In the stillness of her room, Rajni found herself consumed by her thoughts, but no matter how hard she tried to focus elsewhere, her mind was held captive by the man who had just walked out of her door. The memory of him lingered—the way his body had trembled when her words struck him, the slight hitch in his breath as if the weight of her rejection had physically lodged itself in his throat, and the hollow finality of his "Theek hai" (Alright) as he left.

She knew, deep down, that Srikant was far from okay. His silent suffering mirrored her own in ways she hadn’t considered before. For too long, Rajni had been consumed by her own loss, her grief so overwhelming that she hadn’t spared a moment to truly see him—the man who had stood by her side while quietly bearing the weight of his world.