TRUE LOVE NEVER GIVES UP

Chapter-43: Seperation

Vishakha's patience had reached its limit. Her expression, already strained with hurt and disbelief, hardened as she looked at Manik. Her voice was sharp, cutting through the heavy silence.

"You," she began, her tone dripping with disdain, "You've deceived us all, playing this sick game with my daughter's life. Did you think this was some sort of joke? That you could just hide away and everything would magically work out?"

Manik, who had been silent, absorbing the blows of her words, tried to remain calm, but the pain in his eyes was unmistakable. Before he could respond, Nandini, desperate to defend him, started to speak, "Mumma, please, it wasn't like that-"

But Manik, sensing the situation escalating further, gently placed a hand on Nandini's arm, stopping her mid-sentence. He shook his head, silently telling her to let him handle it. Mahir and Bela, witnessing the situation spiraling out of control, attempted to intervene.

"Vishakha, calm down, let's talk this through-" Mahir began, but Vishakha turned to him with a look that silenced him immediately.

"Don't," she warned, her voice trembling with the effort to keep her emotions in check. "Don't ask me to calm down when my daughter has lied to me for years."

Navya, who had been watching in shocked silence, finally stepped forward, unable to stand by any longer. "Amma, please, listen to them. They really decided to tell you today. I didn't know it was Manik either. I only knew she had a boyfriend, but I didn't know it was him, I swear."

Vishakha's eyes flashed with anger as she turned to Navya. "And you didn't think it was important to tell me? You didn't think I had a right to know?" Her voice was cold, and Navya shrank back, terrified of the fury she saw in Vishakha's eyes.

"I-I didn't know, Amma. I thought Nandini would tell you when she was ready. I didn't want to betray her trust," Navya stammered, clearly frightened.

Vishakha, still fuming, turned back to Nandini and grabbed her arm with a firm grip. "You're coming with me," she said, her voice low and commanding.

Nandini, her eyes wide with fear and confusion, asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"You will not come back here, and you will not see Manik again. This ends now," Vishakha replied, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Both Manik and Nandini were stunned into silence, the gravity of Vishakha's words hitting them like a ton of bricks. The room seemed to freeze around them. Manik, who had been struggling to keep his emotions in check, couldn't stay silent anymore.

He moved quickly, reaching out to grasp Vishakha's hand, his voice breaking as he pleaded, "Please, ma'am, don't do this. I respect you, and I love Nandini with all my heart. Please, don't take her away from me."

Vishakha's face twisted with pain, her voice shaking as she replied, "Manik, love is nothing but a temporary lust, an illusion that fades away with time. You'll realize that soon enough, but by then it will be too late. I won't let my daughter go through the same pain I did. I can't."

Nandini was crying, pulling at her mother's grip, "Mumma, please, don't do this. I love him. Please, don't take me away. I need him. We need each other."

But Vishakha was resolute. She didn't respond, instead pulling Nandini towards the door with a fierce determination. Manik followed them, his heart shattering with each step they took away from him. He tried to reach out again, but Mahir and Bela stepped in, urging him to let it go for now.

Outside, the air was thick with tension and the sound of Nandini's cries. Mahir, Bela, and Navya, though reluctant, followed Vishakha, their own emotions torn between supporting Nandini and respecting Vishakha's authority. They hurried into the car, with Nandini still pleading, her voice growing fainter as the door slammed shut.