Each line hit harder than the last.
“Every hospital has your description. Every taxi stand. Every driver. Your photograph is everywhere.”
His voice rose. “Your father stood in that courtyard for eight hours watching people come back with nothing over and over again.”
Meera’s expression changed at once. Confusion first. Then realization. Then horror.
‘Eight hours?’
Her stomach dropped.
‘No. No, that couldn’t… ‘
“How…” Her voice struggled. “I didn’t…”
She hadn’t thought of time. Hadn’t felt it pass.
His chest rose once before he forced the breath down.
“Your mother sat in front of that temple , praying until her hands started shaking.” Anger sharpened every word. “My mother kept everyone together while she was terrified herself.”
A harsh laugh escaped him.
“Naina hasn’t spoken in hours.” His eyes locked on hers. “Do you understand that? My sister, who never stops talking, sitting silent because you vanished.”
Meera flinched.
He kept going.
“The staff searched every corridor. Every room. Every road outside the Haveli.” His hand dragged through his hair, pulling at it. “Fields. Wells. Temples. Every damn place they could think of.”
His voice cracked under the strain. “And me?”
The words came rough. “I’ve been losing my fucking mind minute by minute.”
He stepped closer. And she felt it. Anger and fear trapped inside him with nowhere to go.
“I stood there watching day turning into night,” he continued, voice heavy, “knowing every minute made it more possible that you were hurt… or unconscious… or lying somewhere waiting for help that never came.”
His jaw locked. He turned away, dragging a hand across his face, skin reddening under the pressure.
His arm cut toward the chamber.
“And you were here. Safe. Sitting beside a lamp while everyone outside was falling apart.”
The light threw sharp lines across his face.
“Then the hospital called.” His voice dropped again. “A woman. Your age. Yellow clothes. Unidentified.”
His breath caught.
“Do you understand what that did to me?” His eyes burned into hers. “Do you understand what happened in my head when I heard that?”
He didn’t wait for an answer.
“I drove there out of my mind. Red lights. Traffic. None of it mattered. I kept thinking…” His body shook under the force of it. “I kept thinking I might never hear your voice again. Never see your face. Never…”
His voice cracked. He pushed through it.