A year apart had done many things.
Time had drawn new lines on their souls - some from healing, most from pain.
But fate has its way of circling back.
The Encounter
It was a simple charity event.
One organized under the royal patronage of the Rajput family.
Ekta had come as a guest professor, now well-known for her social work in women's education.
She wore a pale beige saree, elegant and understated - the kind Dev remembered her always in, but there was something different now.
A weight in her eyes.
A quiet strength in her spine.
And in her arms... she carried a child.
His son.
Dev hadn't seen her in a year. Not since the divorce papers. Not since she vanished from his world with nothing but silence.
His breath caught.
"Ekta..."
She froze.
The sound of his voice brought back everything - every betrayal, every cold night, every name he never should've called her.
She turned around slowly, her eyes falling on the man who once shattered her with a silence sharper than words.
He looked exhausted. His beard unkempt, eyes hollow. As if he hadn't truly lived since she left.
Their gazes met.
She didn't flinch.
But her fingers instinctively held Adrit closer.
Dev's eyes softened as he looked at the child - the same dark hair, the same stubborn chin... his son.
He stepped forward.
But Ekta's quiet voice stopped him.
"Don't. Not here."
A Private Conversation
They stepped aside into an empty hallway.
Silence hung heavy between them, until Dev finally broke.
"He's mine, isn't he?"
Ekta didn't reply at first.
Then she nodded.
"Yes. His name is Adrit."
Dev swallowed, the name anchoring something in his chest.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her eyes glistened, but she didn't cry.
"Because you weren't ready to know. You were still taking Nitya's name while touching me, Dev. You chose silence when I was breaking. That night... it killed something in me."
Dev looked away, guilt tearing through him.
"I was drunk. I was broken."
"And I was your wife, Dev. You didn't even notice I was drowning. You destroyed me."
She didn't yell. That made it worse.
The calm in her voice was the kind that came from deep scars, not temporary wounds.
"I regret everything," he whispered. "Not stopping Nitya. Not protecting you. Not fighting for you..."
"But you did love Nitya," she said, voice suddenly sharp. "Didn't you?"
Dev was silent.
That silence... was enough.
Walking Away Again
Ekta adjusted Adrit on her hip, the boy sleepy against her shoulder.
"You will get to meet him. I won't stop that. But don't think I'm coming back. I've built a world where I can finally breathe."
She turned to leave, but stopped.
"If you truly regret everything, Dev... don't just be sorry. Be better."
And then she walked away - the woman he never truly deserved, and the son he never knew he had.
Dev stood frozen in the hallway, the weight of everything crashing down.
This time, there were no second chances handed on a silver platter.
This time... he would have to earn it.