Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai - 28 July 2025 EDT
CID Episode 64 - 27th July
WELCOME 🏠 MAIRA27.7
MAIRA IS SAD 😞28.7
YRKKH to take a generation leap!!!
BALH Naya Season EDT Week #7: July 28-Aug 1
Geetanjali vs Abhinav
Maa esi nahi hoti…
Mohabbatein: one of the best scenes
Has Kajol forgotten how to act?
Anupamaa 27 - 28 July 2025 Written Update & Daily Discussions Thread
Who is Best for gen 5
Gen 5 Storyline
Did she really say that?
Anyone else born in the 80's?
Aneet Padda Next Movie With Fatima Sana Shaikh
In the ruins....I found you ❤️-A Prashiv ss
Half Girlfriend: anyone watched it?
If you had the power of vanishing one nepo kid?
24 years of Yaadein
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 21: Reason for Leaving
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Night Before ...
""It's me, big brother," a slurred voice called out, revealing the identity of their visitor before the man had even entered the room. The lanky figure stumbled in through the doors and fell over a chair, landing on the floor in the middle of the room. The two stared at the drunken man practically lying down on the floor in front of them.
"It's me, brother," he repeated, staring up at them sleepily. "I'm home."
He turned to look at the pale woman at his brother's side. "Neeta, I'm back."
She gasped softly. "Vicky."
"I can't believe you," Maan said through gritted teeth. "You're drunk?!"'
Vicky lay on the floor, staring up at the two of them. A smile spread across his face as his eyes traced their features, almost lovingly. Looking his fill, he closed his eyes and laid his head on the floor.
Maan strode towards the reclining figure and pulled him up by his collar. Forcing him to stand straight, Maan stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. There was a beat of silence, as he stared at his baby brother. The one he had trusted above all else... and the one whose betrayal had hurt him the most. And, as always, when anger began to burn inside of him, he was ready to blast someone with the full force of it. He opened his mouth, but then stopped for a moment, unsure of what to say.
This man, his own brother, had betrayed him in the worst possible way. But if it hadn't been for him, he would've been a married man when he met Geet. Or . . . if Sameera had had her way, he would never have met Geet at all. He staggered back at the thought, his hands falling to his sides. The thought of never having met Geet hurt him more than any betrayal ever could.
His attention was caught once more when Vicky fell against the wall, blinking rapidly. After a moment of uncertain steadiness, he began his slide to the floor once more. Pari gasped slightly at that, her eyes widening when he fell with a thump, his head banging against the wall.
"Are you kidding me?" Maan growled angrily, striding closer. He glared down at the man at his feet, unable to believe the evidence before him. He opened his mouth ready to blast him this time for being drunk, but another thought made him stop. Kneeling down he reached out a hand, but was roughly pushed aside. Landing on the floor with a grunt, he turned to glare at the person responsible.
"He's sick," Pari murmured, blithely ignoring the fact that she had just knocked her boss to the floor. She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "He has a fever. Nakul, help him into his room," she commanded. She got up and moved back, allowing the servant to help the younger Khurana up and moving toward the bedroom. Nakul quietly took him to the room that had remained untouched, as if waiting for its owner to come back home.
Maan crossed his arms and turned his head to stare quizzically at Pari.
"What?" she asked defensively. "He's sick! We can give him a chance to explain, can't we? I mean he came back," she pointed out. "That's not something we can say about most of your family." She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Maan nodded silently and gestured for her to go ahead. The two walked into the room and stood by the bedside, watching Vicky toss and turn on the bed. Vicky was mumbling something under his breath, too low to be heard. He stopped for a moment, and all was silent. He then coughed softly and began to mutter under his breath once more.
". . . promise."
~*~*~*~*~*~
I was ten when I met my other brother for the first time. I had a brother at home, but I was suddenly meeting someone ... who was of my blood, but I had never known. The shock I felt that day is something I will remember forever. If that wasn't enough, I then met my other sister for the first time.
I was spending the afternoon with my father. It was supposed to be just daddy and me time. He took me over to his other family's house, warning me not to tell my mother anything. He said that it would be our little secret. I felt so special ... until we entered that home.
