Prologue
The rain fell relentlessly from the dark sky, washing the city in silver tears.
Aarya Sharma stood alone outside the massive glass building that carried the name Malhotra Group in shining gold letters. The cold wind whipped through her soaked hair, but she barely noticed. Her trembling fingers rested protectively over her stomach.
She was carrying his child.
And he didn't even remember her name.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
Five years ago, she had been the happiest woman alive.
Five years ago, she had married the man she loved.
Five years ago, Rishaan Malhotra had looked at her as though she was his entire world.
Now he looked through her as if she were a stranger.
Tears mixed with the rain on her cheeks as memories flooded her mind.
The scent of marigolds.
The warmth of sacred fire.
The trembling promise of forever.
The way his dark eyes had softened as he slid the wedding ring onto her finger.
"No matter what happens," he had whispered against her forehead, "I will always find my way back to you."
What a cruel joke fate had played.
Aarya closed her eyes.
She could still remember that morning as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.
The ancient temple hidden among the hills.
The rising sun painting the sky gold.
The priest chanting blessings while their hands remained tightly entwined.
They had been young.
Foolishly in love.
Determined to fight the entire world for each other.
The Malhotra family had never approved.
To them, she was simply an ordinary girl who had dared to fall in love with a billionaire heir.
But Rishaan had chosen her.
Again and again.
Until the accident changed everything.
One phone call.
One rainy night.
One moment that shattered her life forever.
The doctors had called it memory loss.
Aarya called it heartbreak.
Because when Rishaan opened his eyes in that hospital room, the man who had once loved her beyond reason had stared at her with complete confusion.
"Who are you?"
Three words.
Three simple words.
And her entire world had collapsed.
She had tried everything.
Photographs.
Letters.
Memories.
Promises.
Tears.
Nothing had worked.
Every day he looked at her like a stranger.
Every day his family filled his mind with lies.
Every day she lost a little more of the man she loved.
Until finally she was forced to walk away.
Alone.
Pregnant.
Broken.
Abandoned.
Aarya swallowed hard.
Those days were supposed to be behind her.
She had spent years rebuilding herself.
Years learning how to survive.
Years convincing herself that she no longer loved him.
Yet one look at him was enough to make her heart betray her.
The lobby doors opened.
Aarya's breath caught.
And there he was.
Rishaan Malhotra.
The man she had spent years trying to forget.
Tall.
Powerful.
Impossibly handsome.
Every bit the billionaire king the world admired.
The rain seemed to pause around him.
He walked toward a waiting car while several executives hurried after him.
Confident.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
Completely unaware that his wife stood only a few feet away.
Completely unaware that his son existed.
Aarav.
The little boy who had inherited his father's eyes.
The little boy who asked questions she could never answer.
"Where is my dad, Mommy?"
The memory made her chest ache.
Rishaan paused suddenly.
For a brief second, his gaze swept across the crowded street.
Toward her.
Their eyes met.
The world stopped.
Aarya's heartbeat thundered.
For one impossible moment, she thought he recognized her.
Thought he remembered.
Thought fate was finally being kind.
But then he frowned slightly.
As though trying to place a face he'd seen somewhere before.
And just like that, the moment vanished.
He climbed into the car.
The door closed.
The vehicle disappeared into the storm.
Leaving her standing alone once more.
Aarya released a shaky breath.
Perhaps some stories weren't meant to have happy endings.
Perhaps some promises were destined to be broken.
Perhaps first love wasn't enough to survive fate.
She looked down at the tiny ultrasound photograph she carried in her purse.
The photograph she had never shown him.
The photograph that changed everything.
A small smile touched her lips despite the pain.
No matter what happened, she would keep moving forward.
For herself.
For her child.
For the life she had built from the ruins of her broken heart.
She turned away from the building.
Away from the memories.
Away from the man who had forgotten her.
But fate wasn't finished with them yet.
Because high above the city, in a luxury penthouse office, Rishaan Malhotra stood by the window watching the rain.
And for reasons he couldn't explain, he couldn't stop thinking about the woman he had just seen.
The stranger whose eyes carried a sadness that felt strangely familiar.
A sudden pain exploded behind his temples.
Images flashed through his mind.
A temple.
Wedding bells.
A woman's laughter.
A ring sliding onto a finger.
Then darkness.
The vision vanished as quickly as it came.
Rishaan pressed a hand against his forehead.
Confused.
Restless.
Haunted.
Somewhere deep inside, a forgotten memory was beginning to wake.
And neither of them knew that their story was far from over.
It was only beginning.
