Author pov...

Rani said sharply, "Did you see her? She's grown up so much, yet she behaves like a small child. That's why I was stopping her. She's so careless, doing whatever she wants without thinking about the consequences."

Devnath came out of his shock and replied calmly, "It's okay, Rani. She'll understand. And Vaibhav won't think anything wrong about her."

Rani immediately responded, "When did I ever say that Vaibhav would think something was wrong? But she should understand how grown-up she is. Going and hugging him like that, in front of everyone... fine, we're family here. But if she does something like this outside, people will definitely think the wrong way, won't they?"

Nirmala Dadi intervened softly, "Alright, you explain it to her. Tell her that this shouldn't happen again."

Rani sighed in frustration. "What difference will explaining make? She'll do exactly what her mind tells her to do."

Inside the room, Ishani said to Divya, "Have you gone mad or what? Learn to control yourself."

Divya's eyes widened as realization hit her. "Oh my God... I hugged your brother like that in front of everyone. I really am crazy."

Ishani burst out laughing at her expression and said teasingly, "Oh wow, you've finally realized it now? Yes, you are crazy. Come on, don't overthink it anymore. Whatever happened has already happened. I'm leaving."

Divya nodded slowly and murmured, "Hmm..."

As soon as Ishani left, Divya threw herself onto the bed.

She buried her face deep into the pillow and screamed in embarrassment.

This is so cringe! How could she hug him like that? She couldn't understand what had come over her.

Meanwhile, Vaibhav walked into his room, his heart light and overflowing with happiness.

He stood in front of the mirror, smiling at his own reflection.

He still couldn't believe it Divya had hugged him.

The thought alone made him unbelievably happy.

Just then, Malini walked in and noticed the glow on Vaibhav's face.

"Well, what happened today?" she asked warmly. "Why is my son smiling so much?"

Hearing his mother's voice, Vaibhav quickly looked away and said, "Nothing, Maa. It's just... nothing."

Malini studied him carefully and smiled knowingly. "How can it be nothing? There must be something, the way you're smiling like this."

Vaibhav tried to hide his shyness and replied, "No, Maa, I'm not smiling."

Malini laughed softly. "Alright, if you say so, I'll believe you. Come on, dinner is ready. Come eat."

Vaibhav avoided her eyes, his smile still refusing to fade. "Yes, Maa. You go ahead, I'll come in a minute."

As soon as Malini left, Vaibhav spoke to himself, Control yourself, Vaibhav.

What are you doing?

Are you going to tell the whole world that Divya hugged you? Stop smiling right now.

He forced his smile away and somehow managed to step out of the room.

Seeing Ishani in a cheerful mood too, Malini asked curiously, "What happened today? Why are both my son and daughter so happy?"

Ishani replied brightly, "Mummy, Vaibhav and I went to convince aunty and uncle to let Divya go to college. And they agreed. That's why we're happy."

Hearing this, Malini's face lit up.

"Oh, so Rani ji finally agreed," she said happily.

Vaibhav sat quietly at the dining table, but his mind kept drifting back to that same moment again and again.

The memory replayed itself in his head, and without realizing it, a soft smile returned to his lips.

Soon, Ishani and Malini joined him at the table, unaware of the storm of emotions quietly blooming inside his heart.

Ishani and Malini noticed Vaibhav smiling to himself.

Seeing him like that left both of them shocked.

Without saying a word, they exchanged glances, silently questioning each other.

Malini's eyes seemed to ask, What has happened to him?

Ishani replied just as quietly with her expression, I don't know.

After finishing his meal, Vaibhav got up and walked back to his room, leaving behind two confused faces at the dining table and a mystery neither of them could quite understand.

On the other side, Rahul walked into Divya's room carrying his test notebook and a chocolate.

Divya was in the bathroom.

Standing near the door, Rahul called out, "Didi, please sign my notebook."

From inside the bathroom, Divya replied, "Yeah, keep it there. I'll come and sign it."

Rahul thought of waiting, but just then Nirmala Dadi called out loudly, "Rahul, come here!"

He heard her, but didn't respond.

"Rahul, come here!" Dadi shouted again.

With a tired sigh, Rahul placed his notebook and the chocolate on the bed and walked toward Dadi, who was sitting in front of the TV.

Meanwhile, Devnath headed toward Divya's room to remind her to be careful while going out the next day.

As he entered, he heard the sound of water from the bathroom and immediately understood that she was inside.

He was about to turn back when his eyes suddenly fell on a notebook lying on the bed.

Rahul's notebook.

Curious, Devnath picked it up and

began flipping through it.

At the same time, Dadi said, "Rahul, I can't find my glasses. Look for them."

Rahul glanced at her and replied calmly, "Dadi, they're on your head. You always forget."

Nirmala Dadi touched her hair, spotted the glasses, and laughed. "Oh yes, here they are."

Rahul smiled and turned back toward Divya's room but the moment he reached the doorway, he froze.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw Devnath standing there, holding his notebook.

Fear crept over Rahul's face.

Devnath looked down at the maths notebook zero marks and a space left blank for a signature.

Just then, the bathroom door opened.

Divya stepped out and stopped short when she saw her father standing in her room, holding something in his hands.

The air suddenly felt heavy with silence.

Devnath's eyes fell on Rahul, standing stiff and helpless at the doorway of Divya's room.

The sight alone hardened his expression.

"What is this, Rahul?" he asked.

The words were calm but dangerous.

Rahul's breath hitched.

His heart started pounding as if it might tear out of his chest.

Devnath's voice suddenly exploded, sharp and furious."I asked you something! What is this?"

"Papa" Divya tried to speak.

Devnath turned toward her so fast it made her flinch.

