23
Chapter 23
The First Time
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The apartment was so quiet that even breathing sounded loud.
Kabir stood in the hallway, still half asleep.
His eyes were barely open.
He clearly didn't understand what he'd just said.
But Aarav did.
Anaya did.
And the impact was devastating.
"Dad?"
Kabir repeated softly.
Then frowned.
As if he wasn't entirely sure why he'd said it.
Aarav felt something tighten painfully in his chest.
Because for five years he had never expected to hear that word directed at him.
Not once.
And now that he had...
He wasn't prepared for it.
Not even close.
---
Anaya slowly stood.
"Sweetheart..."
But Kabir wasn't looking at her.
His attention remained fixed on Aarav.
Confusion appeared on his face.
The kind of confusion children get when they sense something important is happening.
"Why are you both looking at me like that?"
Neither adult answered immediately.
Because neither knew how.
Aarav glanced at Anaya.
The silent question was obvious.
What now?
For years she had controlled the situation.
Protected the secret.
Made the decisions.
But that wasn't possible anymore.
The truth had escaped.
And there was no putting it back.
---
Kabir looked between them again.
Then his gaze settled on Anaya.
"Mumma?"
Anaya swallowed hard.
Her eyes burned.
Because she knew this moment would come one day.
She just never expected it to happen like this.
Not at midnight.
Not after years of hiding.
Not because of one sleepy mistake.
She crouched in front of him.
"Do you remember asking me about your father?"
Kabir nodded slowly.
The room felt smaller with every passing second.
Anaya gently brushed his hair back.
Then she whispered the words she'd been holding back for five years.
"He's standing right there."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kabir blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then turned toward Aarav.
The little boy looked completely stunned.
"Dad?"
This time the word wasn't accidental.
This time he meant it.
And Aarav nearly broke.
---
For a few seconds, Kabir simply stared at him.
Trying to process what he'd heard.
Then came the question.
The inevitable question.
"The real one?"
A tear slipped down Anaya's cheek.
Because only a child could ask something so simple and make it hurt so much.
Aarav took a slow breath.
Then nodded.
"Yeah."
His voice sounded rough.
Unsteady.
Unlike anything Kabir had heard before.
The little boy stared for another second.
Then-
"You look younger than I imagined."
The statement was so unexpected that the tension shattered instantly.
Anaya laughed through her tears.
Even Aarav looked completely caught off guard.
"What?"
Kabir shrugged.
"I thought fathers looked older."
For the first time that night, all three of them smiled.
---
The moment lasted only a few seconds.
Then reality returned.
And so did the difficult questions.
Kabir looked at Anaya.
Then at Aarav.
Then back at Anaya.
"If he's my dad..."
His voice became smaller.
"...why wasn't he here before?"
The question hit exactly where it hurt.
Aarav looked away.
Anaya closed her eyes.
Because there was no answer that wouldn't cause pain.
Finally, Aarav spoke.
The truth.
Simple and honest.
"I didn't know."
Kabir frowned.
"You didn't?"
Aarav shook his head.
"If I had known..."
His voice caught briefly.
"...I would've come."
The promise carried so much sincerity that even Anaya felt her chest tighten.
Kabir studied him carefully.
Children had a strange ability to sense honesty.
And right now, he believed him.
---
The little boy remained quiet for several seconds.
Then he asked another question.
One that surprised everyone.
"Are you angry at Mumma?"
The room immediately became awkward.
Very awkward.
Kabir noticed.
Of course he did.
He noticed everything.
Aarav looked at Anaya.
Anaya looked at the floor.
The answer wasn't simple.
Yes.
No.
Maybe.
A little.
A lot.
All of them at once.
Finally, Aarav answered carefully.
"I'm hurt."
The honesty surprised her.
"But I'm not angry at you."
Kabir nodded.
Apparently satisfied.
Then yawned.
A huge dramatic yawn.
Again.
The timing was incredible.
"Okay."
He looked completely exhausted now.
The emotional conversation was clearly losing a battle against sleep.
Anaya gently took his hand.
"Bed."
"Okay."
For once, he didn't argue.
A historic moment.
---
Twenty minutes later, Kabir was asleep.
Really asleep this time.
Anaya quietly closed his bedroom door.
Then turned around.
Only to find Aarav standing in the hallway.
Waiting.
The fragile peace from earlier disappeared instantly.
Because now the bigger conversation remained unfinished.
The adult conversation.
The painful one.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Aarav finally broke the silence.
"He called me Dad."
The words sounded almost disbelieving.
As if he still couldn't quite believe it happened.
Anaya nodded.
A small smile appeared despite everything.
"He always wanted one."
The confession hurt.
More than she intended.
Because suddenly Aarav imagined every Father's Day.
Every school event.
Every question.
Every moment Kabir had wondered where his father was.
And he'd missed all of them.
---
His expression darkened.
Not with anger.
With determination.
The kind that worried people.
"Aarav?"
His gaze met hers.
"What?"
"What are you thinking?"
For a second, he considered lying.
Then decided against it.
"The person who threatened you."
A chill ran down her spine immediately.
"What about them?"
Aarav's eyes hardened.
Dangerously.
"They stole five years from me."
The intensity in his voice made her nervous.
Very nervous.
Because she knew that tone.
It meant he had chosen a target.
And once Aarav Rathore chose a target...
He didn't stop.
The problem was that neither of them realized someone was already watching.
Someone who knew the truth had finally come out.
Someone who had spent years waiting for exactly this moment.
And somewhere across the city, Rhea smiled as she looked at a photograph of Aarav, Anaya, and Kabir.
Because the next phase of her plan was finally ready to begin.
To be continued...