ENTWINED DESTINY

|23|• REGRET •

Kartik's POV:

I sat on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands, feeling the weight of the past two days pressing down on me. Mishti's absence was like a gaping hole in my heart. I knew Naira was right, but the guilt and confusion were overwhelming. How have things gotten this bad?

"Kartik," Naira's voice broke through my thoughts, gentle yet insistent. "Let's go and bring Mishti back home. Please, Kartik, she wasn't looking good. It's been two days."

I looked up at her, seeing the worry etched on her face. She was right, as usual. Mishti had been through so much, and I had only added to her pain. "I know, Naira," I said, my voice strained. "But I don't know how to approach her. I've hurt her so much. I should have forgiven her, but sometimes I start believing Bua's words. But then again, she's my sister. How could I just..."

Naira sat in front of me, taking my hands in hers. "Kartik, she's your sister. The same sister you loved so much when you were kids. Mishti yearns for love. I don't know what's stopping you, but Kartik, you're hurting her."

Her words pierced through the fog of my guilt. I remembered how close Mishti and I used to be, how much I had loved and protected her. How did I let things get so out of hand?

"Kartik," Naira's voice was soft, almost a whisper. "Can I ask you something?"

I nodded, bracing myself for whatever was coming next.

"Do you..." she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "do you hold Mishti accountable for our baby's death?"

The question hit me like a punch to the gut. I felt the blood drain from my face, my heart pounding in my chest. I looked at Naira, her eyes filled with pain and uncertainty. She needed an answer, but how could I give her one when I wasn't even sure myself?

"I..." My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard, trying to find the words. "Naira, I don't know. I don't want to, but sometimes... sometimes, it's just so hard to forget."

Tears welled up in Naira's eyes, and she shook her head slowly. "Kartik, she's your sister. Our baby... it wasn't her fault . You know she instantly came that day and took me to the hospital. Kartik agar vo nahi aati toh who knows if I would have been alive today or not . It was never mishti's fault . It was our fate kartik. You know that, right?"

I closed my eyes, the memories flooded back—Naira in pain, Mishti rushing her to the hospital, the lifeless form of our baby girl in Mishti's arms. It was an image that haunted me, one that I couldn't shake.

"I know," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I know it wasn't her fault. But seeing her holding our baby... it just... it broke something inside me.I can't just forget mishti holding our dead baby and bua's words naira . I definitely do not believe bua's words but it has somehow affected me "

Naira's tears fell freely now, and she reached out to touch my face. "Kartik, you have to let go of this anger, this guilt. Mishti has been suffering, and so have you. Holding onto this isn't helping anyone. And now we all should just let go our past and look up to the future where our new baby is coming hmm."

I felt my own tears start to fall, and I couldn't hold back the sobs that racked my body. "I'm sorry, Naira. I'm so sorry. I don't want to blame her. I don't want to blame anyone. But I just... I don't know how to move past this.I still sometimes get the image of you crying and everyone just blaming her and I couldn't even do anything because I don't know what to do ."

Naira pulled me into her arms, holding me tightly as we both cried. "We have to try, Kartik. For Mishti, for us, for our family. We have to try. It's been years kartik . You and me had everyone. She didn't have anyone kartik . Everyone blamed her for something she never did ."