"Maa! Maa! She was in the blast! Maa, Imlie was in the blast!", yelled Aryan into his phone.
He didn't realise when things got so bad. He didn't realise when he was helping her in helping Aditya Kumar Tripathi in leaving the site that he was leaving her behind. He didn't know that she wasn't following him.
He didn't know he was chancing a risk of losing her.
And now, now here he was, a man he hated, saved by him, and the woman he had begun caring about, lost in a blast. Here he was, with an out of it Aditya Kumar Tripathi lying on the ground, and an Imlie, who was in what state, only she knew.
He'd been stopped from jumping into the fire for the second time in his life. He now had two regrets in his life. He now had two people he couldn't save in his life.
He now had two people that he cared for, that he lost, all because he couldn't do anything.
And as the flames receded, he received his mother's call and he just couldn't control his tears. He just couldn't control his anguish. And he ended up pouring his heart out to her. He ended up being weak in front of people he was always strong for.
"Maa, I swear she was right behind me. Maa, she asked me to get Mr. Tripathi out of there, she told me not to worry, she told me she would follow, that she was right behind me. Maa, Oh My God, Maa. Maa, I can't lose Imlie too. Maa, I can't lose anyone else, specially not because of Mr. Tripathi again. Maa, I can't lose someone else I love!", Aryan confessed, not realising what he was saying, too lost in looking for Imlie after the fire was finally a bit under control.
He felt hope when he saw a room that wasn't completely charred, only to find it bare. He broke and sobbingly said, "Maa, I don't know what to do!"
And then he heard Imlie, he heard Imlie as she was coughing, and he followed the voice, all the way to the window, and looking out he saw Imlie there.
A flood of relief rushed through him.
She is alive.
She is alive!
He heard his mother's sigh over the phone, and realised he had said it aloud. He heard his mother's relieved sob along with his sister's firm voice, "Aru, quick get her to a medic. And get yourself under control, she is gonna need someone uninjured to take care of everything there. Pull yourself together. For her."
Aryan nodded, then realised his sister couldn't see him, and whispered an affirmative. He would have time to break down later. He would have time to analyse his current freak out later. Now, he would do what needed to be done.
He would deal with his feelings and his confession to his mother and his sister later.
But he was unaware that his mother and his sister weren't the only one to hear what he had confessed.