Tangled Beliefs

Chapter-47: The Weight of Her Tears

She wasn't just crying-she was shattering. And damn it, I felt every piece break.

Manik's POV,

I watched as Nandini collapsed onto the floor, her whole-body trembling with silent sobs.

For a few seconds, I couldn't move.

The way she sat there, curled into herself as if she was trying to disappear-it shattered something inside me.

Without thinking twice, I knelt beside her.

Her tear-streaked face turned to me, her eyes filled with so much pain that I felt a sharp ache in my chest.

"I was alone, Manik..." her voice broke as she spoke. "I felt scared being alone in that room."

My fists clenched as I imagined it-her alone in a foreign country, scared, abandoned.

"I called Mom and Dad," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "but they never picked up... unless it was from my college or Bade Papa and Bade Maa. And even if they did..." she let out a hollow chuckle, "they never talked normally."

Her words felt like a knife twisting inside me.

She had been just a kid when they sent her away, and instead of love, she got... neglected.

"I skipped meals," she confessed, her breathing growing unsteady. "And there was no one to ask if I ate or not. Mom never called... Dad distanced himself even more. Whenever I fell sick, no one was there to take care of me."

I wanted to punch something.

How could parents do this to their own daughter?

She clenched her fists on her lap, shaking her head.

"I was alone in that country... struggling to survive," she whispered. "For two years, I tried everything possible to come back, to get them to listen to me... to just hear my side of the story."

Her voice cracked.

"But then..." she let out a shaky breath, "I stopped trying."

Her words made my stomach twist.

She had given up.

On them.

On herself.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, waiting for her to continue.

"I stopped picking up their calls, even if they did call. And I didn't even come back for Bhai's wedding... or when Ansh was born."

She wiped her tears, but they kept falling.

"Bhai visited two or three times with Bhabhi and Ansh," she whispered. "But Mom and Dad... they never did."

My heart clenched.

I had no words.

For the first time in my life, I felt helpless-because I couldn't change what had already happened.

I could only sit there and watch as she broke down completely.

I had seen many things in my life-fights, betrayals, business rivalries, rejections-but nothing prepared me for this.

For her.

For her pain.

I had never seen anyone so shattered yet so strong at the same time.

Taking a deep breath, I shifted closer.

"Nandini..." I whispered, my voice soft, careful. "You're not alone anymore."