Vivaan's POV

I stood frozen. My breath hitched in my throat as I stared at the man before me-the man I had unknowingly searched for all my life.

Aryan.

The name felt like a whisper from my past, a fragment of a childhood I had buried under grief. His eyes... those same deep brown eyes I once held in my arms as a baby, the same warmth I had lost. And now, after all these years, here he was, standing just a few feet away.

He took a hesitant step forward. His lips trembled as if forming words was a struggle.

"Bhai...?" His voice cracked.

That one word undid me.

I felt a sudden rush of emotions-shock, relief, guilt, and overwhelming love-crashing into me like a wave. My vision blurred, my chest tightened, and before I knew it, my feet moved on their own.

I pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Aryan..." My voice was barely a whisper. My hands gripped his back as if letting go would make him disappear again. "You're alive... you're really alive..."

I felt his shoulders shake. He was crying.

"I waited for you, bhai..." he choked out. "I... I thought you left me. I thought you didn't want me."

My heart shattered. I pulled away just enough to look at him. My hands cupped his face, my fingers tracing the tears on his cheeks.

"No, Aryan. Never. I was lied to. Chachu told me you were gone. I didn't know... I swear, I didn't know."

He nodded, sniffling, his hands gripping my arms tightly as if grounding himself in this moment.

A sudden sob broke through the silence.

"Chotu... my Chotu bhai..."

Meera.

She rushed forward, her eyes swollen with tears, and pulled Aryan into a tight hug.

"You're back," she whispered, pressing kisses on his hair. "You're back, Aryan bhai. You're back to us."

He let out a shaky laugh. "I missed you, bacha."

Behind us, a soft gasp made us turn.

Dadi.

She stood at the doorway, her frail hands clutching her shawl as if to steady herself. Tears ran down her wrinkled cheeks as she took slow steps forward.

"My Aryan..." her voice quivered.

Aryan immediately broke away and rushed to her feet, touching them, seeking her blessings.

"Dadi..." His voice broke.

She cupped his face with trembling hands, looking at him as if she still couldn't believe it. Then, with all the strength she could muster, she pulled him into a hug.

"They told me you were gone," she whispered, her fingers threading through his hair. "I prayed for you every single day... and my prayers have been answered. You came back to me."

Aryan held her tightly, his tears soaking into her shawl.

I looked at them, my heart swelling with a love I hadn't felt in years.

We were whole again.

And I wasn't going to let anything take this away from us again.

NOTE : ARYAN'S STORY WOULD BE COVERED IN A NEW BOOK "THE CEO's HEART. "

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