Virat knelt there a moment longer, his dark eyes searching her face—pale, still flushed from the adrenaline and the dizziness that hadn’t quite left her. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he lifted both hands and cupped her cheeks with surprising gentleness. His thumbs brushed the soft skin just beneath her eyes, wiping away the last invisible trace of tears she hadn’t shed.

“Aaram kar lo,” he murmured, voice low and gravelly, the kind of quiet that vibrated through her bones. “Phir thik lagega.”