Viaanshi's pov:-

I looked at the moon in the night sky without any feeling on my face.

It's been almost a month since I left my room. My tests are over now.

I was sure Dada would let me take the tests. But he didn't allow it. All my hopes were broken.

A year of hard work was wasted. My future plans were ruined. Everything was lost.

I was thinking deeply. I didn't notice when the door opened and someone came in. I thought it was the usual aunt bringing dinner.

So I didn't turn around. Only when I felt someone next to me, I finally looked back. To my surprise, it was Dada standing there. It had been a whole month since I last saw him.

Before, I used to cry if he was away even for a short time. He would feel the same way.

But now, he stood in front of me looking tired and pale. Tears were forming in his eyes. Still, he didn't come to check on me.

I wanted to cry in his arms. I wanted to ask him why he didn't believe me. I wished to hug him tightly.

But for some reason, I stayed still. I wanted to cry but no tears came. Instead, I looked back at the moon, ignoring him.

Suddenly, he hugged me very tightly. He held me like he was afraid I would go away.

Pulling away, he held my face in his hands. He kissed my forehead softly. His eyes were full of love and care as he asked,

"How are you, Princess? Did you miss me? How were your days without me? Okay, forget it. Come, let's go have dinner. Shall we?"

I looked at him, thinking about why he changed so suddenly. I turned away, feeling distant.

These days, I had no one to talk to. My habit of talking too much seemed to have gone away. I had no wish to speak now. But he kept trying, saying,

"What happened princess? Are you okay? Why are you not saying anything?"

I managed a small smile and said softly,

"I'm alright, Dada. You should go and have dinner with the family, without me, of course. I wouldn't want anyone to feel uncomfortable. Please, just go. I need some time alone."

He looked confused. He waited before finally sighing and leaving me alone.

As soon as he left, I lay on the bed, looking at the big framed picture of my brothers.

They are my support, my protectors, more than just brothers. I miss them a lot. I find myself wanting them to be here. In a quiet voice, I said,

"I miss you Bhaiyu."

I couldn't understand why Dada had suddenly appeared after a whole month.

Still, I decided to sleep. With no hunger, I simply took my pills and fell asleep.

The next morning

After my shower, I came into my room to find Dada sitting on the couch, looking around the room. He frowned when he saw me. He asked softly,

"Why are you still in your pajamas? Don't you have to go to school? Hurry up and get ready, Princess, or you'll be late. Go!"

Suddenly, Tanya's voice came from nearby

"Where are you, Dad? Hurry up, I'm going to be late," Tanya's voice called out

I managed a small smile and replied,

"Your daughter is waiting, Dada. Just go."

He looked confused and said

"What are you saying? I don't understand what's happening here."

Suddenly, his phone rang, taking our attention. He told the driver to take Tanya to school as he was busy. Turning back to me, he asked,

"What's wrong, Princess? Are you hurt? What's happened to you?"

With a sad voice and a small smile, I replied,

"Yes, I'm hurt, Dada. You know where, not in my body but in my mind. Because you didn't trust me, my life has been broken. My whole future has been ruined. I feel like I have nothing left in my life now. I think I should just die-"

"What are you saying? How could you even think such a thing?" He stopped me, pulling me into a tight hug.

I could feel his quiet tears as he breathed heavily.

"Did you even think about me? If anything were to happen to you, I would feel like I died that day. Don't even think thoughts like that."

He held me tightly. I could feel his body shaking as he cried quietly. After some time, he spoke again, though his voice was rough

"Aashu, my princess, please forgive me," he whispered with difficulty.

"I have made mistakes that can't be forgiven. In my foolishness, I have hurt you badly. But you must believe me when I say you are the light of my life, the very reason my heart keeps beating."

Tears fell down his cheeks as he looked at me with great sadness and love.

"Without you, my world would turn dark and cold. I can't bear the thought of losing you, my child, my precious daughter."

