His Ruthless Vow

Chapter 22 — The Invitation

The envelope arrived without a sender’s name.

Cream paper. Heavy. Expensive. The kind that didn’t bend easily and didn’t belong in ordinary hands.

Aarav noticed it the second he stepped into his office at Khurana Global Holdings. It lay at the center of his desk like a challenge, placed too precisely to be an accident.

He hadn’t been in this room for three days.

Three days since he had walked away from Meera in that hospital corridor.

Three days since her silence had started echoing louder than her voice ever did.

He picked it up.

No address. No logo. Only his name written in black ink.

Aarav Khurana.

His jaw tightened.

Inside was a single card.

You are invited to the Charity Masquerade Gala

Tonight — 8 PM

The Grand Sapphire Hall, The Leela Palace Mumbai

And beneath it, in handwriting he knew too well:

You’ll want to be there.

Aarav’s fingers froze.

He hadn’t seen that handwriting in years.

Not since the night everything fell apart.

Not since the name he had buried so deep in his past had stopped existing for him.

Kabir Malhotra.

He said the name in his head like a curse.

His former best friend.

His former partner.

The man who had vanished the night Aarav’s father died.

The man everyone believed had run away with company secrets.

The man Aarav had sworn never to see again.

And yet—

Tonight, Kabir was back.

And he wanted Aarav to come.

Meera stood in front of the mirror, staring at the dress she didn’t remember buying.

Deep wine red. Silk. Backless.

It had been delivered to her apartment an hour ago with a note:

Wear this tonight. Trust me.

— Riya

She should have refused.

She should have thrown it away.

She should have ignored the ache in her chest that still carried Aarav’s absence like an open wound.

But she didn’t.

Because Riya never did anything without reason.

And because part of Meera wanted a distraction from the memories that refused to leave her alone.

She slipped into the dress.

And for the first time in days, she didn’t look like a woman trying to survive heartbreak.

She looked like a woman walking into destiny.

The Grand Sapphire Hall glittered like a sea of diamonds.

Masks. Music. Velvet curtains. Chandeliers dripping gold light.

Meera felt out of place the moment she entered.

Then she saw Riya waving at her from across the room.

But before Meera could reach her—

She felt it.

That familiar shift in the air.

That silent awareness her body had learned before her mind.

She turned.

And there he was.

Aarav.

Black suit. Black mask. Eyes darker than the night itself.

He was staring at her like he had just seen a ghost.

Or a miracle.

Neither of them moved.

The crowd blurred into nothing.

Just two people who had loved too deeply and broken too violently.

Aarav took a step toward her.

Then stopped.

Because someone else stepped between them.

A man.

Tall. Confident. Wearing a silver mask.

He turned slightly toward Aarav.

And even through the disguise, Aarav recognized him instantly.

Kabir.

Alive. Smiling.

Standing next to Meera.

As if he belonged there.

As if he knew her.

As if this entire night had been set like a trap.

Kabir’s voice was smooth when he spoke.

“Hello, Aarav.”

Meera looked between them, confused.

“You two know each other?”

Aarav didn’t answer.

His eyes were locked on Kabir with a fury Meera had never seen before.

Kabir smiled wider.

“Oh, Meera,” he said gently, “Aarav and I go way back. We used to share everything.”

A pause.

Then Kabir added softly—

“Looks like we still do.”

Aarav’s fist clenched.

Meera felt the tension spike, sharp and dangerous.

“What is going on?” she asked.

Kabir tilted his head. “You haven’t told her?”

Aarav stepped forward. “Don’t.”

But Kabir continued anyway.

“Did he tell you that the night his father died… someone inside the company betrayed him?”

Meera frowned. “What?”

Kabir’s eyes never left Aarav.

“They said it was me.”

The music in the hall felt suddenly too loud.

Too suffocating.

Meera’s heart started pounding.

“They framed me,” Kabir said calmly. “And Aarav let them.”

Aarav’s voice was ice. “You disappeared.”

Kabir laughed softly. “Because your uncle made sure I had to.”

Meera’s breath caught.

Uncle?

Kabir leaned closer.

“The real traitor was never me, Meera.”

He looked straight at Aarav.

“It was someone in his own family.”

And for the first time since she had known him—

Meera saw Aarav’s composure crack.

Just slightly.

Just enough.

Kabir slipped something into Meera’s hand.

A pen drive.

“Proof,” he said. “Everything you need to know about the Khurana empire.”

Aarav grabbed her wrist. “Don’t.”

But Meera pulled her hand back.

Her eyes were full of confusion, shock, and something else—

Doubt.

She looked at Aarav.

“Is this true?”

He didn’t answer.

And his silence said more than words ever could.

Kabir stepped back into the crowd.

“Enjoy the night,” he said smoothly. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

And he disappeared.

Leaving Aarav and Meera standing in the middle of a glittering hall—

With a truth neither of them was ready for.

Meera looked at the pen drive.

Then at Aarav.

Her voice trembled.

“Tell me this is a lie.”

Aarav swallowed hard.

But the words wouldn’t come.

Because for the first time—

He wasn’t sure anymore.