That night, the darkness seemed heavier than usual, pressing down on Arjun as he lay in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. His grandmother's words echoed relentlessly in his mind, their weight pulling at him, refusing to let him find peace. "This isn't possible," she'd said. But why? Why couldn't his family be whole again? What had his mother done that was so unforgivable?

Frustration gnawed at him, twisting inside like a knot he couldn't untangle. He tossed and turned, his heart heavy with confusion and sadness. His mother had seemed so genuine when she said she wanted to come back. Was she lying? Or was there more to the story than anyone was telling him? Arjun's young heart ached with questions, none of which had clear answers.

Suddenly, the quiet of the night was broken by the sound of a car pulling up outside the house. Arjun's ears perked up, and curiosity tugged at him. He slipped out of bed and moved to the window, drawing the curtain aside just enough to see what was happening. His breath caught in his throat as he saw his father's car, headlights dimming in the driveway.

Ram stepped out, but he wasn't the composed, strong man Arjun knew. His father was stumbling, barely able to stand on his own. Arjun's heart sank. Ram was drunk—completely, helplessly drunk. It had been so long since Arjun had seen him like this, not since the messy days of his parents' divorce when their home had been filled with arguments, tension, and the smell of alcohol. Seeing him like this again was like being pulled back into that nightmare, a memory he'd tried so hard to forget.

Arjun watched as his father leaned heavily against the car, fumbling with his keys, unable to keep himself steady. Ram dropped them, swaying as he bent down to pick them up, but even that seemed an impossible task in his current state. The sight of him, so vulnerable and broken, was too much for Arjun to bear. He felt a surge of anger, not at his father, but at the situation—at the fact that everything seemed to be unraveling around him.

He remembered those nights from years ago—when he would hear his parents' arguments echoing through the walls, when his father would come home late and drunk, unable to face the reality of a crumbling marriage. Arjun had been younger then, confused and scared. But now, standing at the window, he wasn't scared anymore. He was angry. Angry that his family had been broken once, and now, it seemed to be falling apart again.

"I can't let this happen," he whispered to himself, the words filled with a newfound determination. He couldn't stand by and watch his father fall back into the same destructive patterns. He couldn't let their family's brokenness continue to haunt them. Something needed to change. He needed to fix this—somehow, someway.

He pulled on a jacket and quietly slipped out of his room, moving down the stairs with purpose. As he reached the door, he saw his father still struggling outside. Arjun hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath. He loved his father, despite everything, and seeing him like this only solidified his resolve.

Opening the door, Arjun stepped into the cold night, the air biting at his skin. He approached his father slowly, his heart pounding in his chest. "Dad," he called softly, his voice breaking the silence of the night.

Ram looked up, his bleary eyes struggling to focus. "Arjun?" he slurred, his words barely coherent.

Arjun moved closer, gently taking his father's arm. "Come on, Dad. Let's get you inside."

Ram swayed, leaning heavily on his son as Arjun helped him towards the door. It wasn't the first time Arjun had played the role of caretaker, but this time, it felt different. This time, he wasn't just helping his father to bed. This time, he was making a promise to himself—to mend what was broken, to heal the cracks that had formed in their family long ago.

As they entered the house, the weight of the moment settled on Arjun's shoulders. His father had always seemed so strong, but now, in his drunken state, he seemed fragile, like a man lost in his own pain. Arjun led him to the couch and helped him sit down, pulling off his shoes and covering him with a blanket.

Ram mumbled something incoherent, his head drooping as the alcohol took its toll. Arjun sat beside him, watching his father slip into a fitful sleep. The room was silent, save for the soft sound of Ram's breathing.

Arjun looked at his father's face, etched with lines of worry and exhaustion. He knew that the answers he sought about his parents' past wouldn't come easily, but one thing was clear—he couldn't let this cycle continue. He had to find a way to mend the fractures in their family, to bring his father back from this darkness, and to restore some semblance of peace to their lives.

As the night wore on, Arjun sat in the quiet, his mind racing with possibilities and plans. The path ahead was uncertain, but he knew one thing for sure—he wasn't going to let his family fall apart again. Not if he could help it.

