EPILOGUE
OURS
DIYA
The final adoption papers rest in my lap, the fresh court seals cool beneath my fingertips.
Even now, I find myself reading the names again and again, as if I'm afraid they'll disappear if I look away for too long.
A year ago, walking into a courtroom filled me with fear. Everything felt cold and uncertain, like someone else was deciding whether I deserved happiness.
Today, these papers don't feel frightening.
They feel like home.
For most of my life, family was just another word for obligation. My father treated love like a transaction, and the orphanage taught me not to expect people to stay.
But now . . . I look through the tall glass windows of the palace sunroom, and my heart feels so full that it almost hurts.
Outside, the palace lawns are anything but peaceful.
Rani has somehow convinced everyone that they're playing a game called Protect the Kingdom. She's shouting instructions at the top of her lungs while Keshav insists he's the commander of the western gate. Laila keeps changing the rules every five minutes just to annoy him.
Raj runs after them, laughing silently, his hands moving so quickly through sign language that even Rani has to stop and ask him what he just said.
A second later all four children burst into laughter.
The sound reaches all the way inside.
A year ago they were children waiting for donations and temporary shelters.
Today . . . They're home.
Legally.
Permanently.
They're Shekhawats.
I don't even realize I've started crying until someone gently takes the papers from my hands.
"I've been watching you read the same page for the last ten minutes."
That deep, familiar voice makes me smile before I even look up.
Veeraj settles beside me on the sofa, still dressed in his rolled-up shirt sleeves after returning from court. He places the adoption papers carefully on the table before taking my hand.
His fingers slide between mine so naturally that I don't even think about it anymore.
"You've gone very quiet," he says softly.
"I know."
He studies my face for a moment. "Too many thoughts?"
I let out a shaky laugh. "So many."
My eyes drift back toward the garden. "I keep expecting someone to tell me this isn't real."
His thumb stills against my hand.
"They're here," I whisper. "All twenty four of them . . . they're really ours."
"They are."
"I don't have to worry about them being sent somewhere else anymore."
"No."
"They're staying."
"For the rest of our lives."
Something inside me finally breaks.
A tear rolls down my cheek. "I never imagined I'd get this."
Veeraj turns toward me completely. "No," he says quietly. "You imagined much less."
His words make me look at him.
"You spent years believing you should be grateful for scraps of love." His voice is calm, but I can hear the emotion underneath it. "Today isn't charity, Diya."
He squeezes my hand gently. "This is what you built."
I shake my head. "We built it."
A smile slowly appears on his face. "I was hoping you'd say that."
I laugh softly through my tears. "You've changed."
"Oh?"
"The old Veeraj would've called this an outcome of proper planning."
He pretends to think about it. "I probably would've."
"And now?"
He looks through the window where Raj has somehow climbed onto Keshav's back while Laila cheers them on.
"Now I think some of the best things in life happen because someone refuses to stop believing in people."
I rest my head against his shoulder.
"I was never the one who believed first."
"No."
"You were."
For a long moment we simply sit together, watching our children run across the gardens.
The palace doesn't feel intimidating anymore.
It feels lived in.
Loved.
Home.
Just then the sunroom doors burst open.
"Prince uncle!" Rani races inside without slowing down. "Keshav cheated!"
"I did not!" Keshav argues as he follows her inside.
"You absolutely did."
"I used strategy."
"You moved the fountain."
"You said I could defend the kingdom."
"I didn't mean with bricks!"
Laila walks in behind them carrying an armful of flowers. "He definitely cheated."
Raj steps inside last, signing something quickly before pointing toward Keshav.
I laugh.
Veeraj watches Raj's hands before smiling. "He says Keshav has the tactical skills of a confused goat."
I blink. Then burst into laughter.
"So that's where he's learning sarcasm." All four children point at Veeraj.
He raises both hands immediately. "I deny every allegation."
"You taught him!" Rani accuses.
"There is absolutely no evidence."
"There is Raj."
"He is a highly unreliable witness."
Raj grins and signs, “you did teach me.”
The room erupts into laughter.
A minute later, Aadhya comes running in after Meher Bhabhi Sa, her tiny feet pattering across the marble.
She launches herself straight into my lap.
"Chachi!"
I hug her tightly, kissing the top of her head while she giggles.
Around us, the room is loud again.
Children arguing. Vihaan stealing sweets from the tray Meher bhabhi-sa just brought in and then loudly insisting he has been framed. Poorvi rolling her eyes. Devraj bhai sa walking in with the tired smile of someone who has already accepted defeat.
Complete chaos. Perfect chaos.
I look around the room, then at the man sitting beside me.
Once, I believed forever was something people write about in storybooks. Now . . . Forever looks like this.
A palace filled with laughter. Sticky little fingerprints on polished furniture. A husband whose hand still reaches for mine without thinking.
I lean over and kiss Veeraj's cheek. He smiles before resting his forehead against mine.
"So . . . " he murmurs. "Any regrets?"
I look at our family. At the children who once had nowhere to go. At the home we built together. At the man who taught me what unconditional love feels like.
"Only one."
His eyebrows lift. "I wish we'd found each other sooner."
His smile softens. "So do I."
He kisses my forehead. "But I think we arrived exactly when we were meant to."
Outside, Raj suddenly turns toward the window.
He catches my eye from across the lawn.
Then he smiles and signs one simple word.
“Family.”
I smile back.
For the first time in my life . . . The word belongs to me.