chapter 30

Akansha licked her lower lip slightly and said,"He's my son. I raised him, fed him, loved him the best I could... but the woman who gave him birth? She's out there, living in luxury as if she never broke a home. And my husband?"She let out a humorless chuckle, bitter and hollow."My husband... still meets her."Pari's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. Now, she understood why Vikrant always wore that restrained, cold expression around his father, Angad Agnihotri. That distant stiffness, that barely concealed bitterness, it all made sense now.Akansha shook her head, as if brushing away a memory that refused to fade."That doesn't matter anymore," she murmured, then paused, her voice trembling, "but..."She exhaled deeply, her shoulders sagging beneath invisible weight."Vikrant grew up watching his mother live under the same roof as her pain. He never forgave his father, Pari. And somewhere along the line... he never forgave Ranvijay either."Pari sat in stunned silence, unsure what to say, her chest heavy with the gravity of a truth far more tangled than she had imagined.Akansha's eyes shimmered again as the image of her youngest son rose before her."But what is a child's fault in this?" she whispered. "Ranvijay never asked to be born in betrayal. That woman and Angad destroyed the lives of three people. And now Angad goes to meet his daughter... the one he had with her."She wiped her tears, her hand trembling."Ranvijay knows nothing. For him, we are his only family. And Angad... even though he deserves nothing, I let him stay close to Ranvijay. Because I don't want him to know secrets which should be hidden from him."Her voice cracked but she continued anyway."Vikrant could never see his father the same again. Hatred grew in him with each passing year. He begged me..begged me to leave. To divorce him. But I couldn't. I was trapped, Pari. Angad manipulated me with false promises. And I... like a fool, accepted him again."She looked away, her jaw clenched with quiet shame."Until I found out about his daughter. That woman never abandoned her. No, she kept her. Raised her. Trained her. All to use her someday for her own name and fame."Akansha turned to Pari, her voice almost a whisper."She must be around your age now."Pari could only blink, her mind spiraling with thoughts. A half-sister. A betrayal that never ended. And a family stitched together with threads of silence, secrets... and a love too scarred to heal easily.Akansha leaned back slightly, her fingers nervously twisting the edge of her dupatta. Her eyes stared into nothing, far beyond the walls of the house that held too many memories."Ranvijay... he was just a baby when I first held him. He had no idea the world he was born into. He cried for me, called me Maa before he could even walk. And what was I supposed to do, Pari? Hate him? Abandon him? How could I?" Her voice broke, thick with emotion.Pari's heart ached as she listened, silently tracing every crack in Akansha's voice." I gave him everything I could," she continued, "and still, sometimes... sometimes I wonder if I was enough. Because no matter how much I love him, the blood in his veins still belongs to them, to that woman and to Angad."Her voice turned bitter, quiet and sharp." I hate her. Not because she stole my husband, no, that I could've survived. I hate her because she knew. She knew he was married. She knew he had a family. She still let him crawl into her life like a snake, and then... she used that sin to anchor herself in his world."Her lips trembled with suppressed fury, the years of silence finally spilling."And Angad?" Her laugh was dry. "He had the audacity to look me in the eyes every day, pretending to be a husband, while keeping a whole other life hidden. Even now, he hides it. Even now, he visits her, probably brings gifts, comfort, maybe even laughter."She looked at Pari with hollow eyes."Do you know what kind of man lets his wife sit in a corner with her pain while he builds another family outside?"Pari swallowed, words stuck in her throat. She had no answer." I've tolerated it enough," Akansha said, almost in a whisper. "I've stayed quiet for Vikrant, for Ranvijay, for the house, the name, the image. But Pari, I swear to you, when I die..."She paused, her voice barely audible but fierce."