All Chapters of Their Unsparing Destiny : Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Inaayat's fingers tightened around the phone. Suddenly she forgot how to speak. It is the very first time after her childhood that she's talking on the phone. Only her quiet breathing reached him. Silence. On the other side Ryker stood alone on the terrace of a hospital. The city lights stretched endlessly below him. Doctors occasionally passed through the corridor behind him. But none of it held his attention anymore. The moment he heard that soft breathing he already knew. A faint smile appeared on his face. "Bacche." She didn't answer. (Translation: Kiddo.) "Mujhe bata hai ki aap hain. Boliye." He spoke again. (Translation: I know it's you. Speak up.) His voice became gentler. Only then she finally found her voice. "Ji..." The single word carried so much relief that Ryker unconsciously closed his eyes. He had missed hearing it. Far more than he had expected. But before he could say anything Inaayat began complaining all at once. "Aap hamein chhod kar kyun chale gaye?" (T

The moment Ryker entered their room, he gently pushed the door shut behind him. The familiar room immediately surrounded them with silence. No guests. No family. No curious eyes. Just them. For the first time in two days Inaayat didn't have to pretend that she wasn't waiting for him. Ryker walked toward the couch with her still in his arms. He bent slightly, intending to put her down. But the moment his arms loosened Inaayat's grip around his neck tightened. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt. Ryker paused. He looked down at her. Her face remained hidden against his neck. She didn't say anything. She simply held him tighter. He understood. She didn't want him to go anywhere. Not even a step away. A faint softness appeared in his eyes. Without forcing her to move, he sat down on the couch with her still in his lap. Then he reached behind him and locked the door. Click. Inaayat heard it. But she didn't lift her head. Her face remained tucked into the crook of his neck, h

On the other side the haveli had fallen quiet again. Most of the lights had been switched off, leaving only the soft yellow glow of a few lamps along the corridors. The night air was cool. The open terrace was almost completely deserted. Nancy walked slowly across it. Her hands were loosely folded in front of her as she moved from one end of the terrace to the other. There was no particular destination. She simply couldn't sleep. Her thoughts had been restless for hours. She reached the railing, stood there for a moment, then turned around and began walking back. A few minutes later the terrace door opened. Nancy glanced over her shoulder. Arjun stepped outside. He didn't say anything. He walked toward one of the couches placed near the wall and quietly sat down. Nancy continued walking. For a while neither of them acknowledged the other or more like he was looking at Nancy with longing eyes but she didn't pay any heed to him. The silence between them wasn't exactly hostile. It

The haveli had long since surrendered to silence. It was that peculiar kind of midnight silence that only came after an exhausting day, when every corridor was dark, every door shut, and even the restless sounds of the old house seemed to have finally gone to sleep. The wall clock in Ryker and Inaayat's room showed at 11:59 PM. Only one minute remained in striking twelve. The curtains shifted faintly with the night breeze coming through the slightly open window. Moonlight spilled across the floor in thin silver lines, while the small bedside lamp remained switched off, leaving the room mostly cloaked in darkness. Inaayat was fast asleep. She had slipped into the deepest part of her sleep sometime ago, curled slightly beneath the blanket, her hair scattered messily across the pillow. Her breathing was slow and peaceful, her face completely relaxed. Ryker sat beside her for a moment, watching her. There was something unusually soft in his expression. He glanced once toward the wall c

Inaayat lowered her eyes shyly. Then opened her mouth just enough to take the bite. Her cheeks immediately puffed slightly as she began chewing. Ryker watched her for a moment before turning back toward the cake. He cut another neat piece and placed it carefully on a small plate for her. While he did that, Inaayat wandered a few steps away. She looked at everything. Not hurriedly. Not casually. She gave every little detail the attention it deserved. She looked at the balloons hanging from the ceiling. Then the tiny heart-shaped balloons. Then the ribbons. The flowers. The gifts. The birthday lettering. The huge number twenty. She even noticed the little decorative details on the table that someone else might have overlooked completely. She looked back at Ryker. "Ye sab aapne lagaya?" She again asked. (Translation: You set all this up?) "Haan." He looked up at her and said. (Translation: Yes.) "Ye bhi?" She walked toward another corner. (Translation: This too?) "Haan." He nodd