Chapter 44

                                    

                                          
MISHTI'S POV
As soon as the car stopped in front of my house, I got out as quickly as my aching leg would allow. I didn't say goodbye. I didn't look back. I just needed to get away from him, from the twisted world I had fallen into, from the love that now suffocated me.
My ankle throbbed with pain, but nothing compared to the storm raging in my heart. How did it come to this? How had the man I once loved more than anything turned into someone I didn't even recognize anymore? The man I trusted, who made me feel safe... now filled me with fear.
I wanted to scream, to cry, to let it all out, but I couldn't. My emotions were so tangled that I didn't know what to feel anymore. Part of me still loved him-how could I not? I couldn't just switch off those feelings. 
But I knew better. His love wasn't healthy. It was suffocating, obsessive, controlling. The man who once made me feel cherished was now the one I feared the most.
Abir wasn't just my lover anymore; he was a murderer. A man who killed without remorse. How could I ever forget what I saw that night? The way he took a life right in front of me, as if it meant nothing.
I limped to my front door, my mind replaying the words he'd spoken earlier in the car. "I'm sorry... I never wanted you to see that side of me."
But that was who he was. And the truth was that no matter how much I wanted to hold onto the Abir I fell in love with, that man was gone. What was left was someone consumed by darkness, someone whose love had morphed into obsession.
I sank onto my bed, my thoughts spinning. Do I still love him?
My heart betrayed me with the answer. Yes. But could I ever trust him again? Could I stay with a man who kept so many secrets, who lied to me, who murdered someone in cold blood?
I knew the answer. As much as it broke my heart, I couldn't. The Abir I once knew was gone. And no matter how much it hurt, I had to let him go. But that didn't make the pain any easier to bear.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I buried my face in my hands. How could something so beautiful, so perfect, turn into something so twisted?
I loved him. I still loved him. But that love was breaking me, and I didn't know how to stop it.
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AUTHOR'S POV
Abir stormed into his mansion, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. The encounter with Mishti left him shaken more than he wanted to admit. His obsession with her was pulling him in one direction, but the guilt, the fear of losing her completely, was starting to crack through his tough exterior.
Inside the mansion, Kunal and Kuhu were sitting with Aarnav, the tension already thick in the room. Aarnav, as always, was the first to speak, his voice calm but laced with concern. "I told them everything, bhai," he said, looking at Abir. "About what happened between Mishti & you."
Kunal leaned forward, his face filled with frustration. "I've been telling you something like this was bound to happen. But you all never listen to me. These lies you were building were bound to backfire."
Kuhu shook her head. "Kunal, it's not the time to dwell on what's already happened. We need to think about what we do next."
Abir remained quiet, listening to their exchange as he paced the room. Kuhu, ever the voice of reason, turned to him, her eyes filled with sympathy and hope. "Abir bro, you have to tell Mishti everything. The whole truth. She loves you. Once she understands why you've become this way, she'll return to you."