Laila sat on the swing  with her hands wrapped around a warm mug of turmeric milk. She wasn't drinking it but simply holding it. Her legs curled up beneath her while her hair falling loose around her shoulders and her eyes open yet absent. She looked like someone who was present yet absent. The screen door creaked and she didn't look up because it was only going to be him.

Mihir's presence was always unmistakable. He sat down beside her on the swing not saying anything for a while. "You should be sleeping," Laila said eventually in her low tone and Mihir shrugged, "Could say the same to you" but Laila didn't respond which lead to the return of the silence. "You know I can't just sit around and do nothing," he said and paused, "He's still walking around breathing like he didn't rip you apart piece by piece".

Laila closed her eyes, "Mihi-", "I'm not going to sit back and sip chai while Parth Manvik continues to exist without consequences" said Mihir sharply, "That's not happening" he concluded. Laila placed the mug down carefully on the side table and then turned her full body toward him, "You think you're helping me?". "You think marching up to him and punching him is going to undo what happened? You think you'll make him pay and I'll what? Heal faster?"

Mihir clenched his jaw, "I think he deserves to be scared or hurt, at the very least". "He already is" Laila said and Mihir turned towards her confused. "He's scared, Mihir" she said softly reaffirming,  "Of what he's become, Of what he's done, Of being seen for who he really is, You think someone like Parth wants to be known as the man who abused his wife? He wanted control, Not chaos and that's why I exposed him" completed Laila. 

"That's not enough, Fear isn't justice" Mihir snapped. "No it's not but vengeance isn't justice either" explained Laila.  "I'm not going to go there with a bat" he muttered, "I just want to look him in the eye and let him know he messed with the wrong person". "He knows" said Laila softly. Laila looked at her brother and for a moment she softened, she remembered all the times he stood as her shield. 

"I know you love me but I'm not a broken thing that needs avenging,  I'm still standing strong and I walked out, On my own" said Laila with reassurance.  He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "You shouldn't have had to" said Mihir. "But I did and now I need space to be more than just someone who survived Parth Manvik" said Laila with confidence, "I want to be Laila again,  Just Laila".

Mihir stared ahead into the dark garden and opened up, "You don't know what it felt like, hearing everything and sitting there like an idiot thinking you were doing great when you were bleeding in silence". "That's the thing about silence, It fills every corner until there's no space left for voices". He looked at her calm eyes and composed demeanour, He saw the way survival rewires someone, it wasn't about pride but perseverance.

"I want to protect you" he said softly and she softly whispered, "I know". "But protect the version of me that's choosing to rise from this and not the one that needed rescuing back then" said Laila and she reached over to hold his hand. He squeezed it gently, "You're the bravest person I know". "I don't feel brave" said Laila honestly and Mihir nudged her, "You are, Remember that you walked out of hell with your head high".

"And now?" Laila asked, "Now what do I do?" She said fading out.  "You live, you reclaim" Mihir said wilfully. "Promise me you won't go there" Laila requested, "I promise" said Mihir and paused, "Unless you ask me to". Laila leaned her head on his shoulder, "Thank you", Mihir looked at her confused, "For what?".  "For loving me unconditionally" said Laila and Mihir softly pressed a kiss to her hair, "Always".

The driveway echoed of the wheels of the car as Shamsher Sazal's driver parked with a screech that reverberated through the Manvik Mansion's peace like a blade. The door swung open and Shamsher stepped out with the deliberate pace of a man who had already decided what lines he would cross today. He adjusted the blazer of the suit he was wearing while flaring out and the guards knew not mess with the man walking by.

The heavy doors of the Manvik mansion opened as per instructions and he barged inside,  few of the household help paused mid-task being startled by his presence. "Where is he?" Shamsher's voice sliced through the air. No one answered, not immediately but It was a silence of fear and not confusion. "WHERE IS PRI-HAN MANVIK?" his voice echoed off the chandeliers.  Rishi emerged in his usual authority, descending from the stairs towards the fuming Shamsher Sazal.

"Shamsher" Rishi said with his voice carefully modulated, "What brings you here with such-". "You do not get to ask that, this is not our usual talks" Shamsher cut him off, "You don't even get to speak until I'm done". Vanya rushed into the hall  with her face pale and breath hitching. Behind her, Pulkit and Prachi stood startled and speechless. "I'm not here for pleasantries, I'm here because your son- your golden boy drove my daughter to the edge of her existence".

"Please calm down," Vanya began but Shamsher turned to her. "Do not tell me to calm down when my daughter Romaisa almost DIED!" he said with his eyes sharp and voice rising. "You don't talk to my wife in that tone" reminded Rishi in his cold yet threatening tone. Romaisa wrapped in her shawl, looked down and her eyes met with her father's, seeing her well reduced his fury a bit.

"Tell me, why after calling this truce named marriage, your psychotic son drove her into the brink of death?" asked Shamsher. Prihan finally entered with his steps halting as if something held him close to the ground. He met Shamsher's eyes briefly and then looked down. "So you finally decided to show up" taunted Shamsher and Prihan began, "I'm-". "No" Shamsher raised a finger cutting him off.

"you don't get to talk, You don't get to justify, Romaisa's blood is tainted on your hands". "I saved her," Prihan said softly. "I saved her" Prihan said softly and Shamsher lunged forward to hit, It took Parth and Aariz to hold him back. "YOU SAVED HER?" said Shamsher in sarcastic disbelief,  "You pushed her off the cliff and want applause for grabbing her at the edge?". Romaisa was descending the stairs now, "Dad Please Don't make this worse" she said gently.