...I want my sons to light my pyre. Not my husband. I don't want his hands anywhere near the last fire I burn in. He lit too many things in my life already."Pari's eyes welled up, her respect for the woman in front of her deepening beyond words. There sat a mother, a wife, a woman who had endured betrayal with grace but never stopped burning from within.Pari's eyes shimmered as she slowly reached out and wrapped her arms around Akansha. The older woman stiffened for a moment, perhaps unused to comfort but then melted into the embrace, resting her cheek against Pari's shoulder."I didn't know..." Pari whispered, voice thick with emotion. "You've endured so much, Maa."Akansha smiled faintly, but it was the kind of smile that held no joy, only memories.Akansha pulled back gently.Pari blinked rapidly to stop her tears.Akansha sighed, her gaze distant again. "It's been twenty-four years, Pari. Twenty-four years of cold silences between two brothers who should've been each other's shadows. Twenty-four years of guilt and resentment clashing under the same roof."She paused, then held Pari's hand tightly. " You have a way with Vikrant. He listens to you even when he pretends not to. Please... try. Try to convince him. Not for me, but for brothers."Her voice cracked. "He deserves his brother. He deserves a family that doesn't keep him at arm's length for something he never even chose."Pari nodded slowly, her heart thudding with the weight of responsibility. "I will talk to him," she promised softly. "I don't know if I can change everything... but I'll try."Akansha closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, like a burden had slightly lifted. "That's all I ask."Pari walked quietly up the stairs, her steps light but her heart heavy with the echoes of Akansha's words.As she opened the door to their bedroom and stepped in, the familiar scent of Vikrant's cologne greeted her, comforting yet now tinged with something new... sorrow, perhaps. She closed the door gently behind her and leaned against it, her thoughts spiraling.The man who saved her... the man who gave her back her voice, her life, her freedom,She swallowed hard.He was fighting his own demons all along.Pari moved to the window and pulled the curtain aside. The city lights shimmered in the distance, just like the glint of pain she'd seen hidden behind Vikrant's usual stoic eyes. She thought of how calm and controlled he always appeared, how he carried himself like a man who feared nothing and needed no one.But now she knew better.She recalled the way his jaw tensed when he looked at his father. How, he suffers to find a place in his own family.And the way he looked at Ranvijay, not with hate, not really but with the kind of pain that only came from betrayal left to fester.Pari placed a hand over her heart. All this time... I thought he was the one holding the reins. But maybe... he's just holding himself together.He saved her from a cage, but he's still locked in one of his own.And for the first time, Pari didn't just want to love him, she wanted to heal him.He was just a boy when his world fell apart, she thought, a lump rising in her throat. A boy forced to become a man too soon. Forced to swallow bitterness and anger every day, while still being expected to smile, to obey, to succeed.She clenched her fingers around the edge of the window.And yet... he never crumbled. He carried the weight of his mother's pain, the guilt of his father's betrayal, and the unfair burden of presenting a brother who never even asked to exist.Her heart twisted painfully.How does a man like that learn to love? To trust?The answer hit her in a rush of warmth.He didn't. Not until her.She blinked away the sudden tears.Pari straightened up, her gaze steady.She sighed softly and chose to wait for him. She sat on the bed and to kill time, she grabbed her notes even if she had no strength to memorize what she learnt today.Still, she tried.9:00 PM.10:00 PM11:00 PM.Pari snapped her eyes open and looked around. Her notebook was lazily resting on her lap. Oh, she had fallen asleep in the sitting position while waiting for him. She put the notebook on the nightstand and checked the time.She frowned and wore her slippers before going out of the bedroom."Vikrant?" she called softly, peeking into the study. Empty. The balcony? vacant. The terrace? locked. Her worry grew with every door she opened.Finally, she reached the last room at the end of the hallway. The one rarely touched by him. Ranvijay's bedroom.She hesitated, her fingers curling around the doorframe, heart thudding oddly in her chest. The door was ajar. She pushed it gently.The sight inside made her still.Vikrant sat on the floor, his back leaning against the side of the bed. His head tilted back slightly, resting against the edge of the mattress.One hand gripped an almost-empty bottle of liquor, the other clutched a photo frame — an old one, slightly dusted, of him and Ranvijay from their teen years. Ranvijay smiling. And him? Glaring at the camera like a typical Vikrant.The light from the small bedside lamp cast a soft amber glow over his features, revealing the exhaustion carved into his face. His eyes were red, not from sleep, but from something far heavier, maybe regret, anger... and pain.Pari stood frozen on the threshold, her chest tightening. She had never seen him like this. So unguarded. So broken. The strong, composed man she had married looked like a lost child, wounded, weary, and silently screaming.She took a step forward but stopped herself. Maybe he needed this moment, this