The night was unusually quiet. Ishaani sat curled on the window seat of her room, her fingers tracing the raindrops on the glass. But her mind wasn't here—it was stuck in the way Advit looked at her before leaving for Delhi. His silence wasn’t cold anymore. It was loaded.
She picked up her phone for the hundredth time, hoping to see a message from him. Nothing.
The door creaked. She turned sharply—expecting maybe Reha, maybe her mom. But it was none other than Dr. Reyansh.
“Why are you here?” she asked, startled.
He stepped in, his gaze gentle. “Because the truth can’t wait anymore.”
Ishaani stood up slowly. “Truth?”
He pulled out something from his coat pocket—an old photo. Her heartbeat slowed.
The photo was of two boys. One clearly was Advit. The other… looked like Reyansh, but younger, harsher.
“That’s me,” he said softly, “and the other one is Aryan.”
Her world paused. “Aryan? The one—Maya’s Aryan?”
He nodded. “He was my twin. He died in an accident five years ago... but not before leaving behind a mess I’ve been trying to clean up.”
Her head spun. “Wait. So you... and Aryan… and Advit... how does this—?”
Reyansh interrupted gently. “Advit is the only one who ever tried to pull Aryan out of that world. But Aryan pulled him in instead. Advit wasn’t just a friend to him. He was a shield. He made a promise to protect Aryan’s secret even after death.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “So everything I felt… the darkness, the confusion… it wasn’t just my imagination?”
“No,” Reyansh said. “It was the past. And Advit’s guilt.”
Her hands trembled as she sat down again. “And me? Where do I stand in all of this?”
Reyansh looked at her with kind eyes. “That’s the one part of the story only he can answer.”
End of Chapter 8
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