall finally asked softly after several minutes.
A weak laugh escaped my lips.
"Do I look okay?"
He glanced at me once before looking back at the road.
"No."
That one honest answer hurt more than fake comfort.
I slowly leaned my head against the cold glass window.
Outside, people walked normally.
Cars moved.
Shops glowed with lights.
The world continued exactly the same while mine had completely collapsed.
"I feel stupid," I whispered.
Marshall frowned slightly.
"For loving him this much."
The words came out broken.
Barely audible.
But Marshall heard them.
He always did.
"You aren't stupid for loving someone," he said carefully.
"No," I interrupted while staring outside. "I am stupid for hoping he would ever love me back."
Silence filled the car once again.
The kind of silence that carried too many emotions.
Too much pain.
Too many things left unsaid.
My mind replayed every memory connected to Kalki.
The first day I entered Watson Mansion.
The first time he called me Sonu.
The nights we argued over useless things.
The mornings he silently left coffee outside my room whenever I worked late.
The way his eyes softened whenever he thought nobody was noticing.
Every memory now felt cruel.
Because none of it meant enough for him to choose me.
I swallowed hard.
"He looked scared when you left," Marshall suddenly said.
I closed my eyes immediately.
"Too late."
"Sunakshi—"
"Please don't defend him today." My voice turned colder. "I can't hear anything about him right now."
Marshall nodded slowly.
After that neither of us spoke.
The rain finally started falling outside.
Soft at first.
Then heavier.
Almost violent.
And strangely...
It matched the storm inside me perfectly.
[][] Kalki's POV [][]
The mansion had never been this quiet before.
Not even during father's death anniversary.
Not even during family fights.
This silence was different.
Painful.
Empty.
As if someone had ripped the soul out of the house.
I stood near the entrance long after Marshall's car disappeared.
My eyes remained fixed on the gate.
Waiting.
Expecting.
Hoping she would suddenly come back.
But she didn't.
"Bhai..."
Sai's trembling voice finally pulled me back to reality.
I turned around slowly.
Everyone stood there staring at me.
Not with affection.
Not with respect.
But disappointment.
For the first time in years, my own siblings looked angry at me.
"What exactly happened?" I asked again.
Rajveer laughed bitterly.
"Now you want to know?"
I clenched my jaw.
"Rajveer."
"No, Kalki." His eyes were red from anger. "You don't get to act confused after disappearing for two days while she cried herself sick in this house."
Something twisted painfully inside me.
"Where was Noor?"
"Inside," Shivaay answered sharply. "Celebrating probably."
Before I could react, Rudra suddenly stepped forward.
"Do you know di didn't eat anything since yesterday?"
His voice cracked.
"She cried the whole night. Sai di stayed outside her room for hours because we were scared she might faint."
My breathing turned heavier.
"Why didn't anyone call me from another phone?"
Dylan looked at me coldly.
"Would it matter?"
That question hit harder than expected.
Would it?
I didn't even know.
Because somewhere deep inside me I had been avoiding the mansion intentionally.
Avoiding Sunakshi intentionally.
Avoiding my own feelings intentionally.
And now everything had exploded.
"Where is Dadi?" I asked.
"In her room," Sai answered quietly.
Without wasting another second, I walked inside.
Fast.
Angry.
Confused.
The servants moved out of my way immediately.
My footsteps echoed through the hallway while one thing repeated inside my mind again and again.
She left.
Sunakshi actually left.
I pushed Dadi's room door open without knocking.
She looked up from her prayer beads calmly.
"You finally came home."
"What did you say to Sunakshi?"
Dadi's expression remained unchanged.
"The truth."
"Which truth?" My voice rose instantly.
"That Noor is your future wife." She kept the beads aside. "And that girl needs to understand her place in this house."
Something inside me snapped.
"Her place?"
"Kalki—"
"You told her to leave her room?"
"That room will belong to Noor after marriage anyway."
I stared at her.
Unable to believe what I was hearing.
