Where one world ends, another quietly begins.

Rain kept falling long after the storm inside Reyansh died.

His legs gave up hours ago, but he kept walking—
past the glittering city lights,
past the restaurants where he once dined with his family,
past the places where Mira once held his hand.

Every step felt like punishment.
Every breath felt borrowed.

By midnight, he collapsed on an empty pavement near Marine Drive, his clothes drenched, his heartbeat unsteady, his vision blurring at the edges.

He didn’t cry.
He couldn’t.

His tears had already been stolen—
by betrayal,
by loss,
by the family who celebrated by throwing him away.

Just when he thought darkness was finally going to consume him—

A familiar voice broke through:

“Rey?”

Reyansh’s head jerked up.

A figure ran toward him, umbrella in one hand, panic in his eyes.

Kabir Mehta.

The only friend he never had to earn
and the only person who didn’t disappear when life turned ugly.

Kabir knelt beside him, grabbing his face gently.

“Rey… what the hell happened to you?”
His voice cracked like he already feared the answer.

Reyansh tried to speak.
His throat burned.

“They threw me out.”

Kabir froze.

“Who?”
The word was a growl.

“My family.”

Kabir’s jaw clenched. Hard.

“And Mira?” he asked softly.

Reyansh laughed—
a hollow, broken laugh that sounded nothing like him.

“She was with Arjun.”

Kabir inhaled sharply, the fury in his eyes turning volcanic.

Without another word, he wrapped an arm around Reyansh, lifting him.

“Come on. You’re coming with me.”

Reyansh didn’t have the strength to argue.
Didn’t have the will to care.

Kabir wasn’t just a friend.
He was a lifeline.

Kabir’s Apartment — 1:20 AM

Warmth.

That was the first thing Rey felt as Kabir guided him inside, handing him a towel, a clean shirt, and a cup of hot ginger tea.

Rey wrapped his hands around the mug, trying to stop the trembling.

Kabir sat opposite him, eyes sharp with worry.

“Talk to me, Rey.”

Reyansh stared at the tea.

“I walked in on them… in my room.”

Kabir’s hand curled into a fist.

“And the family?”

“They said Mira was a better match for Arjun. That I was a disappointment.”
A painful smile touched his lips.
“They humiliated me and threw me out like garbage.”

Kabir slammed a hand on the couch arm.

“Bas. Enough.”

Rey looked up, startled.

Kabir leaned forward, voice steady but fierce:

“Listen to me. You’re not broken. They are.
They lost the best person in their lives—
their son,
their heir,
their genius.”

Kabir placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You may be on the streets tonight, Rey… but I promise you—this is temporary.”

Rey’s eyes warmed, not with tears, but with something else:

Hope.

Kabir continued, quieter now:

“You’re going to rise again.
From scratch.
With your own hands.
And I’ll stand beside you… till the world bows at your feet.”

For the first time that night, Reyansh let out a shaky breath.

Kabir wasn’t offering pity.
He was offering belief.

And belief was something Rey thought he’d lost forever.

Later That Night

Kabir forced him to lie down on the bed while he took the couch.

But Reyansh didn’t sleep.

He stared at the ceiling, Kabir’s words replaying in his mind.

Rise again.
World at your feet.
You’re not broken.

Somewhere, deep inside him—
past the wounds,
past the betrayal,
past the shattered heart—

a spark lit up.

A spark that would soon become a wildfire.

And the boy they threw out tonight…

Would returned as the king, they would kneel before.

Tonight, Reyansh lost everything.

But tomorrow?

Tomorrow, he would begin building his empire.

From the ashes.