Kanya ran blindly through the hallway, past the elevators, down the stairs, and out the back entrance of the building where the cold evening air slapped her skin. She didn't know where she was going.....she just needed to breathe.
"Why...?" she whispered, voice breaking.
Why would her brother, her only constant, her protector...do that? He encouraged her, told her Aran was the one who would never hurt her. That she should tell him. And yet... Aran had just claimed her brother asked him to reject her?
It made no sense.
She slumped onto the nearest bench, legs trembling. The city was alive, buzzing with sound and light, but she felt completely disconnected from it. The weight of the past, the hurt, the humiliation she carried all these years....it was too much.
"Why would he do that to me?" she whispered again, her voice swallowed by the wind.
And Aran… his face when he'd burst out with that truth. He looked angry, yes, b-but also hurt. Like he'd been holding that pain in for years. He didn't lie, she was sure of that. Aran Karunrat wasn't a liar. An asshole sometimes? Absolutely. But a liar? Never.
Tears threatened her again, but she blinked them away.
She needed answers. Not guesses. Not memories. Answers.
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Aran stared at the now-empty space where Kanya had been standing. His chest was rising and falling too fast, and his hands were clenched into fists.
"I'm such a fucking idiot" he muttered, slamming his palm against the nearby desk.
He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. Hell, he hadn't even meant to say it. But when she looked at him with those burning eyes, bringing up that damned night from five years ago....something inside him snapped.
He'd kept it in for years. Let her believe he was the villain. He let her hate him to protect her from the truth...that her beloved brother had asked him to do it. For reasons that still twisted Aran's heart.
"She's been carrying that pain for so long because of me" he whispered.
But could she even believe him now? Would she?
He ran a hand through his hair and finally moved, stalking back to his office and closing the door behind him. But her words were etched into the air, into the walls. "You crushed me."
God, he knew. And he crushed himself in the process.
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Kanya didn't go home that night.
Instead, she checked into a small hotel near the river, turned her phone off, and stared at the ceiling. The conversation kept looping in her head. Aran's words. Her brother's encouragement. The betrayal twisting in her chest.
But somewhere under it all, the smallest, most terrifying question bloomed—
What if Aran had loved her all along?
She pressed a hand over her heart. The idea scared her more than the pain.
Because if it was true, then she hadn't just been heartbroken five years ago—
She had misunderstood the entire story!
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He couldn't sleep.
He sat in his office long after everyone had gone home. Even Jack and June had texted to ask if he was okay. He lied, of course. Told them he was working on some contract.
But all he could see was Kanya's face. Her eyes filled with confusion, betrayal, hurt. A pain that he had unknowingly added to. Because he kept silent. Because he thought he was doing the right thing.
And now… now he might have ruined whatever thread of closeness they were slowly building.
"Five years," he whispered to himself. "Five damn years and she still owns every part of my heart."
He finally pulled out his phone. Typed her name.
And deleted the message before sending it.
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Kanya hadn't intended to go back. Not so soon after the mess that morning. But something about the whirlwind of truth Aran threw at her gnawed at her mind, wouldn't let her rest.
So the next day, she found herself outside her old house, standing in front of the familiar door like a ghost from another life. Her mother answered, surprised but soft-eyed.
"I just… I wanted to sit in his room for a bit" Kanya murmured.
Her mother didn't ask anything. Just nodded.
His room hadn't changed. The same records lined the shelf, the blanket was still folded at the foot of the bed, and the faint scent of cologne still lingered in the air. Her chest tightened.
She sat on his bed, running a hand over the soft quilt—and then noticed the corner of an envelope sticking out from one of his books.
She almost didn't open it.
But her fingers moved before her thoughts could stop them.
It was a letter. Dated five years ago.
"To Kanya,
If you're reading this, I'm either dead—or too much of a coward to ever tell you the truth face to face. Either way, I owe you honesty.
I asked Aran to reject you.
Not because you weren't good enough—but because you were too good. I saw how you looked at him, how he looked at you when he thought no one noticed. I knew what could happen if you two fell in love, and I was scared.
Because love doesn't always mean safety. And you… you had already suffered enough in this house, in this family. Aran, for all his strength, was reckless with his own feelings. I didn't think he'd be able to protect yours.
So I asked him to push you away.
He didn't want to. God, I saw it in his eyes. But he did it. For me. For you.
If you hate him now, I understand.
But if there's even a small part of you that still wonders—he never stopped caring. He just chose to suffer in silence.
I'm sorry, little sister.
With love, always
Your Idiot Brother"
Kanya's hands trembled. Her vision blurred, hot tears slipping down her cheeks, quiet but endless.
Her brother had tried to protect her. In the worst, most painful way.
He thought Aran wouldn't be enough. That he knew better.
But Aran had never told her. Never defended himself. Never placed the blame on anyone else, not even when she threw it all at him.
He just let her believe it.
She held the letter close to her chest, curling into the bed like she used to when she was little and afraid.
"Damn you both" she whispered through her tears. "For loving me in the dumbest, most painful ways."
And somehow, she felt her brother's warmth in the room. Forgiveness... and regret.
The air felt suffocating in there. The letter she held was like a final piece of her past clicking into place, but now, as she stood there, the weight of everything was beginning to settle on her shoulders. Her breath caught in her throat, and her pulse raced. She should have felt relief, but instead, she felt… trapped.
