anyone see the cracks was dangerous. But when Priya Kapoor walked back into his life, all of that bravado faltered.

It had been months since they’d last seen each other. Their separation was a mess—words said in anger, accusations thrown like daggers, and a sense of betrayal neither of them could shake. Yet here she was, standing in the middle of the café, eyes locking with his as if no time had passed.

“Priya,” Ravi said, his voice low, uncertain.

“Ravi,” she replied, equally guarded.

For a moment, neither moved. It was Suki, of all people, who broke the silence, muttering something about not having time for soap opera standoffs in her café. The comment seemed to snap them both back to reality.

They sat down, awkward at first, sipping coffee and avoiding the elephant in the room. Priya’s return wasn’t just about nostalgia—it was about their son, Nugget. She wanted him to have stability, to know his parents could stand in the same room without it turning into a battlefield.

As the conversation unfolded, Ravi’s façade softened. He admitted he’d missed her—not just as Nugget’s mum, but as someone who once understood him better than anyone. Priya confessed that, despite everything, she’d never really stopped caring.

It wasn’t a full reconciliation, but it was a start. They agreed to spend more time together, to try and rebuild something—if not a romance, then at least a functioning family unit.

Word of their reunion spread quickly through Walford. Nugget was cautiously optimistic, though he wasn’t sure if this was a permanent fix or just a temporary ceasefire. Suki, however, was less than thrilled. She saw Priya as a complication, someone who might undermine Ravi’s focus just when he needed to be sharp.

But Suki wasn’t the only one with doubts.

From across the Square, Nish Panesar was quietly watching. The last time Ravi and Priya were together, they’d made choices that cost Nish money and influence. If they were about to team up again—romantically or otherwise—Nish intended to make sure it didn’t come at his expense.

Meanwhile, Priya had her own secrets. During her time away from Walford, she’d been involved in something she hadn’t told Ravi about—a situation that could easily spiral into danger if the wrong people found out. And those “wrong people” were closer than she realised.

The first real test of their reunion came just days later. Nugget invited them both to watch his football match, and for a while, it was perfect—laughing on the sidelines, cheering him on, almost like old times. But then Priya got a phone call. Her face changed instantly, colour draining from her cheeks.

She stepped away to answer, speaking in hushed tones. Ravi’s instincts kicked in—he knew trouble when he saw it. When she came back, she brushed it off as “just a friend,” but he didn’t believe her.

That night, Ravi confronted her outside the Vic.

“You think I can’t tell when you’re lying?” he demanded.

Priya avoided his eyes. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Priya, if you’re in trouble—”

“I said it’s nothing!” she snapped, walking away.

But Ravi wasn’t about to let it go.

The next day, Nish cornered him. “You really think people change, Ravi? You think Priya’s here because she loves you? Or maybe she’s running—from someone worse than you’ve ever dealt with.”

It was exactly the kind of poison Nish loved to plant, but Ravi couldn’t shake the feeling there was truth to it.

As the week went on, the cracks in Ravi and Priya’s tentative truce widened. They still shared moments of warmth—like when Priya cooked one of Ravi’s favourite dishes, or when he fixed her broken phone without being asked—but the shadow of whatever Priya was hiding loomed large.

The real bombshell dropped when a stranger showed up in the Square asking for Priya by name. The moment she saw him, her body tensed. Ravi noticed immediately.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

“No one you need to worry about,” she said quickly. But her eyes betrayed her fear.

The stranger left without incident, but it was clear to Ravi this was only the beginning. Priya’s return might have been about family, but now it looked like she’d brought a storm with her.

And Ravi, whether he liked it or not, was already caught in the middle.

Somewhere deep down, he knew this reunion wouldn’t be simple. But he hadn’t expected it to become a battle for survival—against enemies he didn’t even understand yet.

Walford might be about to witness the rekindling of a romance… or the start of a war.