JAAN ( Darr 2 )

Oblivious to the presence nearby, Kiran continued writing her report in peace. Once finished, she gathered her papers and decided to head back to the lab. 

However, navigating the hallways of the research Centre turned out to be more challenging than she had imagined.

 The corridors twisted and stretched endlessly, and soon she found herself in an unfamiliar section of the building.

Each hallway seemed indistinguishable from the last, leaving her disoriented.

That's when she saw him. A man leaning against a pillar in the otherwise deserted corridor.

What was he doing here? She wasn't sure, but relief washed over her. Finally, someone who might know the way.

"Hey!" she called out, hoping to catch his attention. The man turned suddenly, startled by her voice.

Her breath caught in her throat as their eyes locked for a brief moment. Time seemed to stop. A rush of memories hit her.

terrifying phone calls, Rahul's obsessive pursuit, and the final, horrifying moment when she had begged Sunil to end it, to end "him". But he couldn't be here, could he? 

Rahul Mehra was supposed to be dead.

He looked older, his hair longer and styled differently, but there was no mistaking those honey-brown eyes, those familiar features. It was him.

Her breaths grew shallow as the walls seemed to stretch higher, the light duller. 

A wave of dizziness swept over her, and she stumbled, her vision blurring at the edges. Just a moment, she thought.

Just one moment to steady herself and this ghost would go away.

 But as she reached out to lean against the wall, the world around her faded to black.

Rahul stood stunned, his heart hammering in his chest as he watched Kiran collapse to the floor.

Of all the places, after all these years, she had appeared here. 

He hadn't expected to see her after leaving the café earlier. He had walked away, retreating to the quiet isolation of the storeroom, hoping to avoid her.

Yet somehow, she had found her way to him again.

Her name echoed in his mind like a haunting reminder of everything that had gone wrong. For a split second, he was paralyzed, caught between disbelief and guilt. 

She had fainted, here, in front of him. And it was because of him—because he had reappeared in her life like some unwanted specter.

Fear gripped him. He knew he had hurt her simply by being there, by his mere existence in her world.

Every instinct screamed for him to leave, to disappear before she woke up. 

But he couldn't just walk away. She was lying helpless on the floor, and he couldn't bear the thought of abandoning her. 

His hands trembled as he knelt down beside her, terrified that touching her might cause more harm.

But she needed help, and there was no one else around.

With great care, Rahul gathered her into his arms. The weight of her against him stirred painful, long-buried memories, but he forced them down. 

This wasn't about him. He carried her toward the sick room, each step heavy with the gravity of the moment.

When they arrived, he gently placed her on the cot, the nurse quickly stepping in to check on her.

"She fainted," Rahul managed to say, his voice strained. He avoided the nurse's gaze, afraid that even his presence might cause harm. "Please take care of her."