The hall, once alive with laughter and joy, now stood in a suffocating silence. Samaira’s trembling hands clutched the divorce papers, her vision blurring with tears as she stared at Advait. Her voice, trembling but resolute, broke through the unbearable quiet.

“Why?” she demanded, her tone laced with equal parts heartbreak and fury. “Why are you doing this? You love me, don’t you? Or was all of that a lie too?”

Advait stood tall, his cold, commanding presence unyielding. His lips curled into an imperious smirk that sent a chill through the room. “Love you?” he repeated, the mockery in his voice sharp enough to cut through her fragile hope. “Let me make one thing clear, Samaira—I don’t make mistakes. Whatever I do is exactly what you deserve.”

Her breath hitched, and tears spilled down her cheeks as she took a shaky step closer to him. “After everything you’ve done to me—after the way you forcefully married me—”

The collective gasp from the family was deafening. Pramita’s eyes widened in shock, and her hands flew to her mouth. Ritu clutched her chest, looking between Samaira and Advait as if trying to make sense of the revelation. Kartik, usually calm and composed, dropped the wineglass he had been holding, the sound of shattering glass echoing through the room.

Aryan, who had been leaning casually against the wall moments ago, straightened, his brow furrowed in disbelief. “Forcefully married?” he muttered, his gaze snapping to Advait. “What is she talking about, bhai?”

Mahendra, who had been silent so far, finally spoke, his tone heavy with disbelief. “Advait, what is this? Is this true?”

But Advait didn’t acknowledge any of them. His piercing gaze remained fixed on Samaira, and his smirk deepened. “After the way I married you?” he repeated, his voice dripping with mockery. “Oh, Samaira, you make it sound so dramatic. Did you ever stop to think why I did it?”

Her tears fell faster now, but she refused to look away. “I thought it was because you loved me! Because you couldn’t let me go!”

“And you believed that?” he scoffed, his tone growing colder with every word. “Do you really think I could love the daughter of the family responsible for my father’s death?”

Samaira staggered back as if he had physically struck her. Her lips parted, but no words came out. The room exploded with murmurs as the family members exchanged shocked and horrified glances.

“That’s enough, Advait!” Vikram’s voice rang out, sharp and commanding. He stepped forward, his face a mix of anger and confusion. “You yourself admitted that blaming her family was a mistake. You said someone else was behind it. So why are you saying this now?”

Advait’s cold demeanor didn’t falter. He turned to Vikram, his voice steady and unyielding. “I said what I needed to say to make her fall for me. I couldn’t let her move on, Vikram. I couldn’t let her live a happy life with someone else while my family remained broken. This… this was justice.”

The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, suffocating everyone in the room.

“Justice?” Samaira whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief. Her tears had stopped, replaced by a numbness that crept over her like a shadow. “You call this justice?”

Advait’s smirk returned, colder than ever. “I wanted to show you your real place, Samaira. To bring you into my world, make you think you belonged here, and then shatter you completely. This was the perfect moment.”

Samaira’s numbness gave way to anger, a fiery resolve that burned away the remnants of her heartbreak. She took a step forward, her voice rising with each word. “How could you do this to me? After everything I’ve been through—after everything we’ve been through—you still chose to betray me?”

He didn’t flinch, didn’t show an ounce of remorse.

Samaira’s fury reached its peak, and she took another step closer, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. “Fine,” she said, her voice shaking but filled with determination. “If this is what you want, then so be it. But let me tell you something, Advait Singh Shekhawat—I am not the woman you left shattered at the altar a year ago.”

Her words hung in the air, electrifying the room.

She pointed a trembling finger at him, her eyes blazing with fury. “If you’ve decided to destroy me, then know this—I’ll destroy you first. No matter what it takes, I’ll make you regret every word, every insult, every betrayal.”

She turned on her heel and stormed out of the hall, her fury radiating off her like a storm.

Pramita hesitated, looking at Advait with wide, pleading eyes. “Advait, please… she—”

“Don’t,” Advait interrupted, his voice cold and final. “She’s the daughter of my enemy,our enemy. If anyone dares to stop her, they’ll be my enemy too.”

Ritu gasped, her hand flying to her chest. “Advait, she’s your wife!”

“She was never my wife,” he said, his tone icy. “And she’ll never be family.”

Mahendra stepped forward, his voice filled with quiet authority. “Advait, you’ve made your point. Let her go if you must, but don’t push away those who care for you.”

Advait’s gaze snapped to his uncle, sharp and unrelenting. “This is my house, my family. And I’ll do what I see fit. If anyone has a problem with that, they’re free to leave too.”

The room fell silent again, the weight of his words pressing down on everyone.

Samaira stormed into her room, her heart pounding with fury and pain. Her hands shook as she pulled clothes from the wardrobe, stuffing them into her suitcase with reckless abandon.

Her mind raced, replaying his cruel words over and over. He thought he could break her, reduce her to nothing. But he was wrong.

Tears blurred her vision as she zipped up her suitcase and grabbed her belongings. She wouldn’t cry for him anymore.

This wasn’t the end. It was the beginning.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her tear-streaked face a testament to the storm within her. “If this is what he wants,” she whispered to herself, her voice trembling, “then I’ll give him the fight of his life.”

With her suitcase in hand, she stepped out of the room, ready to leave the Shekhawat mansion and everything it represented behind her.