Fragments of Ruhi

When Justice Prevails

This one-shot portrays Rohit in the way I envisioned him—supportive, deeply in love with Ruhi, and far from being a criminal or insensitive. He is shown as a devoted husband and father, not someone blindly loyal to his brother and sister-in-law, especially at the cost of Ruhi's pain. In this story, Rohit is not involved in the swap of Daksh. The crime was solely committed by Armaan, who kidnapped Daksh right after his birth while Ruhi was in a coma.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ruhi sat on the bathroom floor her body trembling under the weight of the past month. Her mind replayed every painful moment with the baby—the anger, the confusion, the guilt. At first she couldn't help but resent him. Every time his tiny hands reached out, she saw Abhira's face and it filled her with bitterness. The baby once a reminder of everything she had lost became a symbol of deep, unrelenting pain.

She had tried to distance herself convinced that this wasn't her child. The emptiness of her arms where her own baby should have been felt like an open wound that never healed. It was easier to push him away than to confront the truth of what had happened.

But now as she sat on the bathroom floor her heart achin sgomething began to shift. The love she thought was impossible had quietly taken root. She had wanted to hate him but how could she? Slowly she realized the bond had always been there buried beneath her grief and anger. It wasn't about him being Abhira's—this was her son.

Her heart broke with the realization that she had denied him the love he deserved. She had watched him cry, feeling the space between them grow with each tear. She had hurt him by not loving him when he needed her most. Every moment she had pushed him away, she had pushed away a part of herself a part of the joy she had been longing for.

Her sobs grew louder raw with regret and guilt. How could she have let herself hate the one thing that could have healed her? How could she have seen her own son as an enemy? He had been there through all the pain and yet she had turned away from him. Ruhi clutched her saree tightly her heart breaking as the weight of the lost time sank in—the months of anguish that could have been filled with love and tenderness instead.

But now despite the pain love was there. It was undeniable. And though it came too late it was real. She couldn't undo the past but she could shape the future. And with each heartbeat she promised herself she would never turn away from him again.

Suddenly she heard the sound of Daksh's cries from the other room. Her heart twisted and she quickly stood up wiping her face. Rohit had gone to the kitchen to prepare formula milk for the baby and for a moment there was silence. A moment of hope—had Daksh calmed down? Ruhi stepped out of the washroom feeling a sense of relief but as she reached the door her eyes widened in shock.

Abhira was running away with her baby.

Frozen Ruhi's breath caught in her throat. She could barely process what she was seeing as Abhira hurried down the stairs Daksh clutched tightly in her arms. Before Ruhi could react Abhira rushed out of the house and in a blur she jumped into a rickshaw the vehicle speeding off into the distance. She could feel the blood rushing in her ears the fear seizing her chest as she watched the rickshaw disappear into the distance.

Ruhi's knees buckled and she leaned against the doorframe her mind racing. The numbness in her legs soon gave way to a surge of adrenaline. Her voice trembling as she called out, "Abhira! Stop!" But her cries were swallowed by the quiet street her desperation echoing back to her like a cruel reminder of how helpless she felt.

Her eyes darted around searching for any sign of the rickshaw. Her mind was a cacophony of thoughts: Why? Why would she take him? For a brief moment she felt the shadow of her old resentment, the raw pain of Abhira's betrayal. But it was eclipsed by a deeper, fiercer emotion—fear. Daksh was her son and she would not lose him again.