Chapter 17 : Sau Dard Hai

The room remained heavy with the hum of the ultrasound machine as Shaira moved to the edge of the bed, sitting beside Maysha and drawing her into a protective embrace. Maira, Ishaan, Ayush, and Mayank stood in a semi-circle, their faces etched with the gravity of the conversation they were witnessing.

"Mom," Maysha whispered, her voice trembling as she reached for Shaira’s hand. "Before I knew... before the doctor explained that the babies have different fathers, my only thought was to end it. If it was only Maan’s, I wouldn't have gone through with the pregnancy. The thought that the very moment leading to this life was filmed... it would have haunted me forever. I couldn't have lived with that shadow."

She looked back at the screen, where the two pulsing lights continued their synchronized dance.

"But then they said Ayush is also the father. I don't know, Mom... I know I shouldn’t be selfish, but now that I’ve heard both their heartbeats, I can't let go. I want to go through with this. I want to love both my babies equally, regardless of how they came to be."

Shaira leaned down, pressing a tearful kiss to Maysha’s forehead. "I am so proud of you for making this decision, beta. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Shaira’s voice broke as she looked at the monitor. "I always dreamed that one of my children would have twins. When I was with Rahul, I was carrying twins myself... but his hate, and the influence Aanchal had over him, led to my miscarriage. I lost them because of a man consumed by darkness. And now, history has brought another 'Rahul' into our lives—another man who tried to destroy us—but this time, life has won. I am happy you are choosing your twins. Even if he never supports you, your father and I will be your pillars. I wish you were married to be experiencing pregnancy, but even though it hasn't happened like but together as a family we be there for you regardless."

While the room processed the emotional weight, Maira walked over to the bedside table and picked up Maysha’s phone. She swiped through the recent logs, her expression hardening.

"Maysha," Maira said, her voice tight with cold realization. "He blocked you. Maan blocked your number and deleted everything. He thinks he’s just erased you."

Maysha closed her eyes, a bitter tear escaping. The man who had recorded her had now discarded her like a piece of tissue.

Ayush stepped forward, his gaze moving from the ultrasound screen to Maysha. He looked at Shaira and then back to the woman he had never truly stopped loving.

"I’ll be honest," Ayush began, his voice steady. "I don't know right now if I can accept Maan's baby as my own. I don't know if my family will ever accept his baby. But I want to do right by you, Maysha. I want to be here. If you’ll let me, I want to use this pregnancy to grow, to try and learn how to love another man's child alongside my own."

Maysha looked at him, her heart aching. "Ayush... what about your career? You’re a star player. You’ve just debuted in International matches. If the media finds out you’re fathering another man’s child... the controversies will destroy you."

Ayush knelt by the bed, taking her hand. "You’re worried about my career? You’re willing to risk your followers, your brand deals, and your entire public image for my baby. If you can sacrifice that, why can’t I? This was why we split before—the fear of media attention. Well, today I’m saying I don't care. If it costs me my career, so be it. I have experience in my dad Rishabh’s business; I can get a decent job. But I won’t compromise on taking care of you and the twins."

Maysha felt a surge of warmth at his words, a flicker of the old love they shared. But as she looked at the two sacs on the monitor, a sense of caution held her back. It was easy to promise love in a hospital room; it was another thing to live it when the child was born. She didn't accept his offer yet, needing to see if his actions would eventually match the weight of his words.

While Maira and Ayush raced toward the Dance Academy—prompted by Aarohi’s urgent message that Shayaan was already headed there—the atmosphere at the hospital remained heavy and hushed.

Shaira, Mayank, and Ishaan stepped out of the ultrasound room just as the medical team began moving Maysha back to the general ward. Her IV drips were still connected, the steady rhythm of the fluid a quiet reminder of the afternoon's exhaustion.

As Ishaan walked off with the general physician and the gynecological team toward the cabin to discuss the specifics of Maysha’s case, Shaira and Mayank found themselves alone in the dimly lit corridor outside her room. The sterile silence of the hallway felt oppressive. Shaira leaned against the cold wall for a moment before finally letting her weight fall against Mayank’s shoulder, the tension of the last few hours finally beginning to break.

"Mayank..." she murmured, her voice thick with exhaustion and a haunting sense of déjà vu.

Mayank wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. "I know, Shaira. I know."

"Why is history repeating itself?" she asked, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. "I look at Maysha and I see myself years ago. The manipulation, the man who pretended to love her while plotting against us... Why is my daughter going through almost the same nightmare I endured? It’s like the past refused to stay buried."

Mayank kissed the top of her head, his gaze fixed sternly on the far end of the hallway. "The start might be the same, Shaira, but the ending won't be. She isn't alone like you were. We’re here."

