The cars rolled to a stop outside the Rey manor and the headlights cut through the quiet night. One by one, the family stepped out. Reyansh and Vaishu paused in the living room, worry etched into their faces. Ishaan stood beside Pari, tense and restless.
A moment later, Ayaan entered with Zara by his side.
Before anyone could speak, Ayaan’s voice cut through the silence.
“My wife is tired and she needs rest. Just a few hours ago, we learned her father is no more. She’s exhausted with the truth, with the past, with everything that happened today. We shall discuss everything in the morning. And it would be better if Mithun uncle and Kajal aunty are present too.” he said with steady, authoritative voice.
He didn’t wait for a response. Keeping Zara’s hand firmly in his, he guided her towards his room.
Zara glanced over her shoulder as she walked away, offering the family a soft, reassuring smile that said she was alright. Vaishu exhaled in relief and nodded gently, sinking onto the couch beside Reyansh, who placed a steadying hand on her back.
Ayaan shut the door and wrapped his arms around Zara from behind.
“I’m sorry for your loss, I truly wished your father was alive. I prayed it should be his twin instead. I’m sorry, Zara… but stay strong. We will find your father’s twin and every single person involved in this, whether it’s some low-grade scumbag or even the Prime Minister. We will take down everyone. I promise you.” he whispered in a heavy voice.
Zara broke down and leaned into him, her body trembling with sobs. “I never got to spend time with him, I always prepared myself for the worst, but… I still wished he would be alive. It just feels like I’m unlucky.” she cried.
“No… don’t say that, come, let’s rest now. Crying like this will only hurt your health. No more tears, wifey.” Ayaan murmured firmly, turning her to face him and he guided her toward the closet.
“Go refresh and change your clothes, please,” he said softly.
Zara nodded and walked into the washroom. When she returned in a robe, Ayaan entered the washroom to give her space. By the time he came out, wearing only his track pants, Zara was dressed in her nightwear, sitting quietly on the couch in the balcony, staring into the darkness.
Without a word, Ayaan scooped her gently into his arms and carried her to the bed. He pulled her into his chest, cuddling her protectively and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“Sleep, wifey, everything is going to get better. We will get better, I promise, please trust me this time” he mumbled, caressing her hair.
Wrapped in his warmth, with his heartbeat steady against her ear, Zara’s eyes slowly fluttered shut. Ayaan held her close, clinging to the fragile hope of a gentler tomorrow.
Ayaan couldn’t sleep. He slipped out carefully, pulled the duvet over Zara to keep her warm and stepped out to get some water. But he stopped in his tracks when he saw his parents sitting alone in the living room.
“Karma is a bitch… it never fails to bite back, isn’t it, Avi? You were so kind… you forgave me. But no one escapes fate or karma. I feel like our children are paying for my sins and they don’t deserve this. Shouldn’t it be me who redeems what I ruined?” Reyansh whispered and his voice cracked under the weight of his guilt.
He ran a trembling hand through his hair.
“Ayaan shouldn’t have gone through all that pain. And he shouldn’t have hurt that poor girl. She didn’t deserve even a fraction of what happened. Her broken face… her shattered hope… I can’t erase it from my heart. She genuinely believed she finally had a family… a man who loved her. And he does love her, Avi. Did you see the fear in his eyes when I threatened him? He’s not ready to let her go. He knows he can’t survive without her. He knows he loves her… but he still broke her for a stupid revenge. And now I don’t know how he’s supposed to fix this… how he’s going to confess his love to her.” Rey’s voice dropped to a helpless whisper.
“Will Zara forgive him? Will she take him back into her life? Everything is a mess. I was careless when I was young… and now I’m paying for it, right when all I want is some peace at this age.” Reyansh said and Vaishu’ s heart shattered as she watched her strong, unshakeable man wipe the tears he had fought so long to hide.
“Don’t say that, Ansh, You are perfect and never—ever—think that you are the reason behind everything happening in this family. Yes, Ayaan made a mistake, but if his love is true, he will win her back. Love has never been easy for anyone… and now it’s Ayaan’s turn to fight for it. But it won’t be easy for him. I agree our son has endured far too much in his life. But no matter how hard he tries to win her back, I will still stand by Zara’s decision. I will support her, always. No girl deserves what she went through, Ansh.” Vaishu said and took a breath.
Reyansh nodded, his jaw tight, “She will be our daughter, we’ll take care of her. That brat… he’s exactly like me in everything. I’ve seen him in love before, but never with the fierceness he has now. I’ve never seen that kind of fear in his eyes before, not until today. He didn’t just fall in love, Avi, he fell harder than he ever expected. And I’m scared… scared that if he loses her this time, we may not be able to help him.” He exhaled shakily, running his fingers through his hair.
Ayaan returned to the room and walked straight to the balcony, his eyes fixed on the dark, silent sky.
“I’ve broken everyone… ruined everyone’s peace, I have never seen my dad so shattered. He might have messed up in his past but I shouldn’t have brought up that tonight. He has been the best husband to my mother and the best father to us. And now… seeing him like this because of me, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself.” he whispered to himself and leaned on the railing, exhaling shakily.
“That man can read everyone in this family like the back of his palm. So I’m not surprised he read me too. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t know love could happen twice. I never imagined I could look at someone other than the girl I fell in love for the first time… especially a woman who carried the same name, the woman I intended to ruin.” His voice cracked.
“But nothing was in my control. The heart wants what it wants. I rushed into the marriage because I was terrified the truth would come out sooner than I planned… and I would lose her. I never knew I’d fall so deeply that I wouldn’t be able to survive without her.”
