R A Y A A N

It’s been five years.

Five damn years, and I still wake up with her name on my tongue and blood in my memories. This penthouse quiet, dark, empty it suits me now. No noise. No family. No love. Just silence. Just survival.

They say I’ve changed. That I’ve become cold. Rude. Heartless.

Good. That’s the point.

Five years.

People say time heals everything.

They lie.

Grief doesn’t heal it just mutates. From screaming pain to silent bitterness. From heartbreak to cold, numbing indifference.

I used to live in a mansion filled with chaos, love, noise… family.

Now I live in a glass tower above it all. Alone. By choice.

Because the man I was died the day Vanisha did.

She was just a girl. My little sister. Full of life. Light. She used to drive me insane with her teasing, her drama, her endless chatter. And now? Nothing. Just a framed picture on a shelf I can’t even look at.

All because of her.

Arvi.

The woman I loved. The woman who promised forever. The woman who walked into my home and shattered everything I held close.

I told her not to go. I warned her.

She laughed. Said it would be fine. Said nothing could happen in broad daylight.

And then Vanisha took a bullet meant for her.

My sister died because of her arrogance.

That day, I saw her covered in Vanisha’s blood. Standing there, shocked, shaking, hollow. And I couldn’t even look at her without wanting to scream.

She said nothing. Not a single word of apology that could undo what she’d done. And I… I didn’t stop her when she left.

I let her go.

Because there was nothing left to say.

Since then, I’ve built walls so high no one can climb them. I don’t attend family dinners. I don’t celebrate birthdays. Hell, I haven’t stepped foot inside the Oberoi Mansion since her funeral.

What’s the point?

Every corner of that house smells like grief. Every photograph is a reminder of what I lost. Of who I lost.

And all of it… because of her.

People tell me to move on. To forgive. To heal.

I don’t want to.

Because healing feels like letting her off the hook. And I want her to suffer. To carry that guilt like I carry my rage.

If she ever shows her face again, I won’t be civil. I won’t be calm.

I’ll remind her what she did. Every damn second.

She didn’t just walk out of my life.

She took my sister with her.

Riaan told me Mom cries now. Every time she sees Vanisha’s picture. Every time Ansh,Vivaan and Nia’s three-year-old son laughs in a way that reminds her of the daughter she buried.

She called me last year and broke down like her soul was cracking  “She was just a girl, Rayaan,” she whispered through sobs. “And I slapped her. I told her to leave. I didn’t even let her hold Vanisha one last time.”

I didn’t say a word.

“Find her,” she begged. “Please. I can’t sleep at night. She’s alone somewhere, and she thinks we all hate her.”

“You slapped her out of grief, Mom,” I said coldly. “Not guilt. Don’t mix the two. You did what any mother would’ve done when she saw her daughter shot dead. Don’t try to fix it now just because time has made your conscience itch.”

She sobbed harder. “But I was wrong. We were all wrong.”

I snapped back

“I wasn’t.”

Choti Maa tried to track Arvi through old contacts. Chote Papa hired investigators, asked NGOs, even traced her phone records. Dad silently poured money into private detectives every search came back empty.

Why?

Because she wanted to disappear.

She wanted to leave us in our guilt.

And she did it perfectly.

I won’t lie I admired that. Disappearing isn’t easy. Not when you’re carrying the blame of a death and the weight of a family that won’t forget.

I run Oberoi Industries like a machine. Ruthless. Cold. Powerful.

No one dares challenge me.

I’ve turned into something else.

Something untouchable.

Because weakness died the day Vanisha did.

And love? I buried that the day Arvi walked away.

Now I don't celebrate. I command.

I don’t belong to anyone.

Not until I decide she does.

Because Arvi may have vanished like smoke...

But I never forget the fire she left behind.

The phone buzzed, interrupting the only thing I had left silence. I looked at the screen. Dad. I should’ve ignored it. I almost did. But instinct won over indifference, and I picked up.

“Come home tomorrow,” he said. No greeting, no warm-up. Just a demand wrapped in guilt. “It’s Aleesha’s wedding.”

I didn’t respond. What was I supposed to say? Congratulations?

He kept going. “Aleesha asked for you. She really wants you there. So does Riaan. It would mean a lot.”

Of course it would. Because no one knows how to pretend like the Oberois. Like everything’s okay. Like the air in that mansion doesn’t still reek of blood and loss. They want me to come home and smile. Toast champagne. Dance. Celebrate. While I’m still dragging the corpse of my sister’s memory behind me every damn day.

And Arvi… she would’ve loved this.

She probably planned this wedding in her head years ago,

I told her not to go that day. I warned her. But she never listened. Arvi always thought she knew better. Always thought nothing could touch her. And Vanisha paid the price for her arrogance.

And then she had the audacity to stand there shaking, drenched in my sister’s blood without saying a single damn word. No apology. No tears. Just silence.

Then she disappeared.

Like a coward.

And now? Everyone’s trying to find her. Like she’s the one who got hurt. Like she deserves a second chance. They’re fools. Every one of them.

“I’ll come,” I said finally, my voice clipped and cold.

Not for Aleesha. Not for Riaan. Not for whatever fantasy the rest of the family is trying to dress up in wedding colors.

