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Ishika POV

The world seemed to stop spinning. Akanksha stood frozen, her small head tilted as she looked from Avyaan's resolute face to my tear-streaked one. "Mama." The word, so simple yet so monumental, hung between us, a bridge across four years of unimaginable distance. I could feel my heart pounding against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat of hope and fear.

She let go of Avyaan's hand and took a tentative step toward me. Then another. Her small hand, so warm and soft, reached out and gently touched my cheek. Her thumb brushed away a tear, and her eyes, those dark, liquid pools that were a mirror of my own, searched my face. There was no bewilderment now, only an innate, dawning recognition.

"Mama?" she whispered, the sound a question, a plea, and a statement of truth all at once.

And in that moment, the dam broke. The tears I had been holding back for days, weeks, years-the tears of a daughter's betrayal, a woman's heartbreak, and a mother's profound loss-poured out, but this time they were different. They were hot and cleansing, tears of relief and overwhelming love. I sank to my knees and gathered her into my arms, holding her close, inhaling the sweet, childlike scent of her hair.

A small sigh escaped me, a sound I hadn't realized I was holding in for so long. It felt like coming home. She was my anchor, the one thing that made sense in a world turned upside down. Her little arms wrapped around my neck, a tight, trusting embrace.

Behind us, I heard Avyaan take a slow, shuddering breath. I didn't need to turn to see him. I could feel the shift in the air, the release of a suffocating pressure. The weight he had carried for four years, the crushing burden of this secret, had finally lifted. He felt it, not as a woman scorned, but as a silent witness to a man's liberation. He stood tall, watching us, his face no longer etched with guilt, but with a quiet, profound peace.

Akanksha pulled back, her eyes shining with unshed tears of her own. "You came," she said, her voice filled with a mixture of wonder and pure joy. "I always knew you would come."

My heart broke and mended all at once. "My little bird," I choked out, a sob catching in my throat. "I'm so, so sorry it took me so long."

She didn't seem to hear me. A mischievous smile spread across her face. "Now that you're here, will you sing for me?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. "Dad sings, but he forgets the words."

I laughed through my tears, a sound that felt foreign and beautiful. "Of course, my love. Anything."

She crawled into my lap, snuggling her head against my chest, a perfect, puzzle-piece fit. I kissed the top of her head, and as her little fingers absently traced the patterns on my saree, I began to sing. My voice, soft and a little shaky at first, grew steadier with each word. It was a song that had been a part of my emotions ever since i listen to it, a melody I hadn't thought about as a lullaby but as a emotions in which only two of us exist, this is not only a song for a lovers but also for every person we love in our life more than anything in this world so gentle and loving it felt like a prayer.

I started to sing.

Hmm Mmm Hmm Mmm..

Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa..

Main Tere Kal Mein Hoon Aaj Mein Hoon

Main Teri Saanson Ke Saaz Mein Hoon

Aankhein Jhuka Ke Sunle Mujhe Tu

Main Tere Dil Ki Aawaaz Mein Hoon

Tu Haunsla Hai Tu Hai Iraada

Aadhi Main Tujhme Mujhme Tu Aadha

Tootun Na Main Bhi Toote Na Tu Bhi

Main Tera Sapna Tu Mera Vaada

Haaye Main Mar Hi Jaaun Jo Tujhko Na Paaun

Baaton Mein Teri Main Raatein Bitaun

Hothon Pe Lamha Lamha Hai Naam Tera Haaye

Tujhko Hi Gaaun Main Tujhko Pukaarun

Saiyaara Tu To Badla Nahi Hai

Mausam Zara Sa Rootha Hua Hai

Saiyaara Tu To Badla Nahi Hai

Mausam Zara Sa Rootha Hua Hai

Saiyaara Saiyaara Saiyaara

Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa Aa

As the words left my lips, a new kind of peace settled over me. It wasn't the absence of pain, but a deep, profound sense of rightness. The melody, once a distant memory, now filled the space between us, a tangible bridge connecting my past and my future. Akanksha's eyes fluttered shut, her peaceful expression a balm to my wounded heart. The anger, the betrayal, the heartbreak-it all receded, pushed back by the sheer, unadulterated force of a mother's love. She was here, she was safe, and for the first time in four years, so was I. This wasn't the peace of a burden lifted, but the profound quiet of a soul finding its home.

Avyaan's POV:

I leaned against the doorframe, a single tear tracing a path down my cheek. It had been four years since I last saw Ishika. Four years of living a half-life, of carrying the weight of a secret that suffocated me. Listening to her sing to Akanksha, watching the two of them wrapped in a cocoon of love, I finally felt the pressure lift. The fear that had been my constant companion-the fear that Akanksha would never know her mother, that Ishika would never forgive me-dissipated like smoke. This moment, this beautiful, heartbreaking moment, was all I had ever wanted. She was here. Akanksha was happy. And for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I could breathe.

Akanksha's soft whisper broke the calming peace," mama u sing so good but.... I didn't understand a single word coz my Hindi is not that good".

And we broke into a fit of laughter my little girl, my ball of sunshine i move closer to them and sit in front of them.

"Now you have your whole family and your mama now you can easily learn Hindi and your mama can sing English songs for you", i said

Even the cocomelon tunes?

"Yes my sweet girl i can sing any songs for you",this time it was Ishika who gave the reply.

Am i disturbing the family time? Abhay's voice boom in the room and Akanksha ran in his direction screaming chachu......

But my whole attention was on Ishika she is watching me with accusation i know that look and whatever she is thinking is totally wrong Abhay came to know recently.