silence, this solitude, this space to feel. To grieve what he never got to grieve properly.And yet... it hurt her to see him this way.She mentally sighed and turned to leave." Pari?"She stopped on her track and felt a cold shiver running down her spine. He sounded so... exhausted. She slowly turned back at him and blinked. He was now looking at her with tired eyes." Idhar aana.. "( Come here.)His voice was low which depicted he was trying hard to keep himself awake. Her feet padded softly over the wooden floor as she neared him. The closer she got, the more she could see the ache in his eyes.She knelt beside him without a word, carefully taking the bottle from his hand and placing it aside. His grip was loose, like he was already letting go."I didn't mean to drink this much," he mumbled, resting his head back against the bed again. "I just... I came here to find something."Pari looked at him gently. "Did you?"A faint smile spread on his lips and eyelashes fluttered as he stared at the ceiling above. Pari hesitantly grabbed his left hand and said," Let's go to room-"" No," he stubbornly pulled his hand out of her grip. She blinked confusedly and he looked at her." Tumhe.. jana hai to jao. Hume nahi jana."( If you want, you can go but I won't go.)She shook her head, " I am staying."Vikrant let out a soft, tired chuckle at her response.Pari parted her lips slightly as he raised his right hand to her face and gently cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed across her skin, calloused yet gentle, and she felt the warmth of his touch sink deep into her bones. Her breath hitched, heart fluttering somewhere between uncertainty and surrender.His gaze dropped to her lips, slow and hesitant, as if he were questioning everything and nothing all at once. The weight of the night, the unshed grief, and the years of repressed emotions hovered between them like a whisper in the dark.Pari didn't move, couldn't. Her eyes fluttered shut as he slowly leaned in. The smell of alcohol was strong, sharp and heady but it didn't push her away. Her body froze in that fragile moment, suspended in something she couldn't quite name. The distance faded until their lips barely touched, just the faintest brush, like a question asked too softly.And then he pulled away.Her lashes lifted slowly, confusion swimming in her eyes as she searched his. He looked back at her, a tired but tender expression settling on his face. His eyes were red, but not just from the alcohol."Humne sharab pee hai," he whispered, almost guiltily.( I have drunk alcohol.)And then a low, heartfelt chuckle escaped her mouth. That was his reason?His hand slipped from her cheek to her shoulder, and he leaned against her, not for anything more, but simply to rest. To breathe. To exist next to someone who saw him, not the name, not the burden, just... him.She tilted her neck and let him snuggle his face in the crook of her neck. He inhaled her scent, and felt her fragrance more intoxicating than the alcohol he consumed.Her hands travelled around his back, as she held him. He caressed his tip of nose against her neck and she felt goosebumps appearing on her skin.A shaky breath escaped her lips as he nestled closer, his warm breath fanning against her neck. His face was half-buried in the crook of her shoulder, lips brushing lightly over her skin, not with intent, but with the kind of yearning that spoke of sleepless nights and silent wars.Pari tilted her head slightly, giving him space, her fingers softly gliding across his back in slow, calming circles. She could feel every tension in his body, every suppressed sob that never made it to sound, unraveling beneath her touch.Vikrant let out a low hum, the tip of his nose trailing along the curve of her neck. A delicate shiver ran down her spine and she closed her eyes, heart thudding with an emotion far deeper than desire, it was care, raw and unfiltered."You smell like... peace," he murmured against her skin, voice slurred just slightly from exhaustion, not drunkenness.Pari pressed her cheek to his temple, unable to form words to reply. She lost the warmth when he pulled his face back. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes." Why did you marry me?"She blinked, taken back by his blunt question." Uhm.. you asked me to."He shook his head, " why did you marry me?"She frowned slightly. Wasn't he the one to propose to her and be so adamant to marry her? She remembered how her world had paused in that moment. How her heart, already fragile from her past, had thudded louder than ever. She had tried to argue, to reason, but every word he spoke had built a wall around her protests.And maybe... maybe it wasn't just his insistence. Maybe it wasn't the pressure or the safety he promised. Maybe it was the way her chest fluttered every time he looked at her like she mattered. The way he stood like a storm outside her prison, asking nothing in return except... her.I