KABIR'S POV :

The moonlight filtered in through the wide glass windows of Shanaya’s penthouse, casting silver hues across the wooden floors and ivory curtains that danced in the soft breeze. The night outside was still, but inside these four walls, there was a calm I hadn’t felt in years.

I sat at the dining table, legs stretched out comfortably, bandage still hugging my chest, but the ache dull now—less sharp, less hollow.

Because she was here.

Shanaya.

She walked toward me with a plate of food in her hand, a soft cotton kurti draping her frame, her hair tied in a messy bun. There was a domestic quietness to the moment that made my chest clench. I hadn’t realized how much I craved something this… simple. Her.

She sat beside me and scooped a spoonful of dal and rice, holding it out to me with a playful smile.

"Eat," she said, tilting her head. "You’ve scared us all enough for a lifetime."

I leaned forward and took the bite, letting my fingers brush her wrist gently. Her eyes softened, her shoulders easing with the familiarity we were slowly reclaiming.

"You never stopped cooking for me, did you?" I murmured, watching her eyes flicker.

She glanced down. “It was the only thing that made me feel like you weren’t gone.”

Silence settled between us, warm and fragile. Until I said the words that had been resting on my tongue since I opened my eyes in that hospital bed.

“Why Vihaan?”

She froze for a second. The spoon clinked against the edge of the plate before she set it down and met my gaze.

“It wasn’t what you thought,” she said, her voice low.

“I want the truth. Not what you made me believe. Not what they made me believe.”

She let out a shaky breath. “After the attack… after everything… Kartik told me That you had to protect yourself, your world. I didn’t know the truth then. I was broken. Lost. And Vihaan… he was there. Not as anything more than a shield.”

I didn’t interrupt. I let her speak, because her voice—this—was the only thing that ever mattered.

“We faked it. The closeness, the bond, the engagement..everything. It was the only way to keep eyes away from me. The only way to stay under the radar. I thought if the world believed I’d moved on, they’d stop chasing me. Stop hunting what I was to you.”

“And Vihaan?” I asked.

“He did it for me. For you. He’s not who you think he is, Kabir. He’s a lot more than a businessman with a fake smile. He’s been watching over me ever since the day you left. And not once did he try to be more than a friend.”

I stared at her, silence stretching again, but this time it wasn’t painful. It was clarity.

“Shanaya,” I whispered, reaching for her hand, “you should’ve told me.”

“I was afraid,” she said. “That if I did… I’d break again. And I wouldn’t survive it this time.”

My thumb brushed her knuckles gently. “I won’t let you break again.”

She looked at me then, eyes heavy with everything unsaid.

And in that moment—no titles, no mafia, no wounds between us—there were just two people trying to start over, one heartbeat at a time.

---

The air was thick with unspoken tension as Vihaan stepped into her study—his eyes scanning the room like he was walking into unfamiliar terrain. Truth be told, it was unfamiliar. We'd never sat across from each other like this before. Not as allies. Not as men tied by the same woman in two very different ways.

I gestured to the seat across me. “Sit.”

Vihaan didn’t hesitate. That, in itself, told me everything. He wasn’t afraid of confrontation. He came ready for it.

I looked at him—clean-cut, composed, but there was something deeper in his eyes now. Something lethal. Not the businessman mask he usually wore. Something colder. Familiar.

“I never thanked you,” I began, my voice low. “For protecting her. For stepping in when I couldn’t.”

He met my gaze squarely. “I didn’t do it for your thanks.”

“I know.” I leaned back. “That’s what pisses me off the most.”

His brow arched. “Oh?”

“You were there for my girl, Vihaan. You took bullets meant for her, watched her break and still chose to hold her together. That’s not nothing.”

He looked away for a second. “And yet, I never tried to claim her. Not even when I could have. Not even when the world thought you were long gone.”

That silence again. Dense. Sharp.

“She told me the relationship was fake,” I said, folding my arms. “You did it to protect her. But what I want to know is… did you ever want it to be real?”

He didn’t answer right away. His fingers flexed against the armrest.

“I’d be lying if I said no,” he admitted. “She’s… remarkable. Broken in the most beautiful way. But no, Kabir. It was never love. Not from me. Not the kind she had with you. I saw the way she used to cry at night, clutching that broken bracelet of yours like it was her oxygen.”

My throat tightened.

“I don’t think anyone will ever have that piece of her heart you do,” he continued. “Not even me.”

“Then why stay?” I asked. “Why play the role for five years?”

He leaned forward, eyes narrowing just slightly. “Because I owed it to her. Because the moment you vanished, it wasn’t just Shanaya who became a target. Every enemy you’d buried started crawling out of the shadows. If I hadn’t stepped in, you would’ve come back to ashes.”

The weight of his words hit me harder than I expected.

I raised an eyebrow. “You still playing solo?”

“For now. But if Shanaya ever gets hurt again…” he paused, fixing me with a stare that cut deep, “you won’t have to worry about protecting her. Because I will.”

I nodded once, slowly. “Fair. But Vihaan?”

He turned to leave, pausing at the door.

“She’s mine,” I said, voice low and steady. “She always was. And I won’t lose her again. Not to the world. Not to my past. Not even to someone like you.”

Vihaan gave a small, knowing smile. “Then don’t.”

And with that, he walked out.

The war was over.

The air was cleared.

But the storm inside us both?

That was just beginning.

---

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

And just like that… the storm settles.

The wars have been fought, the truths have been spoken, and the air has been cleared.

Our fire and fury, our blood and betrayal arc—it's come full circle.

Kabir and Vihaan, two powerful men tied by one unbreakable thread—Shanaya—have finally faced the silence between them.

And now, as the dust begins to settle… it’s time.

It’s time for love. For healing. For peace.

For soft touches, gentle laughter, forehead kisses, and quiet moments under moonlit skies.

The sweet, romantic, all-consuming love between Kabir and Shanaya is finally ready to bloom.

Are you ready to fall for them all over again?

Because this time—there’s no turning back.

Shower them with all your love, because the storm is over… and the sun is about to rise.

– With love,

Vrinda

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