The Weight of Unspoken Grief

Sarika, lost in her thoughts, murmured to herself, "What has happened to him all of a sudden? He has said such things before, but he never came to talk like this. Then why did he come now? Should I give him a chance? No, no! I shouldn't give him a chance because I don't want my heart to break again like it did before! And now, I don't have the strength to mend my broken heart over and over again." Saying this, she took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and focused on her work again.

Meanwhile, Yamini Ji knocked on Vishakha's room door. When Vishakha opened the door, she didn't even look at her and said, "Look, I'm not in the mood to talk right now… so it would be better if we don’t discuss anything at the moment, or else we might end up having a conflict. And that's exactly what Bhabhi wants, because she herself doesn't get along with you, you don’t love her, but you do love me. That’s what makes her jealous of me. Just see how much venom she has poured into Bhaiya's mind against me!"

Hearing her words, Yamini Ji sighed deeply, took her hand, led her inside, and made her sit on the bed before sitting beside her. In a calm tone, she explained, "Beta, I know this is all Sarika’s doing, but you shouldn’t have spoken to Adri like that. Did you see how angry he got? You know, Sarika wants this—she wants everyone in this house to be distanced from Adri, she wants conflicts between us. But we must not let this happen. And for that, we need to stay silent—not in front of Sarika, but in front of Adri. That way, he will eventually realize how wrong Sarika is, and she won’t be able to do anything even if she tries… do you understand?"

Vishakha, processing her words, nodded and said, "Yes, sorry, Mummy Ji. I shouldn’t have spoken that way… And honestly, I didn’t even want to say anything against you, but after hearing Bhaiya, I got so angry thinking about how cunning Bhabhi is. She has poisoned Bhaiya’s mind against me, and that’s why he was speaking to me like that…" She sighed. "I’m sorry, Mummy Ji, I really don’t hold any bad feelings against you."

Yamini Ji smiled slightly, gently patting her cheek. "I know, beta. It’s okay. You’re just a child, and children make mistakes… Just be careful when speaking in front of Adri. Whatever you say, make sure it doesn't make him feel like he’s in the wrong and that Sarika is the victim. Because in reality, we are the victims, aren’t we? We need to make him see that Sarika is not the victim here—we are. And the day he realizes this, you’ll see, he will come to our side, and then Sarika won’t be able to do anything!"

Listening to her, Vishakha fell into deep thought, plotting something in her mind.

Meanwhile, after finishing her work, Sarika went to the children's room and started playing Ludo with them. At that moment, Adrijay arrived and saw her laughing and smiling with the children. He stood near the door, gazing at her lovingly.

A while later, Tanishq noticed him and excitedly ran up to him, saying, "Papa, come on, let’s play Ludo! We’re all playing! You should be in Bhaiya’s team because he’s alone!"

Adrijay smiled, picked him up in his arms, and walked inside, sitting down in front of Adhik. Tanishq slid off his lap and sat opposite Sarika, and they all started the second round of the game.

Tanishq rolled the dice first, but when he didn’t get a six, he pouted. Then Adrijay rolled the dice and got a six, making Tanishq excitedly encourage Sarika, "Mumma, you have to get a six too! We have to win this game!"

Sarika smiled slightly at him and took her turn, but when she rolled a five, Tanishq looked disappointed. Sarika gently consoled him, "It’s okay, Tanu. The game isn’t over yet. We will win, you’ll see."

Tanishq nodded and eagerly waited for Adhik’s turn. When Adhik rolled a four, Tanishq burst into laughter and teasingly rolled again. This time, he finally got a six and happily continued playing.

The game went on for a long time. Finally, when Tanishq saw that he and Sarika were about to lose, he deliberately messed up the game and said, "I’m not enjoying this anymore. I’m bored."

Adhik, who was well aware of his mischief, glared at him. "Bored, or were you losing? That’s why you messed up the game!"

Tanishq pouted. "Well, you and Papa were cheating! Of course, you both were winning! Mumma and I were playing sincerely! We are not cheaters like you!"

Hearing this, Adrijay narrowed his eyes at him. "Who saw us cheating? We were playing sincerely too. We didn’t cheat. Just admit that you couldn’t handle losing!"

Tanishq, furious, turned to Sarika and complained, "Mumma, look at what Papa is saying! Tell him he was cheating!"

Adrijay raised an eyebrow at Sarika, waiting for her response. But Sarika ignored him and calmly explained to Tanishq, "Tanu, beta, we don’t say such things. And neither Papa nor Adhu cheated… Alright, enough playing now. It’s time for dinner, and then you need to sleep. Come on!" She picked him up and turned to Adhik. "Adhu, you should come too. You have school tomorrow, so you need to wake up early."

Adhik nodded and followed her. Adrijay watched them leave, then murmured to himself, "Your anger is justified, Sarika. But it is my responsibility to erase this distance between us." Sighing deeply, he walked out.

At the dining area, everyone was having dinner when Adrijay sat beside Tanishq.

Yamini Ji reminded him, "Adri, tomorrow is the puja, so you need to wake up early."