Her thoughts swirled like a storm. Her father's words echoed in her mind, and she suddenly remembered the tense conversation earlier in the week about marriage....her marriage.
"I'm doing what's best for you."
Her father's voice.
The same voice that never understood her. Never once cared about her happiness.
Kanya stood up abruptly, heading towards the door. She had to leave. She couldn't stand this suffocating feeling anymore. But the door… It was locked.
Her heart skipped a beat.
The door was locked from the outside.
She turned the knob frantically. Jiggled it. But the heavy wood wouldn't budge. A wave of panic surged through her, sharp and cold. Her breath came faster, shallow, as the reality of her situation sank in. Her father. He knew she would be here. He wanted her here, trapped. She could almost hear the footsteps outside, the deliberate pace of someone planning her next move.
She pounded on the door. Screamed. Her hands shook as she fumbled for her phone in her pocket. She tried calling her mother, but no answer. Her father wouldn't let anyone get to her now. He was controlling everything. He always had been.
Her body was trembling. It was too much....her mind was racing, the suffocating walls around her closing in, and the overwhelming terror of being trapped like this… She was spiraling. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and then, as a last desperate attempt, her fingers found the speed-dial button.
She didn't even think. She pressed it, hoping, praying, that someone...anyone...would come.
_
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Aran had been in the middle of an important meeting, trying to push through the final details of a merger when his phone rang. It was a number he recognized but didn't expect at this hour.
Kanya.
His hand paused over the conference table, and he looked at the phone, the name flashing on the screen.
His instincts kicked in. Something wasn't right. His gut twisted with an unfamiliar tension. He stepped out of the meeting room, his cold façade slipping slightly as he answered the call, his voice low and authoritative.
"Kanya?" he asked, his voice sharp. But the only sound he heard was her ragged breathing. "Kanya, talk to me. What's going on?"
But there was only the sound of a strained gasp on the other end. She wasn't responding, just breathing heavily, panicking. His pulse quickened. "Kanya, what happened? Are you okay?"
A brief silence.
Then....."Help me" her voice cracked, desperation thick in her words.
His blood ran cold.
Without thinking, he hung up, ignoring the concerned voices from his meeting behind him. There was no time to waste. Kanya needed him.
He shoved his phone into his pocket and left the building without another word. No explanation. His footsteps were hard, determined as he marched toward his car. His mind raced with a thousand questions. What was going on? What did she need?
The drive was quick, his usual calm demeanor now replaced with a storm of urgency. Kanya had never called him like this before. He had never heard her sound so broken.
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She clung to the door, pacing back and forth in the tiny space of her brother's old room. Her hands were shaking, her mind fogged by panic. Her father's words played over and over again in her head, his twisted version of "love" and "care" that had never really felt like either. This wasn't love. This wasn't care. This was control. She hated it.
Her chest tightened, and tears burned at the back of her eyes. She fought to push them down, but it felt impossible. She felt so small, so powerless in this moment. It was like she was that little girl again, terrified of her father's wrath, trapped in a house that didn't feel like home.
And then her phone buzzed in her hand.
Her heart leapt when she saw the name: Aran.
She pressed the phone to her ear, gasping for breath. "Aran…" she whispered, barely able to keep her composure.
"Where are you?" His voice was low but urgent, and it cut through the fog of her panic.
"I… I'm trapped. He locked me in" she managed to say, her voice cracking. "Aran, please… He's here. He's planning something. He won't let me leave…"
His tone hardened. "Kanya, listen to me. Take a deep breath slow and steady. I'm coming to get you."
And just like that, the call ended.
His foot hit the accelerator, and he ignored the traffic lights. Kanya was in danger...he had to get to her. His thoughts were a blur, adrenaline flooding his veins.
The drive felt like it took forever, though he knew it was only a matter of minutes. He took the sharp turns faster than usual, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. Kanya needed him. She always had. And this time, she wouldn't have to face it alone.
When Aran arrived at her family home, the first thing he noticed was how eerily quiet it was. He parked his car in front, eyes scanning the area. It felt wrong.
As he got out, he saw kanya from the window of his best friend's room, he saw Kanya standing there, her face pale and desperate. She was shaking, but when she saw him, her expression softened just slightly, relief flickering in her eyes.
"The sperm donor.....he locked me in! He's planning something!" Kanya shouted as she tried to take slow breaths, tears welling up in her eyes.
Aran's eyes narrowed. He didn't need an explanation. He was already moving.
Her father's presence loomed from the shadows like a dark cloud. He stood near the doorway, glaring at him.
"What is this?" Her father's voice was cold, venomous. "You think you can just take her away like that? She belongs here, with me!"
Aran's gaze snapped to him, his expression icy. "Not anymore."
Without another word, Aran shoved past him, his shoulder knocking against him, sending him stumbling back. The older man's face turned red with anger, but before he could react, Aran grabbed his wrist with a brutal force. His eyes cold.
"If you ever try to lay a hand on her again, I'll make sure you never see her again" Aran growled, voice like gravel.
Kanya's father struggled, but Aran didn't loosen his grip. He was stronger, faster, and far more determined than he had ever been.
The man's eyes widened in fear, but he said nothing.
"Stay out of my way" Aran finished, his voice still icy as he released him with one final shove.