Episode 5: “Don’t Leave Me”

Next Morning…

The morning felt different.

Not peaceful.

Not heavy either.

Just… filled with questions.

She sat up, pressing her fingers lightly to her forehead.

Why is everything getting so complicated…?

But there were no answers.

Only questions.

A little while later, she got ready and left for the office.

The world outside looked normal again.

People walking. Traffic moving.

As if nothing had changed.

When she entered the office, she adjusted her bag and walked in.

And then—

she saw him.

Aryan.

He was standing near the entrance, checking something on his phone.

As if he had just arrived.

Ridha paused for a second.

Then composed herself and walked forward.

“Good morning, sir,” she said politely.

Aryan looked up.

For a moment, he just looked at her.

Then a faint smile appeared on his face.

“You can call me Aryan,” he said calmly.

“Instead of sir.”

Ridha blinked slightly.

A little surprised.

His voice is very calm.

She looked away quickly.

“…Okay,” she said quietly.

Then added, almost reluctantly—

“Good morning… Aryan.”

For a brief second, neither of them said anything.

But the air between them felt different.

Lighter.

Ridha quickly moved past him and went to her desk.

A little smile on Aryan's face.

She sat down, opened her laptop, and started working.

Ridha stepped into the lift quietly.

Just as the doors were about to close—

Aryan entered too.

A brief silence.

Just the soft hum of the lift moving upward.

Ridha stood still, her eyes on the numbers changing.

Aryan glanced at her once… then looked away.

And then—

The lift suddenly stopped.

The lights flickered slightly.

Everything went still.

Ridha’s breath hitched.

Her fingers tightened around her bag.

“What… what happened?” she whispered.

Aryan looked at the panel.

“Relax. Probably a technical issue,” he said calmly.

But Ridha wasn’t listening.

Her breathing started getting faster.

Her eyes moved around the small, closed space.

Walls.

No escape.

No movement.

And then—

her past hit her

Darkness.

A closed space.

A voice she couldn’t fully hear.

A hand grabbing her.

“N..no...no..” she gasped softly.

Her body started trembling.

“Ridha,” Aryan called her, noticing the sudden change. “Hey… look at me.”

But she couldn’t.

She wasn’t fully in the present anymore.

Her breathing became uneven.

Tears formed in her eyes without her realizing.

“Don’t.... please…” she said softly, shaking her head.

Aryan stepped closer, careful, slow.

“Hey… look at me,” he said gently.

But she can't hear anything that time.

Her fear had taken over.

Without thinking—

she moved forward and held onto him.

Tightly.

Like she was holding onto the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Don’t leave me…” her voice broke.

“Please… don’t leave me…”

Aryan froze for a second.

Surprised.

But then—

his expression softened completely.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m here,” he said quietly near her ear.

“Nothing will happen to you.”

Her face pressed against his chest, trying to hide from something only she could see.

“I’m with you,” he said again, softer this time.

He hugged her tightly.

Her heartbeat was racing wildly.

He could feel it.

Even through the small distance between them.

And his own heartbeat…

was no longer steady either.

The lift remained still.

But inside that silence—

everything felt louder.

Her breath.

His breath.

Her grip tightening around him.

His arms holding her just a little firmer.

“Just breathe…” he said softly near her ear.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment—

time slowed again.

Ridha’s head rested lightly against his chest.

And for the first time since the panic started—

her breathing began to slow.

But her grip didn’t loosen.

And neither did his.

Then suddenly—

Her breathing slowly weakened.

Her body lost strength.

Darkness comes in front of her eyes.

And before Aryan could react—

she fainted in his arms.

“Ridha—!”

The lift lights flickered again.

Moments later, the system restarted.

The lift moved.

And the doors opened.

Without wasting a second, Aryan lifted her into his arms.

He carried her out quickly.

Her head rested against him.

Outside, he headed straight for his car.

His face serious now.

Focused.

Minutes later—

he reached the hospital.

At the hospital—

he didn’t leave her side.

Not even for a moment.

Even as she lay unconscious, he stayed there.

Watching.

Waiting.

And for the first time—

his expression wasn’t calm.

It was something else.

Something deeper.

Concern.

And something he didn’t fully understand yet.

And somewhere inside him—

a thought stayed quietly:

Why does it feel like… I can’t leave her alone?

Why did it feel like losing her—even for a moment—was not something he could bear?

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