The next morning, Arjun left the house before the sun had fully risen, determined to find the truth for himself. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, knowing that if he stayed, his grandmother or father would ask questions he wasn't ready to answer. His heart was heavy with confusion, but he needed to find his mother and understand why things had turned out the way they did.

His first stop was the office where his mother had once told him she worked. When he arrived, however, he was greeted with news that struck him like a blow. She had left the job long ago. The receptionist had looked at him with mild pity as she informed him of this, and Arjun's chest tightened with worry. Why hadn't she told him the truth? What else was she hiding?

He tried calling her several times, but each call went unanswered, his mother's number going straight to voicemail. The silence on the other end of the line only deepened the knot of anxiety in his stomach. Determined, he returned to the office and persuaded a reluctant employee to give him the address of her apartment. He had to know where she was.

By the time he reached the building, his hands were trembling. The weight of his hope, confusion, and fear bore down on him as he stood in front of the door, hesitating. He had come all this way, but now, standing before the threshold of his mother's life, he was dithering. His fingers hovered over the doorbell, a thousand questions swirling in his mind. What if everything she had told him was true? What if she really wanted to come back to them? Could she really make things right?

With a deep breath, Arjun finally pressed the bell, the sound echoing in the stillness of the hallway. Each second that passed felt like an eternity. His heart pounded in his chest, and he could hear his own breath, shallow and rapid. After what felt like forever, the door creaked open.

But it wasn't his mother who greeted him. Arjun's eyes widened in shock as a man stood in the doorway, casually dressed and clearly at home. For a moment, Arjun's mind refused to process what he was seeing. His chest tightened painfully as his gaze drifted past the man, and then, as if to confirm his worst fears, his mother appeared behind him. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide with panic, as if she hadn't expected him to find her like this.

"Arjun..." she whispered, her voice a mixture of shock and shame.

Arjun's world seemed to crumble before him. He stared at his mother, at the man who stood so casually in her apartment, and in that single moment, everything fell into place. The truth hit him like a punch to the gut. This was why his grandmother had warned him. This was why his father had never forgiven her. This was the betrayal that had shattered their family.

He took a step back, feeling as if the ground beneath his feet was collapsing. His mother's face was a mirror of panic and regret, but Arjun couldn't hear whatever excuses or explanations she might offer. His ears were ringing, and his vision blurred as the weight of betrayal pressed down on him. His breath came in short, ragged bursts, the air in the hallway suddenly feeling too thick to breathe.

"Arjun, I—" his mother began, but the words died in her throat. She could see the devastation in her son's eyes, the way his world was falling apart in front of her.

Arjun's heart broke, piece by piece, as the reality of the situation settled in.

He stood there, his entire body trembling, as his mother took a tentative step forward. "I can explain, Arjun..." she said, her voice cracking, but Arjun couldn't bear to hear any more. He shook his head, the pain in his chest becoming unbearable.

"No," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. His eyes were filled with tears, but he refused to let them fall. He couldn't break down in front of her. Not here. Not now.

Without another word, Arjun turned and walked away, his legs heavy and his heart shattered. His mother called after him, but her voice felt distant, like a fading echo. He couldn't listen. He couldn't face her. Not after this.

Arjun's tears blurred his vision as he stumbled down the stairs, his body trembling with the weight of everything he had just discovered. His chest felt tight, suffocated by the betrayal, the pain, the heartbreak that had just unfolded before him. It was as if the ground beneath him had crumbled, and he was falling into a void that had no end. His heart, once filled with hope, now shattered into pieces he didn't know how to put back together.

By the time he reached the street, the cool air hit his face, but it did nothing to clear his mind. His feet moved on their own, carrying him forward without direction or purpose. He was running—not toward something, but away. Away from the apartment, from the truth that had just ripped his world apart. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and his tears flowed freely, unchecked. He couldn't stop them, didn't want to stop them.

He was running, faster and faster, like a madman trying to outrun his own pain. His legs burned, his heart pounded, but he didn't care. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat, the rushing sound of blood in his ears, and the echo of his mother's voice—the voice that had once brought him comfort, now a reminder of a broken trust.

Just as his mind was lost in the chaos of his emotions, his body collided with something—someone. The impact was sudden, jolting him back to the present. He fell to the ground, his knees hitting the pavement with a thud, and for a moment, the world seemed to stop.