***Ruha's POV.***

***Present Day***

"Mum." a small voice calls out to me and I wake up.

"Ramya. You woke up. How are you feeling, dear?" I ask as I check her temperature with my hand and sigh in relief when it doesn't feel that much hot anymore.

"I feel fine." She says.

"Do you know how old you are?" I ask with a smile.

"What kind of question is that? I am 25." She says and I help her sit up.

"Well, in the afternoon, you believed yourself to be three years old." I say, "Tell me, Ramya, do you still remember anything from your childhood?"

"No." She says, looking up.

I put my hand on her and ask, "You do remember us taking therapy, right?"

"Yes." She says.

"And you do remember saying that you recall nothing of that time? The therapist told me that maybe you have suppressed your memory to escape those traumatic events or you are just simply lying." I say.

"I am sorry, Mum. But it was hard to talk about that back then and you were doing so well in your sessions that I didn't want you to hang around just for me. Also, my biggest therapy was you being happy." She says.

"But, dear, the past still haunts you. We took the therapy so it won't affect our future life. Tell me. Do you trust Reyansh fully?" I ask.

She looks at me with wide eyes and then looks away. After a few seconds, she says, "I do trust him a little, but it is hard to not fear things."

"Ramya, ‌let go of the past, otherwise it would start affecting your relationship badly. And you and Reyansh are so good together and he is nothing like... He is a very kind and good person." I say as I stroke her hand.

"What about you?" She asks.

"What about me?" I ask with a frown.

"You haven't fully let go of your past." She says.

"What do you mean? I am moving on just fine." I say.

"Then why haven't you forgiven Nani yet?" She asks and I go still.

"Your Nani and I have some issues which have nothing to do with the past." I say.

"Liar. I know it still hurts you, Mum. Because she wasn't there for you when you needed her the most. But have you ever thought maybe she did not know about all those things? That she was hurting too because she lost her husband, then she thought her only daughter abandoned her too. Everybody deserves a chance to be forgiven and don't forget it was Nani who finally put your culprit behind the bars." She says.

"It is not like I don't understand her situation, but she is so stubborn and unchanging and unwavering in some of her resolutions even now. Do you know she has been testing Sukhit for a month now? And she still isn't satisfied." I say.

"That's because she worries for you. She made a mistake and has gotten cautious so that it doesn't happen again. She loves you, Mum. Give her one more chance, Mum. She has waited for over twenty-three years for you to acknowledge her and give her love. Why forget those years you spent with her and only remember those when she wasn't there? Why?" Ramya asks, and my eyes widen in shock.

She is right. Before getting married, I was close to my mother, too. I always wanted to be like her. In some ways, I am like her. But after what happened, I put all the blame on her to protect myself and move on with my daughter. It wasn't like she knew what was going on.

"I will think about it." I say.

"That's all I am asking for. By the way, what time is it?" She asks.

"It is saline time." We hear a voice and look at the doorway to see Reyansh and his Dadi.

"You are one cruel husband, Reyansh. First you cheat on me with a nurse, then you come again here to stab me with that thing in my house." She says and I look at Reyansh in surprise.

"Don't say it like that, Ramya. What would your mother think? Mum, I just distracted her for a few seconds so the nurse can inject her otherwise, she won't take it." Reyansh says.

"Oh, I know how she gets when she sees a needle. That must be because she got-" I stop when Ramya squeezes my hand to stop.

"Ramya, I didn't know you were such a fuzzy child. I thought you were strong. Come on, it is just for you to gain your strength back. If you are a good girl, you will get this." Dadi Ji says, showing her an ice pop.

"But what if it hurts?" Ramya asks.

"Will I let you get hurt?" Dadi Ji asks and Ramya shakes her head no, "Good. Now close your eyes."

Ramya does as she is asked, and Dadi Ji quickly and expertly fixes her with IV.

"I should take my leave now." I say.

"You can stay here for tonight if you like, Mum." Reyansh says.

"No, Mum has something to deal with. Go. Off with you." Ramya says.

