Echoes Of Silence - An Arshi FF

🎆Realisation🎆

A sharp gasp echoed through the hall as Devyani's trembling voice rang out in shock.

"Arvind!"

The silence that followed was deafening. Everyone's eyes were wide with disbelief, frozen in place as the weight of what had just happened settled over them.

Shalini clutched her cheek, her face burning not just from the sting of the slap but from the sheer humiliation. Tears welled in her eyes, and she looked at her elder brother in shock. "Bhaiya... how could you?"

Arvind, for the first time in years, looked her directly in the eyes, his gaze hard, unwavering. His hands trembled at his sides, but not with regret—with anger. With grief. With a pain that had been bottled up for far too long.

"I should have done this long ago." His voice was hoarse, heavy with emotions, filled with the burden of years of silence.

Shalini gasped, taking a step back, her lips quivering. "Bhaiya..."

Arvind's eyes glistened as he continued, his voice breaking, yet firm. "The first time you taunted Ratna, I should have stopped you. The day Ma stood beside you and made my wife work endlessly, exhausting her, breaking her spirit, I should have spoken up. The day Ratna fainted from the stress, from the cruel weight of all of this—of YOU—I should have put an end to it all. But I didn't."

Khushi clenched Arnav's hand tightly, her heart pounding at the raw intensity in Arvind's voice.

His fists clenched at his sides as he went on. "You know when I should have really stopped all of this? The day Ratna held my hands... and cried, pleading with me to stop everything or let her leave. She was broken. She begged me, Shalini! She wanted to be free! But I didn't let her go. Do you know why?"

A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He looked up at the ceiling as if searching for an answer he would never find. "Because I was selfish. I didn't want Arnav to grow up in a broken family. I thought at least he would have the love of both parents. I thought... if I just endured this, if she just endured this... at least Arnav wouldn't suffer."

His voice cracked. "But I was wrong. My decision didn't save my son—it only gave him pain. He had to watch his mother suffer in silence. And he couldn't come to me either, because he knew... deep down, I was the reason for her pain."

Arnav stiffened beside Khushi. Hearing his father say those words out loud brought back every moment of his childhood, every helpless night when he had held his mother as she silently wiped her tears.

Arvind turned toward Devyani now, his voice cold. "And you, Ma... You took away my youngest daughter from me. You ripped a part of Ratna away that day. No... not just a part. You stole her entire soul. You, Shalini... you took Sheetal and made her your daughter. You snatched away Ratna's right to be a mother. No, you didn't just become a mother to her—you became a vile mother, poisoning her against the very woman who gave birth to her."

Shalini's breath hitched, and she shook her head. "Bhaiya, no—"

"Yes!" Arvind roared, his voice shaking with emotions. "That was the day Ratna died, Shalini! That was the day you killed her. And along with her... I died too."

A thick silence filled the room. Shalini's face paled, her mouth opening and closing, but no words came out.

Arvind let out a shuddering breath, his shoulders sagging. "Do you know why I died that day? Because I had failed. I failed as a husband when I chose to be a good son and a good brother instead of protecting my wife. But then I failed again—I failed as a father."