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AAVYA RAJAWAT

Before I could even think, a strong hand gripped my upper arm, jerking me backward. I stumbled, crashing into a solid wall of warmth—Vihaan. His arms immediately wrapped around me, steadying me before I could fall. “What are you doing, Aavya?” he asked, his voice no longer calm but edged with a sudden roughness—concern barely veiled beneath the sharpness.

I blinked, trying to focus. Everything felt blurry, as if the world had lost its outlines. My limbs were trembling, my knees weak, my vision fogged with unshed tears and rising panic. “You would have walked straight into that pillar,” he muttered, nodding his head slightly toward something behind me.

I turned my head slowly. The cold, hard shape of the pillar loomed over my shoulder—so close. Too close. I hadn’t even seen it. My stomach twisted violently as bile rose up my throat. I swallowed it down, but the nausea lingered, choking me with guilt, fear, and helplessness.