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Mythili's POV ~

The rain had stopped by the time Baba came home. The air was still damp, heavy with the scent of wet earth, and the house felt eerily quiet. As they brought Baba inside, wrapped in blankets. His frail form seemed lost in the oversized wheelchair, his eyes half-closed as if too tired to stay awake.

Shivaay stood beside me, as silent as ever, his presence steady but distant. I hovered by Baba's side, watching every little movement, listening for each shallow breath he took.

They settled him into his room and I sat next to him, holding his hand. He didn't react much but squeeze my hand back.

"Rest, Baba," I whispered, stroking his hair like I used to when I was a child. "You're home now."

Shivaay was still by the door, watching us and I waited for him to say something, maybe offer a few words of comfort, but he stayed silent, his eyes never leaving Baba.

The quiet stretched on for what felt like hours. After the nurses left, there was no one else in the house but us. Maa along with Anamika and Nupur had gone to the temple.

I couldn't take the silence anymore. I stood up and turned to Shivaay, my voice barely above a whisper. "What aren't you telling me?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest. I knew there was something he wanted to say to me ever since he found me but hadn't been able to.

His eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw it—the weight he was carrying, the pain that was hiding behind his stoic expression. He took a step forward, his jaw tightening as if he was trying to find the right words.

"There's something you need to know," he said, his voice low but steady.

My stomach churned. "What is it?"

He took a deep breath, his eyes locking onto mine, and when he spoke again, his words cut through the air like a knife. "Kapoor isn't your father."

For a moment, I didn't move. I didn't even breathe. His words hung in the air, their meaning crashing into me with a force that left me completely paralysed.

"What?" I whispered, my voice barely audible, as if speaking any louder would shatter the thin thread of reality I was clinging to.

Shivaay's face was pale, his expression one of anguish, but he didn't waver. "Kapoor... he isn't your real father, Mythili. He's been lying to you all these years."

My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else. I wanted to laugh, to tell him this was impossible, but the look in his eyes—the weight of truth—was unmistakable. The room seemed to spin around me, and I clutched the back of a chair to steady myself.

"That's... that's not possible," I stammered. "Why would he lie? Why would he—"

Shivaay's eyes softened, but there was no room for denial in his words. "Because the truth is much darker than you think."

I shook my head, stepping back as if I could physically push away the words. "What are you talking about, Shivaay? You're not making sense."

He hesitated, his own pain visible in the lines of his face. "Kapoor didn't just lie to you. He... he killed your real parents."

I froze.

The words hit me like a punch to the chest, knocking the air from my lungs. My vision blurred as the walls seemed to close in around me. I couldn't believe what I was hearing—didn't want to believe it.

"My... my parents?" I choked, the words scraping painfully from my throat.

Shivaay nodded, his voice softer now, almost tender, as though he knew each word was tearing me apart. "Kapoor's twin brother was your real father. Kapoor killed him and your mother to take over the family fortune—the mansion, the property, everything."

The floor beneath me felt like it was giving way. I sank into the nearest chair, my head spinning with the horror of it all. My mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of my life, the memories I had of my so called family—memories of a man I thought was my father.

"I... I don't understand," I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. "Why didn't anyone tell me? How could he do this? Why—"

"He's been manipulating you your whole life," Shivaay said, stepping closer. "He pretended to be your father to control everything. He's the reason Baba's been sick for so long. Kapoor's been drugging him for years, erasing his memories so no one would find out the truth."

The tears came, hot and fast, and I buried my face in my hands, my whole body shaking. My life—everything I thought I knew—was unraveling before me, and I couldn't make sense of it. I had trusted Dad, looked up to him, loved him as my father. And now, to find out that he was a murderer, a liar... that he had destroyed everything I held dear... it was too much.

Shivaay knelt down beside me, his hand gently touching my arm. "I'm sorry, Mythili. I didn't want to tell you this, but you needed to know the truth."

I lifted my head, my tear-streaked face looking into his eyes. "Why Shivaay? Why me?"

