CHAPTER 49 #2
He took a step closer. “In fact, she saved it.”
Daksh stared at him, stunned by the conviction in his tone.
“Despite all the hatred and indifference you kept throwing at her,” Karan went on, “she still did the best she could for you. So that you and your family would never have to suffer.”
Daksh glared at him, his anger colliding with confusion. Divya, who stood a little behind him, had already understood what Karan was leading toward. Her face had gone pale.
Karan let the silence stretch before he spoke again.
“This land,” he said slowly, “the one on which you’ve started this new business…This small factory, you are so proud of. Who do you think this land belongs to?”
Daksh frowned.
“My wife,” he said without hesitation. “It’s my wife’s inheritance.”
Karan shook his head once, firmly.
“No,” he said. “It’s Mishti’s.”
Daksh froze.
“Yes. It’s Mishti’s mother who had left it for her, and which Mishti transferred to Divya’s name before leaving for London,” Karan continued, “because she knew you would never accept it otherwise.”
Shocked, Daksh turned toward Divya as if searching for denial, for something that would prove Karan wrong.
But this time, Divya couldn’t hide it anymore.
“He’s right,” she said, stepping forward.
“Mishti gave me this land. She had met me once before leaving and asked me not to tell you. She knew you would refuse it if you ever found out, Daksh. I denied accepting it, but you know how selfless Mishti is. She was guilty that you suffered losses and ruin. You made her feel guilty. And she couldn’t take that blame forever.
So, this was her way of helping you, helping us rebuild. ”
Daksh staggered back a step, as if the ground beneath him had shifted.
Divya moved closer to him, resting her hand over his chest.
“She always protected you, Daksh. Always. Even when it should have been you doing that for her.”
She swallowed hard before continuing.
“Even when she was preparing to leave Karan and disappear from her own life, she didn’t think about how she would survive. She still gave away everything that was hers. Everything. So that you, me, and our baby would be safe.”
Her tears finally spilt.
“She gave it to us because she loves you. No matter how hard you’ve always been on her. She has always been the best sister. Always waiting for you to look at her just once and accept that she belongs to this family. To you.”
Daksh’s eyes burned. Tears gathered despite his resistance.
Karan exhaled slowly, nodding as Divya finished.
“Mishti doesn’t know I’m here,” he said. “And I know she won’t like it when she finds out I told you the truth.”
He met Daksh’s eyes, looking painfully honest.
“But my only intention was to make you see how wrong you are. How wrong it is to give up a sister like that.”
He paused for a few seconds.
“I made that mistake too,” Karan admitted. “I failed to see Mishti’s goodness. And I paid for it, Daksh. All these months she wasn’t with me, I repented hard. Don’t make the same mistake. You still have time. If you ever want to fix things between you and Mishti, do it now. Before it’s too late.”
And with that, Karan turned and walked out of the house, laying the truth bare, hoping it would lessen at least some of the distance between his wife and her brother.
Back in the present, as Karan finished revealing everything, Mishti was still reeling in shock.
“How did you even know about that land?” she asked him. “The one I gave to Divya?”
“My sources informed me when they started tracing Daksh.”
Mishti was stunned. But now that everything was out in the open, the fact that Karan had gone to Daksh for her, had tried to reason with him, still caught her off guard. It only showed her, yet again, how deeply he loved her, and she would always be grateful for the steps he had taken for her sake.
Daksh finally reached her and shook his head, with guilt heavy in his eyes.
“How could you be so selfless?” he asked, looking at Mishti. “Giving away whatever little you had… to me? To a brother who never even cared for you his entire life?”
Mishti turned to him, her eyes still brimming with tears.
“You didn’t care,” she whispered. “But I could never stop thinking of you. I’m born this way, Bhai.
Once I love someone, once I believe they are mine, I can go to any extent to protect them, no matter what they give me back in return. I just… can’t unlove them.”
Daksh pulled her into a fierce, crushing hug. His arms trembled around her shoulders as everything he had buried for years finally broke free.
“I’m sorry,” he choked, his voice muffled against her hair. “I’m… so damn sorry, Mishti.”
She stiffened at first, then helplessly melted into him.
“For the first time,” he continued, pulling back just enough to look at her, “I actually see you. And I hate myself for how long it took.”