He swallowed hard, pain twisting his features.
“How am I supposed to convince her that what I feel is real? Especially after I made her believe everything I did was revenge? If everyone can see how I feel for her… why can’t she? How do I make her believe that this damned heart beats only for her now?”
His eyes burned as he blinked through the tears.
“Did she really forgive me? Why did I fall in love this fast? It’s not my fault… my innocent, beautiful, humble wife has loved me for six damn years. I couldn’t resist those eyes that screamed love for me. I couldn’t hold myself back every time she confessed her love through those damn bugs.”
Ayaan wiped his tears and pulled out his phone. His fingers shook as he opened a folder he hadn’t touched in a long time. He stared at the picture of his dead ex-girl friend. “Please forgive me. I never meant to betray you… but it happened. And I’m not sorry for it,” he murmured.
He deleted the photo and opened his wedding picture. His wife, his Zara was looking at him, cheeks flushed with a soft blush… beautiful, hopeful and only his.
“I’ll do everything I can to win you back. Please don’t give up on us… not after all these years you waited for me. I love you, Zara. I love you so much, wifey. I’m scared I’ll die with the thought of you leaving me.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to the image and held the phone tightly against his chest, as if holding her through the screen.
He couldn’t stay away from her and returned to the room….. to her. He slipped under the duvet and pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead and holding her close to his heart.
The next morning they woke up and got ready mechanically, moving in silence. Ayaan held her hand whenever he could, kissing her forehead every chance he got, as if silently assuring her that he was hers…. only hers…before they stepped out of the room.
The family, as usual, was gathered in the living room, but the atmosphere was painfully quiet. The moment they saw Zara, Vaishu and Reyansh hugged her tightly. Ayaan’s gaze shifted to Mithun and Kajal, already seated and from their expressions, he understood they had been informed about everything.
Ayaan knelt before his father and mother who looked extremely worried, hurt and disappointed.
“I’m sorry, Dad, for bringing up your past. It was never my intention to hurt you. I was scared… scared that I’d lose Zara. I never meant to disrespect you or anyone else and I know you understand that. I know I hurt all of you, especially Zara. I know I don’t deserve forgiveness from any of you. But I promise I’ll fix everything. One day, you’ll be proud of me. I won’t let you all down.” Ayaan said softly and held his parents hands together.
His voice trembled as he added, “Hate me if you want, but I’m still your son… your cupcake. Please forgive me.” he said and tears filled Ayaan’s eyes as he hugged them.
Reyansh and Vaishu’s heart ached for their son too. Reyansh gently patted Ayaan’s back, holding him in quiet reassurance.
Ayaan pulled away after a moment, wiped his eyes and gave them a small, hopeful smile before before he guided Zara to sit beside him.
Mithun and Kajal smiled softly at the couple as the maids served coffee. Zara, lost deep in her thoughts, didn’t even register the hot cup slipping. The coffee spilled onto her hand.
“Zaraaaaaaaa” Ayaan panicked. He dropped his own cup without a second thought, grabbed her hand. He pulled her into the kitchen and splashed cool water over the spot.
“Where were you lost, Zara? Does it hurt?” he asked, voice almost trembling. Before she could answer, he turned and shouted for the manager, “Call the doctor.. now”
But Zara cupped his chin with her free hand, forcing him to look at her. “I’m fine, Ayaan. I’m sorry… I got lost for a moment, but I’ll be okay. Trust me.” she mumbled.
Ayaan didn’t care who was watching. He kissed her forehead… then her eyes… gently but desperately. “You scared me, wifey,” he whispered.
The home manager appeared with a soft towel and antiseptic. Ayaan took them quickly, wiping her arm with utmost care and applying the cream even though there wasn’t even a mark of a burn.
The family exchanged glances and Reyansh coughed deliberately to drag the couple back to reality. Ayaan and Zara returned to the living room and Ayaan sat close, resting his arm on the headrest behind her protectively, keeping her within his reach.
“I’m sure everyone knows what happened, so let’s be direct about what needs to be done next,” Ayaan said. Mithun and Ishaan nodded to his words.
“We’re certain Advik couldn’t have planned this alone. His father may or may not be involved and let’s not forget, he’s the Prime Minister,” Mithun began.
Ayaan cut him off immediately. “I don’t give a damn if he’s the Prime Minister, I m sure he’s involved. Maybe he wanted to remove Mom since he felt she could be a rival for the post, or there are other reasons we haven’t uncovered yet. We need to find out.” he said.
“This isn’t going to be easy, If he has hands in this, the connections could run deeper than we imagine. We’ll have to move one step at a time.” Reyansh said, taking a deep breath.
Ayaan leaned forward. “Dad, I already have a plan. First, Grandpa needs to step back. We’ll talk to him and see if he has any party documents, anything that ties Advik or his father to this. After that, he’ll be travelling to Chennai for Saanvi’s birthday. That’s where the next phase begins.
We’ll stage it as Grandpa suffered a massive heart attack and needs to rest. He isn’t young anymore and that will be a believable reason for him to resign. Once he’s out, we’ll position our people in key places and use the existing people from the departments to strike at Advik with a raid. He might be prepared and we don’t need all the evidence right away, we only need to identify who’s involved. After that, the real plan begins.”
Everyone stared at him, shocked by the cold efficiency of the scheme, while Reyansh couldn’t help but smile with a quiet, proud satisfaction.
“Mom will step into politics, She’ll join the opposition party we’ve been funding for years. It’ll work in our favor.” Ayaan finished calmly.
His words nailed the final blow, and everyone shot to their feet in shock, especially Vaishu, who had never imagined being dragged back into politics again.
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