Rohit stepped out of the Raj’ cabin and stopped.

Riya was standing in the corridor directly across from the door, arms folded, her expression carefully composed in the way people compose themselves when they have been waiting long enough to rehearse it. The hurt was still there underneath. It hadn’t gone anywhere.

His eyes moved past her instinctively and found Arya at the far end of the corridor near the exit, Sheetal a half step behind her. Arya wasn’t pretending not to watch. She was watching openly, arms crossed, waiting to see exactly what he would do.

Rohit stood between them for a moment.

His heart beat faster than he would have liked. Not from fear but from something more irritating than that.

The body he now occupied had its own loyalties, its own pull toward certain people, and it did not always ask permission before reacting.

But he wasn’t foolish enough to let confusion become sentiment. His new body’s attachments were not his own. He would decide what he kept and what he discarded.

Only Ragini was the exception.

The rest were pawns meant for his own use.

So if Arya felt bad, let her be. Riya had to be taken under his wing by any means as he still needed clues about Ragini’s accident.

That was the beginning and end of the calculation.

He walked toward her.

"I’m sorry about earlier," he said quietly, stopping in front of her. "I should have handled it differently."

Riya studied him for a moment. "You really don’t remember me."

Rohit shook his head. He pushed his hair back slightly to show the faint scar along his hairline, still healing at the edges. "I got this in the accident. Almost a week ago. After that, everything before it is fragments. Some things surface. Most don’t."

Riya’s lips pressed together. She looked away toward the wall, and something in her posture shifted. Not a collapse, just a small internal adjustment, the kind a person makes when they finally confirm something they had been hoping wasn’t true.

"So in that house," she said quietly, "no one remembers my name after I’m gone." A short breath. "Good. I was alone then and I’m still alone. I see."

A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye, which she quickly brushed away in a manner that would make others think something had simply entered her eye, but Rohit caught it.

Riya looked at Rohit once more, but this time the closeness was gone, replaced by a distant longing. The kind reserved for someone over whom you no longer had influence or authority.

"Can I check the scar?" she asked. "It must be difficult... forgetting your own history at such age."

Rohit nodded.

Riya stepped closer and touched it gently with her fingers. The touch was warm and affectionate. She leaned closer and blew warm air over it, which felt strangely soothing.

Rohit’s heart tightened at the gesture as memories of her gentleness resurfaced in his mind. He truly failed to understand how, inside a family, some women could be so loving and caring without expecting anything in return.

In his old life as Riku, everything had been transactional — either body or need. But here, something was tied too deeply. The kindness felt too foreign and uncomfortable.

Then came those experiences that instantly reminded him how two-faced women could be, the things that felt most genuine were sometimes the most carefully constructed. Until gaining a clear leverage, believing them would be a ’fool’s job’.

Sure, rare exceptions like Ragini or perhaps kavita could exist, but he didn’t want to bet his chances on a single meeting.

After all, Arya’s hatred had to have some reason. She might be bossy and prideful, but she wasn’t unreasonable.

He stepped back and took her wrist gently, creating distance.

"I’m sorry," he said. "That doesn’t feel right."

Riya paused, a flicker of disbelief crossing her face, but she quickly recomposed herself.

Artwork.

"No, I’m sorry. I got emotional." She straightened slightly. "I was checking something and I think I found my answer. You’ve changed, Rohit. More than just the height."

She was about to turn when he spoke.

"Riya."

Riya instantly turned to look at him.

Rohit realized he was letting his chance slip away and quickly changed his tone.

"Can you tell me what I was like? I can feel some familiarity toward you but I can’t place it properly. It frustrates me."

Riya gave a pained smile.

"He was the kind of person you could tell everything to and trust that it stayed safe. He had his own secrets but he never made you feel yours were a burden.. He was my..." She paused. "He was my real comfort in that house."

Rohit frowned slightly. In his memories, she had never truly shared much with him like she claimed. Sure, she had treated the late Rohit well, and also shared a few of her stories but in all honesty, Riya had always been the more secretive one.

A seed of doubt formed in his mind, but nothing felt concrete.

Was it all a lie?

’No... it’s too early to judge.’

Riya leaned slightly forward. "You won’t mind if I give you a—"

A light tap landed on Rohit’s back.

He turned to find Sheetal standing behind him, her expression professionally neutral.

"Sir, Arya madam is waiting outside. She wants you to accompany her to the gaming company. She needs you for something technical."

Rohit’s brows furrowed slightly.

’Isn’t this great.’

Regardless of the reason, he could finally see the company that had originally belonged to the previous owner’s real parents.

He turned toward Riya to end the conversation.

"Sorry... I need to—"

Riya gave a faint knowing smile as she cut him off.

"It’s alright. I am amazed you got your technical skills intact despite losing your memories."

The jab hit Rohit hard as he realized he had overlooked an obvious flaw. Maybe flexing his skills too much would do more harm than good if he couldn’t justify it.

Riya took out a card from her purse and handed it to him.

"I am staying at this hotel for a whole week. So if you ever wish to jog your forgotten memories, come find me. Room number fourteen."

With that, she moved toward Raj’s office.

Rohit glanced at the hotel name. It was Hyatt again, but not the same one he was staying at. The location was North Delhi.

As he looked up, he saw her figure disappear into the cabin, and he decided to leave.

’At least I got something out of it.’

***

As Rohit stepped outside into the corridor near the reception, he saw Arya waiting patiently.

She noticed his presence and turned toward him. There was a faint smile on her face.

"Thank you," she said calmly. "For once, I wanted that bitch to remember her place. And the way you rejected her... that felt satisfying."

After a brief pause, she added, "Do you want to come to my office, or are you heading back?"

’So... it was a trick to pull me out,’ Rohit concluded internally.

He smiled lightly. "Of course. How can I reject my big sis offer?"

Arya nodded once. "Good. Keep that attitude and I might forgive you."

With that, the three of them left the building.