9. leaving

AYAAN MUKHERJEE'S POV

I stormed out of Yuvraaj's room, my heart racing with anger and hurt. How could he just let me go like that? Without even a fight? I felt like I meant nothing to him, like I was just a pawn in his game.

As I stomped down the hallway, I cursed him under my breath. "Damn you, Yuvraaj! Damn your cold heart! Damn your indifference!"

I didn't even see Raj approaching me until he grabbed my arm. "Ayaan, wait! Please talk to me!"

He is Yuvraaj's secretary. We had some encounters in this house before, he is such a considerate person and even helped me a few times.

I shook him off, my eyes blazing with anger. "What's there to talk about, Raj? He's made it clear he wants me to leave."

Raj's eyes filled with compassion. "Ayaan, that's not true. Yuvraaj cares about you deeply. He's just...complicated."

I laughed, a bitter sound. "Complicated? That's an understatement. He's a monster, Raj. A monster who kidnapped me, who held me prisoner, who...who..."

My voice broke, and I felt a sob rising up in my throat. Raj's arms enveloped me, holding me close as I trembled with rage and sorrow.

"If this is the case why are you looking so disturbed. You should be happy ayaan. You will be out of this hell, out of that monster's grasp."

"I don't know, I just don't want to stay here. It feels suffocating."

" Or more like you feel, you will fall for him?"

"No it can't be. I can't.

He is a monster. I can love him.

There is no way."

Just as I was about to break down completely, I saw Yuvraaj striding towards us, his eyes fixed on Raj with a hint of displeasure. "Raj, I need to speak with you," he said curtly, his voice devoid of emotion.

Raj hesitated, looking at me with concern, but Yuvraaj's gaze brooked no argument. "Now, Raj," he repeated, his voice firm.

With a apologetic glance at me, Raj followed Yuvraaj back into the room, leaving me alone in the hallway. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I watched them disappear into the room, the door closing behind them with a soft click.

I knew I had to get out of there, to escape the suffocating grip of Yuvraaj's presence. I took a deep breath and started to make my way back to my room, my heart heavy with emotion.

I made my way to Inayat's room, my heart heavy with the weight of my impending departure. I had to bid her farewell, had to explain why I was leaving without her. I took a deep breath and knocked on her door.

"Inayat," I said softly, when she opened the door. "We need to talk."

Her eyes sparkled with concern. "What is it, Ayaan? What's wrong?"

I stepped inside, feeling a pang of guilt. "I'm leaving, Inayat. I have to go."

Her eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? Where are you going?"

I took another deep breath. "I can't stay here anymore. I can't be with Yuvraaj anymore."

Inayat's face fell, and she looked at me with tears in her eyes. "But what about us? What about  the child?"

I felt a pang of regret. "I'm sorry, Inayat. I know this isn't fair to you. But I can't stay. I have to get out of here, for my own sake."

Inayat's eyes filled with tears, and she looked at me with a mix of sadness and understanding. "So, you're leaving me for now, but you'll come back for me? After the baby is born, you'll marry me, right?"

"As I held Inayat close, I knew that the child she carried wasn't mine. But as I looked into her eyes, I saw the desperation, the longing for love and acceptance."

And I knew that I couldn't deny her this. I, of all people, knew what it was like to be unloved, to be rejected. I was an illegitimate child, a bastard, and I had grown up without the love and acceptance of a family.

So, I made a decision. I would give this child my name, even if it wasn't mine by blood. I would give it the love and acceptance that I had always craved, but never received.

"It's okay, Inayat," I whispered, my voice trembling with emotion. "I'll take care of you, and the baby. I'll give it my name, and I'll love it like it's my own."

Inayat's eyes filled with tears, and she nodded, her face contorted in pain. "Thank you, Ayaan. Thank you for giving us a chance at happiness."

Inayat's arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly as she whispered urgent pleas in my ear. "Ayaan, please go tomorrow. Leave this place, leave Yuvraaj and his games behind. Start a new life, a new chapter. You deserve it, you deserve to be happy."

I felt a lump form in my throat as I held her close, her words echoing in my mind. I knew she was right, I knew I had to escape, but a part of me was scared, scared of the unknown, scared of leaving behind the only life I knew.

But Inayat's words, her tears, her desperation, they all combined to give me the strength I needed. I nodded, my voice barely audible. "I'll go, Inayat. I'll leave tomorrow, I promise."

Inayat's eyes clouded over, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Ayaan, I want to tell you something. Something that will help you understand why I'm begging you to leave."

She took a deep breath, her eyes gazing into the past. "My brother, he had a rough childhood. Our father was cruel, abusive. He would beat us, hurt us, just for the sake of it. My brother, he tried to protect me, but he couldn't. He was just a child himself."

Inayat's voice cracked, and she paused, collecting herself. "One day, our father went too far. He hurt my brother so badly, he was hospitalized for weeks. I was alone, scared, and I didn't know what to do."

She looked at me, her eyes pleading. "Ayaan, I can't bear the thought of you going through the same thing. You deserve better, you deserve to be loved, to be cherished. Not hurt, not abused."

My heart went out to him, to the pain yuvraaj had endured.

~ to be continued