"I know this is an unimaginable burden," he said softly, his voice a calming presence in the midst of my chaos. "Everything you believed in, everything that gave your life meaning, has been shattered. It's more than anyone should have to bear Mythili but please, my love, please don't shut yourself from the people who love you.

I swallowed hard, my throat raw from crying. "What do I do now?" My voice was small, broken.

Shivaay's hand tightened on mine. "You don't have to do anything. I'll handle Kapoor. He won't hurt you or Baba again. I promise."

But I shook my head, pulling away from him. "No. I have to face him. He's been living in this lie for too long, and I've been trapped in it. I need to confront him, Shivaay. I need to hear it from him."

Shivaay's eyes were full of concern, but he nodded. "If that's what you want, I'll stand by you. But remember, Mythili... you're not alone in this."

I wiped my tears, standing up with shaky legs. My whole world had just crumbled around me, but in that moment, all I could think of was one thing—I needed to hear him admit it. I needed him to confess everything.

Only then could I truly understand the depth of the betrayal that had shattered my childhood, my entire life.

The next day, Shivaay drove me to my so called Dad who was in the police station's lock up and Shivaay and I stood in front of his cell while he was sitting with his back straight and an air of smug satisfaction, looked up as we approached.

It felt like the anger inside me was a living thing, burning hotter with every passing second.

"Uncle." I spat, my voice shaking with fury.

His lips curled into a contemptuous smile looking at Shivaay and me. "So, he told you everything."

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "You killed my real parents. You murdered them in cold blood to steal everything from them. Why? Why did you think you had the right?"

His eyes glinted with unrepentant malice. "Because I wanted what they had. Power, money, influence—it was all within my grasp, and I wasn't going to let anyone stand in my way. Your parents were obstacles, and I removed them. If I had to do it all over again, I would."

The venom in his voice was like acid. My breath quickened, and I took a step closer, my face inches from the bars. "You're a monster. You're a vile, despicable creature who only cares about power and wealth."

I felt my entire body shaking with rage. "You have no idea what it means to be a family. To love and trust someone only to have them ripped away by a heartless monster like you. You've torn apart my life, and you stand there, completely unrepentant!"

Shivaay's hand on my arm was the only thing keeping me grounded and I could feel his support even as I seethed with anger.

I took a deep breath, trying to control the shaking in my voice. "You think you can justify your actions with twisted logic? You've betrayed everyone who ever cared for you. You'll pay for this, uncle. I won't stop until you do. You've made me into something I never wanted to be—a person who has to fight for justice for everything you've stolen."

His smirk faltered slightly, but his arrogance remained. "Do your worst, Mythili. Nothing you do will change what's already been done."

I stood still, my body trembling, eyes locked onto his sadistic smile. His cold, unfeeling nature sparked something inside me—anger, but now laced with bitter hatred. How had I been so blind? How could I have trusted this man with my life, my emotions, and my love when all along, he was a wolf waiting to devour everything?

"Do my worst?" I repeated, my voice thick with barely contained anger. I took another step forward, my voice rising as every word I spoke. "You think this is just about punishment, Uncle? You think you can walk away from what you did with nothing but my hatred? This is about justice for every second of my life you've stolen! This is about making you suffer the way you made my parents suffer—the way you made me suffer!"

He leaned forward, his elbows resting lazily on his knees. "You speak of justice as if it's something you can grasp with your weak hands, Mythili." His voice was mockingly slow, dripping with condescension. "You are nothing. Your real parents were nothing. Because people like us—people like me—deserve everything."

"You deserve nothing!" I exploded, my voice a fiery roar. "You took my family, their legacy, their love, and for what? To feed your greed, to feed your ego? You're rotting in that cell now, but even that's too good for you. You don't deserve the mercy of sitting in a lockup. You deserve to rot in your own misery, watching everything you schemed for slip through your fingers. And mark my words," I stepped closer, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, "I will make sure that everything you ever wanted—everything you ever craved for—burns to ashes."