Shamsher turned his fury for a split second into pain, "My girl" he whispered softly, "You should have told me, You should have come to me, I would've burned everything to ashes for you". Romaisa's eyes brimmed, "I didn't want to make things harder, I thought I could handle it". "You're not supposed to handle torment, Roma" he said holding her hand, "You're not supposed to survive or handle a marriage, You're supposed to live it peacefully".

"I Love him" she admitted, "We were in a relationship way before the marriage". Shamsher's breath hitched, "Love? Relationship?". "I thought maybe this was just a phase but it was something worst" she whispered. "Phase?" Shamsher voice echoed then he turned back to the Manvik's. "How did you raise your sons? What did you teach them that breaking a woman earns them forgiveness if they whisper sweetly enough afterward?" questioned Shamsher and Vanya flinched at the accusation.

"Shamsher please, I am just as hurt by what happened, I tried-" Vanya explained but cut off by Shamsher, "I don't want your pain, I want accountability and reasons for such a heinous act". "I'm trying" Prihan said louder this time, "I know I broke her and I know I broke myself too". "Then stay broken because she owes you nothing, Not her presence or forgiveness " Shamsher said coldly. 

"If she ever leaves you then you better thank the stars that she didn't take your soul with her" Shamsher said Sharply. "What gives you the right to stand head high against me?" said Shamsher standing close to Prihan to intimidate him. "The same right he had to make you feel like this for murdering his mother" said Rishi coldly and Vanya held his hand to stop him from speaking out further. "What?" asked Shamsher and Romaisa answered, "I was just a vessel".

"He wanted me to run to you and make you feel my pain as revenge for killing his mother's sister, more like avenging his mother's tears but turns out he was without knowledge that he was avenging his actual mother" said Romaisa with a humourless chuckle. "Dad why did you do that?" asked Romaisa and Shamsher's eyes faltered, "It was a rivalry thing". "So he can kill me in rivalry too, right?" asked Romaisa.

"I hate what he did to me but you took away a mother from a small baby is no less of a tragedy" said Romaisa and she went to Vanya, "Why did he kill your sister" asked Romaisa and she closed her eyes in pain. "I killed her because she was his wife but he didn't care because he wanted his sister-in-law instead" said Shamsher and Vanya's eyes shot up in anger. 

"How dare you disregard her existence like that, you both just take her life and death so lightly like she doesn't matter" huffed Vanya. "She matters to me, She matters to my kids, She even matters to your daughter, who has only heard about her" said Vanya sharply and Romaisa looked down as she felt the intensity and the injustice. "My sister Aabha Sahdev was blindly in love with you even though I said her to back off" said Vanya.

A shocked silence engulfed the room, "She became Aabha Manvik only because Rishi wanted to set scores with you, you both treat her like she's some pawn in your game" said Vanya  with disgust. "Loving you is the reason she died and the sad part is that you're the one who killed her" said Vanya through her tears. "You were losing your game with Rishi and Jealous that she moved on, giving birth to her second child".

The whole room stood silent in the spectacle, "That's all it took for you to give the command to kill her, not even respecting that once you loved her and she just gave birth to a small child, you took away a mother from two small kids" said Vanya pointing her finger at Shamsher fiercely. "I won't let anyone undermine my sister's life after you both played chess with it" said Vanya and Pulkit came to hold back his mither.

"I'm so sorry" said Romaisa as she bought out this in open, "It's not your fault, I should've said things out earlier instead of hiding but the outcome seems the same" said Vanya. "My daughter is innocent in all of this, she deserved none of this" said Shamsher, "When did we ever she say she isn't, Between you men setting scores, women get stuck in the crossfire" said Vanya.

She walked towards Romaisa, "If you want leave this place right now, No one will stop you but if you want to stay, no one will be able to take you from here, It's your wish and I'll make sure that you're supported".  Romaisa stood still with the burden of everyone's sins. Her father's, her husband's and maybe even her own's.  "I'm not leaving," she said with her voice quiet but unwavering and all eyes fell on her.

"I'm staying with Prihan" she continued, "Love isn't just soft edges and good days, I still love him and that hasn't changed even if everything else has". Shamsher's face twisted into disbelief, "Have you gone mad? After everything he's done to you". "He broke me, But he also saved me when I was bleeding, He  held me while I was slipping away, He broke himself trying to undo what he did" admitted Romaisa.

"He shouldn't get the chance to try" Shamsher seethed, "You don't fix men like that, You leave them behind". "You don't get to make that choice for me" she said firmly, "You don't get to say things like this after what all you've done".  "I'm choosing love even if it's broken" Romaisa concluded. "If the girl wants to stay then she stays, It their life and they make their choices" said Rishi in his commanding voice. Romaisa's eyes pleaded to her father.

Shamsher walked to his daughter and touched her cheek with trembling hands, "If you ever call me I will come, No matter what, No matter where, Remember You are not alone" whispered Shamsher softly. Romaisa nodded with tears streaming silently.
"I know" she whispered softly.

Author's note

So are you guys intrigued about Vanya and Rishi's story btw, I'm rn dumbfounded on execution so tell me do you guys want to it rn? Do you guys want a seperate Rishi Vanya book or squeeze that plot in here?
Also please do vote and comment, I am back to slump

Chapter 6 is out on Scrollstck and I plan on keeping stck around 2 chapters ahead. I won't bail on here dw. So please do vote and show me support so I update more often

ID: Devilishgrinner (no underscore in between)