Chapter 10

A Family Reunited (Final Part)

Pari stood motionless.

Her eyes shifted from Nandini to Kunal, then towards Mouli.

Pari: "Dad... what is she saying?"

Silence filled the house.

Kunal slowly walked towards Pari.

He held her hands lovingly.

Kunal: "She is telling the truth, Pari."

Pari looked shocked.

Pari: "Then... Mumma..."

She looked at Mouli.

Mouli's eyes were filled with tears.

Mouli: "I am not your biological mother, Pari... but from the day you were two years old, I promised your mother that I would raise you like my own daughter."

Pari couldn't believe what she had just heard.

She looked at Radhika.

Radhika nodded silently.

Everything was true.

Pari slowly stepped towards Nandini.

Pari: "If you are my mother..."

"...then why did you leave me?"

Nandini broke down.

She fell on her knees.

Nandini: "Because I was a coward."

Maan interrupted softly.

Maan: "No, Geet."

Kunal looked at Pari.

Kunal: "You deserve to know the entire truth."

He narrated everything...

How Mouli had sacrificed her happiness for Nandini...

How he had unknowingly neglected Mouli...

How Nandini had reunited with Maan...

And how she had left Pari behind because she believed Pari would receive more love from Kunal and Mouli than she could ever give while rebuilding her own life.

Pari listened silently.

Every word pierced her heart.

Nandini cried uncontrollably.

Nandini: "I wanted you to hate me."

"I thought if you hated me..."

"...it would become easier for you to accept Mouli as your mother."

"I watched your birthdays from a distance."

"I celebrated every success of yours without you knowing."

"There wasn't a single day when I forgot you."

She took out an old box.

Inside it were...

Pari's first shoes...

Her first drawing...

Her first birthday photograph...

Every newspaper cutting about Pari becoming a doctor.

Nandini hugged those memories tightly.

"I never stopped being your mother."

Everyone in the room became emotional.

Pari slowly picked up the photographs.

Her hands trembled.

She looked at Nandini.

Then at Mouli.

She walked towards Mouli first.

Without saying a word...

She hugged her tightly.

Pari: "You'll always be my Mumma."

Mouli burst into tears.

"I love you, Pari."

Pari smiled through her tears.

"I know."

Then...

She slowly walked towards Nandini.

Nandini was afraid.

She thought Pari would reject her.

Instead...

Pari embraced her tightly.

"And you'll always be my Maa."

Nandini cried like a child.

Years of pain disappeared in a single embrace.

Maan smiled emotionally.

Kunal closed his eyes thankfully.

Radhika folded her hands before God.

A few days later...

Ruhaan officially came to the Sheik house with his parents.

Kunal welcomed them warmly.

Ruhaan looked at Mishty.

Ruhaan: "Uncle... I've come to ask for Mishty's hand."

Kunal smiled.

"We have been waiting for this day."

Mouli looked at Mishty.

"Beta... are you happy?"

Mishty blushed.

"Very happy, Mom."

The families happily fixed their engagement.

The same evening...

Arnav came with his parents.

He looked confidently at Kunal.

Arnav: "Uncle... I love Pari with all my heart."

Pari became shy.

Kunal looked at Mouli.

Mouli smiled.

"Pari... the decision is yours."

Pari looked at Arnav.

She remembered how he had always respected her...

Supported her...

Never judged her.

She smiled.

"Yes."

Arnav's face lit up with happiness.

The families fixed their engagement too.

A month later...

The Sheik house was beautifully decorated.

It was a double wedding.

Mishty looked stunning as a bride.

Ruhaan couldn't take his eyes off her.

He whispered,

"You're the most beautiful bride in the world."

Mishty smiled.

"And you're the best partner I could have asked for."

Nearby...

Pari sat as a bride.

Nandini lovingly adjusted Pari's veil.

Mouli applied a small black dot behind Pari's ear.

Mouli: "So that no one's evil eye falls on my daughter."

Nandini smiled.

"Our daughter."

Ignore sindoor and bindi.

Both women looked at each other.

For the first time...

There was no guilt...

No misunderstanding...

Only gratitude.

They hugged warmly.

The wedding rituals were completed.

Mishty and Ruhaan took everyone's blessings.

Pari and Arnav did the same.

Radhika blessed all four of them.

Radhika: "Always remember... relationships are built not by blood alone..."

"...but by love, trust and sacrifice."

Everyone smiled.

That night...

The entire family gathered for a photograph.

Standing together were...

Radhika...

Kunal and Mouli...

Maan and Nandini...

Mishty and Ruhaan...

Pari and Arnav...

The photographer smiled.

"Everyone... smile!"

Just before the picture was clicked...

Pari held both Mouli's and Nandini's hands.

Pari: "I am lucky."

Everyone looked at her.

She smiled emotionally.

"God gave me two mothers... one who gave me birth..."

"...and another who taught me how to live."

Tears of happiness filled everyone's eyes.

The camera flashed.

The beautiful moment became a cherished memory forever.

THE END