Garima stepped out of Shantivan and into the taxi waiting for her out side as her heart pounded in her chest. The echo of Khushi's fierce voice still rang in her ears, sharp, unyielding, unlike the docile, sweet girl she had once raised into submission to the family.

Preeto's presence in Shantivan had added a whole new layer to her problems.She clutched her dupatta tightly around her shoulders, her eyes wide with disbelief as she muttered to herself and

"Payal was right..........Khushi has changed......... She no longer bends,no longer fears, she......she is different now......... How did she become like this?.........So strong, so fearless as if she doesn't need anyone anymore and Preeto, why did she have to be under the same roof as Khushi and Arnav."

Her throat tightened, her lips trembling but then, like a knife cutting through her thoughts, the image of another face flashed before her eyes. A face that haunted her more than Khushi's defiance, her twin sister.

Flashback.

It was only yesterday when the bell had rung at her Laxmi Nagar home. Garima had opened the door, adjusting her pallu, expecting a neighbor or Kriti but instead, she froze.

Her entire body turned to ice. Her hands trembled on the doorknob as she stammered after hearing the greeting.

"N-no........this can't be... You-Sh-Shanti...?"

The woman at the door stepped forward, her face like a mirror, an identical reflection, but twisted with rage and coldness in her voice.

"Yes, Garima. It's me.........The sister you thought you buried with your lies.......... The sister you tried to erase......... I am back."

Before Garima could react, Shanti stormed inside, pushing her so hard that Garima staggered.

"No... no, this can't be true... you... you died... Shashi said-"

The crack of a slap cut her words. Then another then another.

Garima stumbled, falling to the floor, clutching her cheek as tears filled her eyes.

Shanti voice like thunder crack in the room.

"Dead? You wanted me dead, didn't you?! You spread lies so you could live in peace with your sins!....... You destroyed so many lives in your greed.......But I'm here, Garima........ Very much alive and ready to destroy you."

Garima's breathing turned ragged. She crawled back, but Shanti seized her by the neck, lifting her halfway up, her nails digging into her skin as Garima between gasps pleaded.

"Please... please, Shanti... leave me... what do you want from me?"

Shanti snarling with her eyes blazing yelled.

"I want what you stole from me......... I want my daughter....... Don't lie, Garima, I know she's alive..........The nurse you bribed confessed everything.........She gave me proof, documents, names......... Do you understand what that means? One word from me and you will rot in prison for years!"

She shoved Garima away, making her collapse to the floor again.

Garima gasped for air, clutching her throat, staring up at her sister like a trapped animal.

Garima pleading through tears.

"No, Shanti, please, don't tell anyone, don't destroy me..........I beg you, my daughter, my family, everything will be ruined!"

Shanti loomed over her, her voice like venom.

"You dare to beg me?........After stealing my blood?..........Listen carefully, Garima......... I also know about Arnav Singh Raizada, the son of Arvind being Khushi's husband and you have known from the beginning who he was because he is the spitting image of my Arvind........ If the Raizadas learn the truth, they will throw Payal out because she is your blood, they will hate you forever.........Is that what you want?"

Garima's eyes widened in horror.

Garima shuddering, clutched Shanti's feet and cried out.

"No, Shanti!.......Please, don't expose me!........Don't destroy my girl, don't destroy me..........I will do anything, anything you say."

Shanti yanked her leg away, disgusted, and moved to the door.

Before leaving, she turned, her face shadowed with rage.

"Three days, Garima........... You have three days to tell me where my daughter is.......... If you don't, I swear, I'll reveal the truth to everyone...........And when that happens, it won't be you who suffers the most, it will be Payal........... Your precious Payal will pay for your silence."

With that, she slammed the door behind her, leaving Garima sobbing on the floor in terror.

Flashback Ends

"Madamji, we've arrived." The driver's voice broke her out of her daze.

Garima blinked, realizing the car had stopped. Her hands shook as she reached into her purse, fumbling for money. She paid the driver with unsteady fingers and stepped out, her mind still trapped in Shanti's threats, Khushi's defiance and Preeto's presence at the mansion.

She stared at the tall apartment complex before her, her lips trembling as she whispered to herself.

"It is better... better that Shanti knows the truth than for me to be exposed............ Better her anger than the Raizadas' hatred."

But as she climbed the steps, she didn't realize, she was walking straight into the lioness' den.

Behind the apartment window, Shanti watched her arrival, a slow, cruel smile curling on her lips.

"You came, little sister.......... Good.........Now let's see how long before your mask breaks."

Garima's entered the building unknowingly stepping deeper into Shanti's trap.

