Published on:- 7/4/25 [Monday]
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A few days later, Khanna Mansion, Delhi:-

It was a quiet night. The room was dark, with only a little moonlight coming through the window.

Everything was calm. Nilay and Sunaina were lying in bed together, covered by a warm duvet. He was sleeping peacefully on his back, his arm gently holding her close. She was resting her head on his chest, her hand on his naked arms.

The scene was warm and pure but She was not sleeping peacefully.

Sunaina was having a dream; a dream from her childhood. In the dream, she was a little girl again, running through the green fields behind her old house. She was laughing, feeling the cool wind on her face. She could hear her mother calling her name from far away.

'Papiha'.

Everything felt happy and free.

But then, she heard a loud dog bark in the dream. It scared her. The field around her disappeared, and her mother's voice faded.

'Mother?'.

"Papiha! I can't be together with you. You have to leave your life alone. Remember! You have to be strong".

Raina; her mother's voice echoed in her head as she moved a little and let out a soft whimper in her sleep.

Tears steamed down on her face as she was trying to find her mother in the dream.

Nilay who was still half-asleep, pulled her closer and rubbed her shoulder gently.

"I am here", He whispered and his small touch made her feel safe again.

Slowly, she began to relax and her breathing became calm once more.

As she found herself back where she lost her mother.

'You bitch! I told you that I want a son but you gave birth to a girl. Who will carry my name? You both are useless. You can't do anything properly'.

This voice belonged to Sunaina's biological father who beating her mother.

'Don't hit my mother'. Sunaina cried and tried to protect her mother but her mother scooped Sunaina in her arms, hid her from the drunkard father.

Both mother and daughter were beaten by him. The man they called husband and father showed no mercy. The pain, the fear, the endless crying were all too much for Sunaina's young and innocent heart.

Every bruise on her mother felt like a wound on her own soul.

But everything changed one day.

Raina, Sunaina's mother, found out something that shook her to the core. Her drunk husband was planning to sell Sunaina for a few Nepali rupees. Her own child. Her little girl.

That was the last straw.

Without thinking twice, Raina planned to run away but her husband in his drunken state threw them out of the house.

Raina had no money with her but had not only Sunaina but she was also carrying a small life growing inside her womb. A tiny unborn baby who was still unknown to the world, but already loved by the mother.

That night, a broken woman and a frightened little girl walked into the darkness, leaving behind pain, fear, and a house that never felt like home. They had nothing with them, except hope and each other's support.

Sunaina whimpered again in her sleep as the dream shifted to a memory; one from long ago, at the Khadka mansion.

"What's your name?", Avyaan asked her

"Papi", little Sunaina replied innocently.

Avyaan tilted his head, "No, the other one... the name father gave you".

She blinked and then said in a sweet, childish voice, "Chu-naina".

Avyaan couldn't hold back his laughter. Her innocent way of saying it made him laugh out loud, the sound echoing in the grand hall.

Sunaina was ten years old when she found out about the real princess of Scorpion Satan; her father's wife, Kabir Khadka's queen. Unlike her cold-hearted father, the queen was kind, gentle, and full of light.

She never disliked the name 'Sunaina' But deep in her heart, she held tightly to the name her mother had given her- 'Papiha'. It was the last thing that connected her to the woman who had risked everything to save her.

Later, Avyaan started calling her 'Naina'. She liked it. Slowly, she accepted the name and began to call herself Naina too.

Sunaina's grip on Nilay's body tightened in her sleep.

Kabir's face appeared in front of her. He was cold, powerful, and proud.

'You are my pride. And I knew that choosing you as my daughter, the second in line to the throne, was never a mistake'.

Kabir's words rang through her mind like a bell she couldn't silence.

Kabir was proud of her; not because he loved her, but because she had become exactly what he wanted her to be: strong, fearless, and unbreakable.

A shadow of him.

A daughter shaped by fire.

Even in sleep, Sunaina felt the weight of his expectations pressing down on her heart... and still, she held on tighter to Nilay, as if he was the only warmth left in her cold world.

'You played with me, Sunaina. You and Avyaan both played with me. Remember you will pay the price for double crossing me or maybe you had already paid the price'.

Kabir's words slashed Sunaina's heart. Her body trembled, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Nilay stirred in his sleep, feeling her tears fall onto his chest. She shook in her sleep, lost in the storm of pain and memories.

Then, all at once, Kabir's image faded into the darkness.

And there she was; her mother, standing in front of her, who was glowing softly as her eyes were full of love and sadness.

'My daughter... my sweet little girl. It's time for me to go now. But remember this; hold on to what you've earned with your love and your hard work. Never let it go". Raina said gently.

And then in her dreams, everything started fading away and a loud, painful sob breaks from Sunaina's lips as she cried like a child again.

'Don't cry, Papiha. I will come back to you soon'. Her mother's voice came between the fading clouds.

Nilay's eyes opened as her heart was breaking all over.

"Wife?", Nilay was unaware of the battles his wife was fighting in the silence of the night.

Sunaina's eyes slowly opened, her vision blurred with tears. Her body was trembling, and her face was wet. She found herself wrapped in Nilay's arms. She was safe, warm, held tightly like the world couldn't hurt her.

But her heart was still breaking.

"Mother. I want my mother, Nilay. She left me. She told me that she is going away".

Nilay held her closer as his heart was aching at the sound of her pain. He didn't say anything right away; just let her cry while pressing soft kisses to her forehead, whispering gently, "I am here, Naina. I am right here. You are not alone".

And in that moment, her broken pieces slowly began to find each other again.

The tears kept falling and something inside Sunaina began to clear.

She understood now what both her mother and Kabir were trying to tell her.

Did she betray Kabir?
Yes. She did.
She had turned against the man who raised her, who trained her, who made her what she was.
She had chosen a different path; her own.

Did her mother want her to leave the mafia world?
No. Raina never wanted that.
She didn't want Sunaina to give up her power, her position; not after everything she had built with blood, pain, and strength.

Her mother believed she could rule with power, passion and love and still carry Kabir's name with pride.

Sunaina cried harder as the weight of truth was crashing down on her. Her past, her choices, her losses; it all hurt.

Nilay didn't say a word. He just held her like a child, letting her break in his arms. His hands rubbed her back slowly, his lips were pressed to her hair.

And for that moment, Sunaina didn't have to be strong. She didn't have to be the daughter of a broken mother or the second in line of throne of a fallen king.

She was just a broken girl who lost her mother, her childhood, her children, who was in the arms of the man who loved her.

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ShineeSunshine ♥️