Kapoor's smug expression flickered, just for a moment. His eyes darkened, and a sneer spread across his face. "You think you can take me down? That you and your husband standing next to you will achieve anything? You're deluded, Mythili. You've always been naive, just like your mother. She thought love and kindness could protect her, too. And look where that got her."

Something inside me snapped. My vision turned red. I slammed my hands against the cold metal bars, the impact reverberating in my bones. "Don't you dare speak about my mother like that!" I hissed, my voice shaking with the sheer force of my rage. "She would have been a hundred times the person you could ever hope to be! She loved, she cared, she trusted, and you took advantage of that. You destroyed her because you knew you could never have that kind of power."

For a split second, his smirk faltered. His eyes twitched, revealing a flicker of something—fear, perhaps, or just the realisation that he had lost control of the situation. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the same cold arrogance.

"You don't scare me, Mythili," he spat, his voice low and venomous. "No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you can't change what's already done. Your parents are gone, and their legacy will be mine. The house, the business—it was always meant to be mine. And I'd kill them a thousand times over to have it again."

I froze. My breath caught in my throat, a mixture of horror and rage swirling in my chest. "You're a monster," I whispered, the words escaping like a death sentence. "You're not even human."

He chuckled darkly, rising to his feet. He stepped closer to the bars, towering over me with his smugness fully restored. "Maybe, but I'm a monster who wins. That's what people like you never understand. You may have your little victories, Mythili, but at the end of the day, people like me—we always win."

"Not this time." Shivaay's voice cut through the tension like a knife, steady and sharp. He moved from the shadows behind me, his tall frame imposing as he stepped closer to the man I believed to be my dad all my life.

"You are never walking out of prison the rest of your life Kapoor," Shivaay said, his voice low and controlled, "this is just the beginning of your downfall. You'll lose everything, your power, your reputation, your life as you know it. And the worst part for you? You'll lose all your money."

His eyes flicked between us, his facade of control cracking under the weight of Shivaay's words. For a man who thrived on dominance, the realization that he was no longer in control hit him harder than anything else. He stepped back, but he wasn't ready to concede.

"You think you can take me down?" Kapoor snarled. "I still have connections. I have people who owe me, people who will do anything I ask. You'll never win—"

Shivaay's laugh cut him off, dark and chilling. "You're forgetting one thing, Kapoor. You only had power as long as you were feared. But now? Everyone knows who you truly are. A coward who hides behind lies and deceit. The other thing you seemingly have forgotten is that I am Shivaay Singh Rathore."

I watched as Kapoor's face contorted with rage. He opened his mouth to retort, but no words came. For the first time, the reality of his downfall seemed to dawn on him, and I could see the cracks forming in his arrogance.

I stepped forward, my voice cold and steady. "You might have thought you could manipulate me forever, but you underestimated me, Uncle. I'm not the scared little girl you thought I was and I am going to make sure that you suffer for what you did to my family, to my baba."

Kapoor glared at me, his hands gripping the bars tightly. "This isn't over, Mythili. You'll regret coming after me."

I stared him down, my fury unrelenting. "No, dad. You'll regret ever thinking you could break me after what I now know about you."

Without another word, I turned and walked away. Shivaay followed close behind, his hand finding mine as we left the cell behind.

"We need to file an FIR against his wife too." He said as we sat down in front of the station officer. I nodded and started narrating everything I knew about both of them and in about an hour, we were finally free to go.

Shivaay's POV ~

The moment we stepped through the door, I could feel Mythili's energy shift. She smiled at me—soft, almost reassuring—but her eyes couldn't hide the storm inside. I knew her too well by now. Every twitch of her fingers, every glance away when she thought I wasn't looking, told me more than her words ever could.

My phone buzzed, breaking the silence between us. Work, board meeting but all of it could wait and I silenced the phone without a second thought, shifting my attention back to Mythili.

"Shivaay I know you have a meeting. Go." Mythili said, turning towards me.

"Everything else can wait," I declared, making my way back to her side.

Her hand found mine, her fingers curling softly around it. "Shivaay, you should go. It's work. I'm okay," she said, her voice quiet but steady.