I promised. I didn't say anything when I saw my father with his other children. I didn't say anything when he kissed them or hugged them or actually laughed with them. And I didn't say anything when I saw their mother. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't say anything to my mom. Not when I began to wet the bed. Not when I began to have nightmares of my mother finding out. About everyone finding out. Not until...
"You can talk to me. I'll take care of everything," he told me. "You don't have to hide anything. Not from me."
"No, I can't. I can't. I ... can't! You don't know!" I was hysterical.
"You can. I know. I'm your brother. I will always be your brother," Maan bhai said, as he hugged me close. I began to cry in his arms, letting all the fear and guilt out. And somehow, the nightmares went away after that.
He was only 13-years-old, but he was my pillar of strength. I learned those words later, but he was always there to support me. He took care of me. He took care of our younger sister. He took care of my mother. My mother, who, I realized years later, had always known when her husband strayed. His current mistress wasn't his first mistress.
I learned three things when I was 10-years-old.
My father was a weak man. My mother was a weak woman.
And my brother was the strongest person I knew.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Maan bhai," Vicky muttered, turning his head side to side. He jerked in bed, unable to control the shudders that began to course through his body. Maan reached over and grabbed onto Vicky's hand, his heart urging the motion before his head could tell him to stay back.
Vicky's eyes opened for a moment, but they were glazed and unfocused. "Thank you." It was a whisper ... a sliver of noise that could be imagined away. But he had heard it. Vicky had lost weight, his once muscular body transformed into a gaunt shell of its former self. Maan felt a pang in his heart, hurting for Vicky. He was surprised by the emotion. Where was his anger?
Pari placed another wet cloth on Vicky's forehead. She stared at the grim male figure sitting on the other side of the bed. "Has the doctor come yet?" she asked in a hushed tone, unwilling to disturb Vicky's sleep, as broken as it was.
"He's on his way," Maan murmured, staring at his younger brother on the bed. Vicky tossed and turned, his face scrunched up by some unknown worry. He leaned over and smoothed Vicky's hair back with his free hand. Letting out a deep breath, he forced himself to face the truth. Despite what this man had done, a part of him was so glad to have another piece of his family back home ... to have his baby brother home.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was sixteen, on the cusp of turning seventeen, when my world changed again.
"Your parents were in an accident, Vicky beta," his grandmother said, putting a comforting arm around him. "They're in the hospital." Her face was stricken with grief, and Vicky could see that she was forcefully pushing the tears down. She was trying to be brave for her grandchildren, while having to face the possibility of losing her only son.
"Is that where we're going right now?" Vicky asked, his sleep fading away. He held on a bit more tightly to his grandmother as the truth sank in, fear of the unknown making him tremble.
"Yes," Maan replied, looking at him from the other side of the limo. He had his arms around Annie. "We're going to them right now."
"Will they be okay?" Vicky asked, trusting his brother to tell him the truth.
"I don't know."
"Maan beta," Dadi Ma protested.
"We don't know," Maan replied quietly. "We'll find out." He planted a kiss on Annie's forehead, taking care not to disturb the young girl sleeping on his shoulder.
"What if they're not okay?" Vicky asked, voicing the fears that had begun to rise in him. "What will happen to us?"
"I'm here," Maan replied after a silent moment. "I will take care of all of you if need be."
"But bhai..."
"Remember that," Maan interjected, leaning over to place a hand on Vicky's knee. "I'm your brother. I will take care of everything."
Maan bhai was only 20-years-old. But he did it. He took care of everything when dad died from his injuries.
Mom was recovering, and we got a few sweet moments with her. But when she learned that dad was gone, it was as if she gave up. There was nothing wrong with her except for some bruising and broken bones, but she lost the will to live. There was nothing the doctors could do. Nothing we could do or say that would keep her with us. She passed three agonizing days later.
Maan bhai was there for us. He shielded us when our father's mistress came out to the world and demanded her children's share. He took care of it when the media went rabid, stalking us at home and at school. He protected us from the prying eyes and from the vitriol directed at us simply because we were the Khuranas. When our hearts had turned against Dev and Kamya, he convinced us to give them a chance. He brought them home. We became a family.
He saved us over and over. And he did it all on his own.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I'm ... here." Vicky's disjointed murmurs continued.
"He has a fever of 102. His glands are swollen, but I think..."