The music at Nrittrang Dance Academy was a deafening mix of heavy bass and rhythmic footwork until the mirrored doors burst open. Shayaan didn't wait for an invitation. He stormed into the center of the workshop, his face a mask of cold, unadulterated fury.

Before the students could even register his presence, Shayaan’s fist connected with Maan’s jaw. The music skipped as Maan stumbled back into a row of terrified dancers.

"Out! Everyone get out!" Shayaan roared, his voice echoing off the hardwood floors. He didn't wait for them to move; he lunged again, landing a gut-wrenching punch that sent Maan sprawling. The students scrambled for the exits, the polished studio turning into a battlefield of shattered egos.

As Shayaan hauled Maan up by his collar to deliver a third strike, Ayush sprinted into the room, grabbing Shayaan’s arm.

"Shayaan, stop! You’ll kill him!" Ayush strained to pull his friend back.

Shayaan shoved him off, his chest heaving. "He deserves to die, Ayush! After what he did to Maira Di? After what he’s doing to Maysha?"

"He deserves every punch," Ayush said, his voice trembling with a different kind of rage, "but right now, Maysha is the priority. Let her decide what punishment she wants to give him. Don't let your anger ruin her chance for justice."

Shayaan turned his glare toward Ayush. "And you? You think you’re a saint? Having break-up sex with her without protection? You’re the reason this is a mess, too!" He stopped, seeing the genuine pain in Ayush's eyes, and exhaled sharply. "But I get it. I understand your situation. You’re actually here. This coward..."

Maan wiped a streak of blood from his lip and let out a sharp, mocking smirk. He leaned back against the mirrored wall, looking entirely unbothered.

"Why are you questioning Ayush?" Maan asked, his voice dripping with venom. "I was the one who got her pregnant. Isn't that what this is about?"

"She’s carrying both your babies, Maan," Shayaan spat, stepping into his personal space. "Twins. One is Ayush’s. One is yours."

The room went dead silent. Maan blinked, then burst into a loud, hysterical laugh. "Seriously? What a joke! What is this, a Bollywood script? That she slept with 2 guys and boom ...twins with different fathers?. But hey, don't expect me to take responsibility. I’m not accountable for this shit." He straightened his shirt, his eyes cold. "Ayush, you’re father material anyway. Mera bacha tujhe mubarak, okay? I’m leaving."

The casual dismissal of 2 human lives was the breaking point. This time, it was Ayush who moved. He lunged forward, his fist connecting squarely with Maan's nose.

"You have zero accountability, don't you?" Ayush hissed, pinning him against the glass. "You tried to ruin Maysha's life. You tried to destroy Maira Di's marriage. You’re a parasite, Maan."

Maan laughed through the pain, reaching for his phone in his pocket. "Oh, Maira... speaking of her, I still have the leverage. One click, and the video of me and Maysha is public. I’ll ruin her, and I’ll ruin your precious 'Di's marriage'for letting it happen. I’ll dismantle the Wadhwas, the Sharmas and Khannas before I even step out of this building!"

He frantically swiped through his gallery, his thumb hovering over the screen. His smirk began to fade. He scrolled faster, his breathing turning shallow. "Wait... where is it? Woh video kahan gaya?"

Ayush stepped back, a dark, satisfied smirk spreading across his face.

"That video was deleted days ago," Ayush said, his voice like ice. "Your sister-in-law, Roshni, did it. Maira Di reached out to her, and she chose the right side. You have nothing, Maan. No leverage. No video. Just two lives we both have created that you're too much of a coward to take accountability for."

Maan stared at the empty folder on his phone, his face turning a sickly shade of grey. "What... no... this can't be happening."

"The only thing happening, Maan, is the beginning of your real nightmare," a cold, steady voice rang out from the doorway.

Maira stepped into the studio, her presence commanding and her gaze like steel. She had been standing by the entrance, having parked the car and listened to the entire confrontation from the shadows before deciding to intervene.

"You wanted my forgiveness, didn't you? You wanted a second chance," Maira said, walking toward him as Shayaan and Ayush stepped aside.

"You spent weeks blackmailing me, trying to force me to divorce Ishaan because you claimed to 'love' me. But here is my offer: I will only consider forgiving your mistakes if you prove to Maysha that you can be a good father figure to both her babies. Prove you are worthy of being a goood human being by supporting her through this pregnancy. Only then will I even look at you without disgust."

Maan looked up, his face pale. "But... what will I have at the end of the deal? I wanted you to leave Ishaan. To be with me."

