Rayaan's pov:

I stayed still, holding her hand,Machines beeped quietly around us, monitoring, tracking but they weren't telling me what I needed to know. They weren't telling me if she'd open her eyes again. If I'd hear her voice. If she'd smile at me with that spark in her eyes.

I leaned closer, brushing my fingers gently over her cheek.

"Arvi..." I whispered again, voice hoarse, "please... just give me something. A blink. A twitch. Anything."

Nothing.

My throat burned. I swallowed the pain, but it didn't go down. It stayed lodged there like guilt, like regret.

I looked at her face, so peaceful, and yet... broken. And I hated myself for it. I hated how I'd pushed her away when all she ever did was love me. I hated how I'd let silence sit between us when I should've fought harder to hear her voice.

I sat beside her helpless my world unraveling with every silent second that passed.

"You feared me," I whispered, voice hoarse ashamed. "You flinched when I raised my voice do you know what that did to me?"

My fingers curled around her limp hand, trembling.

"I hurt you. I made you cry. I accused you called you things I should've never said and still... you stayed."

I stared at her face, pale, unmoving too quiet.

"Not because you trusted me. Not because you felt safe but because you didn't have a choice."

The words tasted bitter on my tongue but they needed to be said.

"You were never a gold digger, Arvi. You were just... surviving. In a world I made unbearable."

My jaw clenched shame rippling through my chest like fire.

"I saw your fear and I ignored it. I saw your strength and I tried to break it. I didn't protect you. I was the storm you needed saving from."

A tear slipped down my cheek but I didn't move to wipe it.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," I murmured, "but please... give me a chance to make it right. Wake up. Give me a chance to be the man you deserved from the start."

Her hand still cold didn't respond. My breath hitched.

"I need you to come back," I whispered, eyes burning, "even if it's just to walk away from me on your terms this time. Not mine."

I leaned forward pressing my lips to her forehead softly, gently, as if she'd break.

"I'm sorry, Arvi. For everything."

And then silence.

But this time, I didn't fill it with power. I let it scream.

Because I had finally heard it.

"Jaan... please..." My voice trembled as I leaned closer to her, my heart pounding, "please wake up."

I gently held her hand, my grip tight but gentle, like I was holding onto the last thread of hope.

"Arvi, please... I need you to open your eyes," I whispered, my throat tightening, "I can't do this without you. Please, just wake up."

I stared at her, willing her to move, to show some sign that she could hear me.

"Arvi, please..." I said again, my voice breaking. "Don't leave me like this. Please, wake up, jaan."

I stayed there, my breath shallow, my heart aching, hoping for even the slightest movement from her.

"Please, Rayaan Oberio is pleading you, your husband" I whispered once more, my voice cracking in desperation.

I held her hand tighter, pleading silently with everything I had left in me, but she didn't respond.

And still, I didn't move. Because I couldn't. Not until she opened her eyes and came back to me.

For a moment, there was nothing just silence, the beeping of machines, and my own desperate pleas.

And then, it happened.

Her eyes fluttered.

I froze. My heart raced as I watched, watched as her eyelids slowly parted, and her gaze found mine.

She stared at me for a moment no words, just that fragile look like she was unsure if I was real, unsure if I was the one who had been holding her hand, whispering to her, praying for her to wake up.

And then the tears came.

Silent. Slow. Her lips trembled, and I saw the pain, the years of hurt and fear that I had caused her, reflected in her eyes. She didn't speak, but her tears said it all.

She cried.

I couldn't breathe. The sight of her my Arvi, the woman I had hurt so many times broken before me, made my chest tighten with guilt.

I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry," I said, the words choking me, "I'm sorry for leaving you. I'm sorry for all the times I wasn't there when you needed me."

Her tears fell faster, her body trembling as she silently cried. And I just watched her, helpless, unable to do anything to take away the pain I had caused.

I reached for her hand, holding it as gently as I could.

"Please forgive me, Arvi. Please... I'm sorry for everything."

But she didn't respond not with words.

She only cried. Silently, quietly, the tears spilling down her face, as if they were the only way she knew how to release everything that had built up.

And I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop her tears. All I could do was watch her my heart breaking with every sob she let out.

I stayed there, by her side, not knowing what else to say. Because right now, the only thing I needed was for her to know I was there for her to know I wouldn't leave again.

Her tears kept falling, and it felt like everything around me paused the world standing still as I watched her face twist in pain.

And then, her voice soft, fragile cut through the silence.

"Aap aa gaye..." she whispered, her eyes searching mine for answers, as if she wasn't sure whether to believe it.

I nodded, the words stuck in my throat. I didn't know how to make her understand. "Yes, Arvi... I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

She blinked, another tear slipping down her cheek. "Aap mujhe chhod kar kyun gaye..." Her voice cracked, barely audible, but it shattered me in ways I couldn't describe. "Aap mujhe kyun chord gaye, Rayaan?"

The pain in her voice the hurt of abandonment made my chest tighten. She didn't understand. I didn't have an answer. Not a good one. I'd been selfish, and now here she was hurt, confused, and all I could do was sit there and look at her.

"I'm sorry..." The words came out like a breath, desperate and full of regret. "I'm so sorry, Arvi. I should've never left you. I was wrong."

Her tears continued to fall, her gaze not leaving mine, full of hurt and disbelief. "Aap kyun gaye muje akela chord kr? Aap ne mujhe samjha hi nahi... kabhi..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked away, her pain evident in the way she shut herself off from me. And I couldn't blame her. Not after everything.

"I was wrong," I repeated, my throat tight. "I never should have left. Please... please, look at me. I'm here now. I'm sorry for everything."

Arvi's tears were unstoppable now, and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart with every drop. I had hurt her, left her, and now she was asking me why. She needed an answer one I didn't want to admit, but one I had to say.

I took a deep breath, my chest tightening with the weight of the truth. "Arvi, I..." My voice cracked, but I forced myself to speak. "I left because I thought I'd lose you. Just like I lost someone else in the past. I was scared scared of losing you, too. And I didn't know how to handle it. I thought I'd protect myself by pushing you away. But I was wrong. So wrong."

I could see the confusion in her eyes as she tried to process my words. Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but I couldn't stop now.

"I love you, Arvi," I whispered, my voice raw. "I love you more than I ever knew how to say. I pushed you away because I was terrified of what it meant to let someone in, but the truth is, I need you. I can't breathe without you. I... I love you."

Her eyes softened, but the pain was still there so much of it. She searched my face for any sign that I was telling the truth. And I didn't blame her. My actions had betrayed my feelings for so long.

For a moment, there was only silence between us, a silence that felt like it stretched for years. And then, finally, her lips trembled, and she spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"Gale lagaye muje...Deakh kya rhe hai" she said softly, the words shaky, full of longing.

Before I could even respond, she reached out, pulling me closer with her arms. She pressed her face against my chest, and I could feel her warmth, the tremors of her body as she held onto me.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as close as I could. The weight of the past seemed to fall away, replaced by the connection we had always shared, even when we didn't know how to express it.

I lowered my head and kissed her forehead gently, a soft, tender kiss that held all the apologies I could never speak, all the love I had kept hidden for so long.

"I'm here now," I whispered, my lips brushing against her skin. "I won't leave again. I swear."

And for the first time in so long, I felt whole. In her arms, I felt like I could finally breathe.