Thinking this, tears filled Sanskriti’s eyes and a sharp pain rose in her chest. Holding her chest, she let go of Advait’s hand and ran out of the courtroom.

Seeing her like that, Advait immediately followed her.

On the other side, Sudha ji stood in the witness box, covering her mouth and crying. Just then, Snehlata ji stood up and shouted, “Don’t lie! Your daughter herself couldn’t adjust with my son and our family, that’s why we had to send our son to your house.” Then turning to the judge, she said, “Judge sahab, I’m telling the truth. Her daughter was at fault. That girl separated us from our son. She was a manipulative girl. Maybe she was having an affair and, out of fear of being exposed, she committed suicide. I know my son very well—he can never do such things.”

Hearing this, Sudha ji angrily said, “All those acts were done by your son! Saumya clearly wrote in her letter how that night Harsh brought another girl home and had relations with her in front of Saumya. And what kind of woman are you? Before being a mother, you are a woman—yet you cannot understand another woman’s pain. If this had happened to your daughter or to you, would you still speak like this? But how would you know the pain of losing a daughter? You only have one son—and that too such a shameless one!”

Snehlata ji, furious, shouted, “How dare you say such things about my son! The fault was in your daughter! And listen carefully—if I had a daughter, she would never be characterless like yours!”

Before Sudha ji could reply, the judge said, “Order! This is a court, not your home. You cannot shout like this.” Then he turned to Sudha ji and asked, “Tell me—was your daughter really having an affair somewhere?”

Tears filled Sudha ji’s eyes. She gave a faint smile and said, “God forbid… but if what happened to my daughter had happened to your daughter, would you still ask such a question?”

The judge felt embarrassed and said, “I understand that you have suffered injustice, but without questions, how will the case proceed?” Then he asked Shankar ji, “Do you have any proof of these claims?”

Shankar ji nodded and handed Saumya’s letter to the judge. Seeing this, Harsh said, “Judge sahab, it is also possible that this letter was not written by Saumya but by someone else.”

The judge glared at him and said, “That is for us to decide. Stay quiet.”

Harsh, embarrassed, glared at Sudha ji.

Outside the courtroom,

Sanskriti sat on a bench, crying, hiding her face in her hands.

Advait came there and, seeing her like that, felt a deep pain in his heart. Gathering courage, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Sanskriti, with tearful eyes, said, “Do you know… all this happened because of me. Nikhil ji’s mother was right—I am unlucky. First Nikhil ji left because of me, and now Saumya di too… Since childhood, everyone blamed me because my mother didn’t have a son. Because of me, father mistreated mother so many times. Because of me, jiju did all that to di… I am truly unlucky. Whoever comes close to me, their life gets ruined. You should stay away from me, Advait ji. I should leave… go far away from everyone. At least then you all will be happy…”

Saying this, she stood up and started to leave, wiping her tears.

Advait immediately held her hand and pulled her towards himself. She collided into his chest and looked at him with tearful eyes.

Advait cupped her face, wiped her tears, and said sternly, “Why do you always make decisions on your own, Sanskriti? If you think you are responsible for what happened to Saumya ji, then I am even more responsible. I was the one who hit Harsh. If I hadn’t beaten him, maybe Saumya ji would still be with us.”

Sanskriti shook her head, about to say something, but Advait stopped her and said, “Enough. You’ve said enough. Why do you blame yourself for everything? I know your past was very painful. From what I’ve understood about you, you have suffered a lot. But why are you letting your past affect your present?”

He continued, “You are like an angel for everyone. Haven’t you seen how happy Navi has become since you came into our lives? It’s like she got a new life. Maa ji, Ishika, Aksh—even Papa ji—their day begins with you. A house that once felt like mourning is now full of happiness because of you. You didn’t just bring light into my house, but into my life as well. After Vani left, I had stopped talking to people… but now I talk, I spend time… all because of you. You don’t know what you have done for all of us. You are no less than an angel.”

He added softly, “For Atharv and Priyanshi too, you are everything. Without you, our lives feel incomplete. So never call yourself unlucky again… and never talk about leaving us. Maa ji now has only one daughter—you. Don’t take yourself away from her.”

Hearing this, Sanskriti looked at him with teary eyes and then stepped forward, hugging him tightly, burying her face in his chest and crying.

Advait gently stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.

Inside the courtroom,

After reading the letter, the judge asked Shinde ji, “Do you have any proof of your client’s innocence?”

Shinde ji stood and said, “Your Honor, I received this case at the last moment, so I need some time to gather evidence.”

The judge nodded and said, “You are granted two months. The next hearing will be after two months. Until then, Mr. Harsh will remain in custody. The court is adjourned.”