"Did I ask you?" he roared.

Divya froze.

She had never heard her father speak like this.

Fear crawled up her spine.

Slowly, almost helplessly, she shook her head.

"Then stay quiet," Devnath snapped, his voice cold and final.

He turned back to Rahul, eyes burning.

"Answer me!" he shouted, so loud that the walls seemed to tremble.

Outside, the anger echoed through the house.

Nirmala Dadi and Rani heard it and rushed in, their hearts already uneasy.

"What happened?" Rani asked, worry written all over her face.

Devnath didn't look at her.

"The one I asked will speak. Everyone else will stay silent," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Then his eyes locked onto Rahul again.

"You promised me, 'Papa, I'll study hard.' And this-" he lifted the test copy, his hand shaking with rage, " this is what you bring home? Zero marks?"

His voice cracked with anger."Is this your hard work? Is this how you study when I'm not watching?"

Rahul's vision blurred.

Tears slipped out before he could stop them, dripping down his cheeks.

His legs felt weak, but he forced himself to stand.

Rani watched him, her chest tightening.

Every part of her wanted to rush forward, to hold him, to shield him.

But Devnath's fury rooted her to the spot.

She could only watch helpless.

"I'm sorry, Papa," Rahul whispered, his voice barely audible.

Devnath let out a bitter laugh.

"Sorry?" he said harshly. "What am I supposed to do with your sorry?"

He looked at the copy again, his anger sharpening."There was a place for parents' signatures on this, wasn't there? Why didn't you show it to me?"

His eyes narrowed."You hid it. Didn't you? Tell me did you give it to Rani to hide? Or did you come to Divya to get it signed?"

"Speak!" he thundered.

Rahul sobbed quietly, his shoulders shaking.

"I'm sorry, Papa," he said again, broken... scared... and completely crushed.

"And you, Divya," Devnath said, his voice cutting through the silence, "you even agreed to sign it, didn't you? That's why he gave you these chocolates, right?"

Divya stood there without moving, fear locking her in place.

She couldn't lift her eyes.

She couldn't speak.

"So this is what you're teaching him?"

Devnath continued bitterly. "You're older. You should be teaching him to speak the truth. And instead, you're teaching him how to lie?"

"No, Papa... it's not like that," Divya said softly, her voice trembling.

"Then what is it like?" Devnath demanded. "Tell me."

Divya opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Her throat tightened.

She didn't know how to explain herself.

Slowly, she fell silent again.

Devnath looked at her, disbelief and anger mixing in his eyes.

"Wow," he said coldly. "My own children have started lying to me now."

Then his gaze shifted to Rahul.

"And you, Rahul I've given you too much freedom," he said sharply. "I thought that along with watching TV, you'd be studying too. But you're not studying at all."

His voice dropped, heavy with disappointment."And I'm wasting money on you for no reason."

Rahul remained standing there, tears streaming down his face, unable to say anything... unable to do anything... just crying in silence.

Devnath grabbed Rahul tightly by the arm and began dragging him forward.

Rahul stumbled, crying uncontrollably.

The rest of the family followed behind them in panic.

"Where are you taking him?" they kept asking.

Devnath didn't answer.

Not even once.

Rahul's sobs echoed through the quiet night as Devnath led him all the way to Vaibhav's house.

He stopped in front of the door and knocked-hard.

The family stood behind him, anxious and confused.

Malini opened the door.

She froze.

Seeing them standing there so late at night shocked her.

Then her eyes fell on Rahul his face red, eyes swollen with tears.

"What happened, Bhai-saab?" she asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"Is Vaibhav home?" Devnath asked coldly.

"Yes," Malini replied, still confused.

"Call him," Devnath said.

"Please, come inside first," Malini said hurriedly.

They all stepped in.

Malini turned toward the inner rooms and shouted, her voice full of urgency

"Vaibhav! Vaibhav!"

Vaibhav stepped out of his room and stopped the moment he saw the Pathak family standing there.

Shock spread across his face.

"What happened, Uncle?" he asked anxiously. "Is there some problem?"

"No," Devnath replied coldly. "From tomorrow, Rahul will come to you for tution."

Rahul stood there crying quietly, his shoulders shaking.

"All right, Uncle," Vaibhav said, still trying to understand.

"Look at this," Devnath continued harshly. "He got zero in mathematics. And he's failing in other subjects too. I can see exactly where this is going."

Vaibhav's eyes widened in disbelief when he heard the word zero.

"That's why I'm handing him over to you," Devnath went on. "You'll have to give him extra attention. Teach him for as many hours as you want I'm ready to pay whatever fees you ask."

Then, after a brief pause, he added coldly,"You even have permission to hit him if needed. I won't stop you."

Vaibhav stood stunned.

Malini immediately spoke up, trying to calm the situation."It's okay, Bhai-saab. He's still very young. How can a child focus so much on studies at this age?"

"I thought the same, behenji," Devnath said bitterly. "That he's young, that he'll study eventually. But today he got zero in maths."

His voice sharpened again.

"And there was a space for parents' signatures. Instead of telling us, he was getting Divya to sign it."

At that moment, Ishani walked in.

Seeing Rahul crying, her face filled with panic and concern.

"Enough now, Bhai-saab," Malini said gently. "Please calm down. Vaibhav will teach him."

She turned to Rani.

"Rani-ji, please take him home. Too much anger isn't good for his health."

"Because of this boy," Devnath said sharply, "I already feel my health will suffer."

Rani held Devnath's arm firmly.

"Come on," she said softly.

Devnath finally released Rahul's arm.

Rani took hold of Devnath and began leading him back home.

Divya, Nirmala Dadi, and Rahul remained standing there silent and broken in Vaibhav's house.

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