(Ayesha's POV)

The room spun around her, colors blurring at the edges of her vision. Ayesha gripped the kitchen counter, breathing hard, her hands trembling as cold sweat gathered at her temples.

She had barely eaten in days. Every bite felt like a battle between her stomach and her nerves. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was even worse - constantly on edge, hiding this secret from Rudra was draining every ounce of strength she had left.

He cannot know. Not yet.

But her body had other plans.

Her fingers slipped from the counter, her knees buckling beneath her. The floor rushed up to meet her, and the last thing she saw before the world faded to black was Rudra, standing in the doorway, his sharp eyes widening in shock.

---

Rudra's POV

It happened so fast, Rudra barely had time to process it. One second she was standing, pale but stubborn, and the next-

"Ayesha!"

He caught her before her body hit the cold marble, his arms wrapping around her fragile frame. Her face was too pale, her breathing shallow, her skin burning under his touch.

Rage and panic warred inside him. This was his fault, wasn't it? She was pregnant, stressed, hiding everything-and he had been playing games, pushing her to the edge without realizing how fragile her body had become.

Damn it!

"Rathore!" Rudra's roar shook the walls, his voice sharp enough to make his men rush into the room instantly.

"Get the doctor. Now!"

He lifted her into his arms, carrying her back to their bedroom. For the first time in years, his hands shook. He laid her down gently, brushing her hair away from her damp forehead.

She looks so small like this. So breakable.

His fingers rested over her stomach, and that's when reality hit him like a sledgehammer. There was a life growing inside her - a piece of both of them. His child.

The child she was willing to hide, to protect at any cost - even if it meant enduring his hatred.

"Ayesha... why?" His whisper was broken, filled with something dangerously close to regret.

She stirred faintly, eyes fluttering open for a moment, her hand instinctively covering her stomach. That small, protective gesture shattered something inside Rudra.

Even unconscious, she protects our baby from me.

He clenched his jaw, the weight of guilt and unspoken love crushing him from the inside.

When the doctor arrived, Rudra stepped aside, but his dark gaze never left Ayesha.

This wasn't just about revenge anymore. This wasn't about the past either.

This was about saving her, from him, from the shadows chasing both of them - and maybe, just maybe, from the hate that had poisoned their love.

---

End of Chapter 20