As soon as the soft voice called out, "Mumma…", it reached their ears like a lightning bolt.
Both Jai and Vani turned swiftly towards the sound. There, in the hallway, stood little Jeev, rubbing his sleepy eyes. But the moment his eyes landed on Jai, his sleep vanished completely. He blinked rapidly, staring wide-eyed at the stranger in his home. His innocent gaze lingered on Jai, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar presence.
Vani rushed to him, cupping his face lovingly.
"Jeev, sweetheart, weren't you asleep? How did you wake up, baby? Are you okay?"
Jeev gently pushed her hand away and said,
"Oh Mumma, you worry so much! I couldn't sleep without you. Why did you leave me alone? I kept searching and finally found you here."
Then, with childlike innocence, he turned to her and asked,
"Mumma, who is this man? What's he doing in our house so late at night?"
Even though Jeev already knew who Jai was, he asked deliberately. It was the first time in his life he had seen his mother and father in the same room. All he wanted to see was whether his mother would speak the truth or continue to hide it. If she told the truth, it meant she had forgiven. If she lied… she still didn't accept him.
Vani gave him a composed smile and gently replied,
"He's no one special, Jeev. Just a doctor from my hospital. There was an emergency, that's why he had to come. It's really late, sweetheart. Children shouldn't stay up this long. Go to your room now, Mumma will come soon."
Obediently, Jeev nodded and walked away, but his mind swirled with questions.
Was this man here to trouble Mumma again? Was he trying to hurt her? Why wasn't Mumma letting him stay and help? How could he protect her if he didn't know what was going on?
Vani gently closed the door behind Jeev and locked it from outside.
Inside the room, Jai stood frozen. His heart thundered inside his chest. The boy he just saw… that was his son.
"My son… my blood… was right in front of me… and I didn't recognize him?" Jai whispered to himself, his voice cracking.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
"I was comparing him to someone else… not knowing the truth was staring right at me…"
As Vani turned back and saw tears in Jai's eyes, even she was stunned. The man who once caused her endless pain, the man who was known for his heartlessness, was standing here—crying. The same man who had broken her… was now breaking down himself.
Jai stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, desperation in his voice.
"He… he's my son, isn't he? Tell me, Vani. He's mine. He's grown so much…"
But Vani pushed his hand away coldly.
"No, he's not your son. He's only mine."
Jai clenched his fists.
"You're lying! You can't hide the truth from me. Anyone can look at him and see—he's my son! You can't deny that!"
Vani looked into his eyes, her voice calm but steely.
"Just because he has your face or your blood doesn't make him yours. I raised him. I shaped him. He has my values, my care, my soul in him. You may have planted the seed… but I nurtured the tree. I gave him life, not just birth."
"I am his mother and father—both. You have no right over him. Stay away from me… and from my son."
"He's my son too!" Jai roared. "I have just as much right on him as you do!"
"This is Jai Singh Rathore's promise," he growled. "I made a mistake—by leaving you, by hurting you. But I've paid for it every day, for eight long years."
His voice thundered now, trembling with pain and rage.
"But what you did—keeping my son from me—that was no less a crime. I can never forgive you for hiding him from me. I had a right to know. He's part of me too!"
"Maybe I was wrong. But you could've told me, Vani. Maybe today, we would've been together. Maybe we wouldn't be so far apart…"
Vani's eyes shimmered with unspoken pain.
"You were the one who created this distance, Jai. Or maybe… maybe we were never truly close in the first place."
He stepped closer, his voice softer now.
"Then forgive me, please. Just one more chance, Vani. Please."
But Vani looked away, her voice trembling.
"No, Jai. It's not that easy. You think I can forget everything? I can't. I won't. Forgiving you would be an insult to every woman who has ever been treated like an object by a man like you. I cannot forgive you."
Jai released her shoulders slowly.
"Fine. Don't forgive me. But this is my victory too. You and my son… I will get you both back. No one—not even you—can stop me now, Vani."
"You're mine. Only mine. And if I have to force fate to bring you back into my life, so be it. I will take you both with me. That's my final decision."
Vani stared back, unafraid.
"Try, Jai. I won't bow down. Not this time. It's about my son."
Jai smirked, impressed by her fire.
"The wife of a lion is bound to be a lioness."
He turned to leave, but not before stepping close again. Vani took a step back, but there was nowhere to go—the wall was behind her. He closed the gap, leaned in slowly, and gently kissed her forehead.
"Take care of yourself… and of Jeev. I'm leaving behind my whole life with you—my most precious treasure."
And just like that, he walked out the door.
The moment he was gone, Vani collapsed to the ground, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Why, Jai? Why can't I hate you, even after everything you did? The pain you gave me… even enemies don't deserve that. And yet, why can't I let go?"
She looked toward the small temple in the corner and cried out,
"What do you want from me, God? Why is pain written so deeply into my fate? Why him, of all people? Why can't I live in peace? Why do you send him back to torment me again and again? How many tests will you make me go through?"
After pouring her heart out in front of God, she walked to her son's room and gently lay down beside him. Jeev immediately cuddled close.
"Mumma, you're back…"
"You haven't slept yet, my baby? Come on now, we need to meet Payal tomorrow, remember? Go to sleep, sweetheart…"
Jeev snuggled against her chest and quickly drifted off. Vani held him tight, whispering to herself:
"You are mine, Jeev. No one can take you away from me. Not even your father."
She lay awake the entire night, her eyes open, her heart restless.
---
Meanwhile…
On the other side of the city, Prashant's assistant stood before him, head lowered in shame.
"I asked you to find that girl, and this is what you come back with?" Prashant's voice thundered through the room.
The assistant trembled.
"Sir, there was a movie premiere at the hotel that night. It was too crowded. We checked the CCTV footage, but her face wasn't clearly visible. Without a name or photo, it's impossible to trace her."
"You fool!" Prashant slammed the table.
"If I had her name, why would I ask you to find her? Get out. Now!"
The assistant quickly ran out, knowing well what Prashant's anger could lead to.
Prashant sank onto the sofa, his head falling back. Ever since he met that girl—Pakhi—something inside him had changed. No woman had ever made him feel this way. He couldn't stop thinking about her, wanting to see her, talk to her, feel her presence.
But after she walked out of the hotel, she never once tried to contact him. Not a call. Not a message. Nothing.
It wasn't just strange. It was painful.
Even after arranging for the hotel manager to help track her down, he still had nothing. And that silence… was killing him.
But Pakhi neither tried to contact him nor showed any intention of meeting again. That very silence made Prashant restless with longing to see her.
He was furious now, sipping wine with clenched jaws. Talking to himself, he muttered darkly,
"Whoever you are… wherever you are… you're mine now. You came into my life by your own will, but you'll leave only when I allow it. From this moment on… you belong to me. Only me."
"You can either accept it with love… or force me to claim what's already mine."
"Whatever Prashant Singh Rathore desires… becomes his. And you… you came to me willingly."
"I want you. You are only mine. Only mine."
"No one else has the right to come near you, to even look at you. Only I have that right—to see you… to touch you…"
"Welcome to my cage, baby—
The cage of passion. The cage of desire."
And with that, he smirked like a devil, raised the wine bottle to his glass, and continued drinking—his eyes burning with obsession and possession.
Dear Readers,
I'm sharing this with all of you with a very heavy heart. Perhaps you don't know, but I write every single episode with deep effort and emotion. My own financial situation is not good at the moment. About a month ago, Webnovel rejected my contract. That moment broke me completely. I had made up my mind to stop this novel then and there.
But… seeing the attachment of some of you readers, I held myself back. I started writing again — only and only for you. Because I believed that maybe you were waiting for my episodes.
To tell you the truth, Webnovel doesn't pay me a single rupee anymore, yet I continue writing from the bottom of my heart every day. Why? Because I believed that maybe you connect with my words, that you feel what I try to express.
But it hurts… deeply… when none of you leave a comment or even a like. I don't understand — has my story stopped touching your heart? Has something been missing in my writing lately?
If you can take time to read the entire episode, is it really that hard to leave just a small comment or a like? It may take you only a second, but for me, it means motivation, it becomes strength to keep going.
If my story truly doesn't touch you anymore, then fine… I will stop this novel right here. Because I cannot keep writing when no one seems to feel or acknowledge my efforts.
Still, I sincerely thank those few readers who have supported me till now.
I'll be waiting — for just one reaction, one word — something to tell me that my story has touched your heart.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Your Author
Suman Sahani