•AUTHOR'S POV•

-After One Month-

"I'll eat it by myself."

Adrika, who had been holding a spoon near Saanvi's mouth, paused mid-air. Her hand stilled for a moment before she slowly withdrew it, offering a soft smile, one she always wore, even when it wasn't returned.

For the past month, Adrika had been coming to her room with food, patiently trying to coax her to eat, offering silent comfort that was never forced, never demanding. Saanvi always refused, sometimes with cold words, sometimes with bitter silence, sometimes with anger she could not control. She had snapped. She had pushed her away. She had thrown the plate, watched it shatter across the floor and still, Adrika came back the next day, holding another meal with the same quiet smile that made Saanvi feel smaller and more suffocated each time.

And every time, a bitter thought gnawed at Saanvi's mind, that none of it was truly out of concern. That Adrika's patience, her gentleness, the quiet persistence she cloaked herself in, wasn't because she cared about. It was damage control. They didn't come to heal her. They came to muzzle her.

After everything Rudra had done, after the way he had broken her without mercy Saanvi had become nothing more than a ticking bomb for them. A threat to their pristine, untouchable name.

She thinks that they weren't feeding her to nourish her. They were feeding her to shut her up.

To them, she was not family. She was evidence. She was the aftermath of a scandal they wished had never touched their doorstep.

Even after everything they did, even after Adrika sat by her side night after night without closing her eyes with Abhiraj, even after Abhiraj stayed silent but near like some immovable shadow. Saanvi refused to believe them.

Because the moment she had opened her eyes after the cardiac arrest, still weak and disoriented, she had heard him, Abhiraj Singhania giving orders to the doctors in a tone so cold and final.

"She'll live at Singhania Mansion. I don't care what she says. Prepare the discharge papers under my authority."

Not a question. Not a request. A command. Like she was property.

Like she was a responsibility no one wanted but everyone had to manage.

----------

"Saanvi," Dr. Meera's voice came gently.

Her eyelids fluttered open. A dull ache bloomed in her chest, a weight she could already recognize as the aftermath of what should've ended her. Her vision was blurry, her throat dry.

She saw them, Dr. Meera standing beside her. Her therapist, Prashant Rao. Adrika, tears brimming in her eyes, trying to hold herself together. And Abhiraj... standing silent, staring at her.

"How are you feeling, Saanvi?" Dr. Meera asked.

Saanvi's fist clenched realising she was still alive.

"I want to go home," she said flatly.

Dr. Meera exchanged a glance with Prashant. He stepped forward gently. "Saanvi, your vitals are still unstable. We can't discharge you until-"

"Did I ask for your medical commentary, Mr. Rao?" she cut him off coldly.

The room stiffened. Dr. Meera pressed her lips into a thin line.

She sat up slowly, wincing slightly.

"Don't," she said sharply as both Meera and Adrika instinctively reached for her. Adrika's face crumbled slightly but she stepped back, hurt flashing across her features. Dr. Meera stayed still, knowing better than to push her.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow-"

"You can't," Dr. Meera interrupted. "We all know you're alone. You can't take care of yourself in this state."

"Doctor," she said, "maybe you should remember your place. You're here to treat me, not to make decisions about my life. Your concern is appreciated but not required."

Before anyone could speak again, another voice rang out

"She'll live with us," Abhiraj announced.

Saanvi slowly turned her head toward him, her jaw tight, She stared at him for a long second, like she couldn't believe his audacity.

"No, I'm not," she spat, her fists clenching at her sides. "And you're no one to tell me what to do. Just fucking mind your own business."

"Shut up! You never told your family anything, not about your health, not about your heart condition, you lived like you were made of steel, hiding everything. What did you think you were proving?"

He exhaled sharply, his voice rising.

"You could have at least told your father-"

"Father?" Saanvi let out a short, bitter laugh, tears shimmered in her furious eyes.

