~𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟~

Yashvardhan's Pov:-

I searched.
I searched every city, every hospital, every number.
But she vanished like smoke.

People say heartbreak kills slowly.

For me, it’s been nine months of dying…
every single day.

I don’t sleep.
I don’t eat.
I barely breathe.

Because every time I close my eyes, I see her.

Her laugh. Her nervous stammer. Her stupid little diary.
And the way she held onto me that night — like I was her entire universe

But I let her go.
I shattered her.
And now... I can’t forgive myself.

I’ve searched everywhere.

Slums. Hotels. Old clinics. Temples.
I’ve spoken to strangers. Threatened doctors. Bribed ward boys.

She’s nowhere.
Yet she’s everywhere in my memories.

I hold onto her scarf every night — the last thing she left behind.
It still smells like her — soft sandalwood and stargazers

Every time I whisper her name, my throat burns.

“Vaidehi... please... just come back.”

My empire means nothing without her.
My power feels useless.
And my heart… it’s bleeding.

People say I’ve gone mad.
I have.

Because I can’t live without my albatross...

---

And then… just when I was ready to lose hope forever…

One of my men ran into my office, breathless.

“Sir… we found her.”

I froze.

“What did you say?”

“She’s in Banaras, sir.

A maternity nurse confirmed it. She’s living in a small rented room near Assi Ghat… alone!

The world stopped spinning.
I couldn’t speak.
I just stared… heart thundering like a war drum.

My hands clenched. I didn’t know whether to scream or fall to my knees.

“Alone?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Yes, sir. Alone… as far as we know.”

A bitter taste rose in my mouth.

I had left her broken.

I had humiliated her.

I had walked away —

not because I stopped loving her, but because my mother forced a sword to my neck.

I believed she hated me now.
And maybe she did.
Maybe she shoud!

I don’t remember how fast I packed.
I only remember the sound of my heart breaking into pieces again — from guilt, from relief, from unbearable love.

Banaras.
The city of gods..

And now, my only reason to breathe.

I boarded my private jet that night.

As the city lights of Delhi faded behind me, I promised myself—

"I’ll get on my knees if I have to.
I'll beg.
I'll bleed.
But I will bring her back.

I clutched her scarf as I stared out the window, tears quietly falling..

“Wait for me, Vaidehi... your Albatross is coming.”

--

I didn’t know how she survived.
How she lived through the pain I caused.

But I knew one thing — I couldn't breathe until I saw her again.

I Took  her old dupatta, still smelling like her, and my bleeding guilt.

All I knew was this —
I would find her.
Hold her.
And if she allowed me…
Spend every breath of my life asking for forgiveness.