Maan gazed at Pari listening intently to the doctor sitting next to Vicky. He wrote a prescription and reached out to hand it to Pari. "Make sure that he starts taking these antibiotics immediately."
His eyes widened when Pari's hands practically snatched it from the doctor's hands and held it close to her heart. Racing over to the door, she called out for Nakul. His eyes remained focused on her as she instructed Nakul to bring the medication quickly.
"He'll be okay, Mr. Khurana," the doctor said to Maan. "Call me if his condition worsens."
Maan nodded and quietly ordered another servant to walk the other man out.
"Maan, should we tell Dadi Ma?" Pari asked, gazing down at the sleeping man.
"No. It's too late," Maan replied. "We can't disturb her sleep. He'll still be here in the morning. We'll have time enough then."
"Maan bhai."
His gaze whipped around to stare at the figure lying on the bed. But hope, ephemeral as it had been, faded when they realized Vicky was having another hallucination.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Maan bhai."
I was 22-years-old when I saw my brother finally break.
He was the strong one. The one who took care of all of us. Even when he was a young child, he took steps to protect Annie and me from the destructive reality of our parents' marriage.
When mom and dad died, he was focused on saving our business. He divided our father's wealth so that dad's mistress would go away, happy with her share. He was focused on preserving what family we had left. He created a new family, which included Dev and Kamya so that the world would no longer call them the illegitimate Khuranas. At least, not in front of Maan bhai.
When Dev ran away, leaving us to handle the fallout from his bad decision, Maan bhai stepped up and protected us once more. He married that viper and put up with her scandals. He shielded us the best he could, protecting both the family and business at the expense of his own name. He raised her son. Rahul was a child that I came to consider my nephew, because my brother loved him. He sacrificed what he thought was his true love for Dadi Ma's peace of mind.
And he never broke.
But when Annie left... his dearest sister. The one he had babied and loved all these years. She was only 18, but she fell in love. And she fell in love with a man who still blamed us for his sister's evil. He made a demand, and she chose Arjun Rathod over us.
I found him the day after Annie eloped, sitting on the verandah ... silent. A half-empty bottle of liquor by his side. When I called out to him, shocked by his drunken state, he gazed at me quietly.
"You stayed. You're the only one who stayed."
When I heard those words, when I saw his bowed back and the defeat in his eyes . . . I swore I would never leave. I swore that day . . . that I would be Maan bhai's protector.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maan watched as Pari wiped the sweat from Vicky's forehead, massaging his forehead lightly. She hoped that it would take away the pain she could see in his face.
Maan turned to his phone and pressed a number he had stored in it a week after Vicky ran away.
"Who is it?" a voice on the other end asked.
"Send me the details," Maan ordered.
"I ...Mr. Khurana?" the man began, his thinking clouded by the fact that he had been awakened from sound sleep. Turning to stare at the clock, his eyes widened upon realizing that it was three in the morning!
"I want to know what you found out about my brother," Maan said brusquely. "I want to know what he has been up to. Show me that you've done the job I hired you to do when my brother left."
"Yes, sir," the man replied. "I'll have someone bring the file over in the next hour."
"Good," Maan said, pulling the phone away from his ear. "Ranjeet?" he said suddenly, putting the phone back to his ear. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, sir," Ranjeet replied, surprised by the man's words. Maan Singh Khurana had never bothered with these social niceties before.
Maan turned back to stare at the man lying on the bed. It was high time he found out what was going on in his brother's life.
"Vicky? Can you hear me? It's Pari. Please wake up," Pari said softly, trying to spoon some water into his mouth. Her mouth pursed in disappointment when the water dribbled down his cheek. It was no good. Sighing in defeat, she laid his head back on the pillow. "Please, wake up."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hi, I'm Parineeta Singhania. Call me Pari. Everyone does."
She was an angel dropped from heaven. And I had fallen upon seeing her.
I had never believed in love at first sight. I hadn't believed in love at all for a long time. What had love done to my family? My father had loved his mistress so much that he had all but abandoned his family, having no space left in his heart for them. My mother had loved her husband so much that she had chosen to die with him, rather than living for her children. Dev had run away because his love for Naintara wasn't enough. Annie had abandoned them because she loved Arjun too much. And Naintara ... Naintara had loved money so much that she had entrapped his honorable bhai and made him miserable.
