ch 75 found the peace
AARAV BURST INTO THE ROOM.
"ASHIANA!" he shouted, voice full of fear.
He sprang forward with lightning speed.
He caught her just seconds before she hit the glass, his arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her completely off the ground.
Her head fell back, unconscious, eyes rolled.
Raghav, Kabir and Aditya ran in behind him
All three froze at the sight.
The destroyed house.
The shattered memories.
Ashiana unconscious in Aarav's arms.
Kabir whispered, stunned, "Oh my god..."
Raghav's jaw clenched in anger and guilt.
Aditya's eyes filled with tears as he saw the photo shards on the floor.
But Aarav
His entire world shook.
"Baby... baby look at me..." he whispered shakily, tapping her cheek gently.
She didn't respond.
She was limp.
Breathing faint.
Tears dried on her lashes.
Aarav's hands trembled as he held her tighter, as if afraid she'd disappear.
"Ashiana... open your eyes... please..." his voice cracked.
He lifted her carefully away from the dangerous glass, pulling her against his chest.
Her head rested on his shoulder, lifeless.
He pressed a desperate kiss to her forehead.
Kabir moved closer. "We need to get her out of here now."
Raghav checked her pulse. "She fainted from the shock... and hyperventilation... her body couldn't take it."
Aditya's voice broke.
"This house... all this... we should've come sooner..."
Aarav didn't hear anything.
He stood up with her in his arms, bridal style but trembling badly.
He whispered against her hair:
"I promise... I won't let you break anymore."
Then he carried her out of the shattered house, close to his chest, while the others cleared the glass from around them.
Her hand dangled loosely.
Her breath soft.
Her world shattered.
And the four men who loved her most followed silently behind, realizing—
Tonight, they almost lost her.
As Aarav, Raghav and Kabir carried Ashiana out of the ruined house, Aditya lingered behind.
Something pulled him back.
A strange heaviness in his chest
A whisper of a memory
He turned slowly, scanning the destroyed living room.
Glass.
Broken furniture.
Ashes of a life that should've been hers.
Then
His eyes froze.
A small, shattered photo frame lay under the broken table.
He knelt downpicked it up carefullyAnd his heart stopped.
Inside behind the cracked glass was a baby girl wrapped in a pink cloth.
The exact photo he had in his locket.
His breath hitched.
His fingers trembled.
"No... no... this can't be..." he whispered, voice cracking.
He stood up fast, eyes scanning the room with renewed desperation.
Something inside him screamed that the truth was here.
Somewhere.
Hidden.
He walked deeper into the house like a man possessed.
Then he saw it
A cupboard in the corner, its door half-broken from Ashiana's rampage.
Aditya slowly approached it.
He pulled the door fully open.
Insideshelves were empty but at the very back, one panel looked different.
Out of place.
He frowned.
Pressed it.
The wood clicked.
A hidden locker popped open.
His breath caught entirely.
There lay a small cloth pouch old, dusty, tied tightly.
His shaking hands opened it.
Something cold fell into his palm.
A locket.
A heart-shaped pendant.
Identical to the one around his own neck.
He flipped it open
Inside was the same family picture
His mother.
His father.
Himself, twelve years old.
And the baby girl wrapped in pink.
Except
The inside of the heart pendant had something engraved.
He lifted it toward the dim light.
His heart dropped.
ARSHI KAPOOR
His voice broke, barely a whisper:
"Arshi..."
His throat tightened.
His knees almost gave out.
"That means... that means..."
He looked around the destroyed house, his eyes widening with horror and realization.
His trembling hands clutched the locket to his chest.
"Ashiana..." he whispered, breath shattering.
"You're Arshi... you're my sister."
A single tear rolled down his cheek.
He stared at the locket again, unable to breathe.
Veeraj's last taunt echoed in his ears:
"You really want to know about your sister? Never."
Aditya's jaw clenched, tears burning in his eyes.
"You hid her from me..." he whispered to the empty house.
"...but destiny could not."
He closed his fist around the locket tight, determined, breaking.
And then he said the words that would change everything:
"I found you, Arshi... and I will never let you go again."
at mansion
Ashiana's fingers twitched first.
Then her lashes fluttered.
And slowly painfullyshe opened her eyes.
Her vision blurred at first, then shapes formed
Aarav...
Kabir...
Raghav...
Meera...
Prerna...
Raj...
Aditya standing frozen near the door...
All of them watching her with worry written across their faces.
Her gaze finally stopped on Aarav.
The moment their eyes met, something inside her cracked open.
She pushed herself up and instantly wrapped her arms around him tight, desperate, trembling.
Her voice broke into a sob against his shoulder.
"Aarav... Aarav..."
He held her closer, hand on her back, whispering her name, calming her shaking breath.
