Dhruv's POV

Someone came and informed us that there's a lady at the gate claiming to be Aakriti's mother. Her mother. Why would she come here? She came here directly. She didn't even attend her daughter's wedding. What made her so desperate to come here? I asked to make her wait. I need to ask if Aakriti wants to meet her mother.

"Aakriti."

"Yes." she said softly.

"Your mother is here." I said, and her smile dimmed. I don't know much about her mother, but I know one thing: she is not a good mother to Aakriti.

"She came pretty fast." She said. Her words held neither emotion nor affection, just acknowledgement.

"She's at the gate," I said softly. "Want me to send her back?"

She paused, gaze steady. "No. Let her in. Let's get this over with."

She walked in as if she owned the place, her heels clicking irritatingly against the floor. The strong scent of her perfume was already giving me a headache. Her eyes were scanning everything, including me. Judge everyone to grasp their flaws. She was dressed to impress, but to me she looked like a clown. Someone desperately seeking attention.

Aakriti was still sitting between Kabir and Karan. Her smile froze for half a second when she saw the woman enter. Half a second, that was all, and then her face returned to its usual mask: calm, indifferent, and steel.

"Beta, I came as soon as I saw the news. Are you okay? You must be so stressed!" That woman said with an extra sweet voice, giving me goosebumps all over my body.

Aakriti got up and stood in front of her mother. Didn't smile. Didn't even blink differently.

"I'm fine, but you aren't. Your cards got declined, didn't they?" Aakriti said in a flat tone. Now I get why she is here.

"What? No! I mean, yes... But that's not why I'm here. I'm your mother, Aakriti."

Kabir squinted his eyes and looked at her. Determining whether she is real or not.

"You are?" he whispered to Karan.

Karan elbowed him, but even he was watching warily.

"I just thought you might need your mother during all this... this mess," she continued, trying to touch Aakriti's cheek. Aakriti moved away with such speed, as if she might get infected with a virus if she came in contact with her.

"You've always been too ambitious. Always trying to be more than what you are. I advised you that one day it would all come crashing down. You just didn't listen. Look at the mess you have created." She said, blaming Aakriti. Does she even hear herself? What nonsense is she speaking? My fingers curled into fists.

"You came for money. Not advice. Not affection. Not to help. Just admit it." Aakriti said with a hint of mocking in her words.

"How can you talk to me like that? I am your maa! Your own blood." Her mother said, trying to look offended.

Aakriti tilted her head. "Blood." she said with a smirk.

"Was blood enough? Blood didn't matter to you. You were so busy cherishing your stepdaughter that you didn't even acknowledge your own daughter's pain. You discarded me like a toy, and now you are coming here and playing the mother card."

The silence in the room was deafening. Even Kabir wasn't smiling anymore.

Her mother's voice rose, angry now. "You ungrateful, arrogant girl! No matter how rich you become, you'll never be happy with that attitude!"

"Maybe not," Aakriti said coolly. "But at least I'll be self-made and not someone who leeches off her daughter's bank balance." She was fuming with anger, and her face was changing with each passing second. She raised her hand to slap Aakriti. But Aakriti held her hand and threw it away with a warning gaze.

"You are just like your father. Arrogant, mean, and utterly selfish. Just like your father, you also do not deserve anyone's love. Nobody can love you, and if they did, that is all going to be a facade." She said with so much venom in her words.

"Enough." My voice came out colder than I expected. Everyone looked at me.

"This is my house. And no one speaks to my wife like that. Not even someone who claims to be her mother. Stop acting like you own her. She is not obliged to you for anything."

She sneered. "Oh please. You think she's some saint? She's manipulative. She knows how to get what she wants."

"And she deserves to get what she wants." I said, ending the argument. Who talks about their own daughter with such venom?

"Be careful with your words. Bhabhi is family. And we defend our own. Insulting our family is not something that you can afford." Karan said in his serious voice.

Kabir didn't even get up. He just called out from the couch, "Madam, if you're looking for sympathy, you're in the wrong house. We're all sane people to know what's right from wrong."

Her mother huffed. "All of you are blind. She's fooled you. She—"

Aakriti turned her back on her. Completely.

"Someone escort the guest out." She said with no emotions.

Her mother sputtered. "I'm not a guest....."

"You're not family either." she said, still not facing her.

Her voice wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.

She stood there for a second—Aakriti's so-called mother—frozen in disbelief, perhaps expecting someone to come to her rescue, to defend her, to at least flinch at her theatrics. But the room stayed eerily quiet, united in its silence, in its refusal to give her the power she once held over Aakriti.

She looked at me, maybe thinking I would say something. I didn't. I just stared back, cold and unmoving.