Maira let out a hollow, mocking laugh. "First, tell me, Maan—do you even know what love is? If you really loved me, you wouldn't have found my sister attractive—a girl so much younger than you. You say you love me, yet you used her for lust just to have a weapon against me. Your 'love' is just a sick need for validation."

"Stop bringing up the age gap with Maysha," Maan snapped, his jaw tight. "You make me sound like some kind of creepy bhudda."

Shayaan stepped forward, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "Why shouldn't she? You are a creepy bhudda, Maan. At least have the dignity to admit it." He chuckled under his breath, the sound sharp and unkind.

She stepped closer, her hand resting protectively over her own stomach.

"You want my forgiveness? Then be a better man. Prove you can take on shared co-parenting responsibilities for Maysha's babies. Not because I’m going to leave my husband—because that is never happening—but because it’s the only way you won’t end up in a jail cell for blackmail."

Maan’s gaze dropped to Maira’s hand. He saw the way she touched her stomach-unwavering devotion to the life she was creating with Ishaan. The realization hit him like a physical blow.

"You're... you're pregnant?" Maan whispered, the words barely audible.

"I am," Maira said, her eyes flickering with a love for Ishaan that Maan finally realized he could never touch. "I am carrying my husband’s child. You don't have a place in my heart Maan.Not now, and certainly not in my future".

Maan’s gaze remained frozen on Maira’s hand as it rested protectively over her stomach. In that clinical, silent moment, a memory from the night of the bachelor and bachelorette party flooded back to him with agonizing clarity.

He remembered lurking near the ancient stone corridors of the fort, overstaying his welcome, when he had inadvertently overheard a hushed, intense conversation between Diya and Rahul. They hadn't seen him, but he had heard what he managed to hear—the way they discussed Maira’s marriage, their insistence that she needed to have a child to bridge the distance with Ishaan, and their fear that without a baby, the relationship would crumble.

Back then, Maan had twisted that information to fuel his own delusions. He had convinced himself that Maira was trapped and unhappy—that she was being coerced into motherhood by her family’s pressure just to keep a dying marriage alive. It was that very bitterness, the sting of believing she was being "forced" into a life she didn't want, that had driven him straight to Maysha that night. It was a dark, vengeful reaction to not being "chosen" by a woman he thought was looking for an exit.

But looking at her now, the lie he had built for himself finally shattered.

There was no trace of a woman forced into a role. As Maira stood before him, defending her marriage and her unborn child with a fierce, radiant strength, Maan finally saw the truth. This wasn't a tactical pregnancy; this was a choice made of deep, unwavering devotion.

The way her eyes flickered with a soft, protective light when she spoke—even in Ishaan’s absence—wasn't the look of someone trying to "save" a marriage. It was the look of someone truly living for it. She wasn't just enduring motherhood; she was embracing it with a joy that Maan realized he could never provide and certainly could never destroy.

"I... I heard them," Maan stammered, his voice cracking as the shame finally took root. "That night in Jaisalmer... Diya aunty and Rahul.uncle.. they were saying you only needed a child to fix things with Ishaan. I thought you were miserable. I thought you were being pressured into a life you hated."

"You thought wrong," Maira said, her voice cutting through the tension. "You listened to half a conversation and called it the truth. You overheard Diya Mama and Rahul Papa in Jaisalmer, desperate for me to have a baby to save my marriage—and you judged me for it. But you missed the most important part, Maan. You didn't see the full picture."

Instrumental song playing of Sau Dard hai

She took a slow, steady breath, her hand resting firmly against her stomach."For five years, I lived in a bubble. Because of a misunderstanding we unknowingly created the very first time Ishaan and I met in that arranged marriage setup, I spent half a decade believing he didn't want children. Meanwhile, he thought I was just waiting for a later time to have kids. I spent five years protecting a silence I thought we both agreed on. When the truth finally came out, things got sour. I was ready to part ways. We were in a six-month trial period, drifting toward a divorce—just a breath away from ending it all."

She looked at him, her eyes softening as she recalled the past few months. "But during that trial—through the little fights, the fake PDA we showed everytime when he’d pick me up from rehearsals after an argument, or the moments where the love between us felt real—I realized something. Ishaan has always been there for my family. He has always been there for me through our 5 years of marriage and brief courtship after we engaged to be married. All he ever wanted was a baby."

Maira stepped closer, her gaze unflinching. "I was terrified of being a mother. I look at this world—how children treat parents unfairly, the way they are misled into radical thoughts, being brainwashed by their peers into converting , or falling into drugs and money laundering. I wondered what kind of society I could bring a child into when even animals are treated with such cruelty. Those were my reasons for avoiding motherhood. But in front of Ishaan, those worries failed. My undying love and respect for him only grew during those six months."