"You call him a father? Then tell me, What kind of father sends his daughter halfway across the world just months after her mother dies?" Her voice rose, her lips trembling. "What kind of father abandons a nine-year-old when she's barely breathing through her grief?" Her voice, trembling against her own will.

"I needed him, I needed my family. I didn't need lectures. I didn't need a new country. I needed to hold on to someone who loved me. But instead, I was sent away like baggage too heavy to carry."

Her fists trembled against her sides, and she blinked back the flood in her eyes.

"I tried, I begged him to let me stay. I cried. I clung to him. But he just said-" she swallowed painfully, "-'It's important for you to leave. You can hate me, beta, but it's for your own good.'"

She shook her head bitterly.

"He said it was for me. But it was for him. It was easier for him."

Saanvi's chest rose and fell rapidly as the pain broke past the cold mask she always wore.

"Just because I stay silent about my pain, that doesn't mean I don't feel it."

Her eyes, glassy with tears, locked on Abhiraj.

"I have a heart too. I feel everything. I tried-I tried to explain my pain in every way I could..." She broke off for a moment, breathing hard, fighting to keep her voice steady. "But no one ever listened. No one ever understood."

Her throat burned as she swallowed the lump forming there.

"What else could I have done? Tell me. What else was left for me to do, except become like this? I never wanted to be like this. I never wanted to be cold or distant. I never wanted to build walls so high around me that even I can't break them now."

Her fingers dug into her palms until her knuckles turned white.

"But I had to, I had to protect myself... because no one else ever did."

A breath escaped her.

"I expected him to be the one who would understand me. My father, But even he left. Even he abandoned me."

The truth finally spilled out, raw and devastating. She broke down, tears spilling freely now, her body shaking with the weight of what she never said aloud.

"Saanvi, don't-" Dr. Meera tried to step in, but Saanvi didn't hear her anymore.

Abhiraj stood frozen, his mouth slightly parted, the words caught somewhere in his throat.

"And you, Abhiraj Singhania," she said furiously, "you stand here and lecture me about children like me?"

Her gaze burned into him, full of fury and heartbreak.

"You think I'm reckless? Stubborn? Tell me, what about fathers like him?"

Her hand clutched instinctively at her chest, the lingering ache of the cardiac arrest surfacing again.

"No, Saanvi," Prashant said gently, stepping closer, placing a steady hand on her head. "You are not wrong. You were never wrong. You were too good for him to understand."

"But that doesn't mean I deserved this!" she cried out. "I never asked for much. I just... I just wanted to be loved. I just wanted my father to love me like he used to when I was nine."

Abhiraj closed his eyes tightly, breathing sharply through the tightness in his chest, before opening them again only to see her, broken, raw, and far too alone in her pain. He turned to Dr. Meera.

"I want her full case file, medicines. Diet. Every detail. She'll live at Singhania Mansion. I don't care what she says. Prepare the discharge papers under my authority.

"I'm not going with you!" Saanvi screamed, sobbing as she hit the mattress with her fists like a desperate plea. "You can't force me! I want to live alone!"

"You can scream all you want. But you'll live in the Singhania mansion. That's final." Abhiraj didn't yell. His voice remained firm.

And with that, he walked out, pulling out his phone, leaving no room for an argument.

----------

"Saanvi, would you like to come shopping with me and Abhi?" Adrika asked gently, offering a small smile as she watched her eat.

Saanvi shook her head without looking up, focused on her food.

Adrika nodded lightly. "It's okay, beta. No pressure. By the way, it's Sunday... family night again. Would you like to join us for the movie?" she asked, her voice carrying the same hopeful warmth she had shown every week.

Saanvi's hand froze mid air, her spoon halfway to her mouth. Her eyes stayed glued to the plate.

Over the past month, Saanvi had learned about these family nights simple things, three times a week. And every time, they asked. Every time, she had either ignored them or said no.

Slowly, Saanvi resumed eating and shook her head again.

Adrika sighed, but when Saanvi glanced up from the corner of her eye, she found the woman still smiling patiently. "It's okay, darling. Join us whenever you feel like it, no pressure," she said warmly.

