Early morning.

Gauri woke up before sunrise.

She freshened up quietly and stepped outside her small room.

Kishori was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

"Maa, I won't eat breakfast today."

Kishori paused.

"Beta... are you still upset about yesterday?"

Gauri avoided her eyes.

"No, Maa. I just... need some time. I'll talk to you in the evening."

Before Kishori could respond, Gauri picked up her bag.

"I'll be waiting for you, SONA!" her mother called out loudly.

Gauri smiled faintly.

Sometimes her mother acted like a child.

And Gauri loved pampering her.

Because they only had each other.

She decided—

She would apologize properly in the evening.

She didn't know evening would change everything.

Meanwhile—

Hriday was getting ready for Chandigarh.

Today was his cousin's wedding.

His suitcase was already in the car.

He stood in front of the mirror wearing a navy-blue three-piece suit.

Sharp.

Confident.

Impossibly composed.

He adjusted his cufflinks and smirked slightly.

Perfect.

He came downstairs for breakfast.

But instead of Gauri—

Another maid was serving him.

He frowned.

"Where is Gauri?"

"Sir... Gauri went to hospital. She was very tense."

He stopped mid-sip.

"Hospital? Why?"

"I don't know, sir. She was in a hurry."

He nodded slowly.

But something didn't sit right.

After breakfast, he tried calling her.

No response.

His father called to confirm his flight.

"I'm heading to the airport," Hriday replied.

But even at the airport lounge—

He couldn't focus.

Then his phone rang.

Gauri.

He picked up immediately.

"H-hello, sir..."

Her voice was shaking.

"Yes, Gauri."

"Sir... can you lend me some money? I promise I'll return it. I just... urgently need it."

"How much?"

"...Three lakhs."

He didn't hesitate.

"I'm sending it. Where are you?"

"At the hospital."

"Are you okay?"

"N-no... yes... my mother... there was an accident. I don't know what to do..."

She broke down.

Hriday was already standing.

"Send me the address. I'm coming."

He didn't think about the wedding.

He didn't think about the flight.

He just walked out of the airport.

Hospital corridor.

Gauri sat outside the doctor's chamber.

Her legs trembling.

Her hands cold.

Her world shrinking.

"Gauri."

She looked up.

Hriday.

Standing there.

"Sir...?"

He sat beside her.

"How is your mother?"

"They've taken her for observation."

He nodded and stepped aside to make a call.

"Mr. Bakshi. Hriday Singh Shekhawat speaking. I need an emergency bed prepared."

The tone on the other side changed instantly.

"Yes, sir."

Hriday returned.

Just then a doctor approached.

"Kishori Podder's family?"

"I'm her daughter."

"We'll prepare for operation. Deposit the amount immediately."

Hriday stepped forward.

"Doctor, we'll shift the patient to another hospital. Start preparations."

The doctor warned, "She has already lost a lot of blood. Shifting is risky."

Gauri panicked.

"No! We're not shifting anywhere. Please operate here. I'll arrange the money."

The doctor nodded and left.

Hriday turned to her.

"This isn't a well-equipped hospital. I can take aunty to the best facility in Kolkata."

Gauri looked at him through tears.

"Sir... please go. You've already helped me. My mind isn't working. My mother is on a death bed... please... leave me alone."

He stood still.

Not knowing how to comfort someone who was drowning.

He remembered his grandmother's death.

The way he had cried.

The helplessness.

He saw that same fear in Gauri.

Suddenly—

Attendants began moving Kishori's stretcher.

"Where are you taking my mother?!" Gauri shouted.

They rushed toward the lift.

She followed.

Hriday followed too.

Inside the lift—

"We're shifting her. Orders from sir," one attendant said.

"Who ordered? I'm her daughter!"

Hriday sighed.

"Gauri. Let them do their work. I promise you... she'll be okay."

She didn't reply.

She only stared at her mother's pale face. The oxygen mask. The saline line.

Silently praying.

City's best hospital.

Outside the operation theatre.

Hriday called again.

"We're here. Where is your staff? A patient is fighting for her life."

"Sorry sir, emergency case—"

"If anything goes wrong, Mr. Bakshi, remember my name."

The line went silent.

Gauri stood in front of a small temple in the corridor.

"Bhagwan... please save my Maa. Without her I have no one in this world."

Her voice cracked.

Hriday stood beside her quietly.

"I don't know how to pray," he murmured under his breath. "But she'll be fine."

A team of doctors arrived with Mr. Bakshi.

"Don't worry," they assured. "She'll be fine. We're starting the operation."

They wheeled Kishori inside.

The doors closed.

Silence.

Mr. Bakshi tried to smile nervously.

"Sir, please wait in our private lounge."

"No. We'll wait here."

His tone left no room for argument.

Mr. Bakshi retreated quickly.

Now it was just them.

Two people.

No contract.

No employer-employee boundary.

Just fear.

And faith.

For the first time—

Hriday wasn't thinking like a businessman.

He was thinking like someone who couldn't bear to see her break.

And Gauri—

Didn't realize yet.

That the man she was trying to push away...

Had already chosen not to leave.