Without looking at her, Adrijay served himself food and replied, "I’ll wake up early, Maa but you should tell others in this house to wake up early too and do some work, since it’s a puja." His words were directed at Vishakha, who understood this well and glanced at Yamini Ji, who signaled her to stay quiet.

Yamini Ji then told Adrijay, "Adri, it would be better if you didn’t taunt Vishakha like this. She is the younger daughter-in-law of this house."

Adrijay remained silent for a moment, then looked at Sarika and said, "Sarika, how many times have I told you to eat with everyone? Why don’t you listen? Come, sit and eat."

Tanishq chimed in, "Yes, Mumma! Sit and eat. I can eat by myself now. I’m a big boy!"

Sarika smiled faintly, stroked his cheek, and sat beside Adrijay, silently eating her food. Yamini Ji, watching them, felt displeased.

Meanwhile, Vishakha fumed internally. "Bhabhi is getting too much attention! And Bhaiya is completely on her side. If Mummy Ji starts siding with Bhaiya, then I’m doomed. I don’t even know much housework! No, I can’t take that risk. I have to keep Mummy Ji on my side at any cost."

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice Devansh staring at her. He gently placed his hand on hers. "Vishu, why aren’t you eating? Are you okay?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she quickly replied, "Oh, yes! I was just about to eat."

Meanwhile, Devansh turned to Sarika with a smile. "Bhabhi, can you make sabudana kheer for me tomorrow? My fast starts, and I’m craving it."

Sarika nodded. "Sure, I’ll make it. Anything else?"

Devansh shook his head. Vishakha glares at him angrily because she didn’t like the way Devansh spoke to Sarika so gently. She wanted him to order Sarika, not request her. Frustrated, she hastily finishes her dinner and storms off to her room.

After finishing his dinner, Devansh places his plate in the sink and heads to their room, only to find Vishakha sitting on the bed, glaring at him. She angrily asks, “Why did you request Bhabhi? You should have ordered her instead of speaking to her like that. Do you even know how I felt at that moment?”

Devansh tries to control his anger, but as Vishakha keeps yelling, he finally loses his patience and snaps, “And do you know how I feel when you keep ordering Bhabhi around? She is our sister-in-law, elder to both of us. We should respect her, but all you do is command her. Do you seriously never see your own mistakes? Or do you deliberately ignore them? If it's the latter, then I can only say this—change before it’s too late. Otherwise, the same person you mistreat today, the one you keep ordering around, might be the one you need tomorrow. And if she’s not there when you finally realize her worth, you won’t just regret your actions—you’ll have lost her forever. Remember my words.”

Saying this, he storms out of the room in anger.

Vishakha, seething with rage, grabs a pillow and throws it toward the door, screaming, “That day will never come! I hate that woman, and I will never accept her as my own!” Furious, she gets up and walks out onto the balcony.

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Meanwhile, after finishing her dinner, Sarika puts the children to bed. Then she heads to the kitchen, washes all the dishes, cleans up, turns off the lights, locks the main gate, and finally goes upstairs to her room. Finding Adrijay awake, she ignores him, grabs her clothes from the cupboard, and heads straight to the washroom.

A while later, she comes out, changed, and lies down in her usual place, closing her eyes.

Adrijay, who had been watching her all this time, turns toward her, resting his head on his hand, gazing at her with deep affection.

Sarika, unable to endure the intensity of his stare, is about to turn away when Adrijay suddenly grabs her hand and pulls her toward him. Startled, she opens her eyes wide and whispers, “I… I need to sleep. Please, let me sleep tonight. I have to wake up early tomorrow… I can’t be close to you today…” She trails off, lowering her gaze, nervously waiting for his reaction.

Understanding the unsaid words and seeing the fear in her eyes, a pang of guilt stabs Adrijay’s heart. He knows this fear exists because of him. Shame washes over him, but sensing the situation, he gently pulls her into his arms, stroking her head, and says softly, “Sleep. I won’t come close to you tonight. I just want to hold you like this… Good night.”

Sarika looks up at him for a few moments, then slowly rests her head against his chest, closing her eyes.

For the first time, Adrijay holds her in his arms while she sleeps. But as Sarika lies there, a painful thought crosses her mind—when she had needed him the most, he had never been there for her. The weight of that memory makes her eyes well up, and silent tears begin to flow.

Feeling her tears against his chest, Adrijay gently pulls back, wiping them away. “I’m sorry,” he says, his voice heavy with regret. “I know what you’re thinking, Sarika, but—”

Before he can finish, Sarika moves away, looking at him with tear-filled eyes and whispers, “No, you don’t. You don’t know what I’m thinking. You don’t know anything.”

Her voice trembles as she continues, “Right now, I’m thinking about the moment I needed you the most. The moment I lost my child. You weren’t there, ji. You weren’t there to share my pain… You weren’t with me!”

Saying this, she turns away, curling into herself, sobbing quietly.

Adrijay freezes in place, her words hitting him like a storm. After so many years, she had finally spoken about it. Once again, his heart drowns in the memories of their lost child, and tears spill from his eyes.

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Sorry for the late update. But I was really busy with my studies.

Well tell me how was the chapter?

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