Page 97 of Strictly Solo

But when she opened the door, she froze, because standing there, smiling warmly, were her uncle Subodh Kundra and aunt Malti.

“Naina, beta!” Subodh exclaimed, stepping forward to embrace her.

“Surprise!” Malti added, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “We couldn’t resist coming to see how you and Neil were doing after you mentioned he wasn’t well.”

Naina’s pulse raced as she forced a smile.

“We’ve missed you both so much,” Aunt Malti continued, stepping into the apartment. “Is Neil still sleeping?”

Before Naina could respond, the sound of shuffling footsteps caught everyone’s attention.

Ruhaan emerged from her bedroom, his hair tousled, wearing only his tracks and a faintly groggy expression as he rubbed his eyes.

“Naina, have you seen my phone—” He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he registered their visitors.

Time seemed to freeze. Subodh’s smile vanished, replaced by shock. Aunt Malti’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes darting between Naina and Ruhaan. The silence that descended was deafening.

Chapter 28

Naina’s apartment - Morning

Ruhaan struggled to process the presence of the Kundras. Before he could gather his thoughts, Subodh Kundra’s voice thundered through the apartment.

“What areyoudoing here?” he roared, his face reddening with fury. “Didn’t I explicitly ask you to stay away from my niece?”

Naina quickly stepped between them, her heart hammering against her ribs.

“Uncle, please. He’s here because Neil wanted him to stay.” Even as the words left her mouth, she felt their inadequacy, the weight of being discovered in such a compromising situation crushing her chest.

“He’s been helping us,” she continued. “When Neil fell sick and lost consciousness, Ruhaan was here. He helped us through it all, and afterward, Neil insisted him to stay—”

“Neil insisted?” Subodh cut her off. “Your son asked him to stay here, not in yourbedroom, Naina!”

“Uncle—” Ruhaan started, but Subodh raised his hand sharply.

“I’m speaking to my niece,” he snapped. “You just shut up for now.”

Ruhaan’s jaw tightened with every accusation hurled at Naina and him. His hands fisted at his sides, resisting the urge to snap back.

Subodh grabbed Naina’s arms. “What’s happened to you, Naina? This isn’t the girl we raised as our own. You had such strong morals, values we were so proud of. And now? You’re throwing it all away for a man who has only ever betrayed you?”

Tears streamed down her face as each word struck like a physical blow. This time Ruhaan didn’t care if he was interrupting the two and stepped forward.

“You don’t get to belittle Naina like this. She doesn’t deserve this.”

Subodh’s face turned red, but before he could retaliate, Naina intervened again, tears brimming in her eyes. “Ruhaan, stop! Just stop…” She turned to her uncle, pleading, “Uncle, please don’t misunderstand us.”

“I’m rightly understanding everything, Naina.”

Malti placed a gentle hand on her husband’s shoulder. “At least listen to her once, please.”

“What else is there to listen, Malti?” he snapped. “We shouldn’t have come. Clearly, Naina doesn’t need us anymore. She has this... this man here...”

“Uncle, please don’t say that,” Naina pleaded.

“Then what should I say? “You’ve embarrassed us, everything we taught you—”

“Naina has done nothing wrong,” Ruhaan interjected firmly.