Karan signaled one of the security staff, who had been standing quietly near the hallway entrance. The man stepped forward without a word.

"Ma'am, this way," he said politely.

Her eyes were wild now, panic and rage flickering in them like flames trying to rise one last time. She looked back at Aakriti, as if hoping she'd change her mind. But Aakriti didn't even flinch. She didn't move. She didn't blink.

Her mother clicked her tongue in frustration and turned away with a dramatic flick of her scarf, her heels once again echoing off the marble floor. She went out, banging her feet in anger.

The door shut.

The tension in the room hung heavy, but no one dared to speak for a moment. It was as if we were all still swimming in the aftershock of the encounter.

Aakriti stood still, her back still to all of us.

"Aakriti," I called softly.

No response.

I stepped closer. "Aakriti," I whispered again, now beside her.

She finally turned her head, just slightly. Her face was calm. Too calm.

"She didn't deserve my anger," she said quietly. "Not even my words."

Aakriti left upstairs. I know she might want to be alone right now. But should I leave her alone? No matter how indifferent she tries to pretend today, after all, it was her mother. Someone who is always special in everyone's life.

"Is Bhabhi alright?" Kabir asked with a worried look.

"Don't think so. Bhai, shouldn't you go and check on her?" Karan said and pushed me.

I rushed behind her. Something felt off.

I saw her stumble a few times before entering our room. She rushed towards the bed and sat on it with a thud as if all the strength from her body had left.

I felt weird seeing her in such a state. I had a feeling of something bad happening. She had her eyes shut, and her breathing became loud. Is she having a panic attack?

She opened the drawer of the bedside table and searched for something. She mindlessly looked for the thing and messed up the drawer. She pulled out a bottle and took out five to six pills in her palm. Is she going to eat all those? I rushed towards her to stop her. Held her hand and jerked her. All the pills fell on the floor. She got scared because of my sudden action. I pulled her towards myself and held her waist.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at her. What are those pills for? Are they even safe to consume? On top of that, she is consuming so much at once.

"Dhruv, leave me." She said, trying to push me off.

"No. You tell me. Are you trying to harm yourself? What are those pills for?" I asked, and her breathing became loud.

"Dhruv, please." She said with a heavy voice. She was having difficulty in breathing. I left her. She rushed and grabbed the bottle and took a pill, and her breathing became even.

"Is this prescribed by the doctor?" I asked her. And she went stiff. Giving me an answer without even saying anything.

I turned her towards me. She looked down, not wanting to meet eyes.

"How can you consume it? Have you gone crazy? It is harmful, right? Why even have something like that with you?" I asked her as fear surrounded my heart. I held her waist tightly, not allowing her to escape my questions.

"Because it helps." She said softly. I could feel her trying so hard to control her tears.

"Dammit." I said. Not knowing where to vent my anger. That woman shouldn't have appeared in front of Aakriti. It's all because of those stupid words that she spouted. Her words triggered Aakriti's fear and insecurity.

"Dhruv, she is right. I am just like my father. I have always been like him. I do not deserve love. No one can love me. And even if they did, it will fade."

"No, this is not true." I said in a very soft voice.

"It is. My mother can love and cherish someone else's daughter as her own, but she couldn't love me. No matter what, she couldn't. I always thought she loved me and Dad, only for her love to fade later. But all those years she was acting to care. Can a person pretend for twenty years? Is it possible?" She said. Tears sliding down her cheeks. She looked vulnerable with teary eyes. I felt panic rise within me. What should I do? I wanted to ease all her pain and see her smile. Her smile. Precious and Rare.

"Maybe she was right. Nobody can love a manipulative person like me. All these years I was waiting for her to show up to ease my pain, but she increased it on arrival." Goddammit. That insane woman. If I ever see you anywhere near my wife. I will kill you with my bare hands.

"Dhruv I am tired because of my expectations," she said as she rested her forehead on my shoulder. There was a gap between us. It felt like she was discreetly trying to borrow my strength.

"I am tired." she said. I circled my arms around her to make her realize that I am here.

"Please don't fall in love with me. I am not a good person. I might just end up being the reason for your pain." She said softly before dizziness took over her. And putting all her weight on me.

I picked her up and placed her on the bed. I called the doctor.

I gently caressed her face. Wiped the already dried tears. This woman makes me feel so scared and powerless. I wish to keep her in front of me every second, fearing she would vanish if I even blinked once.

"Who said you are not a good person? You are the best person who could ever come into my life. You are telling me not to love you, but I am already head over heels in love with you. You said you might be the reason for my pain, but when I am in pain, it's you who feels it more than me. I love you. And my love for you will never fade. That's my promise to you, baby." I said and kissed her forehead. My tear dropped on her cheek.

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