Manik's POV

"How the hell do I tell them?!" My mind was racing as I stood in front of my family, hands clammy, heart beating like a drum in my chest. I don't even know how they'll react. What if they get mad? What if they laugh at me?

I took a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out, Manik. You've got this. Come on, just say it.

"Ab bol bhi, ya muh me dahi jam gaya hai? Bol na, makes abe!" Cabir's teasing voice interrupted my mental pep talk, breaking my concentration. He was sitting cross-legged, arms folded, looking at me with a smug expression.

I glared at him, my eyes practically telling him to shut up. Of course, Cabir just has to make everything harder.

"Okay, I was going to say something before I was rudely interrupted," I shot back, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I tried to recover.

"Before you two start bickering again, please Manik, just say whatever it is you want to say," Appa cut in, clearly growing impatient.

Everyone was staring at me now—parents, siblings, friends. I felt the weight of their collective gaze, and for the first time, I wanted to run away. But there was no escape. I had to face this.

I cleared my throat nervously, glancing around. "Woh... I love... someone," I finally admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then it happened.

"WHAT? YOU LOVE SOMEONE, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL US?!" Both my mothers, Nyonika and Ishita, yelled in unison. I winced at their loud voices, cringing as the words hit me.

I glanced toward my dads, hoping for a bit of backup, but they were just staring at me, their faces blank. It's like they already knew. And, of course, my siblings and friends—Cabir, Abhi, Mukti, Aliya, Dhruv—were watching me like I was some sort of soap opera. They were enjoying this way too much.

"Manik, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Mom asked, her voice soft but heavy with emotion. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "What's her name?"

I could see how hurt she was, and my heart twisted with guilt. What am I supposed to do? I don't even know if the girl loves me back.

"You didn't even tell me, Manu," Amma chimed in, her voice sad. I looked at her, feeling like the worst son in the world.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. Mothers both teary-eyed, and dads silently watching me, I felt like the walls were closing in. Why was this so hard?

"Let him talk, Nyonika and Ishita. What's the girl's name, Manik?" Dad asked, breaking the tension slightly.

I swallowed hard. My palms were sweating now. "Woh... The girl's name is..." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, wishing the earth would just swallow me whole. I couldn't look at anyone.

"Wait!" Amma interrupted again. "Did you propose to her already, or are you going to propose after telling us?" She narrowed her eyes at me, as if she could see through every one of my secrets.

I heard giggles around the room. I didn't have to look to know who it was. My siblings and friends were trying not to laugh, but they were failing miserably.

"What's so funny?" Appa asked, confused, looking between them and me.

"Woh... Mama, Papa, don't ask him that," Abhi chimed in, chuckling. "He doesn't even know what she looks like anymore."

There was a collective gasp from my parents as they stared at me, their expressions shifting from confusion to disbelief.

"Is that true?" Amma asked, her brows furrowed.

I nodded, feeling utterly defeated. "Yeah... it's true. I haven't seen her in 13 years."

Dad sighed. "Manik... how can you love her if you haven't seen her in so long?"

I took a deep breath. This was it. "I don't know, Appa. I just... I know I love her. I've loved her for so long that I can't even imagine my life without her. Even if she doesn't love me back, I'd be happy just seeing her happy."

There was silence again, a deep, heavy silence. My parents exchanged looks, and I could see that they were processing everything.

Appa stood up and hugged me tightly, his hand gently patting my back. Amma reached up to caress my hair. I felt a small sense of relief, but then I glanced over at Mom and Dad, who were still sitting there with tears in their eyes.

"I'm sorry, kids," Dad said softly, breaking the silence. "I know I made a huge mistake sending her away. But there was a threat to her life... I couldn't do anything else."

I shook my head. "It's okay, Dad."

"You've already fulfilled my dream, Manik," Mom said, her voice soft but certain.

I blinked, confused. "What do you mean, Mom?" I asked, and I wasn't the only one. We all looked at her, puzzled.

Amma smiled, sharing a knowing glance with Nyonika before she turned to us. "Back when Nyonika and I were pregnant, we made a promise. If she had a boy and I had a girl, we'd marry them to each other. It was just a wish from our college days."

Mukti's jaw dropped, Dhruv stared in disbelief, and I was too stunned to speak.

"But we didn't want to force it on you," Mom added quickly. "We didn't tell you because we wanted you to make your own choice."

I stared at her, my mind racing. "So... you don't have a problem with it?"

Mom and Amma smiled. "Not at all," they said together.

I looked around at everyone. "Wait, why aren't you guys reacting the way I thought you would?" I asked suspiciously.

Mukti gave me a mischievous grin. "We knew, Manik. We've known for a long time."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "How?"

Aliya giggled. "We saw a doll in your room. And heard you talking to her picture."

My eyes widened. "Whose idea was it to go through my stuff?"

They all looked at each other before turning to Cabir.

"Cabir's," Mukti said, pointing at him, while Cabir tried to defend himself.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Manik," Cabir said with his usual humor. "If you want, I can teach you how to snoop through someone's stuff."

I rolled my eyes. "Funny people like you get killed easily, you know why?"

"Wh-why?" he asked, looking worried.

"Because no one believes them when they're serious," I smirked.

The entire room burst into laughter. Cabir stood there, pouting.

"Saale, give me some respect! Otherwise, forget about my sister!" he shot back, and we all laughed harder.

"Respect? I don't need your permission to marry her. I only need her consent," I replied, smirking.

Cabir grinned, knowing I was right. "Fine, whatever."

"Okay, time up guys," Dhruv interrupted. "Anyway, bhai, I'm so happy for you."

Abhi hugged me. "Me too, bubby."

The girls joined in, and soon the entire room was filled with laughter and hugs—until Cabir tackled us all to the ground in a giant bear hug, leaving us gasping for air.

"Get up, hippos! I can't breathe!" I gasped.

"Sorry, it's because of Cabir!" everyone said in unison.

Cabir just shrugged, grinning. "I didn't want to miss out!"

We were still laughing when Amma's voice cut through. "Okay, guys, don't forget—we have to go to Mumbai."

"WAIT!" Aliya exclaimed. "We need to go shopping!"

All the boys groaned under their breath, "Not again," but before anyone could argue, Appa's phone rang, cutting through the commotion. He answered, his face darkening slightly as he listened.

When he hung up, he looked at us with a strange sadness in his eyes.

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