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"How could you do this, Nikhil?"

The question exploded through the living room of the Jhadav house.

Nobody knew who had spoken first.

Perhaps it was Nandan Jhadav.

Perhaps it was Gayathri Jhadav.

Perhaps it was the collective disbelief of a family that had just watched their entire world collapse.

Nikhil stood in the center of the room.

Silent.

Unmoved.

His face was expressionless as if the storm raging around him had nothing to do with him.

On the sofa nearby sat Dhwani.

Or what remained of her.

Her hands trembled in her lap.

Her eyes were swollen from hours of crying.

Her heart...

Her heart had stopped functioning the moment she saw that apartment door open in Bangalore.

A half-dressed woman.

A smile on her face.

And then Nikhil emerging from the bedroom with only a towel around his waist.

One moment.

One single moment.

That was all it had taken to destroy four years of love.

"Nikhil!" Gayathri shouted. "Answer us!"

Slowly, he lifted his eyes.

There wasn't an ounce of guilt in them.

Not one.

And that frightened everyone more than the affair itself.

Then he spoke.

"I love Reema."

The words landed like a death sentence.

"I want to have a life with Reema."

A broken sob escaped Dhwani's lips.

The room blurred before her eyes.

This was the same man who once stood outside her college classroom for three hours in the rain because she refused to talk to him.

The same man who had begged her to trust him.

The same man who had said—

"I cannot imagine my life without you, Dhwani."

The same man.

And now he was speaking as though she had never existed.

As though she had been nothing more than a temporary chapter in his story.

"Really, bhai?" Nikitha's voice shook.

She looked at her brother as if she didn't recognize him.

"What was all that then?"

Nikhil remained silent.

Nikitha laughed bitterly.

"No, answer me." She stepped closer. "What was that obsession you had with Dhwani bhabhi? You remember it, don't you? You followed her everywhere. You drove us all crazy talking about her. You practically went on a hunger strike when Maa refused this marriage. You fought with the entire family."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"And now suddenly you love someone else?"

Nikhil's jaw tightened.

"I thought it was love."

The room fell silent.

"Until I met Reema."

Nikitha physically recoiled.

As though she had been slapped.

"Disgusting."

She turned away.

"I can't even look at you."

Gayathri's face had gone pale.

She had never liked Dhwani much.

An orphan.

A girl with no family name.

No background.

No status.

She had opposed the marriage from the beginning.

But this?

"What about your wife?" Gayathri demanded.

Nikhil looked away.

"And what about the child growing inside her?" Gayathri's voice broke.

That was Gayathri Jhadav’s primary concern. Not Dhwani’s hurt. Not Nikhil’s betrayal. The thought of losing her grandchild. If Dhwani wasn’t pregnant, Gayathri would only have been too happy to get rid of her and get a better daughter in law.

For the first time, something flickered in Nikhil’s eyes.

A momentary hesitation.

A heartbeat of uncertainty.

Then it vanished.

Reema's face flashed through his mind.

Beautiful.

Confident.

Sophisticated.

Everything Bangalore represented.

Everything Dhwani wasn't.

In the city, people lived differently.

Thought differently.

Dreamed differently.

His colleagues brought elegant women to office parties.

Women who discussed business, investments and travel.

Women like Reema.

Not women who spent evenings waiting near the gate.

Not women who still wore simple salwar suits and spoke about family values.

Somewhere along the way, he had begun feeling embarrassed.

Ashamed.

Restricted.

And then Reema entered his life.

And suddenly he wanted more.

A different life.

A better life.

"Dhwani will manage."

The words left his mouth casually.

As though he was discussing the weather.

The entire room froze.

Nandan's hand slammed against the table.

"Manage?"

His voice thundered.

"Manage?"

"You have destroyed her life and your answer is she will manage?"

"Appa—"

"Don't call me Appa right now!" Nandan roared.

For the first time in his life, Nikhil took a step backward.

Nandan pointed toward Dhwani.

"Do you know what that girl gave up for you?"

"Do you remember where she came from?"

The older man's voice shook.

"She grew up in an orphanage. She had nobody. Nobody!" His eyes reddened. "And yet she trusted you enough to build a family with you. She loved you more than herself."

Nikhil remained silent.

"Damn it, say something!" Nandan shouted.

"What exactly is lacking in her?"

The answer came immediately.

"Compatibility."

Everyone stared.

Nikhil continued coldly.

"We are different people. Different worlds. I've changed."

"No," Nikitha snapped. "You've become selfish."

"I've become practical."

A bitter laugh escaped Nikhitha.

"Practical? You call cheating practical? You call betraying your pregnant wife practical?"

"I deserve happiness too." Nikhil clenched his fists.

The sentence shattered whatever little patience remained.

Nikitha laughed through her tears.

"Happiness? And what about her happiness?" She pointed toward Dhwani. "What about the woman who waited for your calls every night? The woman who defended you whenever anyone questioned your absence? The woman who was planning names for your baby while you were busy sleeping with someone else?"

The room echoed with silence.

Dhwani lowered her head.

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

Every word hurt.

Because every word was true.

She remembered the excitement she had felt when she discovered her pregnancy.

The way she had pressed the medical report against her chest.

The way she had imagined Nikhil lifting her into his arms.

The way she had dreamed of telling him.

Now those dreams felt like ashes.

"I have made my decision." Nikhil's voice cut through the room. "I want a divorce."

The world seemed to stop.

Gayathri stared at him.

Nandan stared at him.

Nikitha stared at him.

And finally...

Dhwani slowly rose to her feet.

Her legs trembled.

Her heart bled.

But for the first time that evening, she wasn't crying.

She looked directly at Nikhil.

The man she had loved.

The man she had worshipped.

The man who had destroyed her.

And suddenly...

She felt nothing.

Nothing except exhaustion.

"You want a divorce?" Her voice was frighteningly calm.

Nikhil nodded.

"Fine."

Everyone turned toward her.

Dhwani wiped her tears.

Then she smiled.

A broken smile.

A smile that carried the weight of a thousand shattered dreams.

"You know what is funny, Nikhil?"

He frowned.

"You keep talking as if you are the one making a choice."

The room fell silent.

Dhwani straightened her shoulders.

For the first time in years, she wasn't looking at him with love.

She was looking at him with finality.

"You say you want a life with Reema. Go ahead. You say you don't want me. That's fine too." Her voice grew stronger with every word. "Because even if you change your mind tomorrow..."

Nikhil's expression stiffened.

"...I don't want you in my life anymore."

A stunned silence followed.

Dhwani placed a protective hand over her stomach.

"And as for this child..."

Her eyes hardened.

"You lost every right over our baby the moment you chose another woman over your family."

Nikhil's face paled.

"For the rest of your life, remember this."

Dhwani's voice echoed through the room.

"You may be the biological father. But you will never be this child's father."

The silence that followed was deafening.

And for the first time since the truth came out...

Nikhil found himself unable to look into her eyes.

A/N

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