I shook my head, "I don't care about work right now," I told her, loud and clear.

She looked at me with that mix of resolve and vulnerability, her eyes pleading in their own quiet way. Her fingers traced my jawline, "I understand how much this means to you, but you need to go. It's important, and I'll be fine. I promise. Maa, Anamika, Nupur and Baba, everyone is here for me."

I bent down and kissed her forehead, lingering for a moment shorter than I wanted to. "Alright," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I am going. But remember, my love, if you need anything, you call me right away. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I will and I love you. Now go." She said, squeezing my hand in reassurance before I had to leave her.

**************************

When I came back home that night, the house was cloaked in silence. The kind that seeped into the walls and settled in the air. I closed the door behind me, the sound of the lock clicking echoing through the empty hall. I knew Mythili was somewhere inside, probably in bed by now. But something told me that she wasn't okay, no matter what brave words she'd thrown at me before I left.

walked up the stairs, each step heavier than the last, and headed straight for our room. The door was slightly ajar, just enough for the dim light from the bedside lamp to filter through. I pushed it open, and there she was, lying on her side, the soft curve of her back facing me.

I exhaled quietly, trying not to disturb her. She looked like she was sleeping, her body still, tucked under the blankets. I told myself it was fine, that she was resting, but a part of me knew better. I stepped inside, closing the door with a soft click behind me, and headed to the closet.

When I finally slipped into bed beside her, I kept my movements careful, not wanting to wake her if she was truly asleep. As I settled in, though, I noticed something—a sound so faint, I almost missed it. Her breathing wasn't steady. It was shaky, shallow, and... I realized then what it meant.

My heart clenched.

She wasn't asleep. She was crying.

My wife was lying beside me, silently shedding the tears she'd tried to hide all day. She was trying to be brave, to keep it all locked inside where she thought I wouldn't see. But here she was, breaking quietly.

I couldn't stand it. It was tearing me apart.

For a moment, I just lay there, watching the slight tremor of her body as she tried to hold it all in. I didn't say anything. I didn't need to. I knew what she was going through—this unbearable weight, this overwhelming sadness. And she didn't want me to see it. She didn't want anyone to see it.

I turned toward her, my hand instinctively reaching out to touch her. I slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her gently against me. She tensed at first, probably trying to pretend she was still asleep, but I wasn't fooled. I could feel the tremble of her body, the soft gasp she let out when I held her.

I did not speak. There was nothing I could say to take this pain away, to erase the hurt she was feeling. But I could be there for her. I could hold her, be her anchor in this storm.

Slowly, I moved closer, pressing my chest against her back, feeling the warmth of her body against mine. My hand moved up, stroking her hair softly, my fingers brushing through the strands.

I felt her tears wetting the pillow beneath her, the way her breath hitched as she tried to keep herself from falling apart. It broke my heart.

"Mythili," I whispered softly, my voice barely audible, more a breath than a word. She didn't respond, but I did not expect her to.

I pressed my lips to her hair, the scent of her shampoo filling my senses. It was familiar, comforting, but tonight, it only made me ache more. I kissed her softly, lingering there for a moment, hoping she could feel how much I was here for her, how much I wanted to take her pain away.

"You don't have to do this alone," I murmured, my words sinking into the silence between us. "I'm here. Always."

Her body slowly relaxed against mine, the tension easing just a bit, though I could still feel the sadness lingering. I held her tighter, my hand now resting against her stomach, pulling her as close as I could, as if that could somehow shield her from everything that hurt her.

I felt her breathing start to steady, the soft rise and fall of her chest becoming more even. But I knew she wasn't fine. Not yet. Still, for tonight, I would hold her, protect her, and love her in the only way I knew how—in silence, with nothing but my presence and the promise that I wasn't going anywhere.

As I lay there, listening to the soft sounds of the night, I closed my eyes and pressed another kiss to her hair, letting the sadness linger but hoping, somehow, it would pass.

For now, that was enough.

Hey guys! This is the next chapter. I hope you all like it.

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