Back at the Raizada mansion, the voices downstairs still echoed faintly, murmurs, whispers, the disbelief of relatives struggling to digest what they had just witnessed.

But here, in their room, there was silence.

Khushi stood by the window, her hands trembling slightly though her chin remained lifted. She could still feel the rush of adrenaline in her veins, the sharpness of her own words as she had confronted Preeto's mother in law, and the shock on Garima's face when she had refused to bow.

For a moment, she closed her eyes, steadying herself and then, she felt him.

Arnav had walked up quietly behind her, stopping only inches away. His presence was magnetic, his warmth surrounding her without a single touch.

Arnav whispered softly, still in awe as seeing her stand up to her aunt.

"Khushi..."

She turned, her eyes meeting his. They were searching, vulnerable, but also filled with pride.

Khushi firmly, though her voice cracked a little.

"Did you... did you hear everything I said?"

Arnav nodded slowly. His jaw was tight, but his eyes, his eyes glistened.

"I heard every word........And for the first time......... I saw you the way I should have seen you months ago......... Strong. Fearless. Untouchable...... The no nonsense Khushi who doesn't give a damn about pleasing anyone....... My strong queen is back."

Khushi's lips parted, surprise flickering across her face. She hadn't expected this but she knew he was right. The old fearless Khushi was back and she herself felt it but she also knew the backlash will come soon like how it always has when she stands up for herself.

"Not Strong but heartless?........That's what they will say downstairs.........That I have changed and that I no longer know how to respect my elders.......That I have become arrogant and humiliated my own family-"

Arnav reached forward suddenly, catching her hand mid-motion before she could turn away. His grip was steady, grounding as he cut her off.

"No. You didn't humiliate anyone......... You defended yourself. You spoke the truth and Khushi, don't you dare call yourself heartless...........Do you know what I saw?"

"What?" She asked and he stepped closer, his voice low and with a smile.

"I saw the woman I fell in love with but stronger........... The woman who never deserved the pain I gave her.........The woman I should have stood beside all those months and the woman I will never leave again."

Khushi's throat tightened as tears blurred her vision, but she refused to let them fall. Not now, not when she had worked so hard to become unbreakable.

"And if they all turn against me, if Garima, Buaji and even my own sister one day turn against me,what then?"

For the first time in months, Arnav didn't hesitate. He closed the distance between them and cupped her face gently, tilting her chin up until her eyes met his and with conviction in his voice, he replied.

"Then they will answer to me........Because this time, Khushi, I am on your side. Always."

The words sank deep into her, undoing knots of old wounds. She searched his face, waiting, testing but all she saw was truth.

Slowly, her body relaxed. The final layers of her remaining walls she had left finally crumbled without fear, but only because she knew she wasn't standing alone anymore.

For the first time that night in months, Khushi allowed herself to be completely vulnerable without any hesitation.

Arnav brushed away a tear that finally escaped her eye, his thumb lingering against her cheek.

Arnav whispering, in a vow.

"Let them say what they want, Khushi........... But I will never let anyone dim your strength again."

Khushi leaned in and hugged him and he reciprocated as the world captured them in quiet closeness, two people scarred by the past, but finding their way back to each other, step by step.

A few hours later, the grand mansion was wrapped in silence, heavy and suffocating. The faint sound of a clock ticking echoed through the corridors.

A door creaked open and Dadi stumbled in, her frail hands clutching the doorframe for support. Her eyes were swollen red, her body trembling as though her very soul had been ripped apart. She shut the door behind her and staggered to the bed, clutching her chest as sobs wracked through her.

On the nightstand lay Arvind's framed photograph. She grabbed it with shaking fingers, pulling it to her chest as she cried out.

"Arvind, my son.......... what have I done? My arrogance, my blindness, my obsession with bloodlines and class......... It destroyed everything, I lost you, I lost Anant to his demons and now."

Her voice broke. She reached for the file that Mr. Sharma had given her, its contents spilling across the bed. Photographs, reports, legal documents all confirming the truth that had shattered her world.

Her tears blurred the image of Preeto smiling innocently in one of the picture

"My granddaughter, my real granddaughter..........All these years, suffering while I showered affection on the wrong one in the past............ And you were raised in pain, in humiliation, treated worse than a servant by your adopted mother while the fake one stood here in this house, proud and ignorant."

Her mind dragged her back to the café meeting earlier this day.

Flashback.

Private Room, Café

Dadi entered quietly, her posture regal but her eyes wary. At the table, Mr. Sharma stood, adjusting his spectacles, his hands fidgeting nervously with the file in front of him.

"Tell me, Mr. Sharma. What did you find?" Dadi asked in a commanding voice.

