My Sunshine ✨️

Part - 28

Gupta's Mansion

Ankit was sitting in front of his father and brother, wondering what his father had to say. He glanced at his brother, raising his eyebrows to see if he knew anything, but received only a shrug in response.

Ankit's dad cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Ankit, I want to talk to you about something important," he said.

"Yes, Dad," Ankit replied, paying full attention.

His father placed some papers in front of him, and Ankit looked from his dad to the papers, feeling confused.

"I want to end this hiding game, welcome you into the family, and introduce you to the world as Gupta, my son, with your rightful identity," he said.

Ankit's eyes widened in surprise. He felt immense happiness at finally receiving his identity. A huge smile spread across his face as he pondered the moment. He looked at his brother, who reflected the same emotions.

"Thank you, Dad," Ankit said, hugging his father. His dad patted him on the back.

"But…" Ankit pulled away from the hug with a smile, ready to listen further to his dad.

"But you have to stay away from someone who is close to your heart," his dad said, receiving a confused glance from Ankit. Aditya looked at his brother with a sad and knowing expression.

"I don’t understand, Dad," Ankit said with a puzzled smile.

"Priyanka. You have to stay away from her," Ankit's dad said. Ankit stood there, frozen.

"Wh… what…" Ankit stuttered.

"Yes, if you want your identity back, then Priyanka must be completely out of your life," his dad said blankly.

Ankit looked at his dad with pained and betrayed eyes.

"I can't," Ankit said, his voice breaking.

"You have to, Ankit. You have to choose between Priyanka and your identity," his dad said sternly.

"If you choose Priyanka, you won’t get the family name and identity you’ve been craving since childhood. But if you want your identity as Gupta, you must forget Priyanka. The choice is yours, but you can only have one," he said.

Ankit looked at his brother, hoping for any response or support, but saw only his brother clenching his fists and looking down. Then he turned to his father, his heart breaking into pieces. How could his father say such a thing? How could he ask him to sacrifice his only source of happiness and the person who had made him feel loved? Did he not deserve his identity? Why did he have to sacrifice one for the other? Finally, he lost his patience.

"How? How can you ask me to choose between Priyanka and my rightful identity, Dad? I can't stay away from her. She’s the one who introduced me to love, care, and family. She takes care of me and pampers me like a mother. She guides me like a father and supports and fights for me like a brother. She is my family. It’s not just blood that makes a family; it’s the heart. And she is my family by heart. How can I choose anyone or anything over her?" he said, struggling to control his emotions. And he continued further

"But I won’t back down from my identity either. I deserve it. I haven't done anything to deserve this exile, the mocking from society, and everything else. I’m entitled to it. If you want, Just make a statement that I’m part of your family, but that you won’t be responsible for me." he said, swallowing his pain.

He wished Priyanka were beside him to keep him strong.

"I can’t do that," his dad said.

"Why can’t you do that, at least? What’s your problem with Priyanka? You were all right with her when she was here. In fact, you seemed happy with her. So what went wrong suddenly? Or were you just pretending to be good in front of her?" he asked, clenching his jaw.

"Look, Ankit, if you want Priyanka to be safe and fine, you have to choose between two options," he said. Ankit looked at his dad disbelievingly. Feeling rage, he smashed a vase on the floor, shattering it.

"Are you threatening me? I can't believe this. How can you talk like that? If you truly loved Mom, you wouldn’t speak this way," Ankit said sarcastically.

"I loved your mom truly, which is exactly why I’m talking like this," his dad said, clenching his jaw. Ankit looked at him, frowning in confusion.

"Yes, I can see the love you have for Priyanka in your eyes. I can see how important she is to you and how much you care for her. That’s why I don’t want you to experience the same pain I felt losing your mom," he said, his voice cracking as he sat down on the couch with a thud. Aditya went to his dad and sat beside him, holding his hand. Ankit looked at them, trying to understand the meaning behind his dad's words. His father signaled Ankit to come closer. Ankit approached his father and knelt down, feeling helpless.

"Ankit, you may think your father is heartless and doesn’t care about your feelings, but that’s not true. I’m saying this for Priyanka’s sake. Listen to me carefully, then you can decide," he said, making Ankit nod.

"You know that we have rivals who don’t hesitate to take lives. We’re living in a dangerous world. Even though I loved your mom more than my life, I didn’t want to bring her into my dark world because I knew it was dangerous. But your mom didn’t leave my side, and we lived happily for a few years. In the end, my fears came true, and I lost her. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you," he said, cupping Ankit’s face.

"Dad…" Ankit whispered.

"Yes, bacha. If I introduce you to the world as Gupta, you’ll automatically be involved in this dark world, even if you don’t want to be. Priyanka would be drawn into this mess as well. For our rivals, Priyanka would become your weakness because they know we love our families. Now tell me, do you want what happened to your mom to happen to Priyanka? I really like her; her personality is very similar to your mom's, and I don’t want to lose another pure soul in our revenge game. That’s why I asked you to choose between Priyanka and your identity. If you choose Priyanka, you’ll have to sacrifice your identity to ensure her safety. If you want your identity, you’ll have to sacrifice Priyanka to protect her. I’ve said the same to your brother as well. I don’t want any innocent girl to lose her life just because she loves someone in our family," he said, clarifying his point.

Ankit silently went to his room, deep in thought. He closed the door and sat there, reflecting on what his father had said. He remembered his mom, the time they had spent together, and how he and his father had suffered and missed her after her loss. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Priyanka as well and shook his head to stop overthinking. The mere idea of Priyanka in such a situation was unbearable. His thoughts were interrupted by Priyanka’s ringtone. He just sat there, watching his phone ring, until it eventually stopped. This happened a few times, but Ankit remained motionless, staring blankly at his phone.

Priyanka

Pri frowned as Ankit didn’t answer her calls. She made a face and said to herself, 'Why isn’t he picking up? Maybe he’s busy with his dad and brother, but why do I feel like something is wrong? Argh, Pri, stop overthinking. Maybe he just left his phone somewhere.' She dismissed her thoughts and decided to irritate her brother unaware Ankit's inner turmoil.

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