Dadi had always been strict.
Cold.
Practical.
But this...
This was cruel.
"You humiliated her." My voice turned dangerously low.
"I protected this family's dignity," Dadi replied firmly. "People already talk enough about her staying here unmarried."
"Enough." I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.
For the first time in years I felt genuinely furious with my own grandmother.
"You had no right to hurt her like that."
Dadi narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you reacting like this? You are engaged to Noor, not Sunakshi."
And there it was.
The sentence that suddenly made everything inside me feel wrong.
Engaged to Noor.
Then why did the thought of Sunakshi leaving feel unbearable?
Why did the mansion suddenly feel lifeless without her?
Why did seeing her leave with another man make something dark rise inside my chest?
I couldn't answer any of those questions.
Because the answers terrified me.
[][] Sai's POV [][]
I stood outside Sunakshi's empty room quietly.
The door remained half open.
For years this room had been the loudest place in the mansion.
Music.
Laughter.
Arguments.
Her nonstop talking.
And now...
Nothing.
The bed was messy.
A few books still lay scattered near the couch.
Her coffee mug remained on the study table.
As if she had only gone out for some time.
But deep down I knew.
Things would never be the same again.
Rudra walked inside slowly and sat on the edge of the bed.
"It feels weird," he whispered.
I nodded silently.
"Do you think she'll come back?"
That question broke my heart.
Because I honestly didn't know.
Sunakshi loved this family.
More than herself.
But this time...
We had failed her.
Completely.
"Sai di?"
I looked toward Rudra.
"Did bhai really never realize she loved him?"
A sad smile appeared on my lips.
"Everyone realized except him."
Or maybe...
Maybe Kalki knew.
And was simply too scared to accept it.
[][] Kalki's POV [][]
Night fell slowly over the mansion.
But sleep remained far away from me.
I stood inside Sunakshi's room alone.
Her scent still lingered faintly in the air.
Vanilla.
Coffee.
And something uniquely her.
My eyes moved across the room carefully.
Photographs.
Sticky notes.
Random decorations she forced everyone to tolerate.
This room carried her presence everywhere.
Then my gaze landed on a small photo frame near the bed.
It was an old family picture.
Everyone was smiling.
And Sunakshi...
She was looking at me instead of the camera.
Not even trying to hide it.
My chest tightened painfully.
How did I never notice?
Or maybe I did notice.
Maybe I simply ignored it because accepting it would change everything.
I sat slowly on the edge of her bed.
The mattress still carried warmth from earlier.
And suddenly memories hit me one after another.
Her laughing while running through the garden.
Her falling asleep during movie nights.
Her angry rants whenever I skipped meals.
Her smile whenever I called her Sonu.
Every memory now felt sharper.
More important.
More dangerous.
I rubbed my face tiredly.
Then my eyes landed on something half hidden beneath the pillow.
A diary.
I shouldn't have touched it.
I knew that.
But before I could stop myself, I opened it.
Most pages were filled with random event notes and sketches.
Then one page made my breathing stop.
"Some people become home without even realizing it. And unfortunately for me... Kalki Watson became mine."
I stared at the words for a long moment.
Then another line.
"I know he will never love me back. But if loving him silently is all I get in this life... Then maybe that's enough."
Pain shot through my chest so sharply that I closed the diary immediately.
No.
This wasn't enough.
It shouldn't have been enough.
I leaned back while staring at the ceiling.
Then why did her presence never make me feel alive the way Sunakshi did?
Why did Noor's smile feel ordinary while one tear from Sunakshi destroyed me completely?
My phone suddenly vibrated.
Noor.
I stared at the screen for several seconds before rejecting the call.
Then another message appeared.
"Dadi told me what happened. Don't worry, she'll come back after calming down."
For the first time in my life...
I genuinely felt angry seeing Noor's name.
Because she still didn't understand.
This wasn't some small fight.
Sunakshi didn't leave because she was angry.
She left because we broke her heart.
And somehow...
Mine too.