CHAPTER 28 #2
Mishti placed her hand over Komal’s gently, stopping her finally.
“Abhimanyu was only doing what he thought was right for his brother,” she said softly.
“Please don’t blame him.” She paused, as a tear slipped down her cheek.
“What Karan went through as a child… You and I can’t even imagine it, Komal.
Losing his mother like that, right in front of his eyes…
” She looked down, swallowing the sob rising in her throat. “I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.”
Komal’s eyes filled too. “I know,” she said quietly. “I understand now why he is so distant, why he never showed you affection. I get it. But as a woman, I can’t stand by and watch you suffer for something you never did.”
Mishti wiped her tears and lifted her gaze to Komal. “That’s why I need a favour from you.”
Komal straightened immediately. “Anything. Tell me. How can I help?”
Mishti said something softly, what she had in mind, and Komal’s jaw dropped.
“Mishti… you? You can’t be serious! No. This isn’t right.”
Mishti held her hand firmly, trying to make her understand. “I need to do this, Komal. And I can’t do it alone. I can’t ask Divya bhabhi for help either. You’re the only one I can trust.”
Komal hesitated, absorbing what she had just heard. “But what if Karan finds out?”
Mishti exhaled shakily. “That’s exactly what I’m scared of.” She pulled her hand back suddenly. “No… You are right. I don’t want you getting into trouble because of me. Forget I said anything. I’ll manage on my own.”
“No. You’re not doing this alone.” Komal cut her off at once. “I’m going to help you, Mishti. I always wanted to. I just need a couple of days to figure out how.”
Mishti swallowed hard and leaned forward, hugging her tightly.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Komal hugged her back, patting her gently, but her mind was already racing. She wondered if Mishti was choosing the right path, because if Karan ever found out, the fallout would be merciless.
****************
A week later
Mishti hadn’t come to the office for almost a week now.
Karan did not ask her to either. He told himself it didn’t matter now.
Whatever he had needed her for, he had already achieved.
Trinity had served its purpose. At least, that was the explanation he gave himself.
But somewhere deeper, he knew the truth was far uglier.
The truth was, he did not know how to face her again.
In that entire week, they barely spoke, nor did their paths cross even by coincidence.
Karan left early in the mornings and returned long after the house had settled into silence.
The Lexi Group deal had reached its final sign-off, and the chain reaction had begun.
With Karan pulling the chains of decision for Lexi Group, their investment plans for Trinity were cancelled.
Contracts were being pulled back. Long-standing clients of Trinity & Co were suddenly hesitant to trust the company anymore, which in turn led to delayed payments.
Even within DG Group, Daksh fought relentlessly to stabilise the damage, scrambling to renegotiate terms, injecting whatever liquidity he could, trying to hold the company together.
But the cracks were already too deep. Karan knew it was only a matter of weeks or months before Trinity and the DG group collapsed because of the losses it could no longer carry.
When Karan returned home, it was Maria who always gave him updates about Mishti.
She never waited for him to ask, nor did he ever tell her to stop.
She fed him with every small update about his wife.
Mishti was in her room. Mishti had gone out for a while.
Mishti hadn’t eaten much. Maria told him everything.
He also learned, without asking, that she barely cooked anymore. She no longer spent time chatting with Abhimanyu the way she used to. She had withdrawn from the rhythms of the house, from people, from herself.
Even Rajat had tried to reach out to her. He had suggested going out, doing something to lift her mood. But Mishti had politely refused him.
She went out on her own sometimes. To meet Komal. To sit quietly in the Shiv temple. Or she would spend long hours alone in the garden of the mansion, staring up at the sky as if searching for something she had lost and did not know how to name.
Every update turned him anxious more than the last.
Karan did not know how to change any of this.
More than that, he did not know if he even had the right to try.
His purpose had never wavered. Revenge against the Goels was the foundation of everything he had built.
Mishti was a Goel. And if he allowed himself to soften, to ease the distance between them, would that not be a betrayal of his own blood?
Of the mother who had died because of that family?
That single thought kept him rooted where he was.
So he let the days pass as they came. Mishti although stayed away from him in every possible way, yet she never truly left his mind.
She was there in the silence of the nights, in the pauses between meetings, in the spaces he pretended not to notice.
She was physically absent around him, but present in every waking moment of his daily routine.
***************
Today, Mishti was out again at the Shiv temple, but this time she was not alone. She had asked Divya to meet her there.
The temple courtyard was calm in the early hours.
The moment Divya saw Mishti standing near the steps, her composure broke.
She walked straight up to her and wrapped her arms around her tightly.
She cried without holding back, and Mishti, who had been trying so hard to stay steady, could not control herself anymore either.
Her tears came silently at first, then more freely, soaking into Divya’s shoulder.
They did not speak for a while. After offering their prayers, they sat side by side on the temple steps. Divya wiped her eyes and looked at Mishti carefully, as if trying to read her without hurting her further.
“How are you holding up?” she finally asked.
Mishti looked at her. “I am okay, but I’ve been constantly worrying about what is happening there with Daksh bhai and you.
” She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat.
“After everything I unknowingly did against Trinity, I don’t even have the courage to step into the office anymore. I don’t know how to face it.”
