"Do you still wish to proceed with the divorce, Mr. Rathore?"

The judge's voice echoed through the silent courtroom.

All eyes were on him.

On Aarav Rathore.

The man who never hesitated.
The man who never looked back.

And yet... today, for the first time—

He did.

His gaze shifted slowly... until it found her.

Anaya.

She stood there, pale but composed, her fingers tightly clutching the edge of the stand. Her face held no tears, no anger... just a silence that felt heavier than anything else in the room.

As if she had already lost everything.

As if nothing could hurt her anymore.

Aarav's jaw tightened.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

This wasn't the ending he had planned.

"Mr. Rathore?"

The judge repeated.

The world seemed to pause.

And then—

"Yes."

The word left his lips.

Cold. Firm. Final.

A small breath escaped Anaya... almost like a quiet acceptance.

No reaction.

No protest.

Nothing.

That hurt more than anything else.

"Mrs. Anaya Rathore, do you wish to say anything?"

Silence.

A long, suffocating silence.

Then slowly—

She lifted her gaze.

Not at the judge.

Not at the people watching.

But at him.

For the last time.

"I have nothing left to say."

Her voice was soft.

But steady.

And that was the moment something inside him shifted.

Too late.

"Very well," the judge said, flipping through the file.

"And as per the documents submitted..."

His voice paused.

Brows furrowed.

The courtroom tensed.

Aarav frowned slightly.

"What is it?"

The judge looked up.

Directly at Anaya.

"Mrs. Rathore... according to these reports..."

A second of silence.

That felt like eternity.

"You are pregnant."

The world stopped.

Aarav's heartbeat crashed in his ears.

"No..."

The whisper escaped before he could stop it.

His eyes snapped toward her.

But she didn't look at him.

Not anymore.

Her hand moved—almost instinctively—resting lightly over her stomach.

A silent truth.

A truth she never told.

A truth he never deserved to know.

Until now.

Everything blurred.

The courtroom. The voices. The people.

All gone.

All that remained was one thought—

He had destroyed her.

And she was carrying his child.

"I... withdraw the divorce."

His voice came out rough. Broken.

Desperate.

But she shook her head.

Slowly.

Firmly.

"No."

The single word shattered whatever was left between them.

"You don't get to choose now, Mr. Rathore."

Her eyes met his.

And for the first time—

They weren't silent.

They were... empty.

"I already did."

And just like that—

She walked away.

Taking everything with her.

Including the one thing
he didn't even know he needed.

This was not the beginning of their story.

This was the end of everything he had ruined.

And the beginning of a regret
that would destroy him.