Maan opened his mouth to speak, but Maira continued, silencing him.

"I know you don't want kids either, Maan. But that doesn't mean we should be together. We had our time. An incident happened, we parted ways, and we both failed to do our part in saving what we had. It was an unfinished past, but I have moved on. Yes, when I saw you at the academy, being your dance partner in such close proximity... I felt drawn to you. I felt that attraction. I had to keep my feelings in check every single day because I am a married woman."

She paused, seeing the flicker of hope in his eyes before she extinguished it.

"When things were messy with Ishaan during the 6 months, I felt a sense of comfort from you. You were misled by my emotions because your presence was intimidating me, but it never changed my love for Ishaan. He was always my priority. I love him, Maan. Our baby will have a better future because I know Ishaan will be a father who protects our child from every worry I ever had. I’m sorry you felt there was a chance, but my heart is with my husband."

For the first time, Maan looked genuinely small. The realization that Maira wasn't a victim of her marriage, but a woman who had fought for it and won, finally broke through his arrogance. He looked at her stomach, then at the floor, the shame visible in the slump of his shoulders.

Sau dard hai, sau raahatein

Sab mila dilnashin

Ek tu hi nahin

"I... I really thought I was what you wanted," Maan whispered, his voice cracking.

"You were a memory, Maan," Maira said, her voice final. "Now, look at the reality you've created for my sister. Now, you have a choice. You can be the father these twins need, or you can be the man I hand over to the police for blackmail. Which one is it?"

Sau dard hai, sau raahatein

Sab mila dilnashin

Ek tu hi nahin

Shayaan and Ayush stepped closer, closing the perimeter around Maan as the finality of Maira’s words settled over the room.aan looked at the empty phone in his hand, and then at the trio.He wasn't a victor; he was a predator who had finally realized he had no prey left.

"I'll... I'll go," Maan whispered, his voice broken. "I'll do whatever you want."

The drive to the hospital was a blur of neon lights and heavy silence. When Maira, Ayush Shayaan, and a weary Maan stepped onto the general ward floor, the air was thick with the scent of antiseptic and unresolved tension.

Mayank was standing in the corridor, his back against the wall, flanking Shaira and Ishaan. As he caught sight of Maan, his posture shifted instantly—his hands balled into fists, his eyes flashing with a protective rage that had simmered for decades. He moved to intercept, to block the path to his daughter's room.

"Not a step further," Mayank hissed, his voice low and dangerous.

Maira quickly stepped forward, placing a hand on her father's arm. She met his eyes and gave a slow, deliberate nod. Let him in. It’s the only way.

Reluctantly, Mayank stepped aside, though his gaze never left Maan’s slumped form.

Ishaan watched them with a clinical, detached coldness, his arm wrapped firmly around Shaira, who looked away, unable to even acknowledge the man who had caused so much wreckage.

Maan entered the room quietly. The only sound was the rhythmic hiss-click of the hospital monitors. Maysha lay in the center of the bed, her face pale, appearing smaller than he had ever seen her. She was in a medicated sleep, and her hand resting over her stomach.

Rukhi rukhi si yeh hawa

Aur sukhe patte ki tarah

The evilness that had defined Maan that he had masked when he was dating Maysha for months was gone. He approached the bed with trembling knees, eventually sinking to the floor beside her. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against the side of her stomach

A choked sob escaped him, the tears finally breaking through. "I'm sorry, baby... I'm so sorry," he wept into the hospital linens, the reality of his own cruelty finally crushing him. He pressed a tentative, shaking kiss to her womb, the coldness of his past actions replaced by a searing, belated heat of regret.

Shehar ki sadko pe main

Laawaris udta hua

Maysha’s eyelashes fluttered. Her gaze slowly focusing on the dark hair of the man kneeling by her side.

"Maan?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath.

He stiffened, slowly lifting his head to look at her. His eyes were bloodshot, his face a map of shame. "I'm sorry, Maysha. I... I shouldn't acted coldly. I'm so sorry."

Maysha looked down at him, but there was no warmth in her eyes. There was no forgiveness, only a cold, hard necessity.

Sau raaste

Par teri raah nahi

"It's babies," she corrected him, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. "Not just yours.Ayush's as well."

Sau dard hai, sau raahatein

Sab mila dilnashin

Ek tu hi nahin

She turned her head away, staring at the blank white wall to avoid his gaze. The sight of him turned her stomach with a fresh wave of disgust, a physical reminder of the betrayal and the blackmail. But as she felt the slight stirrings within her, she forced herself to stay still. She would endure his presence, his touch, and his penance—not for him, and not for the ghost of what they had been—but for the sake of the two lives that now depended on the peace she had to manufacture.