I’ll show up because I said I would.

That’s it.

Don’t mistake that for healing. Don’t mistake my presence for peace.

I’m not the same man she left behind.

That man died with Vanisha.

And what’s left?

Doesn’t forgive.

Doesn’t forget.

They all think I’m angry because there’s justice left to serve. That somewhere deep inside, I’m still waiting for closure. That’s the thing about people they like tying things up in neat little bows. They think grief works on a timer. That revenge fixes the cracks.

Let me clear it up.

I already killed the man who shot Vanisha.

It wasn’t quick. It wasn’t clean. I didn’t want it to be.

He begged. Pleaded. Told me it was a mistake. That Arvi was the target. That Vanisha was just collateral damage. Just.

I broke his jaw for that word.

Then I broke everything else.

By the time I was done, he couldn’t beg anymore.

So no, I’m not angry because he is not breathing.

My eyes shifted on my phone and Its all dark like me, I removed her photo, every damm photo of her.

—

The Oberoi Mansion hadn’t changed.

Still spotless. Still grand. Still full of the kind of warmth that used to mean something.

I hated it.

The moment I stepped through those doors, memories hit me like a blade Vanisha’s laughter echoing through the hallways, her voice calling my name from the top of the stairs, her ridiculous playlists blasting through the speakers. Every corner screamed of what I’d lost.

And yet… everyone smiled.

Vivaan was the first to spot me. His grin widened, and before I could even react, a small body launched into me Ansh. Nia’s and Vivaan’s little boy.

“Raay” he beamed, arms tight around my legs. I froze for a second, then patted his head once, stiffly.

Vivaan’s voice cracked with emotion. “You came,” he said. “You actually came.”

I gave him a nod. That was all.

Riaan pulled me into a one-armed hug. “About damn time you remembered you’re part of this family.”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t need to. Aleesha came next, dressed like a dream, her eyes wet as she smiled through her mehndi. “Thank you, bhai,” she whispered. “For coming.”

Arekha crying “ We missed you.”

The wedding went on. Vows were exchanged. Flowers thrown. Laughs shared. And I stood there like a statue, watching the world move around me like I didn’t belong in it.

As soon as it was over, I turned to leave. I’d done what they asked. I showed up. I played my part.

That should’ve been enough.

“Rayaan,” Mom’s voice broke from behind me.

I didn’t stop.

“Please don’t leave us again,” she said, louder now, her voice shaking.

I turned, jaw clenched.

Her eyes red, swollen met mine. And then she crumbled.

Fell to her knees.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I ruined your family. I ruined everything. Vanisha… you… all of it. I destroyed our home with my anger. With my hate. I didn’t just lose a daughter, I destroyed my son.”

The room froze.

Everyone turned.

I stared at her. The woman who raised me. The one who slapped Arvi and threw her out. The one who hadn’t stepped into my penthouse once in five years.

“You didn’t ruin me,” I said flatly. “She did.”

Mom’s lips trembled. “Rayaan, she didn’t mean—”

“I don’t care what she meant,” I snapped. “She was warned. She was told. And she still walked into that street like nothing could touch her.”

I stepped closer.

“She took Vanisha from me. And then she walked out of this house like she wasn’t dragging my heart with her.”

Mom choked on her sobs. “I know. I know it was wrong. But we all pushed her away. Maybe she—”

“I hate her,” I said coldly, each word like ice. “Not just for Vanisha. But for turning me into this. For leaving and never looking back. For making you cry like this.”

Mom covered her face, shaking.

“She ruined everything. And now she’s just a name I spit out when I want to feel rage. That’s all that’s left of her.”

The room stayed silent.

No one dared say her name.

Because they all knew this wasn’t grief anymore.

This was war.

And I wasn’t ready to surrender.

Everyone stared like I’d just shattered a glass in the middle of a celebration.

Good.

They needed to be reminded that grief doesn’t dissolve in glitter and garlands.

I looked down at Mom on her knees, broken, sobbing and felt nothing. No sympathy. No guilt. Just exhaustion. From carrying five years of silence while they all pretended to move on.

“You want apologies?” I said, voice low, razor-sharp. “Forgiveness? Redemption?”

I stepped closer. My shoes echoed on the marble like gunshots.

“Then find her. The woman you all drove out. The woman who walked into our lives and lit the match. Because she’s the reason we’re standing in the ashes.”

Mom looked up at me with bloodshot eyes, lips trembling. “Rayaan, please…”

I straightened my shoulders. “I don’t forgive her,” I said, voice steady but brutal. “I hate her. I hate what she did. I hate what she left behind. And I hate that this family still speaks her name like she deserves a place here.”

Everyone flinched.

Good.

“You all want to heal? Do it without me.”

I turned without waiting for a response.

No hugs. No blessings. No tears.

I walked out of the Oberoi Mansion the same way I walked in alone.

And this time, I didn’t look back.

Because looking back is for the weak.

And I buried that part of me the day Arvi walked out…

And took my sister with her.

A/N

I had asked for your opinions on the double update last night, but only four of you responded.



Since I didn’t hear back from most of you, I held off. Moving ahead,

If this chapter hits 100 votes and 50 comments then I am going to drop another chapter today :)

Thankyou<3