His words touched me deeply. I had been shutting out the world, closing off my heart to stop the pain.

"You know, Dada, Please, go and leave me alone for a while, like you did before," I added softly.

He wiped his tears and left. Sighing, I went to the balcony and sat on the floor mattress, leaning against the railing.

Vivaan's Pov:-

After hearing Viaanshi's words, I couldn't control myself and ran outside. Tears flowed freely from my eyes, but I didn't even notice them. I really didn't know.

After the fight that day, when I slapped my daughter, I couldn't forgive myself. I didn't want Anamika to punish her more, so I told her to stay in her room as her punishment.

Knowing Anamika's possessiveness over Tanya, I wanted to protect Viaanshi from her.

When I quietly entered her room later, she was in a deep sleep, her cheeks marked with fingerprints.

It broke my heart, but I managed to put medicine on her face and kissed her forehead softly before leaving.

The next day, I had an important business trip. If it weren't important, I wouldn't have left, but I had no choice.

Before leaving, I told her caretakers to look after her well. A week later, another trip came up, with no phone service available. I called Anamika and said,

"Ask Viaanshi to leave her room. It's not healthy to stay locked up. Plus, her tests are coming; she should be stress-free to focus on studying, or it will affect her grades."

"But-" She started to argue, but I cut in firmly

"Now."

"Okay," she replied before ending the call.

When I came back yesterday after three weeks, I went straight to her, hoping to hear her side of the story. But her words today broke my heart into pieces.

I feel like I've failed as a father.

After my talk with Aanshi, I went straight to Anamika to ask why she treated our daughter that way.

When I entered the room, I found her with Tanya, having a mother-daughter moment. A familiar pain hit my heart.

Why was she pampering the adopted daughter while ignoring her own?

Ignoring my thoughts, I spoke up firmly,

"Tanya, go to your room. I need to talk with Anamika."

Tanya nodded and left. Anamika then surprised me by suddenly hugging me. I was shocked, to say the least. After a moment, she pulled away, smiling, and said,

"You wanted some time alone with me, didn't you?"

I grabbed her arm tightly, very angry.

"Are you crazy, Anamika? You think I want to spend time with you after you ruined my daughter's life? Why did you do that? Tell me, why?"

She flinched at my outburst but answered calmly,

"What did I do?

"You... you locked her in the room for a whole month! Because of you, her whole future has been ruined. Because of you, now she hates me," I whispered the last sentence, a tear falling from my left eye.

"Yes, I did, and I don't feel sorry about it. Because of that bad luck charm, my daughter's life was ruined. She was completely broken. You fail to see her pain. All you see is that bad luck charm's pain. Why?" She shot back, her voice getting louder.

"Just be quiet! How dare you call my daughter a bad luck charm? Because she's not one. And you've become so selfish, Anamika. I don't know if you were always like this or if your hatred towards her has turned you into this. Because the person standing in front of me is not the Anamika I once loved. Who had a heart full of love. Who couldn't bear to see a stranger in pain, but now you're hurting your own child. What changed, Anamika?" I yelled.

"You know, I just hate her. I hate her existence with every part of me. She's the reason I'm like this today. She's turned me into a heartless person. She's the cause of all my problems. I hated her, I hate her, and I'll hate her forever and ever. Do you understand that?" she shouted angrily.

Suddenly, we heard a crashing sound. Turning around, we saw Aanshi standing there with no expression.

I glared at Anamika with angry eyes and hurried towards Aanshi.

Suddenly, she fell to the ground with a thud, her head hitting the marble floor, blood starting to come from the back of her head.

I rushed to her side, holding her head in my lap, and yelled.

"Someone, call the doctor right now! Quickly!"

My heart raced with fear, showing on my face. Looking around frantically, I lifted her gently into my arms and carried her to the nearest room, laying her down on the bed carefully.

Sitting beside her, I waited anxiously for the doctors to arrive.

After checking her thoroughly, a senior doctor came to me privately.