As the police took Harsh away, he stopped in front of Sudha ji, looked into her eyes, and said, “I will win this case… no matter what it takes.”

Then he left with the inspector.

Sunanda ji came and supported Sudha ji, asking everyone to go home. Outside, they saw Advait and Sanskriti.

Mahir stopped everyone and said, “Uh… you all come with me. Bhai and bhabhi will come in their own car.”

Sunanda ji asked, “Why? We came together, we should go together.”

Mahir thought to himself, Sometimes I doubt if she’s really my mother… I’m so intelligent and she’s so innocent! Then smiling, he said, “Maa, try to understand… bhabhi needs bhai right now. We should give them some time alone.”

Adarsh ji glared at him and said, “Stop this nonsense, Mahir. Sanskriti needs all of us right now, not just Advait. When we all support her, she will feel better.”

Just then, they saw Advait and Sanskriti coming towards them.

Sanskriti said softly, “Sorry… you all had to wait because of me. What was the decision?”

Sudha ji replied sadly, “The court has given two months to Harsh’s lawyer.”

Sanskriti encouraged her and said, “It’s okay, Maa. He won’t be able to gather any proof.”

Advait also said, “Yes, Maa ji, she’s right. Let’s go home now. The children must be waiting.”

Everyone agreed and left.

At home, they tried to distract Sudha ji from the court events, and the day passed like that.

At night,

After dinner, everyone went to their rooms. In their room, Advait was putting the children to sleep, while Sanskriti, after changing, sat in the balcony, staring at the sky, lost in thoughts.

After some time, Advait came and sat beside her, holding her hand.

Sanskriti came out of her thoughts and looked at him with empty eyes.

Advait pointed at a bright star and said, “Sanskriti, look… that’s Vani. When she left me, I used to sit here for hours, complaining to the sky… thinking no one was listening. But I was wrong—she was listening. That’s why she sent you into my life.”

He looked at her and continued, “When we got married, I had decided I would never give anyone else a place in my heart… that you would only be Navi’s mother. But you proved me wrong. Seeing your goodness, care, and love, I decided to give this relationship a chance. And since then… I haven’t had those nightmares.”

Sanskriti shook her head slightly. Advait smiled and said, “That means I’m slowly moving on… slowly accepting this relationship. You brought colors into my life. So stop blaming yourself. Forget what happened and move forward—just like I am.”

He extended his hand and said, “Will you support me? Will you move forward with me… leaving behind all this guilt?”

Sanskriti, with teary eyes, nodded and placed her hand in his.

Advait smiled and said, “Thank you… for not rejecting me.”

Sanskriti smiled and said teasingly, “Do you really think I could reject you?”

Advait adjusted his hair stylishly and said, “Of course not. My charm is irresistible.”

Sanskriti laughed, and Advait smiled seeing her laugh, silently wishing her happiness always.

Days passed like this.

Their relationship grew stronger, responsibilities were shared, and life slowly returned to normal.

After one month,

In the evening, Advait was getting ready to meet a friend when he said loudly, “Sanskriti, where’s my wallet? I can’t find it.”

Sanskriti, downstairs, said to herself, “I kept it on the bed…”

Ishika teased her, “Go bhabhi, help bhai… he won’t find it himself.”

Sanskriti smiled shyly and went upstairs.

She picked up the wallet from the bed and said, “It’s right here. How could you not see it?”

Advait said awkwardly, “I… didn’t notice.”

As she turned to leave, he held her hand.

She looked at him questioningly. He called her closer.

Slightly annoyed, she said, “What is it? I have work downstairs.”

Advait touched her cheek and smiled, “When you get annoyed like this, your cheeks puff up… you look very cute.”

Sanskriti lowered her gaze shyly and said, “Thank you… now can I go?”

Advait said, “You always want to go… spend some time with me too.”

She smiled and said, “You’re forgetting, Mr. Rawat—you have to meet your friend.”

Advait said, “Leave that. I’ll meet him later. I wanted to discuss something important.”

He continued, “It’s Navi’s birthday in three days. I was thinking we should celebrate it outside… it’ll cheer everyone up, and it’ll also be our first trip together.”

Sanskriti was surprised and said, “It’s Anvi’s birthday and I didn’t even know? So much preparation is needed…”

Advait calmed her and said, “Relax… everything will be arranged there. We just need to book a resort.”

Sanskriti nodded and said, “That’s a good idea. Everyone needs a break.”

Advait asked, “So where should we go?”

She smiled and said, “Udaipur… I’ve heard it’s very beautiful.”

Advait nodded, “Done.”

As she turned to leave, he held her hand again.

She said, “I’m going downstairs… you go meet your friend.”

She left, and Advait smiled, whispering to himself, “Sanskriti… I think I’ve started liking you.”

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