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He stopped mid-path, his breath coming fast.

“What the hell do you want, Rhea?” he barked. “What game are you playing now? Why did you send me that picture? You think seeing you cosying up with your new husband is going to shatter me?”

There was a pause. Then, with maddening calm, she replied, “If it didn’t matter to you, Shaurya, you wouldn’t be calling me.”

His fingers curled tighter around the phone.

“I called to say don’t ever do it again,” he growled. “I don’t want to see your face popping on my screen. I don’t want to know how ‘wholesome’ your new life is. I don’t need reminders of what a mess those two years were. For you.”

She sighed. “That picture was meant for my close friends. I don’t know how but it seems you’re still on that list. I didn’t notice it until after I hit send. But don’t worry. I’ll fix that. After this call, I’ll be blocking your number.”

“Do it,” he hissed. “It’s long overdue.”

A beat passed. Then he added in a low and venomous tone, “But even your new yacht life won’t change the fact that I was the one who walked away.”

She laughed softly. “Keep telling yourself that.”

And the line went dead.

Shaurya stared at the screen for a moment before tucking the phone back into his pocket. His knuckles ached from how tightly he had been gripping it.

He stopped, only now realising how far off track he had wandered. The path curved through the outer edge of the community…a stretch he rarely walked through. He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. Damn the new year, hethought bitterly. Some beginnings were never meant to be fresh or peaceful.

With a renewed storm brewing inside him, Shaurya turned back and began marching towards his villa.

CHAPTER 8

31stDecember Night – Shaurya’s Villa

Nandini marched toward Villa No. 11. She didn’t knock the door, she banged. Hard. But instead of a response, she heard a faint scraping sound and the door creaked open on its own.

Her brows shot up in disbelief. Seriously? He hadn’t even locked the door?

She pushed it open cautiously and stepped inside, her eyes scanning the dimly lit entryway. It was quiet… too quiet. Shaurya wasn’t the kind of man to overlook things, especially not something as basic as locking his front door. Which meant only one thing: he must’ve returned from the party too consumed by whatever storm was raging in his head to even notice.

She hovered just inside the entrance, and suddenly, he froze, her feet rooted to the spot. Her courage faltered.

Was this really the right time?

Would he even want to see her, let alone hear her out?

Maybe he’d slam the door in her face and tell her to get lost. Maybe he’d throw more words at her like he had thrown at her grandfather.

But then again… maybe that was exactly why she needed to be here.

She wasn’t here to blindly defend her grandfather. Not tonight. Because deep down, she knew they were both wrong.

Shaurya had crossed a line, exposing her family’s scars in front of a crowd for everyone to judge and whisper about. And then her grandfather had fired back with something even more personal.

They both didn’t deserve that.

And more than anything, she didn’t want this war between them to keep escalating. It had already gone too far.

If she didn’t speak up now, if she didn’t at least try to clear the air, she knew it would hang between them like poison. Stubbornness was a dangerous thing, especially when paired with wounded pride on both sides.

So no, this wasn’t about demanding an apology.

It wasn’t even about making peace for her grandfather’s sake.