Love? Forget about it.
But that angel . . . she'd loved Maan. Knowing what his life was like (the sensation rags never went a day without writing about his brother's wife), she'd come to be a little closer to the man that she had fallen in love with on that stage. Even knowing that he had no room in his life for her, Pari had burst into their lives, wanting to do something about the love that had kept her going.
She'd loved Maan bhai. And I, the idiot that I was, had loved her.
...
"I'm going to call you Neeta," I said, smiling cheekily.
She raised an eyebrow at me.
"I like to be different," I replied to the silent question. "A special name for a special angel."
"Shouldn't you be calling me Pari then?" she asked with a laugh.
Leaning close, I trailed a finger down her soft cheek, poking at the slight indent in that white skin. "But Neeta would be my name for you."
...
Having no reason to stay, she still stayed. Having every reason to go, she had remained as Maan's friend and support. She became a part of our family. And one day . . . I found out the real reason for Pari staying. She had realized that her love for Maan Singh Khurana had only been an infatuation. In fact, it was only because she had truly fallen in love that she realized what love was.
"I love you, Vicky. I love you so much. You're the reason I stayed."
She'd fallen in love with me. And I was the luckiest man alive.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Shh. Just drink this," Pari murmured, pulling his head up and resting it against her shoulder.
She fed him the second dose of medication and put the glass of water against his lips. Sighing in relief when he drank more easily, she laid his head back down and touched his forehead once more. The fever had finally broken. He had fallen deeper into sleep. Even so, she didn't think it was a restful sleep; she could see his eyes moving beneath his closed lids.
Maan stared at her concerned face and then down at his watch. It had been five hours since Vicky's return, the hour closer to dawn now. Pari had spent the entire time at his side, bathing his forehead, feeding him his meds and any soup that would stay down, and generally trying to soothe him when he became too agitated.
"Are you okay, Pari?" he asked quietly. "What about the baby? Why don't you go to sleep, and I'll..."
"I can't do that, Maan. I'm fine," she snapped at him, the worry making her voice tight. "I'm not fragile just because I have a baby inside of me."
There was a knock on the door. Nakul entered the room. "This came for you sir," Nakul said tiredly.
Maan nodded his thanks, grabbing the envelope.
"Go to bed, Nakul," Maan said.
"But, sir," Nakul protested.
"We'll make do," Maan replied. "Go," he ordered.
His hands shook slightly as he opened the folder. His eyes scanned the pages, flipping through them rapidly. "I think my brother decided it was his turn to play the hero," he murmured, causing Pari to turn and stare at him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she came back...my brother became a changed man. One filled with hope.
"Look, who's back. It's Sameera." Maan bhai was so happy. And I was happy for him, but only until we all began to realize Sameera's truth.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"I want Maan Singh Khurana for his money. It doesn't hurt that he's not bad to look at. His kid? That brat's going to boarding school as soon as I get a ring on my finger."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was as if Maan bhai had a blind spot when it came to Sameera. My incredibly intelligent and sharp brother became this being that she could wrap around her little finger whenever she wanted. Maybe he was remembering his more carefree days when he was with her. Maybe he wanted to go back to when he was in love and actually believed in love. Whatever the reason, he had fallen and fallen deeply. Eventually, the enchantment would wear off, but what if it was too late? She was already hurting Rahul. I tried to protect him the best I could, but it was as if there was some sort of barrier between us. Dadi Ma didn't want to interfere.
...
"I bought a ring today. I'm going to propose to Sameera tomorrow."
"That's uh ... good, bhai. And we'll have a big wedding. It'll take some time to plan that."
"No. If Sameera says yes, we'll get married in two days. No big wedding. I just need her. Nothing more."
...
Maan bhai had been adamant, and I couldn't bear for my brother to be trapped again in a loveless marriage to another woman who only wanted him for his money. I couldn't bear to see him hurt again. I knew that this time it would change him forever. I would lose my brother. I had to make a decision. Maan bhai needed saving. It was my turn to step up and protect him.
I left and took her with me. It was easy to convince her that it was better to be with me, a certain thing, then to stay with Maan bhai who might not even make a commitment. His taciturn nature had only aided me in my cause. It was even easier to convince her that he did not love her when she had no love within her for anyone else.