Saanvi quickly looked away, finishing the last few bites in silence.

Just as she set her spoon down, the door creaked open.

Abhiraj walked in, Saanvi reached out to grab her medicines, but he got there first taking out the tablets and syrup, preparing them as always.

Without a word, he handed them to her. Without a word, she took them.

"Show me your nails," he said curtly.

Saanvi closed her eyes in silent frustration. She already knew what was coming.

He took her hand before she could resist, inspected her nails, and without waiting, grabbed the nail cutter from her drawer and started trimming them carefully.

"Don't. They're not even long." Saanvi tried pulling her hand back,

Abhiraj shot her a sharp glare. "Shut up. Acche bacche nails nahi badhate." (Good children don't grow their nails.)

Adrika watched them from across the room, a soft smile tugging at her lips.

They were about to leave when a small, hesitant voice made them stop at the door.

"I... wanted to say something," Saanvi said, awkwardly, her fingers knotting in her lap.

Both turned instantly, surprised.

"Yes, beta?" Adrika encouraged, her heart lightening at Saanvi's rare attempt to talk first.

Saanvi looked down at her hands. "I want to go back to my house."

There was a heavy pause. Hope flickered and died.

Before they could respond, Saanvi rushed ahead. "I know you're just keeping me here so people don't question you. You don't have to act like you care. You think I'll tarnish your reputation, or make things worse for you in society. But honestly, you don't need to worry about that. I won't do it. I don't have anything personal against either of you. You don't have to pretend, or act like you care about me just for the sake of saving face. So don't make it seem like you're doing this out of concern for me... because I know it's all about your image, not m-"

A loud bang cracked against the door, making both women flinch.

Saanvi blinked up, startled to see him standing rigid, his jaw locked, chest heaving with shallow breaths.

"You think we're pretending?" His voice was low, sharp, laced with disbelief. "You really think we kept you here to save our precious image?" He scoffed bitterly, the sound like a punch to the air.

"God knows how the hell you became a brain doctor when you clearly need a doctor for your brain yourself."

"Abhi, please-" Adrika tried to intervene, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand, eyes still fixed on Saanvi.

"When did we ever tell you not to leave? When did we ever say you couldn't go anywhere? We've asked you a thousand times to come with us. To go shopping. To enjoy your life. And every single time, you shut us down. We let you yell. We let you throw fits. We took it, because we knew. We knew you were hurting. We weren't concerned about our reputation. We weren't concerned about how we looked. We were concerned about you. We've been patient with you, letting you push us away because we understand what you've been through. But this... this is too far."

Saanvi sat frozen.

Abhiraj took a deep, shaky breath, his usual coldness faltering as his words tumbled out slower, heavier.

"You know what it felt like... when the nurse came out of that room and told me they couldn't save you?" His voice cracked slightly, and his fists tightened at his sides, knuckles whitening.

"For a moment, I thought I'd lost you... and I didn't know how the hell to deal with that."

He finally met her eyes. "I don't give a damn about your media bullshit, or what anyone thinks. But you think we've been trapping you here? That this is about our reputation?" His voice dropped lower. "No, Saanvi. We've been trying to keep you safe. We've been trying to care about you... because, we do care.

He took another breath, his expression breaking a little more, his guard slipping just enough for her to see the raw truth behind his anger.

"Me and Adrika didn't care about any of that, because we know what happened to you... was pure cruelty. No child, no one, deserves that kind of pain." He let out a breath,

"So, Doctor Saanvi."

Saanvi's chest tightened at the way he said her title. It wasn't just the words, it was the way he said "Doctor." All those times she'd yell at him to call her that, to acknowledge her professionally, and he'd always dismissed it. "Stupid nurse," "evil" those were the labels he'd thrown at her. But now, hearing him call her "Doctor," something shifted. It wasn't the usual casual dismissal she'd grown used to. It felt distant... formal. His demeanor was colder now, more serious. It stung in a way she didn't expect.