"Mr. Raichand, it seems your daughter has been sad for quite some time. It looks like she's been taking sleeping pills or some kind of medicine. She's not responding, as if she's lost the will to live. I suggest you spend more time with her, take her on trips perhaps; it might help. I've written a list of medicines for her, please make sure she takes all the medicine on time. Take care."

After he left, I went to Aanshi and sat beside her, gently stroking her hair. I kissed her forehead and whispered,

"I'll make everything alright, princess. Don't worry, Dada is here."

The doctor said she's under the effects of medicine, so she won't wake up for another hour or two. Going to the hall, I found Anamika and Tanya casually eating snacks and chatting.

Seriously?! Is she serious?

I got very angry as I walked towards them, taking big steps. With anger running through me, I grabbed their bowl of snacks and threw it to the floor.

"Are you out of your minds? Aanshi is very sick, and here you are, casually enjoying snacks?" I shouted very loudly.

"So what if something happened, Dad? She deserves it. She's just a bit-" Tanya started to say, but I couldn't control myself. I slapped her hard, making her face turn to the side. She looked at Anamika, tears coming to her eyes as she hugged her.

Anamika exploded,

"How dare you slap my daughter, Vivaan! She said nothing wrong. Your daughter is the real problem here, talking badly about me and Tanya behind our backs. You're blinded by her so-called love that you can't see what she's really like."

Hearing her words, I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Anamika was saying mean things about her own daughter.

It was unbelievable. Suddenly, a familiar voice broke through my shock. I knew it was Yuvansh's. He came and hugged me, asking,

"Hey bro, how are you? What's been going on?"

Aradhana looked around the room and asked,

"Where's Vishu bhaiya? Is everything okay? You look worried."

I sat heavily on the nearby sofa and told them everything that had happened in the past few days.

They looked as shocked and confused as I felt. Suddenly, Aradhana walked forward and slapped Tanya hard. Anamika tried to stop her, but Aradhana raised her hand, making her quiet, and said,

"Vishu had asked everyone, including us, not to call her for a while so her brothers could focus on their tests. But on that day, I called using the driver's phone and talked to her. She told me, 'Mimmi, you know what? Today, I saw Tanya with her boyfriend in a private position. When she saw me, she smirked and then left with him like nothing happened. Should I tell Dada about this? She's too young to have a boyfriend, and it could affect her studies too.'

I told her to tell you, but no one listened to her. And you," she pointed at Tanya,

"you will now stay away from her. If you dare to do anything like this again, I'll make your life very difficult right then and there. Understood?" Tanya nodded in fear, swallowing hard.

Then she turned towards Anamika and said firmly,

"You are the worst mother ever, Di. Remember my words, I'm saying it again, one day you will beg her to call you 'mother' or to accept you. But you know she won't. Then you'll realize what you've lost because of your foolishness."

"And have you ever thought about what Ekaansh or anyone else would think if they found out about this? They all love Viaanshi as if she were their own daughter. They treat her like a delicate glass doll, ready to break at the slightest touch. If they find out that you've broken that doll, what do you think they will do to you? Think about it. Calmly!" she added, her voice sounding urgent.

Suddenly, Yuvansh stood up, getting my attention.

"Now, she will not stay here anymore," he declared.

"She will be coming with us. Once she finishes her studies, only then will she come back here. And bro, you can come to visit her anytime you want."

I just nodded, feeling very guilty. Deep down, I knew it was the best option.

I decided to visit her every weekend as my punishment for not believing in my daughter.

She had suffered enough, and this was the least I could do for her.

After they left to meet Viaanshi, I turned towards Anamika as she took a step towards me.

"Anamika, everything is over between us," I said firmly.

"I don't believe in divorce, so from now on, we are just husband and wife in front of the world. In private, we are just strangers."

With those words, I turned and walked away, ignoring the voice that called after me.

____________

Here is the next chapter 😚

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