It had been a long time since the two friends had met, and now that they were finally together, old memories and stories began to resurface. Jai would share something from his past, and Daksh would respond with something of his own. In this way, their conversation went on and on, until the afternoon slipped by unnoticed.
Finally, Jai looked at the time and said he needed to leave. Daksh tried to stop him for a while, hoping to prolong the reunion, but Jai explained that he had a flight early in the morning and couldn't delay. With no other choice, Daksh agreed, albeit a little reluctantly.
Jai stood up to leave, and Daksh also rose to walk him to the door. Just then, Daksh's phone began to ring. He glanced at the screen — it was a call from Payal's school. Answering it quickly, he said, "Hello?"
But as he listened to the voice on the other end, his expression suddenly changed. Panic washed over his face as he shouted into the phone, "What? How? Right now? Where is she?"
Jai, noticing his friend's reaction, stepped forward, worried. "What happened, Daksh? Is everything okay? Why are you panicking like this?"
There was fear in Daksh's eyes, his face pale, his hands trembling. He looked as if his world had been shaken in a single moment. He couldn't find the words…
Panicking, Daksh turned to Jai and stammered, "Jai… Jai… I have to go to the school. Payal… she fell down the stairs. She's hurt."
The moment Daksh heard from the school that Payal was injured, it felt like his soul had left his body. His hands trembled, his heart raced. At that moment, he could think of nothing else—he just wanted to see his daughter.
Jai quickly held his shoulders and said calmly, "Daksh… breathe. We'll go together. Let's not waste any time."
Without another word, the two rushed out of the house and drove straight to the school. But when they arrived, they were informed that Payal had already been taken to the hospital.
That news hit Daksh like a second shock. He looked helplessly at Jai, and without wasting a second, both of them got into the car and drove straight to the hospital.
During the entire drive, Jai kept trying to calm Daksh down.
"She's going to be okay. Don't worry. Payal is strong, nothing will happen to her."
But Daksh wasn't in a state to hear or understand anything. His mind was spinning with fear and worst-case thoughts. As soon as they reached the hospital, Daksh jumped out of the car and ran inside, desperately asking the staff, "Where's my daughter? Where's Payal?"
His voice was broken, filled with fear. He was like a father holding on to the last thread of hope.
Just then, one of Payal's teachers was also at the reception. She noticed Daksh and immediately approached him. "The doctors are attending to Payal," she informed him gently.
Everyone at the hospital knew Daksh well — after all, he was a senior doctor there. Without waiting another moment, Daksh rushed toward the ward. As he ran, he stopped a nurse and asked, almost breathlessly, "How is my daughter Payal?"
The nurse recognized him at once and replied, "Sir, Dr. Diya is with her. She's attending to Baby in the ward."
Payal was a familiar face at the hospital. She often visited with her father, or sometimes came along with her nanny to meet him. Everyone there knew she was Daksh's daughter — the sweet, bubbly child who greeted everyone with a smile. That's why everyone affectionately called her "Baby."
Hearing the nurse's words, Daksh hurried into the ward. Jai followed closely behind. Inside, Dr. Vani was guiding another nurse and treating Payal. Though she was a cardiologist by specialization, the moment she saw Payal brought in injured, her heart melted for the little girl without a mother.
Vani knew Payal well. Payal was also her friend Jeev's daughter and had taken a liking to Vani. Over time, Vani had developed a soft corner in her heart for the child. Now, she was treating her with the help of another doctor. Payal had suffered a head injury. When she was brought in, she had been unconscious. Vani, too, was deeply worried.
As Daksh approached, his voice cracked as he asked, "Diya… how is Payal?"
Jai, however, froze at the door. He hadn't imagined he would see Vani here. But why was Daksh calling her "Diya"? Why was she living here under a different name? What was her connection to Daksh? She was supposed to be in Shimla — how did she know Daksh?
Jai stood still, lost in a whirlwind of questions, staring silently at Vani. She hadn't seen him yet, as he was still partially hidden behind Daksh and hadn't stepped fully into the room.
Vani, focused on Payal's treatment, only gave Daksh a quick glance. "Dr. Daksh, Payal is stable now," she said in a calming voice. "She's still unconscious but will regain consciousness soon. She has a head injury, but thankfully there's no internal damage. We've treated her. She just needs a few days of rest."
Tears welled up in Daksh's eyes as he looked at his little girl lying there, pale and hurt. Seeing his tears, Vani gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Dr. Daksh, she's going to be fine. You don't need to worry so much. But if she sees you crying like this, she'll feel even worse. You know how much she loves you. She can't bear to see tears in her father's eyes."
Hearing her words, Daksh broke down and hugged her tightly. "Diya, I can't see her like this," he whispered. "She's all I have. I love my daughter more than anything."
At that moment, Daksh felt truly alone. Even though he had a family, he had no one he could lean on emotionally. No one to truly understand or share his pain.
---
To Diya, he had always been a good friend—someone she could share all her pain with. Bani was initially stunned when Daksh suddenly hugged her, but seeing him panic, she instinctively began to console him.
Daksh kept murmuring, "She's okay now… she's fine… she's safe…" trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
"Calm down," Bani whispered as she held him. Being a mother herself, and a single parent with no one to rely on, she knew exactly what a child meant to someone like Daksh. She could understand his pain, so she allowed him to lean on her—as a friend.
Once Daksh returned to normal, he pulled back from the hug.
"I'm sorry, Diya. I just… panicked for a moment," he said, embarrassed.
Trying to comfort him, Bani smiled. "It's okay, Doctor. I understand. But you need to hold yourself together. Payal is just a child. She needs your strength, your care right now."
Daksh simply nodded, silently absorbing her words.
Meanwhile, Jai, who had just entered, was burning with jealousy seeing them so close. First, he had been shocked to see Bani here at all. But what rattled him more was seeing Daksh hug her so intimately. If Daksh hadn't been in such a fragile state, Jai would've definitely pulled him away from her. If it had been any other man, Jai might have broken his hands and legs by now.
Bani hadn't noticed Jai's presence yet. But suddenly, Daksh remembered.
"Oh! Jai came with me too," he said as he turned back. "Why are you standing there, Jai? Come in."
The moment Bani heard the name Jai, she froze.
No. It can't be him. It's just a name. So many people have the same name. It's not him, she tried to convince herself.
Daksh turned to her and said, "Doctor Diya, meet my friend—Jai Singh Rathore."
The full name hit her like a thunderbolt.
Her body went completely still. For a moment, she just stood there, unmoving, unable to process. Daksh called her again.
"Diya? Are you okay?"
His voice shook her back to the present. She turned toward the voice—and her eyes locked with him.
It felt like a nightmare had come true.
Jai, too, was stunned. He kept staring at her, expressionless, as if trying to make sense of what he was seeing. His face had no emotion, no movement. Just an intense, hollow stare fixed on Bani.
Bani's hands began to sweat. Her heart started to race. Her breathing became uneven. It felt like someone had placed a massive stone on her chest—she couldn't breathe.
Daksh noticed her discomfort. "Diya, are you okay?"
Bani struggled to compose herself and replied, "It's nothing. I'll come back later," and before anyone could stop her, she rushed out of the ward.
Pushing past people, avoiding eye contact, Bani ran straight to her cabin. She locked the door from inside and collapsed against it.
Panting. Trembling. Crying.
After a while, she tried to calm herself down. She wiped her tears and looked into the mirror in front of her.
The reflection wasn't just her face—it was her past staring back at her.
And then, with a firm voice, she whispered to herself:
> "Enough running. Now I have to face it. I have to face him."