Hotel Crescent Crown
The sharp click of high heels echoed through the grand lobby of Hotel Crescent Crown the moment Ruhi stepped inside. Her stride carried a strange blend of confidence and hidden tension. Without sparing a glance at her surroundings, she walked straight to the reception desk, removed her dark sunglasses, and placed her black card on the counter—without uttering a single word.
The receptionist, startled yet respectful, picked up the card and scanned it, his eyes scanning the screen for details. Then, looking up with a faint smile, he said,
"Welcome, Mrs. Shergill. You're—"
But before he could complete his sentence, Ruhi interrupted him coldly,
"I don't need the details. Just return the card."
He hesitated but handed it back quickly. The worry on his face was evident. The name Shergill carried weight—and every staff member in the hotel knew that if Mrs. Shergill was even slightly displeased, no one could shield them from Atharv Shergill's wrath.
Without saying another word, Ruhi headed straight towards the VIP suites. Using the number on the card, she unlocked the door and stepped in. The room was quiet, expansive, and luxurious… but there was no calm in her eyes.
She instructed the server to bring her coffee and then walked to the large glass window, taking a seat beside it. The city sparkled under the golden sunlight—but her gaze was drenched in shadows.
Her mind began wandering into those alleys of the past she'd been trying hard to avoid.
The hate… that now boiled fiercely within her, and the pain… that had been silently flowing through her veins—everything surged to the surface all at once.
She picked up the glass of water from the table. Her fingers trembled. Rage clenched her fist tight—
—and then came the sharp sound of breaking glass.
The glass shattered. Water spilled across the floor, and shards embedded into her skin.
"Atharv!" she screamed, her voice filled with fury.
Yes, he was the reason behind her rage.
Atharv Shergill. Her husband.
"You were never fair to me, Atharv," she said, her voice trembling, but her eyes burning with fire.
"I might have forgiven what you did to me once… maybe even forgotten it someday. But what you did to Reyanshi… How am I supposed to forgive that? How do I forget that? You broke my world. You stole the smile from my daughter's face."
She kept talking to herself, her own voice echoing back in the quiet room. Blood dripped from her wounded hand onto the floor, but she didn't care.
"I swear to you, Atharv… I will make you cry tears of blood."
Just then, a knock broke the silence. The waiter entered with her coffee tray but froze in horror the moment he saw her bloodied hand.
"Ma'am! Your hand—! Please sit, I'll get the first-aid kit right away!"
Ruhi said nothing. She just stared at him in silence, her gaze sharp and distant.
The waiter knew—if anything happened to Mrs. Shergill in their hotel, the entire staff would be in deep trouble.
He returned quickly with the kit and began tending to her hand gently. Ruhi remained still, her eyes fixed outside the window… as though her body was here, but her soul had wandered somewhere far.
The coffee sat untouched on the table. Once the waiter left, she finally picked up the cup and took a sip.
And with that… the doors of the past flung open again.
It was about seven years ago…
Ruhi—a small-town girl, full of dreams, had come to study at the city's most prestigious college.
She belonged to a middle-class family. In her village, only her grandfather and their loyal old butler remained. A girl raised in simplicity, with eyes full of wonder for the world beyond.
On her very first day in college, some seniors cornered her under the guise of ragging. But then, like a hero from some film, Atharv had stepped in. His voice, his presence—it was like something out of a fairytale.
"Excuse me, you guys sure love troubling girls, don't you? Guess you're not afraid of getting expelled at all?" he had said sharply. The moment he spoke, those boys vanished as if the devil himself had arrived.
And from that moment… Ruhi's life had begun to change.
Whether it was the canteen or the library, it felt like Atharv was always around. There was something magnetic about him. Slowly, Ruhi's heart began drifting toward him.
Then one day, at the most beautiful spot in college, in front of everyone, Atharv had proposed to her.
"Ruhi, I love you. I don't know how or when, but I've fallen for you deeply. Everything feels empty without you now. You're like the raindrop that brings life to my dry soul. I don't want to run from this feeling anymore."
Ruhi had said yes.
And thus… their story had begun. Like a Cinderella fairytale. Where the rich prince falls in love with the poor girl.
But now, staring out that window, Ruhi thought bitterly—
"Fairytales don't exist in real life. There are no Cinderellas here… and even if there are, who guarantees their happy ending?"
She reflected on the past seven years—the perfect family, her, Atharv, and their daughter Reyanshi.
And now… a broken heart, broken trust, and a broken Ruhi.
No. She wasn't broken anymore. She had become like shattered glass—burnt and sharp. Anyone who dared to touch her now… would bleed.
But what did Atharv do that made Ruhi hate him so deeply?
Will Ruhi ever make him pay for what he did?
To find out what happens next, keep reading Love Like That…