I left, wondering who would protect him once I left. Who would save him if he needed saving again? I left with the hope that he wouldn't be too hurt. I left with the hope that he would find someone deserving to love.
I left with one hope ...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pari came over to Maan's side, silently demanding to see the paperwork. "What is this?" Her eyes were busy scanning the papers in the same manner that Maan had done.
"I hired a private detective to keep track of Vicky when he left," Maan explained.
Pari stared at him in surprise.
"I was angry, Pari," Maan pointed out drily. "I wasn't stupid. I have always kept track of all of my siblings, the information just one phone call away. Regardless of what they have done, they are still my blood."
"Have you?" she asked. "Never mind," she said, shaking her head impatiently. "What does it say?"
"Vicky and Sameera went to a small town miles south of here and stayed at a motel."
Pari flinched at that revelation.
"Separate rooms," Maan hastened to add. "They became close to the other long-term residents at the motel."
Pari shrugged at that, silently questioning him why she should care.
"It makes it easier for the detectives," he explained briefly. "The truth came out that Vicky had been disowned. Sameera was very unhappy to hear that."
"But... you can't take back what you've already...," Pari protested.
"You're right," Maan replied. "It's not known, but when I gave Dev and Kamya their share, I also created trusts for Vicky and Annie with their part of the inheritance, and they've had access to those trusts since they turned 21. Apparently, someone took advantage of that ignorance and fooled Sameera."
"What...?" she began uncertainly.
"It was all part of what I can only assume was his grand plan," Maan sighed heavily, staring at the papers and then to the figure lying on the bed. "They began to fight. Sameera started going out for long stretches of time. Money became tight, since he didn't have a lot of it and neither did she."
"Then?" Pari asked.
"She packed up and left," Maan said. "And Vicky came home immediately."
"Vicky did this to save you?" Pari asked weakly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It seems like it."
...
"Did he even think of me?" It was a broken whisper in the silent room. A question asked of the man who was lying unconscious on that bed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Neeta. My angel.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A quiet groan and Vicky opened his eyes. The two turned to gaze at him, watching him blink and look around.
Maan looked back at Pari. "You have first right. You talk to him."
Pari shook her head quietly, her lips trembling. "I don't want to."
"Pari, you're pregnant," he pointed out.
"I don't want to," Pari repeated through gritted teeth. "Was it too much to ask that he give me a second thought when he was making all these big decisions? Did he ever think about how his actions would affect me?" Tears had welled up in her eyes and she angrily brushed them away. "Maan, when a woman falls in love, she wants to be the first one in her lover's thoughts. The first one in his heart. The first one in his life. It seems that I was never first. I am so angry right now," she said softly. "I don't know what I would say."
Vicky groaned softly and began to sit up. He yelped softly when he began to tilt to the side, his head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton.
Maan quickly came over and sat next to Vicky on the bed, steadying him. Reaching out, he placed some pillows for support against the headboard and propped Vicky against them.
"Do you want some water?" Maan asked brusquely, trying to control the emotion roiling inside of him. He didn't know what to think about his brother's actions. All of the pain that they had suffered was the direct result of Vicky trying to protect him from getting hurt? It was some twisted logic, if you thought about it.
Vicky sighed. "No water," he replied hoarsely. "I feel like I've drunk enough." He looked around once more. A moment for realization and then a stiffening of his body. "What am I doing here?"
"You mean you don't know?" Maan asked.
"Would I even ask, bhai, if I knew?" Vicky asked tiredly. He rubbed his face with both hands, his haggard appearance showing proof of his sickness.
Maan gazed at him. The happy-go-lucky brother he had known had disappeared. In his place, he had a skinny, cynical man with a perpetual frown on his face.
"I would never have come back on my own," Vicky said in a driven tone. "I didn't think you would see me. I never once imagined that I would get through these doors ever again."
"Kind of hard to throw you out when you came, staggered about and then fell at our feet," Maan pointed out drily.
"Our?"
Maan leaned to the side and Vicky saw Pari for the first time. He blanched, flinching back from the pain he saw in her eyes. He quickly looked around, as if trying to find an escape. Maan reached out and grabbed Vicky's shoulder, forcing him to look into his eyes. "You're going to talk to me first and Pari next. You're not going anywhere," Maan said. "You're too sick."
