Second Wife, Second Love.

35. Forgiveness.

***Ruha's POV.***

***Present Day***

"Mum." a small voice calls out to me and I wake up.

"Ramya. You woke up. How are you feeling, dear?" I ask as I check her temperature with my hand and sigh in relief when it doesn't feel that much hot anymore.

"I feel fine." She says.

"Do you know how old you are?" I ask with a smile.

"What kind of question is that? I am 25." She says and I help her sit up.

"Well, in the afternoon, you believed yourself to be three years old." I say, "Tell me, Ramya, do you still remember anything from your childhood?"

"No." She says, looking up.

I put my hand on her and ask, "You do remember us taking therapy, right?"

"Yes." She says.

"And you do remember saying that you recall nothing of that time? The therapist told me that maybe you have suppressed your memory to escape those traumatic events or you are just simply lying." I say.

"I am sorry, Mum. But it was hard to talk about that back then and you were doing so well in your sessions that I didn't want you to hang around just for me. Also, my biggest therapy was you being happy." She says.

"But, dear, the past still haunts you. We took the therapy so it won't affect our future life. Tell me. Do you trust Reyansh fully?" I ask.

She looks at me with wide eyes and then looks away. After a few seconds, she says, "I do trust him a little, but it is hard to not fear things."

"Ramya, ‌let go of the past, otherwise it would start affecting your relationship badly. And you and Reyansh are so good together and he is nothing like... He is a very kind and good person." I say as I stroke her hand.

"What about you?" She asks.

"What about me?" I ask with a frown.

"You haven't fully let go of your past." She says.

"What do you mean? I am moving on just fine." I say.

"Then why haven't you forgiven Nani yet?" She asks and I go still.

"Your Nani and I have some issues which have nothing to do with the past." I say.

"Liar. I know it still hurts you, Mum. Because she wasn't there for you when you needed her the most. But have you ever thought maybe she did not know about all those things? That she was hurting too because she lost her husband, then she thought her only daughter abandoned her too. Everybody deserves a chance to be forgiven and don't forget it was Nani who finally put your culprit behind the bars." She says.

"It is not like I don't understand her situation, but she is so stubborn and unchanging and unwavering in some of her resolutions even now. Do you know she has been testing Sukhit for a month now? And she still isn't satisfied." I say.

"That's because she worries for you. She made a mistake and has gotten cautious so that it doesn't happen again. She loves you, Mum. Give her one more chance, Mum. She has waited for over twenty-three years for you to acknowledge her and give her love. Why forget those years you spent with her and only remember those when she wasn't there? Why?" Ramya asks, and my eyes widen in shock.

She is right. Before getting married, I was close to my mother, too. I always wanted to be like her. In some ways, I am like her. But after what happened, I put all the blame on her to protect myself and move on with my daughter. It wasn't like she knew what was going on.