The distance between them had never felt this wide.
Three days.
No calls. No messages.
Only silence heavy enough to crush what had barely begun.
Aarav stood on the rooftop of his building, staring at the city skyline. The same city that had taken everything from him.
He had trained his entire life for one purpose — to bring Rudra Khanna down.
But now the mission had a face.
Meera's.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Meet me. Alone.
A location followed.
He knew it was a trap.
He went anyway.
---
The abandoned dockyard was empty except for the sound of waves crashing against metal containers. Wind cut through the air sharply.
Meera stood near the edge, her hair blowing wildly.
"You shouldn't be here," he said as he approached.
"Neither should you," she replied quietly.
They stood a few feet apart — close enough to feel each other's presence, far enough to feel the divide.
"Is it true?" she asked. "About my father… and your parents?"
Aarav didn't look away this time.
"Yes."
Her breath caught.
"So everything between us was part of your revenge?"
"No."
Silence.
"Then what was it?" she demanded.
Aarav struggled for words — something he rarely did.
"You were never part of the plan," he said finally. "You were the mistake I didn't expect."
Her eyes filled with emotion.
"That's cruel."
"It's honest."
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Aarav reacted instantly, stepping in front of her.
Rudra's men emerged from the shadows.
"This is where it ends," one of them said coldly.
Meera turned sharply. "Stop this!"
But the men didn't answer to her.
They answered to power.
Aarav cracked his knuckles slowly.
"If you stay here," he told Meera quietly, "you choose a side."
She looked at him — at the storm in his eyes.
"I already did," she whispered.
And for the first time, she stepped forward — not away from him.
But beside him.
The line had been crossed.