But she suddenly pulled back, tears spilling nonstop, and whispered with complete devastation
"Aarav... I... I'm not Ashiana... I'm not Arshi... I'm... I'm no one..."
Everyone froze.
Her voice cracked again raw, painful.
"I'm orphan since birth... I don't even know who I am... Who my parents were... Where I was born... Why I was left alone..."
She held her head with both hands, crying like a child.
"I don't know anything about my life, Aarav... Nothing... All this time... I thought I was someone's daughter... But even that was a lie... He wasn't my father...Then who am I...?"
Aarav cupped her face instantly, making her look at him.
His voice steady, firm, protective like a vow:
"You are mine. That is who you are."
She broke even more, shaking her head.
"But Aarav... I have no identity. No name. No family. Then why would you still want me...?"
Aarav's jaw clenched, his eyes turning fiercely soft.
He pulled her into his chest, holding her tighter than ever before.
"Because I love you, Ashiana. Not your past. Not your blood. Not your name. Just. You."
She cried harder, burying her face in him.
He whispered against her hair
"And you do have a family. All of us. Right here."
Kabir stepped forward, voice rough but gentle
"Exactly, chipkali. You're a Malhotra now. That's more than enough."
Raghav adjusted his glasses, voice softer than usual:
"Blood doesn't define family. Choice does. And we choose you."
Meera and Prerna wiped their tears, nodding.
Raj crawled onto the bed and hugged her tiny arm:
"ashi di... you're mine too."
But the most emotional eyes in the room belonged to Aditya.
He clutched something in his hand a locket.
He took a slow step forward.
"Ashiana..." he whispered, voice trembling.
Everyone turned toward him.
He held up the heart-shaped locket.
The same as his.
The same as the one he found in the ruined house.
And with a shaking breath, he said—
"Ashiana... You are not no one. You're... Arshi Kapoor."
Aditya's voice trembled, but he held her gaze.
"Ashiana... ."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver pendant half broken, its edges jagged like something torn apart years ago.
"This," he said softly, opening his palm, "was my sister's. Aur jab hamari family par attack hua tha... only this part was found. The other half..." He looked directly at her, eyes shining with something between hope and fear. "The other half was with her."
Ashiana felt her stomach twist.
Aditya stepped closer, his movements slow, careful like he was afraid she'd disappear if he blinked.
"Meri sister ke lower back par ek sword shaped birthmark tha. "
(my.. my sister had a birth mark on her lower back)
A chill rushed down Ashiana's spine.
Her heartbeat hammered in her ears.
No. It can't be—
But the moment he said sword–shaped birthmark, her hand instinctively went to her back, fingertips brushing the spot she had only seen in a mirror.
A mark she had been told was "just a birthmark."
A mark she had never questioned.
A mark that now felt like a truth screaming to be heard.
"Aditya... bhaiyaa.. " her voice cracked, almost a whisper, "I .... I have that same birthmark."
The words left her lips, and the entire world felt like it froze.
Aditya inhaled sharply, emotion flooding his face relief, disbelief, grief, joy everything tangled together.
His eyes watered as he whispered, "Ashi... you're her. You're my sister."
Ashiana's legs gave away, hands trembling.
Everything she knew about herself... Every story she had believed... Every identity she thought was hers...
All of it felt like it was shattering.
Her voice barely left her throat:
"Maine... kabhi socha bhi nahi tha..."
(i.. i didn't event excepted that)
Aditya kneeled in front of her, gently placing the pendant into her hands.
"This belongs to you, Ashiana. You belong with us."
The pendant slipped from her trembling fingers as Aditya suddenly pulled her into his arms
a tight, desperate, almost crushing hug, like he was afraid she would vanish if he loosened his grip even a little.
His voice broke completely.
"You are my choti... my Arshi..."
He buried his face in her hair, shoulders shaking. "My lost sister... I finally found you."
The word Arshi hit her like thunder.
Her breath caught, and she clutched the back of his shirt with both hands, holding on as though she had known him her whole life even though she hadn't known him at all.
"Aditya... bhaiyaa..."
Her voice choked, cracking mid-sentence.
The word felt unfamiliar yet so right like it had been waiting in her throat for years.
And then the tears came hot, unstoppable.
She sobbed into his chest, her fingers tightening as though she never wanted to let go.
All the confusion, the shock, the ache of a past she didn't remember it all poured out at once.
Aditya's hand cupped the back of her head, his voice trembling as he whispered,
"Bas... bas Arshi... ro mat. Main hoon na. I won't let anything happen to you again. Not this time."
His tears fell into her hair as he held her even tighter, like a brother reclaiming a piece of his soul that had been missing for years.
For the first time, she felt something warm, familiar, and painfully beautiful settle in her chest
family... belonging... home.