" I'm sor-"
"DON'T, JUST DON'T SAY IT. YOU DO NOT EVEN DESERVE TO SAY IT AFTER WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME! I BEGGED YOU, SCREAMED AND PLEAD, BUT YOU DIDN'T HEED MY WORDS. THEN WHY SHOULD I!"
I yelled with tears streaming down my face when witnessing m...
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"REHAN ADVANI!"
The shout cracked through the air.
Rehan stiffened. Sharmila's fingers tightened around his shirt instinctively, her breath hitching. Behind them stood Rehan's mother ; Sumitha Advani. Her face twisted in pure rage. Anger burned so fiercely in her eyes that for a moment even the sunlight seemed to step back.
The boy who was supposed to live like royalty... The boy who was supposed to serve the military with pride and honor... Was now on his knees for a handicapped girl.
Sumitha saw it. She heard it. Every word of his proposal. And now her fury boiled over.
"What the HELL are you doing?" she screamed, loud enough for everyone around to turn and stare.
Sharmila shrank back immediately, panic rushing through her chest. Her grip on Rehan's shirt tightened, knuckles white. Rehan felt it, felt the trembling, the fear and without looking back he squeezed her hand gently. His silent way of telling her: I'm here. I'm not leaving you alone.
But it did nothing to stop the woman marching toward them like a storm.
She had heard everything. The heartfelt confession, the proposal, the love. And how dare her son, the son she raised to chase status, kneel in public for someone like her. Someone beneath them. Someone unworthy of the Advani name.
Rage took over her entire being.
Without warning, without hesitation, she lifted her hand and slapped Rehan across the face.
The sound cracked like lightning. Rehan's head snapped to the side. Sharmila gasped loudly, her heart stopping for a second.
But Rehan... stayed silent.
He didn't move. He didn't retaliate. He didn't even look at his mother.
Because he knew. One wrong move, one wrong word would terrify Sharmila even more. And he would rather take a thousand slaps than let her panic or feel unsafe. He refused to let even a drop of pain touch her.
Sumitha scoffed, breath heavy with disgust. "What do you think you're doing? Proposing to this girl? Do you even understand the difference between her status and ours? Did you even think what your father will—"
Rehan lifted his hand sharply, cutting her off.
"Stop." His voice was deep, controlled, and sharper than she'd ever heard from him. "Not a word about her."
Sumitha blinked, thrown off for a second.
Rehan stepped between her and Sharmila fully now, shielding the wheelchair from her gaze.
"You don't get to talk about my life when you never cared about it," he said, voice low but each word hitting like a punch. "When your husband was abusing me, when he forced me into the military, where were you? Doing makeup. Going to kitty parties. Pretending everything was perfect while I suffered alone."
