Manik stood in the middle of the living room, his eyes wide with disbelief, his heart shattering into a million pieces. He had been so close, so sure that finally, after everything, he and Nandini would be together. But now, it felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him. His world was crumbling, and he was powerless to stop it.

“I lost her again...” he whispered, his voice trembling with pain. His eyes were hollow, filled with the kind of despair that comes from losing something precious not once, but twice. “Why is this happening to us? Why?”

FAB 4 and Abhimanyu exchanged worried glances, unsure of how to comfort their friend. They had seen Manik go through hell and back for Nandini, and now, seeing him like this, so defeated and broken, tore at their hearts.

“Manik...” Cabir began softly, trying to reach out to him, but Manik shook his head, his eyes distant, as if he was looking at something far beyond the room.

“I just don’t understand,” Manik continued, his voice barely above a whisper. “We were so close... We were going to be together... And now, she’s gone again. Why does this keep happening to us? What did we do wrong?”

Vikrant sat on the sofa, his mind racing, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The atmosphere in the room was heavy with tension and confusion. Soha was beside him, her face twisted in worry as she looked between her father and Manik.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Soha asked, her voice filled with concern. “Why did they react like that?”

Vikrant rubbed his temples, the weight of the past bearing down on him like a physical burden. “It’s complicated, Soha... There’s a lot of history between us, things I never told you about.”

“But why?” Soha pressed, her voice rising in frustration. “Why didn’t you tell me? And why did she act like that? What happened between you two? Who was she?”

Vikrant’s face hardened as he grappled with his emotions, memories of a time he had tried so hard to forget flooding back. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead of answering, he stood up abruptly, his expression unreadable.

“I need some air,” he muttered, turning away from his daughter and the others. “I’ll be back later.”

Soha watched him go, her heart sinking as she realized she wasn’t going to get any answers tonight. She looked back at Manik, who was still standing in the same spot, lost in his thoughts. The room felt oppressive, filled with the weight of unresolved emotions and unspoken words.

Manik suddenly turned to the others, his eyes pleading. “I just... I need to be alone for a while. Please, just give me some time.”

Cabir wanted to argue, to stay and help his friend through this, but he could see the look in Manik’s eyes—one that said he needed space, not words. “Okay, Manik,” Cabir finally said, his voice soft with understanding. “We’ll be downstairs if you need us.”

Others nodded in agreement, their faces etched with concern. They watched as Manik turned and walked slowly up the stairs, each step heavy with the weight of his emotions.

When he reached his room, Manik closed the door behind him, shutting out the world. The room felt cold and empty, starkly contrasting to the storm of emotions raging inside him. His eyes landed on a small photo frame on his bedside table—the one he always kept, with a picture of him and Nandini. They were smiling, their eyes bright with the love and happiness they had once shared. It was a moment captured in time, a memory of better days.

Manik picked up the frame, his fingers tracing the outline of Nandini’s face. His chest tightened as a wave of despair washed over him. “Nandini...” he whispered, his voice breaking. “Why does this keep happening to us? What did we do to deserve this?”

He sank onto the bed, still clutching the photo frame. His thoughts spiraled, replaying every moment, every word from earlier that day. He couldn’t understand why Vishakha had changed her mind so suddenly, why she had pulled Nandini away just when they had been so close to finally being together.

“We were so happy,” he murmured, his voice choked with tears. “Just for a moment... We were so happy.”

The image of Nandini’s tear-streaked face flashed in his mind, the way she had looked at him with so much love and hope, only to be torn away again. It was too much—too much to bear.

His mind raced with thoughts, questions, and doubts. What had he done wrong? Why had fate been so cruel to them? They had fought so hard, come so far, and yet, happiness had slipped through their fingers once again.

He lay back on the bed, still holding the frame, staring up at the ceiling as tears slid down his cheeks. The silence of the room was deafening, the emptiness around him echoing the emptiness he felt inside.

His thoughts drifted to the moments they had shared, the love that had grown between them despite all the obstacles. He remembered the way she would laugh, the sound like music to his ears. He remembered the way she would look at him, her eyes full of warmth and trust. And he remembered the way she would call him, the way she would say his name as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

“Why did this happen?” he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. “Why can’t we just be together? Why is it always so hard?”

His chest tightened as the reality of their separation settled over him like a heavy blanket. The happiness they had shared, however brief, had been a beacon of light in the darkness of their struggles. And now, that light was gone, leaving him adrift in a sea of uncertainty and pain.

Manik squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the overwhelming flood of emotions. But it was impossible. The pain was too real, too raw. He could feel it in every breath, every heartbeat. The agony of losing Nandini, of watching her walk away with her mother, was too much to bear.

The hours seemed to drag on, each one more torturous than the last. Manik lay there, lost in his thoughts, his mind replaying every moment, every word, every touch. He felt as if he were drowning, sinking deeper into the abyss of his despair with each passing second.

His phone buzzed on the bedside table, snapping him out of his thoughts. He reached for it, hoping against hope that it was Nandini. But when he saw the screen, his heart sank. It was a message from Cabir, asking if he was okay.

Manik stared at the message for a long time, his thumb hovering over the screen. He wanted to respond, to tell Cabir that he wasn’t okay, that he was falling apart, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he put the phone back down and turned away, burying his face in the pillow.

The night stretched on, endless and unforgiving. Manik’s mind refused to quiet, the thoughts and memories swirling around him like a storm. He was caught in the eye of it, powerless to stop the onslaught of emotions that threatened to consume him.

Eventually, exhaustion took over, and he drifted into a restless sleep, the photo frame still clutched tightly in his hand. But even in sleep, he couldn’t escape the pain. His dreams were filled with images of Nandini, of the life they had planned, the future that had been so close, yet now felt so far out of reach.

The dawn brought no relief. When Manik woke, the weight of the incident still hung heavy on his heart. He lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, trying to muster the strength to face another day without her.

But as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to get up, to move forward. All he could do was lie there, lost in the memories of what could have been, and wonder why happiness always seemed to slip through their fingers, just when they thought they had finally grasped it.

Vikrant sat in the dimly lit room, his shoulders slumped, eyes fixed on the floor. The events of the day replayed in his mind like a cruel, relentless film. His heart was heavy with memories he had tried so hard to bury, memories that had come rushing back with brutal force. He felt lost, defeated, and utterly alone.

The door creaked open, and Soha stepped inside, her face a mixture of concern and confusion. She had never seen her father like this—so vulnerable, so broken. It frightened her. Slowly, she approached him, her footsteps soft on the plush carpet.

“Dad?” she called out gently, her voice barely above a whisper. Vikrant didn’t respond. His gaze remained unfocused, lost in the labyrinth of his thoughts.

Soha hesitated for a moment, then spoke again, this time with a bit more urgency. “Dad, is... is Nandini’s mom... my mother?”

The words hung in the air, heavy and filled with the weight of a truth she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear. Vikrant flinched slightly at the question, his jaw tightening. He didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to bring Soha into the dark past he had spent years trying to forget. But he knew he couldn’t hide it any longer.

“Yes,” Vikrant finally said, his voice thick with emotion. “She is your mother.”

Soha’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock. It was as if the ground beneath her had shifted, leaving her unsteady and reeling. Tears welled up in her eyes as the reality of his words sank in.

“She’s... my mother?” Soha repeated, her voice trembling. “But... why didn’t she ever meet me? Doesn’t she love me, Dad? Why did she leave us?”

Vikrant’s heart clenched at the pain in Soha’s voice, a pain he wished he could take away. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with sorrow and regret. “It’s not that simple, Soha. There’s so much you don’t know...”

“Then tell me!” Soha cried, her voice breaking. “Tell me why my mother didn’t want me! Why did she leave us? What happened between you two?”

Vikrant took a deep breath, his hands trembling as he tried to find the right words. The memories of that day were still so vivid, so painful. But he knew he couldn’t keep them from Soha any longer. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt.

“It was years ago,” Vikrant began, his voice heavy with the weight of the past. “The day you were born... it was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives. I was at the hospital with your mother, waiting for you to arrive. But then my mother—your grandmother—insisted that I go home and rest. She promised to stay with Vishakha, to take care of her and make sure everything was okay. I didn’t want to leave, but she insisted, and eventually, I agreed.”

Soha listened intently, her eyes never leaving her father’s face. She could see the pain etched in his features, the way his voice wavered as he spoke.

“I went home that night, and I couldn’t sleep,” Vikrant continued, his voice growing softer. “I was too excited, too anxious to meet you. But when I returned to the hospital the next morning... everything had changed.”

“What happened?” Soha asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“When I got there, your grandmother told me that Vishakha had left,” Vikrant said, his voice tight with emotion. “She said that Vishakha had left a letter... a letter saying that she was done with everything. That she couldn’t ruin her career by being tied down with a baby, that she couldn’t live with me anymore, that she was leaving us both behind. I didn’t want to believe it—I couldn’t believe it. But the letter... it was in her handwriting. It was signed by her.”

