"Ankur," Ved croaked, looking at his brother.

"Who are they?"

Mahira's heart dropped to the floor, the breath knocked out of her chest. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, her entire body going numb. He doesn't remember me. Her hands began to tremble, and she gripped her dupatta tightly, trying to steady herself. But her world was already crumbling.

Ankur looked back at Mahira and her parents. His expression was torn as he said, "They're the ones who've been taking care of you all these months, you had lost your memory. That's... Mahira, and these are her parents."

Mahira felt her throat close up, every muscle in her body screaming to break down right there. But she forced herself to stay still, to hold on for just a little longer.

Before Ved could react, the girl who had rushed in earlier came forward, sitting beside Ved, her hand gently stroking his hair. "Ved, you don't need to stress about it now. We'll explain everything later. Just rest, okay?"

Mahira's stomach twisted as the girl smiled sweetly at Ved, her fingers playing with his hair like she had done it a thousand times before.

"This is Nandini," Ankur said quietly, turning to Mahira. "She's... Ved's fiancée."

The word felt like a slap to Mahira's face. Fiancée. Fiancée? Her vision blurred as the walls of the hospital room seemed to close in on her. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Ved had a fiancée? She wanted to scream, to cry out, to ask how this could be happening.

But instead, she stood frozen. Silent.