liked you, she admitted silently. No... it was more. Maybe I didn't say it. Maybe I didn't even know how to say it. But I felt something. Something deeper than the fear I carried. Something warmer than the sun I hadn't seen in years.She blinked out of her thoughts and looked at him, his eyes still searching for something."I don't know," she said softly, honestly.He smiled softly, " even I don't know."She frowned, waiting for him to continue."I don't know how I ended up there... how I managed to marry you." His voice dropped lower, words curling with vulnerability. "Sometimes I think... do I even deserve you? You're pure, Pari. So beautiful. And me? I'm... I'm just a mess. Broken. Surrounded by sins and cruel memories."The last few words came out like a confession, whispered, fragile.Pari's heart clenched. She shook her head immediately and cupped his cheeks," Aisa mat kahiye."( Don't say this.)He turned his face to the side and closed his eyes, pressing a gentle kiss into her palm as though that moment, that touch, was the only absolution he'd allow himself. She traced her thumb gently across his cheekbone, her eyes never leaving his face."Vikrant," she whispered.He opened his eyes slowly, glassy but focused on her now."You deserve more than a man like me," he added, "but I'm selfish."She leaned in and rested her forehead against his. "Then don't let go," she whispered.He grabbed her wrist and moved her one hand from his cheek, " as I am going to."She chuckled near his lips. That was very likely of Vikrant Agnihotri she knew.She pulled back and asked, " shall we go to room-"" No," he refused again.His gaze moved around the room."I..."His eyes landed on a huge photo frame of Ranvijay above the bed and she followed his gaze. He took a deep breath." I have hurt him a lot."She looked back at her husband while his gaze stayed on the photo frame." But what.. could I have done? Every Time I looked at him.. I saw that woman. His biological mother. I saw my mother suffering from pain, still loving him like her own son. I saw... My..."He gritted his teeth, " my damn father laughing even after commiting sins!"Vikrant ran a hand through his hair, fingers trembling ever so slightly. "I was a boy, Pari. Just a boy when I saw my mother cry herself to sleep. When I heard doors shut at night, and my father... disappearing for hours, coming back with lies written all over his face."His voice cracked, low and raw."And then... one day, Ranvijay came. So small, so unaware. And my maa-" he gestured vaguely toward the air, " she opened her arms. Just like that. She loved him without hesitation. And me? I couldn't. I didn't know how. I was angry. Jealous. Terrified."Pari moved closer and placed a hand over his."But it wasn't his fault, Vikrant," she said softly, her voice a whisper of truth."I know that now," he said bitterly. "But knowing doesn't erase what I've done. All the moments I stayed distant. The birthdays I missed on purpose. The cold silences. The sarcasm. He never said anything, you know? Never asked me why I didn't show up. Never demanded love from me. He just... accepted it."Pari blinked away the sting in her eyes as he turned to look at her, the bottle now resting on the floor, forgotten." I don't hate him, Pari," he whispered, more to himself. "I never... I never did."His voice cracked, and a choked breath escaped him. Tears welled in his eyes, and when she raised her hands to cup his cheeks, he gently pushed them away, almost ashamed to be seen like this.He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling in a desperate attempt to keep his tears at bay. But he failed. One drop escaped, then another. Her heart clenched at the sight.She stepped closer, gently grabbing his shoulders. This time, he didn't push her away." It's okay-"" No it's not," he cut in, shaking his head, and then looked into her eyes, letting the tears fall freely now."Wouldn't it have been better if my father hadn't cheated on Maa? If she had just... walked away from him? If I-" his voice broke again, "If I had never been born?""Hey," she whispered, her voice trembling as she pulled him into a hug, her hand cradling the back of his head."Don't say that," she murmured into his ear, holding him tightly as if trying to gather all his broken pieces into her arms.And he clung to her like she was the only thing anchoring him to the world, as if her touch was the only thing keeping his soul from shattering completely.His body trembled as she held him, her palm gently moving over his back in slow, soothing strokes."W... why me, Pari?" he breathed, voice breaking apart. "Why Ranvi... Why Maa? Why... us?"And then,he collapsed further into her embrace, arms wrapping tightly around her waist as raw, unfiltered sobs tore from his chest. Sobs that had waited too long, buried too deep beneath years of strength, pride, and silence.⋆༺✷༻⋆To be continue. Read more chapters in scrollstack as early access.