The whispers began small.
A rumor here, a sly comment there.
By the end of the week, they were everywhere—"Rohini Kothari's husband still in love with his ex-fiancée."
Rohini ignored them at first. Gossip was the currency of the elite, and she had learned long ago never to spend it. But when an anonymous email landed in her inbox with photographs—Shivansh and Kanika together at what looked like an intimate dinner—her chest tightened.
She didn't want to believe it.
She also couldn't ignore it.
That evening, when Shivansh returned home, she was waiting in the living room, the printed photos on the table between them.
"Care to explain?" Her tone was icy, but her fingers curled against her palm—holding on to control.
He glanced at the photos once, then looked up at her. "This was a setup. She called me for a meeting under the pretense of offering intel on Vikrant. I left in fifteen minutes. The rest… is staged."
Rohini wanted to believe him. She really did. But doubt was a poisonous thing—it seeped in no matter how much you fought it.
"Convenient," she said, turning away.
He exhaled sharply. "Do you think I'd do this? After everything we've been through?"
She faced him again, and something in his expression—hurt, restrained anger—hit her harder than the photographs. He stepped closer, not in defense, but in something deeper.
"Rohini," he said quietly, "I don't care what the world thinks. But you—you're the only one whose faith matters to me. Don't take that away."
The vulnerability in his voice cracked something inside her.
Before she could stop herself, she reached for him—and he caught her in his arms. This hug was different from the last; this wasn't just grounding, it was desperate, fierce, as if both of them were clinging to something they couldn't name.
For a long moment, they stood like that, silent but unbreakable against the chaos outside.
When they finally pulled back, her eyes met his. "Then we fight this. Together."
A faint smile touched his lips. "Together."
Neither of them noticed the small recording device hidden under the table—a gift from Kanika to Vikrant, carrying the promise of the next storm.