Crossroads of love: Enstranged or Adultery?

Echoes of Duty

This chapter was a collaboration with my friend, @LoveAlchemist04 Thank for your help.

Note- (Readers, please refrain from criticizing my story or its characters. If you do, I will report it.)

The afternoon sun cast long, accusing shadows across Manik's desk as Shrikant's voice boomed through the phone, each word a hammer blow to his already fractured heart.
Shrikant: Come home, urgently.
(The world around him dissolved into a static hum. Home. A word that once held warmth now tasted like ash in his mouth.)

He arrived to find a tableau of strained silence. Prena, the very picture of stoicism, stood amidst the gathered family. Shrikant, his face a mask of forced authority, cleared his throat.
Shrikant: Prena. (he began, his voice heavy with a pretense of concern.) I've decided you should move to my other house. No more struggling with house hunting, no facing problems alone.

Prena's chin trembled slightly, the only outward sign of the turmoil raging within.
Prena: dad that's not a problem. (she said, her voice barely a whisper. But the defiance in her eyes, a mirror of Manik's own churning emotions, spoke volumes.)

Shrikant steamrolled on, his words a cruel symphony of control. 

Shrikant: You're my daughter, Prena. Please, don't deny it. (Each word felt like a shard of glass embedding itself deeper in Manik's chest.)

Prena, after an eternity stretched thin by the weight of unspoken emotions, finally conceded. 

Prena: Alright. (She rasped, the defeat in her voice a physical blow to Manik.) I'll accept your offer. (Then, a flicker of defiance, a spark mirroring Manik's own yearning, ignited in her eyes.) Myeesha and I will move the day after tomorrow.

A suffocating silence descended upon the room. Manik's parents, caught in the crossfire, murmured their agreement, their words offering little solace. Though a part of him supported Prena's comfort, a far larger part of him ached with a fresh, raw wound. The responsibility of balancing Nandini and Myeesha, two halves of his now fractured world, felt like an insurmountable weight.

He rose, his movements mechanical, and turned to Prena. 

Manik: Can I take Myeesha out tomorrow for the day? (His voice, rough with suppressed emotion, surprised even him.)

A flicker of warmth, a rare oasis in the emotional desert, bloomed in Prena's eyes. 

Prena: Of course, Manik. (She said, her voice thick with unshed tears.) You don't have to ask.

Manik shook his head, the gesture a silent vow. 

Manik: I will always ask. (He rasped, the need to respect her boundaries, even in the face of his own pain, burning bright.) I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.

Prena's smile, a fragile thing threatened to be extinguished by the storm raging around them, held a flicker of gratitude. 

Prena: Thank you, Manik. (She whispered, the words a balm to his raw heart.) I... I really appreciate that.

The weight of their fractured world pressed down on Manik as everyone dispersed, seeking solace in solitude. He left, his steps heavy with the burden of love, duty, and the looming heartbreak of a future stretched thin. He needed to find Myeesha, a single point of light in the growing darkness, a part of him that desperately clung to hope. But even as he drove towards the school, the image of Nandini, her smile the only sun he truly craved, burned bright behind his eyelids, a constant reminder of the impossible choices tearing him apart.

****

Evening at Rishabh's House

The last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow across the sky as Manik reached Rishabh's house. A knot of worry tightened in his stomach, a stark contrast to the peaceful chirping of the birds settling in for the night. He took a deep breath, willing himself to appear calm as he rang the doorbell.