Divya let out a tired sigh. “Daksh is under immense pressure,” she said honestly. “He is trying everything he can to save both companies. He barely sleeps, Mishti. But…” Her voice faltered. “I don’t know what will happen. I don’t have much hope left.”
Mishti turned to Divya, her eyes filled with regret. “I am so sorry,” she said, her voice trembling. “If I hadn’t been involved, if I hadn’t done any of that…”
Divya immediately shook her head. “Stop,” she said firmly. “This is not your fault. You didn’t even know it was Daksh’s company. Don’t put this burden on yourself.”
There was a brief silence before Divya asked, almost hesitantly, “How is Karan?”
Mishti’s fingers tightened around her dupatta as Divya continued. “Even if Karan is the villain in our story today, he was also the real victim of what had happened fifteen years ago, and that truth could not be ignored, Mishti.”
Mishti nodded slowly, replying. “He is going to do everything in his power to destroy the Goels,” she said before looking down, her eyes filling again.
“And that is where I feel lost, bhabhi. If I pray for Karan, for his wounds to heal, for his pain to ease, then it feels like I am asking God to punish Daksh bhai and our family. And if I pray for Daksh bhai, for things to stabilise, for him to find a way out of this, then it feels like I am being unfair to Karan.” Her voice broke.
“I don’t know whom to pray for anymore. I don’t know what is right. ”
Divya listened quietly, understanding the depth of her conflict. “Then don’t choose sides,” she said softly. “Just believe in God, the way you always have. He will guide all of us, Mishti. Whether we understand it now or not.”
Mishti nodded, though her tears continued to fall. She then took a deep breath, opened her purse slowly, and pulled out an envelope. Her hands shook slightly as she extended them toward Divya.
Divya looked at it in surprise. “What is this?”
Mishti met her eyes. “A small gift,” she said, almost smiling. “For my soon-to-be niece or nephew.”
Divya stared at the envelope, stunned. “Mishti… but what is it?”
Mishti swallowed. “This…this is something that belonged to my mother.”
Divya was confused. “Your mother? What do you mean?”
Mishti drew a slow breath. “A few years after Maa passed away… when I had just turned twenty-one… a lawyer came to see me. I didn’t even know why he was there.” Her lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. “That was the first time I found out that Maa had been fighting a land case.”
Divya’s brows knit together. “A land case?”
“Yes,” Mishti nodded. “Against her extended paternal family. It was ancestral land in Panchgani, near Nashik. She had been fighting them for years… quietly. Without telling anyone.” Her voice dropped. “Typical of her.”
She paused before sighing. “By the time the case was finally decided… Maa was no longer alive. The court ruled in her favour. But since she had passed away, her share couldn’t be allotted to her.” She looked back at Divya. “So, it came to me.”
Divya stared at her, stunned. “You mean… this land… it was yours all along?”
Mishti nodded slowly. “On paper, yes. But I didn’t know what to do with it.
The land meant nothing to me in a practical sense.
I didn’t want to sell it. I didn’t want to build anything there.
” Her fingers tightened slightly. “Still… it was the only thing Maa had left behind for me. Something that was mine. So I kept the papers safe.”
She hesitated, then added softly, “And somewhere along the way… I decided what I wanted to do with it.”
Divya looked at the envelope again as Mishti went on. “I decided that when you and Daksh bhai had a child… I would give it to the baby. From my side. As my gift.” She gave a small, sincere smile. “It was the only thing I could do. Something meaningful.”
Divya shook her head, overwhelmed. “But… why didn’t you ever tell Daksh about this? That you had something like this with you?”
Mishti looked away. “You know how he has always been, bhabhi. He never really had any interest in me… or in my mother. And now…now it’s worse.”
She turned back to Divya. “That’s why I don’t want him to know it came from me.”
Divya stiffened immediately. “No, Mishti. If I take this, I won’t lie to him.”
Mishti reached out and placed her hand over Divya’s. “Please, bhabhi. You know he will never agree if he knows it’s from me.”
Divya tried to pull her hand back. “That doesn’t make it right.”
Mishti tightened her grip, her eyes pleading. “Tell him it always belonged to you. That way… he might accept it. I’ve already transferred the ownership to your name.”
Divya’s eyes widened. “You did what?”
“Yes,” Mishti said calmly. “It’s yours now. You and Daksh bhai can decide whatever you want to do with it. I won’t interfere. It’s just a small gift from me for the baby. Please… don’t deny me even this.”
Divya’s eyes filled as she pulled Mishti into a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice almost choking. “Thank you so much.”
“But why now, Mishti?” she asked, pulling back. “You can give this after the baby is born.”
Mishti froze for a brief second before she smiled. “It doesn’t matter,” she said lightly. “Now or later… It’s the same. Please, bhabhi. Just take it.”
Divya studied her face for a moment, sensing there was more left unsaid, but finally nodded. “Alright,” she said softly. “I’ll take it.”
Mishti hugged her again, tighter this time. As Divya’s arms wrapped around her, Mishti closed her eyes and exhaled in relief.
What she had come here to do… was finally done.
Now, only one thing remained.
Karan.