Betrayal is written all over her and she is looking at Abhay.

Ishika's POV

My heart, so recently mended, clenched with a fresh wave of panic. Abhay. I hadn't even considered he would be here. Akanksha, a blur of motion and unadulterated joy, launched herself at him. "Chachu!" she screamed, her little arms wrapping around his neck. But I barely registered her. My gaze was locked on Avyaan, then on Abhay, and a sickening suspicion curdled in my gut.

Betrayal. The word was a fire on my tongue. I looked at Avyaan. He was watching me with a look of desperate pleading, a silent plea that I would understand, that I would see the truth in his eyes. But what I saw was a lie. The lie of a family friend, a confidant, now exposed as a co-conspirator. All these years, he had been a part of this charade.

Akanksha was chattering away, her voice a counterpoint to the turmoil in my mind. Avyaan was looking at Abhay, a swift shake of his head a silent warning. But Abhay, ever the bull in a china shop, was oblivious. He gently pried Akanksha from his neck and set her down.

"I'm sorry, bhaabi," Abhay said, his voice dropping to a low, somber tone. He didn't sound apologetic for his presence, but for a much deeper, more profound reason. "I should have told you. I never should have let this go on for so long. Avyaan... he told me about Akanksha just a few days ago, when he was finally ready to tell you the truth. I was so focused on making sure you and your daughter were reunited, I didn't think about how much my silence would hurt you."

He was pleading, his hands held out in a gesture of helplessness. I'm just a man who made a bad decision for all the right reasons. But I'm so, so sorry."

My mind couldn't process it. Abhay, the man who had been a brother to me, a confidant in my darkest hours, had known? All this time, he had known about my daughter, about the lie that had been my entire life for the past four years? I felt sick. The anger, so recently pushed back by the joy of seeing my daughter, surged back with a new, vicious intensity. It wasn't just Avyaan. It was everyone. A whole world conspiring against me.

Abhay, sensing the shift in my mood, knelt down and took Akanksha's hand. "Sweetheart, why don't you and I go get some ice cream? Your mom and dad need to talk."

Akanksha, her eyes wide with curiosity, looked from me to Avyaan and back again. She was smart, too smart. She could sense the tension, the unspoken storm brewing beneath the surface. With a final, hesitant glance at me, she took Abhay's hand and let him lead her out of the room. The silence they left behind was deafening.

I rose slowly, my body stiff and unyielding. I looked at Avyaan, my gaze hard and unforgiving. He was watching me, his eyes full of pain and remorse. He knew. He knew what was coming.

"Your room," I said, my voice barely a whisper, a tremor running through it that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with rage. "Let's go to the your room."

He nodded and followed me. The walk was agonizingly silent, each step a further descent into a place I didn't recognize. The room was simple, a stark contrast to the opulence of the rest of the house. I closed the door behind us, the click of the lock a final, definitive sound.

"Ishika, I..." he started, his voice thick with emotion.

I held up a hand, stopping him. "Don't. Don't say a word. I want you to listen. Just listen."

My voice rose, the quiet tremor now a full-blown roar. "Four years, Avyaan. Four years of my life. Four years of a lie. You took her from me. You took her away, and you lied. Every single day, you lied. You let me believe she was gone. You let me grieve. You let me live a half-life, a ghost of the person I used to be. You let my family, my own mother and father, hate me for what they thought I had done. They think I abandoned her. Do you know what that feels like? To have your own family turn their back on you because of your one lie?"

He tried to step forward, to take my hand, but I recoiled. "Don't touch me! Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you have any idea what it feels like to lose a child? To have to rebuild your life from the ashes, to have to put on a brave face when all you want to do is fall apart? I never got to see her first step. Her first word. Her first laugh. Her first fall. I missed it all. All of it. Because of you. Because of your selfishness."

Tears streamed down my face, hot and angry. "You didn't just take my daughter. You took my peace. My identity. My relationship with my family. You took everything from me. And you did it all with a smile on your face. A lie on your lips. I was a person who was supposed to be a mother and you took that from me."

Avyaan's face was a mask of agony, his own tears now falling freely.

"Ishika, please... I know. I know I messed up. But you have no idea what it was like for me. I was terrified. I was afraid of losing you. And then I got scared of losing her. I was alone, and I was so, so stupid. I just wanted to protect you both. I know it sounds like a pathetic excuse, but it's the truth."

I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "Protect us? You think this is protection? You think keeping a child from her mother is protection? You stole her. You stole her life from me! Do you have any idea how much I cried for her? How many nights I spent curled up in a ball, just wishing I could see her face, hold her in my arms one last time? You are a monster. And you're not getting away with this. Not this time."

I pointed a shaking finger at him, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. "I'm taking her. I'm taking her with me. And you will never, ever see her again."

That was it. The breaking point. Avyaan's face went from one of abject sorrow to a raw, primal rage. He took a step toward me, his eyes blazing. "No. No, you won't. You're not taking her from me. She's my daughter, too. I raised her. I was there for her first word. Her first step. I held her when she was sick. I was the one who sang to her when she couldn't sleep. You can be angry at me. You can hate me. You can call me every name in the book. But you are not taking her from me. I will fight you on this. I will fight you until my last breath. I will not lose my daughter."

The room was filled with the deafening silence of two souls colliding, the air thick with pain and unresolved anger. We stood there, two halves of a whole, broken, bruised, and bleeding. He had lost his chance at forgiveness. I had lost the last shred of my self-control. And in the middle of it all, was a little girl who deserved a family, but had only ever known a lie.

To be continued.....How was the chapter?

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