The atmosphere in the room grew tense as Vikrant, overwhelmed by seeing Vishakha after so many years, moved towards her with trembling hands. He reached out, trying to touch her arm, but before he could, Mahir swiftly intervened, roughly pushing Vikrant back.

"Stay away from her!" Mahir's voice was sharp, filled with anger and protectiveness. His eyes blazed with fury as he placed himself between Vikrant and Vishakha, shielding her.

Bela, equally outraged, stepped forward and pointed a warning finger at Vikrant. "Don't you dare come near her again, or I swear you'll regret it."

Everyone else in the room was stunned by their aggressive reactions. Nandini and Navya exchanged confused glances, trying to understand what had just happened. They had never seen Mahir and Bela so angry, especially toward someone who was supposed to be a guest.

Navya, her voice trembling with confusion, asked, "Dad, Mom... how do you know him? Why are you behaving like this?"

Nandini, equally bewildered, added, "What's going on here? Someone, please explain!"

Before anyone could answer, Soha, who had been standing quietly beside her father, looked at him with concern. "Dad, what's happening? Why are they being so rude to you? How do you know them?"

Vishakha's heart sank deeper as she heard Soha call Vikrant "Dad." The word echoed painfully in her mind, confirming what she had feared. She realized then that Vikrant had moved on with his life, had a daughter, and had built a family of his own. The finality of it hit her like a tidal wave, and she struggled to control her emotions.

Vikrant, his gaze flickering between Nandini and Vishakha, suddenly pieced together the relationship. His voice was laced with bitter sarcasm as he addressed Vishakha, "So, this is your daughter, Vishakha? You have a family now, huh? I guess moving on wasn't that difficult for you after all."

The cruel accusation in his words was too much for Vishakha to bear. Without thinking, she stepped forward and slapped Vikrant across the face, the sound of the impact echoing through the room.

"Never, ever talk to me like that again!" Vishakha's voice was trembling with fury. Her eyes were blazing as she glared at him. "You're a closed chapter, Vikrant. A chapter I've buried and moved past. Don't you dare to bring it up again."

Everyone in the room was left speechless by what had just transpired. Manik, Nandini, Navya, Mahir, Bela-everyone stood frozen, trying to process the scene that had just unfolded before them. The shock was palpable, and the tension in the air was almost suffocating.

Vishakha's hand was still trembling as she grabbed Nandini's hand, pulling her toward the door. "We're leaving," she said firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Mumma, wait!" Nandini cried out, struggling against her mother's grip. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to understand what was happening. "Please, stop! I need to know what's going on. What happened between you and him? Why are you doing this?"

Vishakha stopped in her tracks, her back still turned to Vikrant. She didn't want to face him or anyone else in that room. "I'm doing this because I can't let you make the same mistake I did," she said, her voice breaking slightly. "I can't let you marry someone who has any connection to him."

Nandini's heart shattered at her mother's words. She couldn't understand why Vishakha was being so harsh, why she was dragging her away from the man she loved. "But Mumma, listen."

Vishakha's grip on Nandini's hand tightened as she started pulling her again, this time more forcefully. "We're leaving now," she said coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion. "I won't discuss this any further."

Manik, who had been too shocked to react, finally snapped out of his daze and rushed forward. "Mam, please, don't do this! Don't take her away from me!" His voice was desperate, his eyes pleading with Vishakha. "I love Nandini, and she loves me. Please, just give us a chance."

But Vishakha didn't stop. She dragged Nandini out of the room, her heart breaking as she heard her daughter's sobs. Nandini looked back at Manik, tears streaming down her face, her eyes filled with helplessness.

"I'm sorry, Manik," she choked out, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry..."

Manik reached out, but before he could grasp her hand, the door closed behind them. He was left standing in the middle of the room, his world crumbling around him. Nandini was gone, taken from him once again, and he felt more helpless than ever before.

Nandini's sobs echoed in his ears, mingling with the sound of his own heart breaking. The separation between them felt like a deep, insurmountable chasm, one that seemed to grow wider and wider with each passing moment. The pain was unbearable, suffocating him, and making it hard to breathe.

Everyone in the room was silent, the weight of what had just happened hanging heavily in the air. The love that had brought Manik and Nandini together was being torn apart, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

Manik sank to his knees, his head in his hands, feeling utterly broken. Nandini's absence was a gaping wound in his heart, one that he didn't know how to heal. The love of his life was slipping away from him, and he felt powerless to stop it.

Nandini, in the car with Vishakha, cried silently, her heart aching for Manik. The pain of being separated from him once again was too much to bear. She felt like she was being torn apart from the inside, the love she had for Manik fighting against the fear of losing her mother.

Vishakha's face was stony, but inside, she was crumbling. She had done what she thought was right, but it felt like the hardest thing she had ever done. She knew she was breaking her daughter's heart, but she couldn't let her make the same mistakes she had. The pain of her past was too deep, too raw, and she couldn't let Nandini suffer the same fate.

As the car drove away, Nandini looked out the window, tears blurring her vision. The image of Manik's devastated face was etched in her mind, and she knew that their love was being tested in the hardest way possible. The future seemed uncertain, filled with pain and heartache, and she didn't know how they would ever find their way back to each other.

As soon as the car came to a halt in front of the house, Vishakha threw open the door and stormed inside, her emotions in turmoil. The others followed her, their faces reflecting the shock and confusion of what had just occurred. Nandini, desperate for answers, quickly ran after her mother, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear, anger, and desperation.

"Mumma! Wait!" Nandini called out as she reached the living room. She saw Vishakha standing in the middle of the room, her back turned, her shoulders tense.

Vishakha didn't turn around. "Just drop it, Nandini. I don't want to talk about it."

But Nandini was determined. "No, Mumma! You can't just walk away like that! Who was that man? Why did you leave so suddenly? And why did you change your mind about Manik and me?"

Vishakha's hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. "I said, drop it!" she snapped, her voice edged with anger.

Nandini's frustration boiled over. She had been pushed and pulled in so many directions, that her emotions stretched to the breaking point. "Why can't you just tell me the truth?" she shouted, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. "What are you hiding from me? What happened between you and that man?"

Vishakha spun around, her eyes blazing with a mixture of pain and fury. "You want to know the truth?" she yelled, her voice breaking as years of suppressed anguish came flooding back. "Fine! I'll tell you the truth!"

Nandini took a step back, startled by the intensity in her mother's voice, but she didn't back down. She had to know, even if the truth was painful.

Vishakha's voice trembled as she began to speak, her words dripping with bitterness. "That man, Vikrant... he's the reason I suffered the most in my life. He left me when I was at my weakest when I needed him the most. We were in love, Nandini. We got married despite our families being against it. We thought love was enough to conquer everything, but we were wrong."

Nandini's breath caught in her throat. The vulnerability in her mother's voice was something she had never heard before. She remained silent, her eyes fixed on Vishakha, urging her to continue.

Vishakha's eyes filled with unshed tears as she continued, her voice thick with emotion. "We hoped that our families would accept us after the marriage, but my family didn't. His family was more accepting, but it wasn't enough. And then, one day, he left me. Just like that. He left a letter behind, telling me he couldn't do it anymore, that he was leaving. I tried calling him, but he had blocked me. Then, I found out he had left India."

Vishakha's voice broke as she relived the pain of those days. "Because of him, I lost my belief in love. I lost everything. I was abandoned, and rejected by my own family. I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. I was completely alone. I went to my parents, hoping for some support, but they shut me out too. I was left with nothing."

Tears were streaming down Nandini's face as she listened to her mother's heart-wrenching story. She couldn't imagine the pain Vishakha had gone through, the loneliness, the betrayal. Her heart ached for her mother, for the young woman who had been so cruelly abandoned.

Vishakha's voice softened, becoming almost a whisper. "In the end, I found Bela and Mahir. We were best friends in college, and they were the only ones who stood by me. They helped me through the darkest days of my life. If it wasn't for them, I don't know how I would have survived."

She paused, taking a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "And today, after all these years, I saw him again. He has a daughter, Nandini. He has a family. He moved on with his life, while I... I've been carrying the scars of what he did to me. And then, he dared to accuse me of moving on, of forgetting him when it was him who left me without a second thought."

Vishakha's voice cracked as she finally broke down, tears streaming down her face. "How can he accuse me of that? How can he act like I'm the one who did something wrong when he's the one who destroyed my life?"

Bela and Mahir, who had been standing quietly by, rushed to Vishakha's side, wrapping their arms around her in a comforting embrace. They had known the story, and had witnessed Vishakha's pain all those years ago, but seeing her relive it now was heartbreaking.

Navya and Nandini stood frozen, shocked by the revelation. The truth was more than they had expected, more than they could have imagined.

Nandini's voice trembled as she whispered, "He's my father..."

Vishakha looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with a mixture of pain and anger. "No, Nandini. Don't call him that. He's nothing to you. He's not your father. I am your mother, and that's all that matters."

Nandini was taken aback by her mother's vehement reaction. Her mind was reeling, trying to process everything she had just learned. She had so many questions, and so much confusion, but seeing her mother in such pain broke her heart.

She stepped forward, her tears flowing freely, and wrapped her arms around Vishakha. "I'm sorry, Mumma... I'm so sorry..."

Vishakha clung to her daughter, her body shaking with sobs. "I just wanted to protect you, Nandini. I didn't want you to suffer the way I did. I didn't want you to feel the pain of being abandoned, of being left alone."

Nandini held her mother tightly, her heart aching with empathy and sorrow. "I understand, Mumma... I understand now. I'm here for you. I won't leave you."

The room was filled with the sound of their sobs, the pain of the past mingling with the love they still had for each other. Navya, Bela, and Mahir watched, their eyes filled with tears, knowing that this moment, as painful as it was, would bring mother and daughter closer together.

Nandini's mind was still a whirl of emotions-shock, confusion, sadness-but at that moment, all she cared about was being there for her mother. She could see now how deeply Vishakha had been hurt, how much she had sacrificed, and how much she had carried on her own for so long.

As she held her mother, Nandini whispered softly, "We'll get through this together, Mumma. I promise."

Vishakha nodded, too choked up to speak, but she held onto her daughter with all the strength she had left. The bond between them, forged in love and pain, was stronger than ever, and in that moment, they both knew they would face whatever came next together, no matter how difficult it might be.
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Hope u all like the chapter.....

Few words for Manik....

Few words for Nandini....

What were your favourite moments???

Vikrant has a daughter, did he move on???

Will Soha create a rift between Manik and Nandini???

Thank u 🙂🙂

Love,
Kiara ❤️❤️