Mishti’s lips quivered, but she said nothing.
“I never deserved you as a sister,” he confessed, his voice cracking. “I wasn’t a good man. I wasn’t a good brother.” A bitter, broken laugh escaped him. “Hell, I didn’t even treat you like family.”
Her breath hitched.
“I used you like a commodity,” he said, looking down, embarrassed, “by marrying you off to a man like Karan just to save my business.” He exhaled. “You have no idea how disgusting that makes me feel now.”
Tears spilt freely down Mishti’s cheeks.
“I kept telling myself I was doing what was necessary,” he went on, shaking his head. “But the truth is… I never understood what having a sister really meant. Maybe because somewhere deep down, I kept telling myself you weren’t my real sister.”
Yes. She knew that, too.
Daksh sucked in a breath, as if bracing himself. “I hated Dad,” he admitted quietly. “After Maa died… I hated that he moved on too soon. I hated that he married your mother. And even without realising it, that resentment was passed on to you over the years.”
Mishti sobbed openly now.
“I punished you for something you never did,” he whispered. “And you still stood by me.”
He reached up, wiping her tears with trembling fingers, his own falling right after.
“I’m sorry,” he said again, softer this time. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I needed you to know… I finally understand what I lost by not being your brother when you needed one.”
His voice broke completely now.
“I was so blind… so stubborn. I failed to protect my only sister. I’m sorry, Mishti. I’m really sorry for what I did… or rather, for everything I never did for you. And that regret,” he said, barely holding himself together, “is going to stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Mishti sobbed. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, too.”
“Don’t be,” he shook his head, then wiped her tears, as he went on. “Because I am happy. After everything in my business collapsed… that land was my only hope, Mishti. My only chance to start again.”
He paused, as if choosing his words carefully before continuing.
“To be honest, somewhere along the way, I started understanding that no matter what I did, no matter how vast a world I tried to create, it never brought me peace. A world built on the blood money of the Wadhwas, first through Trinity that Dad founded, and then through the DG Group I started on my own… it never gave me peace. Not once.”
His lips curved into a faint, almost disbelieving smile.
“But now… owning something so small, living a life so limited… it feels peaceful. I’m happy, Mishti. In my little world. With Divya and Pari.”
Mishti’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
“Pari?” she whispered. “You named her Pari?”
Daksh smiled.
“Yes,” he said softly. “That’s the name you always wanted, remember? For when Divya and I would have a daughter.”
Mishti nodded as she remembered she had always insisted on that name whenever they spoke about their kids.
“It was Divya who reminded me,” Daksh continued. “She suggested it when Pari was born and when we were searching for names. And I couldn’t say no.”
He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know… maybe it was a soft realisation. Or maybe it was because, despite pushing you away all these years… the first time I held my daughter in that hospital, I missed you.”
Mishti sucked in a shaky breath. He did?
“Holding Pari in my hands, I remembered the day you were born,” he went on. “You were just as tiny as her. I hated you then. But seeing my daughter… seeing how much she resembles you… It made me regret, even if just a little, how I always pushed you away.”
His voice cracked.
“Pari’s soft, sweet face kept reminding me of you… of the sister I had watched grow up, even if I never acknowledged her as one.”
He fell silent for a moment before adding, “So, when Karan came and revealed the truth… I broke down.” His voice trembled. “I finally understood how wrong I had been, Mishti. And I regret it. All of it. Please forgive me. For everything I said and did.”
Mishti listened to him intently. By the time he finished, her eyes were wet, and his eyes had a softness for her that had been missing for years. She reached for Daksh’s hands first, holding them.
“I stopped waiting for apologies years back, bhai,” she smiled sadly.
“What I waited for was this. For you to see me. To accept me. That is enough.” His breath caught as she continued, “We were both hurt in different ways. You resented me while I longed for you to accept me as your sister. But today, I don’t want to carry any of that anymore. ”
Daksh swallowed, nodding.
“This is one of the best days of my life,” she whispered again. “Because today, I didn’t just get my brother back. I finally feel like I belong to his family.”
“You do,” he said, pulling her for another hug. “You are my sister, and nothing can come between us ever again.”
When they pulled apart slowly, both still emotional, Mishti added almost shyly, “And bhai… despite everything, the best thing you ever did for me was marrying me off to Karan.”