Dhruv Khuranna sprang up from the couch when he saw the woman approaching the living room.

All blood drained from his face.

"You???"

Mithran looked confused at the horrified look on his mother's and Dhruv's face. The guilty look on Chaahat's face only managed to double it.

Dhruv turned to Madan Yadav, who was sitting on the couch with a resigned look on his face.

This was all the confirmation he needed.

"I was actually feeling guilty of shutting you all out for the sin my father did. I had no idea you were an active accomplice in his sins." Dhruv bit out accusingly.

"How could you? How could you do this? After all that Mohini went through because of Rajath and Chandini, you went ahead and..." Amrutha trailed off, too shocked to speak.

"What the hell is going on? Can someone explain? Dhruv, stop speaking to my father in that tone." Mithran said in a warning tone.

Dhruv let out a humourless chuckle.

"How else am I supposed to speak?" Dhruv asked sarcastically and Mithran frowned.

"Appa, Amma, what is going on?" Mithran asked.

"You want to know the story? Well then, let me make it short. Your wife is the illegitimate daughter of my father." Dhruv bit out angrily and Mithran looked at Chaahat in shock.

His heart broke seeing the look on her face. She looked completely shattered. She looked as if someone had snubbed out the entire life out of her.

As Dhruv's words hung in the air, Mithran felt like the ground had shifted beneath his feet.

He looked at Chaahat, her face etched with pain and humiliation, and his heart clenched in empathy. He had always known that there was more to her past than her relationship with Rishi, but this revelation was beyond anything he could have imagined.

As the tense atmosphere in the room continued to thicken, Mithran's mind raced. He watched as Dhruv's anger collided with Chaahat's devastation, creating a volatile mix.

"Dhruv, whatever sin your father and Chaahat's mother did, Chaahat is an innocent party in this. You have no right to look at her in accusation. You have no right to hate her, when she was not party to any of that has happened in your parents life." Mithran said, standing next to Chaahat, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and glaring at Dhruv.

"Careful Mithran. Who knows? Like mother, like daughter. Just keep her in check and make sure she doesn't break another woman's house like her mother did." Dhruv said, the disgust evident in her voice, and Chaahat sucked in a breath at that jab.

As the room buzzed with tension, Chaahat's heart felt like it had been caught in a vice.

Dhruv's words pierced through her like a blade, reopening old wounds she had thought were long healed.

She wished she could disappear, become invisible, as the weight of the room's gaze bore down on her. The shock of the revelation about her parentage was now compounded by Dhruv's cutting accusations.

She knew she had no control over her origins, no say in the actions of her parents. But in this moment, it was as if the sins of the past had become her own burden to bear. The room seemed to close in around her, and the walls echoed with her inner turmoil.

Mithran clenched his fist at Dhruv's disgusting words. Before he could respond to that, Madan Yadav did.

"Mind your tongue, Dhruv. Do not speak of matters you know nothing about." Madan warned in a cold tone. Mithran looked at his father in surprise. He had never heard his father using that tone ever.

"What's wrong in what he said?" Amritha Yadav asked furiously, angry at her husband for looking after Rajath's illegitimate child all these years.

"Maybe you like to forget some truths and remain loyal to your childhood friend, Amritha. But I will not keep shut anymore. Rajath and Chandini has suffered a lot and Chaahat still hasn't come out of her trauma. All because of a spoiled princess of a wealthy family." Madan bit out angrily and Amritha reddened at that reminder.

Madan then turned to Dhruv and shot an angry look at him.

"If children are to be judged by their mother's character, then they should be scared of the evilness of you and your sister, Dhruv. Because I have never seen someone as evil as Mohini ever in my life." Madan bit out angrily, all his hatred for Mohini Khuranna evident in his voice.

"Uncle... Don't you dare say a word against my mother.." Dhruv warned coldly and Madan chuckled.

"You know nothing about your mother, Dhruv. You only probably know the story your grandfather taught you from a young age." Madan said.

"Appa, stop beating around the bush and explain what you mean. Can't you see how affected Chaahat is." Mithran intervened impatiently.

"I have tried to tell Chaahat many times, but she never wanted to listen. She never wanted to be reminded again and again that her mother broke another woman's home." Madan said in a resigned tone.

Madan once again turned to Dhruv.

"Rajath and Chandini were childhood sweethearts. In love with each other since forever. They had no objections to their love either, since their fathers were best of friends. Everything was going smoothly. That is when my wedding got fixed with Amritha. Your mother met Rajath at our wedding." Madan said.

"And what? When he saw a wealthier woman, he forgot his so-called love of life and married my mother?" Dhruv asked sarcastically and Madan let out a sarcastic chuckle.

"Rajath could never forget Chandini. Theirs is that one in a million kind of love story. And the black eye that fell on their happiness is your mother." Madan said angrily.

"Madan ji.." Amritha almost yelled.

"Don't raise your voice, Amritha. Your anger is not going to alter the truth." Madan warned.

"Oh really? One in a million kinds? Then how in the hell did he marry my mother and create two kids before taking off with a share of Khurana wealth?" Dhruv asked sarcastically.

"So? That's the story your grandfather taught you." Madan mused.

"Appa..." Mithran was impatient. He wanted to get this over with.

"Your father didn't willingly marry your mother. He was forced into it. He was blackmailed into it..."