you are my destiny

chapter 66.

Ahana was tossing on the living room couch, drenched in sweat, her breaths heavy and uneven.
Her lips kept trembling around the same words—

“Mom… Mom! Open the door… MOM!”

She jolted awake with a gasp, clutching her chest. The clock glowed midnight. Her eyes went instantly to her phone. Two days… her mother’s number had been switched off for two whole days.

Her mother’s words rang in her head again:
“I’ll find another way. I’ll make sure I don’t become a burden on you two…”

A sudden sound of a key turning in the lock made her jump. She rushed toward the main door.
“Mom!?”

But it wasn’t her mother. It was Yash.

“It’s you…” Ahana’s face fell. “What about Mom?”

“Didn’t she say she’d be away for a few days?” Yash replied casually, slipping off his shoes.

“Just where is she? She must be insane!” Ahana snapped, her voice trembling with frustration.

“Hey…” Yash frowned. “Maybe she just needs time to clear her thoughts alone. She’s not a little child. Stop worrying and go to bed.”

Ahana’s eyes burned with tears. “Aren’t you even worried about her? You heartless jerk!”

She grabbed her phone and stormed out of the house.

“Ahana! Where are you going at this hour?” Yash called after her, but she didn’t stop.

She walked aimlessly under the pale streetlights, her face crumpled as if she’d burst into tears any second. She tried her mom’s number again and again, but the robotic voice kept telling her the phone was switched off. Finally, in desperation, she dialed 100.

“Hello? I’d like to report someone missing, she—”

Her words froze.

Because in the distance, her mother was walking toward her.

“Where are you going at this hour?” her mother’s voice asked gently.

Ahana dropped the phone, tears spilling instantly. “Mom! Where… where on earth have you been? You didn’t even answer your phone!”

“I didn’t take my charger with me. My phone turned off, that’s why I couldn’t call,” her mother explained, showing her dead phone. But when she saw Ahana’s tearful face, her tone softened. “Are you… are you crying? What is it, my child?”

Ahana broke down completely. Sobs ripped from her chest as she stumbled forward. “Mom…”

“Anu… Ahana… oh my…” Her mother gathered her in her arms, rocking her gently. “Why are you crying like this?”

“Mom, you said you’d find a way, and then you just disappeared. You didn’t answer your phone!” Ahana sobbed harder.

Her mother whispered, “He bhagwan… there’s no need to cry like this…”

“I thought you might get a stupid idea again,” Ahana gasped between sobs, “just like when Dad passed away… I was so scared. I know what you tried to do…”

Her mother froze, eyes widening. “What?”

“I remember it,” Ahana whispered. “You tried to leave me and Yash behind. I remember everything.”

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Flashback

A week after her father’s death, their mother had stopped eating, stopped speaking. One night, after putting the children to bed, she slipped out silently, walking to the bridge. Her phone buzzed with a single sent message: