When Chahat opened her eyes, she found herself in a luxurious room. She immediately sat up in fear, curling into herself. She looked around the room, and what she saw left her stunned—on the large wall in front of her hung a wedding photograph… of her own!
She quickly got up and went closer to the wall, staring at the photo where she was dressed as a bride in a yellow and red lehenga, with a red veil over her head. Her eyes widened with shock as she looked at the man beside her in the photo. Just as she was trying to process everything, someone entered the room.
Chahat turned to see a boy her age walking in.
She recognized him immediately—he was the same boy who had jumped in to save her from drowning.
He was placing food on the table without looking at her and said coldly,
> "Eat and take your medicine. I have to go to the office."
He turned to leave when Chahat's voice stopped him.
> "Who are you? And why are you ordering me around?"
Hearing her words, the boy turned to her with irritation and replied:
> "Stop this drama now. You've been driving me crazy for the past two days. Honestly, if my mother hadn't forced me, I'd have never married you. I don't even know why I saved you!"
Hearing that, Chahat's heart broke once again. First her parents, her sister, and her love left her—and now even this stranger was blaming her.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she said through sobs,
> "How can you say that? You should be ashamed. First, you saved a dying girl, brought her to this strange place, and now when I'm asking who you are, you're scolding me?"
Before the boy could vent more of his anger, a woman entered the room, clearly furious at him—perhaps his mother.
> "You useless boy! Why are you shouting at her? I'm telling you, Ashwat, if you don't want to stay in this marriage, then don't. But don't you dare say a word to Vrinda. Or I'll forget you're my son. If you are Ashwat Dhanraj, then remember—I'm Shalini Dhanraj!"
She turned to him, fuming.
> "Mom, you're scolding me for this girl? She—"
> "Enough!"
Before Ashwat could finish, Shalini Ji silenced him and sent him out of the room. Ashwat left in anger.
Turning to Chahat, she softened her voice:
> "Don't worry, Vrinda beta, I won't let Ashwat come near you again. I know all this is because of me. You had to suffer so much because of my mistake. But now I'll fix it. You don't need to do anything for Ashwat. Stay in this house as my daughter, and stay away from him. I'll always be here to protect you."
But Chahat was still staring at the wedding photo, unable to believe what was happening.
She only snapped out of her thoughts when Shalini Ji shook her by the shoulders.
> "What happened, dear? Where did you get lost? Are you worried about Ashwat? If you are, then stop thinking about him. When he doesn't care about you, why should you care about him?"
She stroked Chahat's head gently.
> "I'm not thinking about him, but… who are you really? And who is this Vrinda? And what am I doing here?"
Shalini Ji looked confused.
> "Why are you saying this? I'm your mother-in-law, Shalini, and you are Vrinda. Did you hit your head while jumping into the water? We'll visit the doctor today and get you checked. For now, eat and rest, okay?"
Saying this, Shalini Ji left the room.
Once she was alone, Chahat stared again at the photograph.
Hearing those names had stunned her—but now she was starting to remember. The names… Ashwat Dhanraj, Shalini Dhanraj, Vrinda—they were all from the story she read last night.
Suddenly it hit her—she was now in that story.
She was in Vrinda's body.
For a moment, her head spun from shock.
Was she really inside the story now?
She began to regret her decision to commit suicide.
As if her real life hadn't been painful enough, she was now trapped in a new one.
She had been on the verge of death, but because of those baba's mysterious words, she read the story… and now she was stuck inside it.
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What's going to happen next?
Has Chahat really entered the story?
If yes, then where is the real Vrinda?
Will Chahat ever be able to escape this world, or is she trapped forever?
What will Chahat do now?
To find out…
Keep reading — Rebirth in Novel
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