~Author's POV~
The name on the file stared back at him like a ghost from a past he’d buried deep.
Kiara Simha.
His jaw clenched, fingers tightening around the sleek folder as if it had personally wronged him. A hundred memories threatened to flood in—her laughter, her stubborn eyes, the quiet understanding between them, the fire of their last argument. He shut it down. Not now. He wasn’t that boy anymore.
He was Ishaan Malhotra, heir to the Malhotra empire. Stoic. Calculated. Unshakeable.
And yet... her name still had the power to throw him off.
He placed the file down with deliberate calmness, but his heart was anything but calm.
As he stood up from his desk< two shadows leapt into the room - sleek, silent, and majestic.
Zuri and Zara - his twin panther cubs - circled around him, their dark fur gleaming under the ceilings lights. Zuri nudged his leg while Zara purred and sat on his foot possessively.
He bent down, running his fingers through their soft fur. "Even you two would've loved her", he muttered under his breath, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Too bad she probably hates me now."
He walked toward the glass wall, overlooking the city skyline, as flashes of his life passed through his mind.
---
Back at the Malhotra Mansion, the atmosphere was its usual blend of chaos and warmth.
Raj Malhotra, the towering patriarch, was reading the newspaper over chai while Sonya, his elegant wife, issued instructions to the staff with her usual calm authority.
“Ishaan hasn’t touched breakfast again,” she frowned.
“He’s probably in one of his moods again,” teased Akash, the youngest of the Malhotra brothers, spooning Nutella onto his toast.
“Be glad he’s not yelling at a client at 9 a.m.,” mumbled Shiv, the eldest, half-asleep with Shruti’s call on hold.
“I bet he’s brooding,” chirped Riya, their younger sister, scrolling through Kiara’s latest Insta post without even realizing the link.
In the far corner, Anirudh and Nandini, Ishaan’s uncle and aunt, discussed their anniversary plans while cousins Aditya, Aanya, and Neha laughed over a reel that had gone viral.
The family looked whole. Happy. But underneath, cracks ran deep. Especially when it came to Kavya Singh, Raj’s sister. Her family—the Singhs—had long since become more enemy than blood. Her husband Arvind, and daughters Anika and Saanvi, always had a way of turning smiles into suspicion.
Ishaan barely tolerated them.
---
Meanwhile, in his room, Ishaan stared out the large glass window. The city stretched before him—calculated, predictable. Unlike her.
Kiara Simha.
Seven years, and yet he remembered everything. The way she had danced in the rain that night, her voice echoing with freedom. The way she had stood up for him when no one else did. And the way she walked away—leaving behind silence instead of closure.
His mind drifted unwillingly to her now.
She wasn’t just a girl from his past. She was a scar. Beautiful, infuriating, unfinished.
He pulled out his phone and opened a group chat titled Idiots 2.0.
Dev Rathore: Bro, meeting today?
Aayush and Rian are already at the court.
Rian Khanna: Ishaan ki ghosting = heartbreak or hangover? Place your bets.
Aayush Shekawat: I say heartbreak. No one drinks that much black coffee for fun.
He smirked faintly. These three—Dev, Rian, and Aayush—his brothers by bond, not blood. They knew him too well.
But even they didn’t know about Kiara. Not fully. Not the way she lived in a hidden part of his memory—a part too fragile to touch and too dangerous to forget.
Ishaan shut his phone.
He had a deal to finalize, a family to protect, a life to live.
And if Kiara Simha was walking back into it…
He didn’t know whether to run or make her regret ever leaving.
Write a comment ...