PROLOGUE
SOME GLIMPSE OF PAST
Scene 1: Cracks in Innocence
The old fan creaked rhythmically above her head, but the sound was drowned beneath the thunderous yelling echoing from the hall.
A 15-year-old Siya sat curled up on the cold floor of her room, tears rolling endlessly down her cheeks. Her tiny fists trembled as she knocked softly on the door.
"Maa..." she whispered, but no one answered.
The door was locked - to protect her, her mother had said. But how could a wooden door protect a breaking heart?
From outside, her father's drunken voice pierced the silence.
"Chillaunga! Jo karna hai kar le! Main kisi se nahi darta!"
Her mother's voice, softer, shakier, tried to soothe him.
"Aap aise kyun ho gaye hain? Aap toh aise nahi the... aapne aaj Devraj bhaisaab se bhi kya kuch nahi keh diya. Yeh aadat aapko sabse door kar degi..."
For a fleeting second, the girl hoped her mother's words would reach him - change him.
But hope can be cruel.
"Main aisa hi hoon, aur aisa hi rahunga! Jise rehna hai, rahe. Jise Devraj ke jaise bhaagna hai, woh jaa sakta hai!"
And with that, her last thread of innocence snapped.
She stopped crying - not because it hurt less, but because it finally hurt too much.
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Scene 2: Scars That Time Didn't Heal
Anvika a twenty-one year old girl is crying but the tears didn't come as easily. Anger had taken their place. But today, as she sat beside her mother, frustration brimmed at the surface.
"Maa... kal phir wahi din hai," she began, voice hollow.
"Pandrah saal ho gaye, par bhai ab tak uss din se nahi nikal paaye. Saal bhar khud ko control mein rakhte hain... par uss ek din... he forgets everything."
Her throat tightened.
"Hum kya kuch nahi lagte unke? Kyun unhe hamara dard nahi dikhta? Har baar woh apne aapko hi saza dete hain. Pure din ghar se gaayab rehte hain, aur jab laut kar aate hain, chal bhi nahi paate. Itni drinking, itna guilt..."
She looked to her mother, pleading.
"Aapki har baat maante hain woh... toh aap kyun nahi samjha paati unhe? Kyun nahi keh paate ki Siya didi ko bhool jaayein? 15 saal ho gaye, Maa."
Her mother's calm face suddenly changed - the grief she hid daily now flickered in her eyes.
"Bas... ab kuch mat kehna. Tum chhoti thi uss waqt, tumhe nahi pata kya hua tha. Agar uss din Harsh bhaisaab ne aur Siya ne samjha hota ki kya sahi hai... toh aaj Viaansh aisa na hota."
A pause. Then a whisper, like a prayer breaking apart.
"Uske dard ke aage hamara dard kuch bhi nahi, beta. Usne apni jaan kho di hai... jiske bina woh jee raha hai woh, uska saans lena bhi saza ban gaya hai. Main har din prarthna karti hoon - ki mere dono bache jald mil jaayein."
And in that moment, Anvika saw something she'd never seen before - not weakness, not pain, but the strength of a mother who was still waiting... still hoping.
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Scene 3: Sparks in Silence
The kitchen smelled of garlic and freshly chopped coriander. Viaansh stood at the counter, sleeves rolled up, shirt partially unbuttoned, working with the kind of precision that belonged in a chef's kitchen. Every motion was clean, exact - controlled.
And yet, behind those eyes was a storm he had mastered hiding.
Siya entered quietly, draped in a pink and white saree that caught the morning light just right. Her presence lit up the otherwise cold space.
She blinked at the sight in front of her.
"Aap... yahan kya kar rahe hain?"
He didn't look up. Just answered curtly,
"Mujra kar raha hoon. Aajao, dekh lo."
Her eyebrows rose.
"Seedha jawab dena nahi aata aapko?"
Now he looked at her - his eyes, equal parts sarcasm and tiredness.
"Aapko aankhein nahi hain kya? Dikhayi nahi de raha? Khana bana raha hoon."
She huffed under her breath, her tone dramatic and muttering to herself,
"Hey Kanha ji... puchho toh galti, na puchho toh bhi galti."
But then, a playful grin lit up her face as she turned to leave.
"Bhaad mein jaaiye aap... bewakoof insaan!"
And for a fleeting moment, the corners of his lips twitched upward - not quite a smile, but almost. She had always been the only one capable of making him forget how to stay broken.
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"They broke once, shattered by betrayal. But fate isn't done with them yet."
This time, love may be the price... or the punishment.
