Page 59 of When Love Trespassed

“In fact,” Rhea continued cheerfully, “the papers are ready. I’ve asked my assistant to bring them up. Shouldn’t take long.”

She walked to her chair behind the desk and sank into it. “Please, sit down,” she offered. “Tea or coffee?”

Nandini remained standing. “No, thank you. That won’t be necessary.”

Rhea’s hand hovered over the phone receiver. She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, come on, by the time the papers arrive and you go through the contract, you’ll need something to drink.”

“I’m not here to sign the contract,” Nandini replied.

Rhea blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “You’re not here to sign?”

She leaned forward slowly. “Then… what is this? Do you have any concerns? Doubts? I’ll be happy to clarify anything. My team is just a call away. And please… why are you still standing? Sit, let’s talk. You look confused.”

Nandini exhaled and shook her head. “No, Rhea. I’m not confused. And there’s nothing more I need to ask or clarify. I know exactly what we agreed on during the negotiations.”

Rhea frowned, her patience wearing thin. “Then I don’t understand. If everything’s clear, what is this supposed to mean?”

Nandini met Rhea’s gaze without hesitation. “It means I’ve decided not to move forward with Aura Wellness as an investor in my startup.”

Rhea’s jaw tightened. She leaned back in her chair, processing the blow.

“Oh,” she said, a clipped exhale following the word.

“We’re offering you a great deal, Nandini.

You’ve been on the lookout for the right funding for months.

We see real potential in your products and in your brand.

Aura is the best strategic partner you’re going to find right now.

If we walk away, you may not get an offer like this again anytime soon. It’s a win-win for both of us.”

“I’m aware,” Nandini replied calmly. “But my decision still stands. I came here in person because I didn’t think something like this should be said over a phone call. That wouldn’t have been respectful or professional.”

Rhea’s expression darkened. She slammed her fist on the table and shot up from her chair. “And is this professional? Walking away at the final stage? The contract is ready. My team is ready. You were ready… right up until a few days ago.”

Suddenly, she paused, her eyes flashing. “Until Shaurya got involved.”

The air turned thick with tension.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Rhea demanded, her voice edged with accusation. “This is about him. He got into your head, didn’t he? Told you not to work with me. Just because I’m his ex-wife.”

Nandini shook her head and cut in before Rhea could say more. “No. He didn’t tell me anything like that. In fact, he told me the exact opposite.”

Rhea’s brows rose in surprise as Nandini continued, calm and unwavering. “Shaurya told me that if you are investing in my startup, it means my business would be in capable hands. That, professionally speaking, I couldn’t ask for a better investor.”

Rhea stared at her, stunned. Of all the things she had braced for, praise from Shaurya wasn’t one of them. She blinked, visibly thrown off, before recovering with a shrug.

“Then why?” she asked, frustration lacing her voice. “Why are you backing out if even he supports it?”

Nandini looked at her squarely. “Because I don’t want to hurt him.”

Rhea frowned, unconvinced. “Hurt him? How would this hurt him?”

“Because this isn’t just a casual relationship.

Shaurya and I are serious about each other.

His happiness, his peace of mind, his emotional well-being…

it’s all mine to protect now. And no matter how much he’s trying to be okay with this, I know the toll it is taking on him.

I can see it in his eyes. A part of him is still haunted, whether he admits it or not.

And I won’t be the one to drag his past into my present, not in a way that chips away at his healing. ”

Rhea stared at her for a long moment, then slowly shook her head in disbelief. “You’re making a mistake, Nandini. Whatever you think you have with him… it’s not worth sacrificing your business for. Trust me.”

She stepped around the desk to reach Nandini.

“I’ve known Shaurya far longer than you have.

I’ve been where you are now. I’ve felt what you are feeling.

And I’m telling you, he’s only capable of offering loneliness and emotional distance in a relationship.

Work will always be his first love. You’ll never be his priority.

Are you really willing to risk both your time and your career for a man like that? ”

That did it.

Nandini’s posture straightened, and she said sharply, “Enough. I won’t hear another word against him, Mrs. Rhea Choudhary.”

The fierceness in her voice made Rhea pause.

“I’m just stating facts,” Rhea said, recovering quickly.