"You want to leave? Fine. You've got your phone, and the doors are wide open. Do whatever you want, say whatever you want... We're not going to stop you. Not because we don't care about how you're perceived. But because we care about you."

He didn't wait for a response, he turned, his footsteps echoing down the hall, leaving Saanvi and Adrika.

Adrika lingered for a second longer. She pressed her lips together, forcing a small, shaky smile.

"Don't mind him, beta. He's just... tired from work. I'm sorry he poured it out like that. You rest, hmm?" she said gently before following after her husband.

The room fell into silence.

Saanvi sat frozen on the bed, staring at the door. Her gaze drifted to her phone on the side table.

They were right.

Her chest ached as the truth settled painfully inside her.

They never locked her up. They never hid her away. They had always asked. Always waited. It was her who had kept herself locked away.

Rubbing her face tiredly, Saanvi let out a long, shaky sigh.

✦✦✦✦✦

"Abhi, stop!" Adrika called, as she stepped quickly to catch up with him. Abhiraj kept walking, ignoring her.

"Abhiraj Singhania, I said something," Adrika's voice cut through the air, a stern edge in her words that finally made him stop. His shoulders tensed, but he didn't turn around.

Adrika moved in front of him, as she faced him. She let out a deep sigh, her eyes softening as she spoke, "You shouldn't have said that to her."

He met her gaze, his anger still bubbling beneath the surface. "What about her, Adrika? How could she say that? How could she think we're pretending? After everything we've done for her?" His voice cracked slightly, his frustration obvious, as he looked away in disbelief.

Adrika stepped closer. "Because that's all she's known her whole life, Abhi. You really think she can just trust us after everything she's been through? After what her own family put her through? And don't forget about our son, too." she scoffed.

She reached up, gently cupping his face, her thumb tracing the outline of his jaw as she continued softly, "We care for her, Abhi. Not for show. If she wants to think we're pretending, let her. But we'll still protect her. Right?"

Abhiraj's eyes fluttered shut, and he exhaled sharply, he opened them again, and nodded slowly. Adrika's hand slid into his hair, tenderly brushing it back.

"By the way, you were behaving like your own daughter had disowned you from the father's place." She teased, a small, knowing smile tugging at her lips,

Abhiraj rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Adrika."

She raised an eyebrow, her fingers tightening in his hair as she yanked his head back, "What did you say?"

His eyes widened as he caught the intensity in her look. "I meant to say," he stammered, swallowing hard, "those pretty lips of yours shouldn't waste energy on something like this. So, shut them up." He quickly added, "I said that with the utmost respect, Adrika."

Adrika's grip on his hair loosened.

"Better mind your words, or I'll make you regret it," Adrika threatened, as she turned to walk away,

Abhiraj followed quickly, his hand sliding around her waist as he pulled her close, his lips brushing the top of her head. "Please, do the honors." He smirked.

Adrika chuckled softly but punched his chest.

Abhiraj smiled, his lips brushing her hair again as he murmured, "I love you, Adrika."

"I love you too, Abhi." Her expression softened.

"We'll protect Saanvi... always, right?" Adrika asked, lifting her gaze, searching his face, needing reassurance.

Abhiraj's eyes softened as he met her gaze, the world around them fading for a moment. A rare, tender smile graced his lips, a smile reserved solely for her.

"Always," he replied.

______________________________________________________________________________

Lowkey I think I'm torturing y'all more than Saanvi right now with all this angst. I swear I'm not evil though.😓

Aur Bhyii what's going on? Why isn't anyone cursing her family? They're the real culprits here if Rudra's getting blamed her family should be too.

And yes one more thing i wanted to share, it makes me so happy to see that y'all are actually waiting for the chapters and giving this story importance. I saw few of you asking for updates and it genuinely made me realize that you guys are seriously into it. Thank you so much for that ❤️🦋

Thankyou for reading if you liked the chapter you can vote, and do let me know by dropping a comment.

Bye bye🙋🏻‍♀️