Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh (Completed)

Chapter 88 Maya Manipulates

Khushi's college day had started like any other, yet it soon took an unexpected turn. The sun filtered through the leafy canopy above the campus, casting dappled patterns on the ground as she submitted her note of absence for the next ten days. Her footsteps echoed in the familiar corridors, each step drawing her closer to the bittersweet task at hand—handing out wedding invitations to her friends. Laughter and cheerful banter filled the air as she went from group to group, but her heart was elsewhere, tethered to thoughts she dared not voice.

As she reached the final group, her best friend's words pierced through the haze of her thoughts. "Khushi, finally tumhe tumhari mumma mil rahi hai."

A wistful smile curved Khushi's lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. The weight of those words settled on her heart like a soft, heavy blanket. "Haan," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "She is the best."

The truth behind those words was layered with so much more than her friends could ever know. Manvi was not just her stepmother; she was the mother Khushi never had, the one who had mended the fragile threads of her family, sewing them together with love and patience. Her Yashoda Maiya. She had shown Khushi a love that healed the wounds left by another.

As she left the college gates, the usual hustle of the streets blurred around her. The world seemed to slow as Khushi scanned the area, waiting for her driver. The honks of passing cars and the distant chatter of street vendors faded into the background when a voice, faint but unmistakable, called her name.

"Khushi."

Her heart stilled. She turned slowly, her eyes narrowing as they searched the source of the voice. At the gate stood a figure draped in a scarf, half-hidden in the afternoon shadows. Time seemed to stretch painfully as the figure stepped forward, revealing the face beneath the fabric.

Maya.

The name echoed in Khushi's mind as if pulled from a distant memory. Thirteen long years of absence, of silence, of unanswered questions, melted away in a single heartbeat as she met her mother's eyes. The weight of a decade of longing crushed into that one moment, filling her chest with an ache she hadn't prepared for.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, unbidden and unwelcome. Maya took a tentative step forward, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Khushi, beta," she whispered, her voice fragile, as though speaking any louder might shatter the moment.

But Khushi took a step back, recoiling as though stung. The warmth of her tears cooled, replaced by the searing sting of old wounds that had never truly healed. The years of her father's suffering, the nights she had spent trying to comfort him when he thought she couldn't hear his silent sobs, all of it crashed over her like a wave.

"Don't," she said sharply, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife. Her jaw clenched, her hands balled into fists at her sides as she struggled to maintain her composure.

Maya flinched as though the words had slapped her. Her hand, which had reached out for Khushi, hung in the air for a moment before falling limply to her side. "Beta, please," Maya's voice trembled, laden with regret, "itne saal baad maa se mil rahi ho, sirf baat karni hai."

The plea lingered in the air, and for a moment, Khushi hesitated. She stood on the edge of a chasm, torn between the desire for the mother she had once known and the loyalty she felt to the life she had built without her. She thought of Manvi, the woman who had loved her like her own, and her father, who had finally found peace.

After what felt like an eternity, Khushi exhaled, her resolve hardening once more. "Thik hai," she said, her voice flat, devoid of warmth. "Lekin yahan nahi."

Maya's eyes brightened with a glimmer of hope as she nodded eagerly. "Chalo mere saath."

Khushi kept her distance, stepping into an auto. Maya followed suit, directing the driver to an address. During the journey, a tense silence enveloped them, each lost in their own thoughts.