“No,” Nandini snapped. “You’re clinging to a version of him that fits your narrative. But since we’re talking about facts, let’s lay them bare, shall we?”

She stepped forward now. “I’m not here to dissect what went wrong in your marriage. But if you’re going to sit here and make it sound like Shaurya was the only one at fault… then you need to hear the truth.”

Rhea’s expression hardened, but she stayed silent. Nandini didn’t give her a chance to say anything.

“Yes, Shaurya’s obsession with work may have brought about the initial crack in your relationship.

But that’s only half the truth. The other half is…

when he realised what he was doing… how it was hurting you…

he tried to fix it. He tried to meet you halfway.

He made an effort to rebuild what was slipping. It was you who chose not to see it.”

Nandini’s eyes locked with hers.

“He didn’t walk away from that marriage, Rhea. You did.”

Rhea stiffened.

“You fell out of love with him. And that happens. But instead of being honest, instead of ending things amicably, you started a relationship with someone else while you were still married. You kept it a secret. You betrayed him for nearly a year while testing your new relationship with Anirudh, weighing whether he was worth leaving Shaurya for.”

Rhea stood frozen and silent for once.

“You didn’t say anything to Shaurya at first. It was only after you were certain you had something better that you told him and asked for a divorce.”

The room hung heavy in stillness.

“You didn’t just walk away from a marriage, Rhea,” Nandini finished. “You dismantled someone’s trust in love. And now, after all this time, he’s finally letting someone back in. He’s trusting someone again. And I won’t let your past with him poison that.”

Rhea had no comeback. No defence. Just silence.

Nandini stepped closer. “Shaurya made a mistake, yes. But you? You committed a sin, Rhea. You betrayed him. Broke his trust. And yet, despite that, he protected your name. Your dignity. He never exposed the truth about your affair to the world. He carried the blame quietly, bore the brunt of the failure of your marriage, and let you go. Because deep down, he knew there was nothing left to fight for. You were already gone, Rhea. Maybe not physically, but emotionally, you’d walked miles away long before you ended the relationship. ”

Rhea’s face had paled, and a faint sheen of cold sweat shimmered on her brow.

Nandini’s tone hardened. “Yes, he hurt you by shattering your dream of settling in Serene Meadows with Anirudh. But let’s not forget, you ripped his whole heart out and crushed it.

You broke him in the worst possible way.

Did you really think he wouldn’t react somehow?

That he wouldn’t need to feel some sense of control or justice after everything you took from him? ”

Rhea didn’t respond.

“And even now,” Nandini went on, her voice cracking with restrained anger, “you don’t waste a single opportunity to reinsert yourself into his life.

A life that you walked out of. But now, for the first time in years, he’s found some peace.

Some meaning. Since we’ve been together, he’s started to breathe again…

to live again. And I will not jeopardise that.

I will not let your past with him bleed into our present and infect our future. ”

Rhea stood frozen, as if someone had finally held up a mirror she could no longer look away from.

Nandini let her words sink in, then softened her tone. “Maybe you two were never meant to be. You had your reasons, and he had his regrets. But it’s done now. Let it go, Rhea.”

Her gaze flicked to the framed photo on the desk—Rhea and Anirudh, smiling, seemingly at peace.

“You’ve found your real love. And Shaurya has me. Let’s respect that. Let’s not drag the past into each other’s lives. No more mud-slinging. No more hurting each other.”

She inhaled deeply, steadying herself. “Your investment offer is generous. But it doesn’t sit right with me. Not when my heart belongs to a man whose heartbreak you were once responsible for. Maybe I’m turning down the biggest deal of my career. Maybe I’ll regret it in the future.”

She paused, her voice turning resolute.

“But my love for Shaurya and his love for me is worth far more than any contract.”

Silence surrounded the room. There was nothing left to say.

Nandini straightened her shoulders and met Rhea’s stunned silence with calm. She took a deep breath and said quietly, “Goodbye, Rhea. I hope we never have to cross paths again.”

And with that, she turned and walked out of the cabin, her head high, spine tall, and a quiet relief blooming in her chest. She had honoured her love. And for the first time in days, she felt free, because she knew she’d done the right thing.