Without a word, Sharma pushed the file towards her.

Dadi opened it and after a few minutes, she froze. Her breath hitched as her eyes scanned the papers, the family tree, the photographs.

Her trembling finger landed on the name, shocked, barely able to breathe.

"Shanti, Shanti is related to Khushi?!"

Sharma nodded gravely.

"Yes, Madam.........Shanti is the maternal stepaunt of your granddaughter-in-law.........But more importantly, Shanti, did not raise the child, another couple did unfortunately I couldn't find the reason why your granddaughter was raised by another person......... And that child grew up to be..."

He pointed at the attached photograph. Preeto's face smiled back from the file.

Dadi's world tilted. Her hand flew to her mouth as tears filled her eyes as she whispered in disbelief.

"Preeto... Khushi's friend, all this time, my granddaughter was right here in Shantivan."

Sharma leaned closer, his tone gentler now.

"Yes, Madam. Your granddaughter, the rightful Malik heiress, has been living under your roof.......... Right beside Arnav Singh Raizada............Right beside you........And none of you knew."

Dadi's body shook with the enormity of the revelation.

But Sharma's voice darkened as he continued.

"There is more........Preeto was not just neglected............. She was abused, mercilessly..........Her in-laws forced her into servitude......... She was humiliated, stripped of her dignity and forced to serve in shame, even in her naked form, because she was pregnant with a girl child."

Dadi's eyes widened, horror etching itself into every wrinkle of her face.

"And that girl child, they forced her to abort against her will."

Dadi clutched the edge of the table, her sobs breaking free as she screamed through her tears.

"No! No, this cannot be true! My granddaughter, our blood, our legacy treated like this?!....... This is all my fault....... My arrogance caused this. "

Sharma reached across, steadying her trembling hands.

"I am sorry, Madam. I know this is difficult....... But the truth cannot be hidden any longer."

Dadi wept, rocking slightly, as if trying to soothe herself.

Finally, through her tears, her voice hardened into steel.

"Mr. Sharma, find them.......... Those monsters who called themselves her in-laws.........Find their sins, their scandals, every crime buried under their wealth and pride.........I will destroy them for what they did to my granddaughter."

Sharma bowed his head in agreement.

"I promise you, Madam..........In one week, I will bring you everything."

Flashback Ends.

Dadi wiped her tears roughly, her breathing ragged. She picked up Arvind's photograph again, her eyes filled with both grief and determination.

"Arvind, I found her............ Your Shanti's child, your blood, my granddaughter.......... She's here, in this house........ Preeto, the girl who has been beside Khushi, beside Arnav all along."

She pressed the photo to her forehead, whispering like a vow.

"I lost you but I will not lose her...........Not again...........From this day onwards she and Khushi are mine to protect........ And if anyone dares to hurt her, or Khushi, or Arnav they will pay with their lives."

Her eyes blazed with a newfound fire, her tears drying into resolve.

"Never again will ignorance blind me.......... Never again will I let my family suffer.......... They will all answer to me if they dare lay a finger on my grandchildren."

Sitting on her bed with determination, Dadi even though broken by guilt was now reborn as a guardian of her family's true heirs.

The next day, the morning sun streamed into the grand halls of Shantivan, but instead of peace, a storm brewed.

Khushi and Arnav descended the staircase hand in hand, ready to join the family for breakfast before going to work. The faint clinking of cutlery and murmured voices filled the air until the loud, sharp sound of a slap echoed across the marble walls, freezing everyone in their place.

Arnav's jaw tightened instantly while Khushi's hand clutched his arm. Their eyes darted toward the dining area.

There stood Dadi, her face red with fury, her palm still mid-air as it landed on a flesh again.

Opposite her, a stunned Anjali clutched both her burning cheek, tears spilling down her eyes.

The entire Raizada family sat in shocked silence.

Anjali trembling with shock exclaimed.

"Dadi! You slapped me? Me?!"

Dadi voice hundering, pointed her finger at Anjali.

"Yes! And if needed, I'll slap you a thousand times!...........How dare you abuse a guest in my grandson's house like that?!"

The family gasped in shock.

"Hello hi bye bye, Dadiji slapped Anjali and for that Preeto?!" Mami muttered in shock.

Preeto stood frozen, her hands trembling as she tried to balance the small tray with broken tea cups on it. A small cut on her wrist bled lightly where the cup had scratched her when she stumbled.

Preeto nervously, spoke up.

"Dadi ji, please, I was the one in the wrong. "

Dadi softening instantly, turned to Preeto with unexpected gentleness.

"Child, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Preeto's eyes widened in disbelief especially after everything she heard from Khushi about Dadi, she couldn't believe her ears but slowly nodded.

