TRUE LOVE NEVER GIVES UP

Chapter-79: Her Thoughts

The early morning sun filtered gently through the blinds, casting soft golden rays across the room. Nandini stirred, blinking as she adjusted to the light, and then her gaze fell on the figure sleeping peacefully beside her—Manik. He lay sprawled on the small bed they’d set up next to her, his arm draped across his chest, his face softened by sleep. She smiled softly, warmth blooming in her chest as she watched him, feeling grateful and loved in that moment.

For a while, she simply admired him. The way his chest rose and fell with each breath, how his lashes fanned out against his cheeks, the way his hair had fallen messily over his forehead. He looked so calm, so at peace, and yet, there was an undeniable exhaustion etched on his face. She noticed the faint shadows beneath his eyes, the tired lines on his forehead, and it hit her how much he had been through for her.

He hasn’t left my side for a single moment, she thought, her heart aching slightly. Even when I told him to go home, to rest… he stayed. He always stays.

Nandini’s mind began to wander as she lay there quietly, her hand unconsciously reaching out but stopping midway before it could brush against his arm. She drew it back, closing her eyes, her thoughts taking her down a dark path of everything that had happened.

The day she fell down the stairs flashed vividly in her mind—how Soha had come to her, standing in the shadows, almost like a phantom from her past. She remembered Soha’s words, cutting deep, shaking her world.

"She is my Mother."

Nandini had been shocked, unable to believe it. Her entire life, she had believed one story, one reality. And yet, in that moment, everything seemed to blur, every certainty she had unraveling. Then, not long after that, she'd overheard that fateful conversation between Bela and Vishakha. It had been like a dagger to her heart, hearing her mother say that she wasn’t her real daughter.

"If I tell her that, I’ll have to tell her that she’s not my daughter,"

Nandini had wanted to storm in, to demand answers, but she had been frozen, paralyzed by the sheer weight of those words. The realization that the woman who raised her, the mother she had loved so deeply, was not biologically hers. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. The hurt was real. It cut deep.

And then there was Cabir. The one twist in her life that still left her breathless. Her twin brother. She had been friends with him for months. Cabir had been Manik’s best friend, and soon enough, he had become her friend too. They had laughed together, shared memories, moments… but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that they were family.

Her twin. Her brother.

She had been so close to him this entire time, completely unaware of the bond that connected them beyond friendship. And now, everything felt like a blur, like a puzzle she couldn’t solve no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to scream at the universe for being so cruel, for keeping these truths from her for so long. Why hadn’t anyone told her sooner? Why had she been kept in the dark?

Her heart pounded in her chest as these thoughts swirled relentlessly, clouding her mind. It felt like too much like too many revelations had been dropped on her at once. How was she supposed to deal with all of it? How was she supposed to just… accept it?

How do I even begin to accept that my whole life is a lie?

The words echoed painfully in her mind, and for a moment, it felt like she couldn’t breathe. She clutched the bedsheet, her knuckles whitening as the emotions threatened to drown her. Her mind felt corrupt, overwhelmed by all the thoughts crashing against one another like waves during a storm. She felt like she was drowning in her own confusion, her own pain.