Soha’s eyes filled with tears, her heart breaking as she listened to her father’s story. “She just... left?”

Vikrant nodded, his throat constricting with the memory. “I tried to find her. I searched everywhere, and asked everyone who might know where she went. But she was gone. Just... gone. And there I was, with a newborn baby—my little Soha—and no idea how to move forward.”

Soha wiped at her tears, her mind racing with a thousand questions. “But... didn’t you try to find out more? Didn’t you... didn’t you think that maybe she didn’t mean it? That maybe something else happened?”

“Of course I did,” Vikrant said, his voice rising with the intensity of his emotions. “I didn’t want to believe it, Soha. I wanted to think that there was some other explanation. But every lead I followed came to a dead end. And then... my mother fell ill. She needed treatment that wasn’t available here, so I had to take her abroad. I had to take care of her, and I had to take care of you.”

He paused, his eyes clouding with regret. “And then, one day, out of the blue, I received divorce papers. They were signed by her, with no explanation, no contact—just a clean break. It was like she was telling me that everything we had... it was over.”

Soha’s tears flowed freely now, her hands trembling as she tried to process everything her father was telling her. “So... she just left? She didn’t care about us at all?”

Vikrant’s face softened, his heart aching at the sight of his daughter in so much pain. He reached out, gently taking her hand in his. “Soha, I don’t know what was going through her mind. I don’t know why she did what she did. But I do know this—you are not to blame. None of this is your fault. You were—and still are—the most important thing in my life. Whatever happened between your mother and me... it has nothing to do with you.”

“But why did she have another daughter?” Soha asked, her voice breaking. “Why did she stay with her, but not with me?”

Vikrant closed his eyes, the question piercing through him like a knife. “I wish I had answers, Soha. I wish I could explain it all. But I can’t. I don’t know why she made the choices she did. All I know is that I tried to give you the best life I could, and I tried to protect you from the pain of knowing... of knowing that she had left.”

Soha let out a choked sob, her mind overwhelmed by the revelations. “Was I... was I not good enough, Dad? Was that why she left?”

“No, Soha, no,” Vikrant said urgently, pulling her into a tight embrace. “You were always more than enough. You are perfect just the way you are. Don’t ever think that you weren’t good enough. What happened—it was about her, not you.”

Soha clung to her father, her tears soaking into his shirt as she cried out the pain and confusion that had built up inside her. “I just... I don’t understand, Dad. Why didn’t she come back? Why didn’t she try to find me?”

Vikrant stroked her hair, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I wish I could tell you why. But sometimes... sometimes people make choices that we can’t understand. And those choices hurt the ones they leave behind.”

They stayed like that for a long time, Soha crying softly in her father’s arms, and Vikrant holding her close, trying to be the rock she needed him to be. The room was silent, save for the sound of Soha’s muffled sobs and the quiet, steady rhythm of Vikrant’s breathing.

Finally, Soha pulled back slightly, looking up at her father with tear-streaked cheeks. “What do we do now, Dad? What do I do?”

Vikrant looked into his daughter’s eyes, seeing the pain and confusion mirrored in her gaze. He wished he had all the answers, but he didn’t. All he could do was be there for her, to help her navigate the storm they now found themselves in.

“We take it one step at a time,” Vikrant said softly. “We take the time we need to process all of this. And we remember that no matter what happens, we have each other. You are not alone, Soha. I’m here for you. Always.”

Soha nodded, her heart heavy but comforted by her father’s words. She leaned her head against his chest, finding solace in the steady beat of his heart. The pain of the truth would take time to heal, but with her father by her side, she knew she could face whatever came next.

As they sat there in the quiet of the room, Vikrant couldn’t help but think of Vishakha—of the love they had once shared, and the broken pieces of their lives that had somehow found their way back together after all these years. The past had resurfaced, bringing with it all the pain and unanswered questions. But he knew that his priority now was his daughter, helping her heal from the wounds that had been inflicted so long ago.

And as for Vishakha... he didn’t know what the future held. But he did know that the past had finally caught up with them, and there were still so many things left unsaid.
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Hope u all like the chapter.....

Few words for Manik....

Few words for Nandini....

What were your favourite moments???

Will Vikrant and Vishakha clear their misunderstanding???

What will happen when Vishakha gets to know that soha is her daughter???

Thank u 🙂🙂

Love,
Kiara ❤️❤️