"So pushy. I am going. But take better care of yourself. My heart isn't strong enough to see you like this." I say and kiss her head.

"Your heart is strong enough to survive anything in life." She says.

I smiled at her and waved her goodbye. When I come down, I see Sukhit talking with Daksh Ji. I called him earlier to cancel our dinner date.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Sukhit.

"Just came to see Ramya and also made this broth for her." He says giving it to Kavya Ji.

"Thank you." I say.

"How is she?" He asks.

"She is fine now." I say and turn to her in-laws, "I will take my leave. Please call me if you need anything."

"We sure will." Kavya Ji says and we take our leave.

On our drive back to my house, I can't help but think about what Ramya told me. I am soon going to move on in life with Sukhit and for that I have to let go of the past totally. Sukhit deserves that.

He has been nothing else than attentive and loving towards me ever since we started seeing each other. He has an even stricter family than mine, but he still stood up for me and held onto me even when his family said we are too old to marry. When did being 43 considered old?

"You didn't have to come all the way with me." I say when Sukhit accompanies me home in his car.

"Maybe I wanted to spend some time with you." He says, taking my hand in his.

"I want that too." I say squeezing his hand, "So what did your Dad say?"

"He is okay, but he said we should get married after the monsoon and just before winter. So I was thinking about September or October, maybe." He says.

"I like that. Let me think about it, then we will decide." I say.

"Are you sure you don't want any big wedding?" He asks.

"No. I just want us and our family to be there to bless our marriage. You want that too." I say.

"It isn't necessary for you to want what I want." He says.

"But what if I want that? And we should save something as we are thinking about adopting." I say with a smile.

"Did you tell Ramya about it?" He asks.

"I will tell her after we get married and are approved to adopt." I say.

"Would she be okay?" He asks, looking nervous.

"She would be more than okay. She would be happy to finally get a sibling because she always insisted that I adopt one. But I wasn't ready back then because all my concentration was ‌on Ramya and my business. But now I have you, the person who would be there for our kids. So I can take a chance again." I say and kiss his cheek.

"Well, that was flattering." He says with a shy smile.

"Ah! I had no regrets until I met you." I say.

"And what are these new regrets?" He asks.

"That didn't meet you before. I would have ran off with you if I had." I say with a sigh.

"But then you wouldn't have gotten Ramya. Do you regret her too?" He asks.

"Never in a million years would I think that. She is part of my soul and heart, just like you." I say with a smile.

"I cooked dinner for you. Eat up and‌ sleep." He says and turns to leave, but I hold his hand.

"What? You are leaving. You can stay if you want." I say and he looks at me like I have grown horns over my head.

"I think you are forgetting your mother is in there." He says.

"I know that. She wouldn't mind. Come in. It is too late for you to drive." I say and drag him inside with me.

"Where were you this late?" Mom asks me as soon as I enter the house.

"Ramya was sick, so I was with her. Let me get changed, then I will have dinner." I say‌.

"I will heat ‌the food." Sukhit says to escape from Mom, I think.

"What is he doing here?" She asks.

"It is late, so I asked him to stay over." I say.

"Ruha!" She exclaims.

I look at her and for the first time; I see how frail and tired she looks. When did I forget that she was getting old? And there would come a time when she would... I don't want her to take over my life, but neither do I want to back away from facing her or having her there for me.

"Mom, I am tired and hungry. Also, it has been a month, by now you should know that Sukhit is best for me. If you can find in your heart accept our relationship, then maybe we can start over our relationship. Because I love both of you and I won't choose only one of you. I deserve to get both of you." I say, looking straight into her eyes.

She says nothing and looks away, but I wait patiently. After a few seconds, she nods and says, "I will try my best to accept it as I... I... love you too and want to be part of your life. But don't expect me to leave you after you get married this time."

"Thanks. That's enough for me." I say and go upstairs.

As soon as I close the door, I sigh happily and wipe the tears away. Such simple words and it took me years to say it. Maybe things would turn out better now. I hope Ramya wins against her past too.