With that thought, Ishan began to rise from his chair, his legs trembling as tears welled up in his eyes. An ache throbbed deep in his chest, every breath carrying the weight of his guilt. Aadhriti filled his mind, her face flashing before him, her pain echoing in his soul. His vision blurred, not from the tears, but from the overwhelming guilt that gripped his entire being. Everything played in his mind like a haunting movie, every memory of her twisting the knife deeper. The room around him seemed to dissolve, his senses numbed by the agonizing realization of what he had done.

In trying to protect her happiness, he had only gave her the deepest wounds. He had tried to shield her from sorrow, only to be the cause of her greatest suffering. Every choice he made, every attempt to see her smile had backfired, and now all that was left was the unbearable weight of knowing that he had destroyed what he cherished most.