CHAPTER - 5

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After leaving the living room, where we had just discussed our plans to go to India, I walked into our bedroom, the weight of the conversation settling heavily on my shoulders

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After leaving the living room, where we had just discussed our plans to go to India, I walked into our bedroom, the weight of the conversation settling heavily on my shoulders. The thought of going back after 15 long years had stirred emotions I hadn't allowed myself to feel in a long time.

I couldn't control it anymore—the memories, the regrets, the pain of everything I had left behind. My heart pounded in my chest, a mixture of sorrow and guilt rushing over me as I sank down onto the bed.

The door creaked open gently, and Shruthi stepped into the room. I looked up, and without a word, she came to sit beside me. Her presence was always calming, and even after all these years, she knew exactly when I needed comfort.

She reached out and placed a hand on my arm, her eyes soft and filled with understanding. " Shravan, you shouldn't worry, " she said in that soothing voice of hers. " You don't need to be in sorrow. We'll meet them after 15 years... everything will be alright. "

I nodded slowly, but my mind was racing. Could it really be alright? Going back meant facing the people I had abandoned, the family I had left behind. And more than anything, it meant facing Riya and Divya—two sisters who believed I was dead. I haven't fulfilled my responsibilities as their brother.

My thoughts drifted back to 15 years ago, the moment everything changed. I could still remember the day I first saw Shruthi, walking through the streets of Jaipur where I went for some meeting for the 1st time as I finished my college just then. She had come back from London for a solo trip, and I had been mesmerized by her from the moment I laid my eyes on her. I had no idea at the time that she was my first mama's daughter to tell the truth I never knew I had another mama till then. We were strangers, drawn together by fate, and it didn't take long for us to fall in love.

But that love came with a cost.

As my family found out about us, it felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me. Hell broke loose. The Rathores and Singhanias were never meant to be tied by love, especially not with the history of betrayal and bitterness that existed between our families. But by the time they knew, it was too late—Shruthi was pregnant with Praveen.

I married her in secret, betraying my family, knowing full well what the consequences would be if I told my family and I couldn't tell as she was pregnant before marriage. They would have never allowed it. They wouldn't have understood. The love of my life, the mother of my child, would have been cast out, and I couldn't let that happen.

 " Riya and Divya... they never knew. I disappeared from their lives. I didn't even get to explain. " I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Shruthi tightened her grip on my arm, her eyes full of empathy. " They were young, Shravan. They wouldn't have understood then. But now... now is your chance. When we go back, you can explain everything. You can tell them why you had to leave back then. " 

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