Dadi commanded HP immediately.

"Hari Prakash!...... Bring the first aid kit.........Quickly!"

Everyone gawked as Dadi guided Preeto gently to the head of the table, sitting her down as if she were royalty.

Dadi carefully cleaned the small cut on Preeto's wrist, blowing lightly on it like a mother would for her child.

Dadi then said n a trembling but firm voice.

"Take care of yourself.......Now I will never leave now, I have to meet a friend. "

Preeto nodded still stunned, across the table, Anjali was still in disbelief, clutching Shyam's arm.

"Dadi! What is this? You chose this... this servant over me?.........I am your granddaughter! You're doing all this for someone who's just a burden and a leech on this house!"Anjali cried out furiously.

Dadi spinning toward her, eyes blazing with rage yelled.

"Silence! Complete silence, Anjali!........Until now you only cared about your selfishness..........From today, every vile act of yours will face consequences!"

Anjali broke into sobs, hiding her face in Shyam's chest and clutching her swollen belly.

Shyam, trying to intervene, spoke up cautiously.

"Dadiji.......Anjali ji, just-"

Dadi glared at him immediately cutting him off, spitting venom in her tone.

"You be quiet!..............Bringing poison like you into this house was already my biggest mistake.............Because of you two, this house has lost all peace!"

The air thickened with tension.

At that moment, Khushi rushed to Preeto's side, kneeling beside her chair looking panicked. She holding Preeto's hand.

"Preeto! What happened?.........Are you hurt?...........Who said anything to you?!"

Preeto's lips quivered as she confessed:
Preeto:

"I... I was passing by Anjaliji......... I had a tray of tea in my hand for you and Arnav........ By mistake, I bumped into her then Anjaliji cursed me..........She... insulted me........And then Dadiji slapped her."

Khushi's eyes blazed with fury as she turned toward Anjali.

"Enough, Anjali ji! This is too much!..........If you want to stay in this house, don't even look at my Preeto, let alone touch her! Or else after today this house's doors will be closed for you!"

Anjali gasped.

"Khushi! You're asking me to leave?.......I am the daughter of this house!" Anjali yelled glaring at Khushi.

Arnav stepped forward now, his voice like steel.

"You are just a stain in the name of a daughter............Pack you and your husband's bags.......... You both have no place here anymore.

Anjali's knees buckled. She turned desperately toward Nani, Mami, and Akash.

"Nani! Mami! Akash! Say something...........where will I go?!" Anjali cried out.

But one by one, they looked away and the silence was deafening told her all she needed to know.

She was all alone.

Finally, Preeto with her voice breaking pleaded.

"Khushi... Arnav ji... please.........Don't throw Anjali ji out......... If you do, then I will leave this house myself........ I don't want to be the reason a pregnant woman becomes homeless. "

Everyone stared at her, stunned by her courage.

Khushi's breath caught, torn between anger and Preeto's compassion. Arnav clenched his fists but finally relented at Khushi's soft nod.

Khushi coldly turned to Anjali.

"You've been spared because of Preeto's kindness......... Otherwise, today you would have had no place here."

Preeto quietly rose, taking Khushi's hand.

"I think it's better we have breakfast at the restaurant instead." Preeto said and Khushi nodded not wanting to sitting anywhere near Anjali.

The two women walked out together, dignity in every step.

Arnav followed, but at the door he stopped, turning back. His eyes swept over every face, his voice deadly calm.

"Listen carefully.........If anyone dares to hurt Khushi or Preeto again, I won't just warn you......... I will destroy you.......And no threat will be able to save you."

Without another word, he walked away, leaving the family shell-shocked and trembling in silence.

A few hours later, on the outskirts of Delhi, the rusted hinges groaned as the heavy wooden door creaked open. Dust swirled in the dim light spilling into the abandoned house.

Anant sat bound tightly to a chair, his wrists raw from struggling against the ropes. His head jerked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Through the flickering bulb, Arnav Singh Raizada emerged from the shadows, his expression cold, a deadly smirk curling at his lips.

Anant froze, his chest heaving. For a moment, his mind raced wondering who could have orchestrated his abduction. But the sight of Arnav's piercing gaze, filled with restrained fury, made his stomach twist in fear.

Arnav stepped closer, his shoes echoing against the cracked floor, his figure looming like a predator. Anant's breath hitched, his face paling as he saw not just anger but something far more terrifying in Arnav's eyes , murderous intent.

Anant's body shook. For the first time, he felt utterly helpless.

Arnav's smirk deepened, his silence more dangerous than any threat.

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving only the echo of doom in the suffocating air.

To be continued.

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