"And that's the only reason you would let your traitor of a brother come back, right?" Vicky asked. "Why else would I be lying here?"
"Look around you," Maan responded. "It's your room. Nothing has changed. You might have been a traitor, but you're still my brother, Vicky. We were always waiting for you. Be it subconsciously, but the expectation... the hope was always there. And where do you get off being so bitter?" There was a small smile playing on his lips when he asked that question.
Vicky's eyes widened. "What is wrong with you? Why are you so...?"
"I finally met someone who told me a few home truths," Maan answered with a full blown smile.
"Someone? Another woman?" Vicky asked hesitantly, his eyes widening at Maan's nod. "Maan bhai...," he hesitated, unsure of what to say next.
"She's nothing like Sameera," Maan stated confidently. "In fact, she was the one who opened my eyes to what Sameera had done to Rahul. She has made me realize that you actually did me a favor."
"I . . .Sameera was poison, bhai," Vicky blurted out, his eyes trained on Maan.
"I know," Maan said.
"She was another Naintara," he continued, unable to stop now that he knew that his revelations would not fall on deaf ears. It didn't matter that his brother already knew the truth, he needed to justify his behavior. He needed to ask for forgiveness.
"You couldn't just tell me?" Maan asked drily. "Did you really have to go through this entire charade? Losing her was nothing compared to being betrayed by the one I trusted the most. Annie's leaving didn't hurt as much your leaving did," he revealed raggedly, taking a deep breath to stem the tide of emotion welling up once more.
"You never listen, bhai!" Vicky said in frustration, reaching out to grab at Maan and shake him. "You are so stubborn. You think you know everything. Everything you do is right in your eyes. You would never have listened." His hands fell away, and he looked to the side, fighting his own burst of emotion.
Pari sobbed once and then controlled herself, watching the man that she had loved so deeply lying there broken on the bed. She had hated him for his betrayal. But it was true what they said. Love and hate, both equally strong emotions, were two sides of the same coin. Her hurt . . . her pain . . . her sense of panic and suffocation . . . her hate . . . had all been because she loved this man. She had begun to question herself as to how she could have loved so wrong. She had begun to question her own judgment. But now. . . knowing the bout of noble idiocy that had compelled this man to act ... she knew her judgment had not been wrong. She had loved an honorable man. Idiotic, but still honorable. She hadn't loved wrong. But still...
"You left me thinking that I had lost my last sibling," Maan murmured. "You left Dadi Ma worrying about you. You left Pari," Maan said quietly. "I wish... I wish that there had been another way." He stared at his brother. Flashes of memory tugged at him . . . a 10-year-old Vicky clinging to him. A 17-year-old Vicky looking to him for direction. Vicky offering to marry Naintara when Dev ran off. Vicky being there every day, being his pillar of support. He didn't know when his brother had grown into a man, but when he lost Vicky, Maan had felt so alone.
Leaning over, he grabbed Vicky in a fierce hug, holding him close for a moment. "I'm so glad you came back," he muttered, swiftly kissing his brother's forehead before pulling back. "Now, I'm going to sleep," he said, getting up. "We'll tell Dadi Ma in the morning that you're back. Rest, Vicky."
"Bhai," Vicky murmured, watching his brother walk to the door.
"And Vicky," Maan said, turning to gaze at him.
Vicky raised his brow in question.
"Thank you," he said with a smile. "But don't ever do it again."
Vicky smiled in return, but that smile faded away when his gaze landed on Pari. He swallowed, unsure of what to say. How to begin?
Pari crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Her display of impatient anger was marred by the traces her tears had left behind.
"Did you even think of me when you went off on your half-baked attempt to rescue your brother?" Pari demanded.
"I thought of you every single moment of every day," Vicky said in a driven tone. "I thought about how I would hurt you..."
"But it wasn't enough, was it?" Pari said, tears beginning to fall once more. "My hurt was nothing when compared to what you thought you had to do." Pari turned and made her way to the door. Why was she so hurt? He hadn't left her for another woman, but her still ached. There was nothing he could say ... nothing he could do to make any of this okay.
"Wait! Pari," Vicky called out.
Pari kept moving, her eyes trained on the door. She heard a loud thud behind her. Whirling around, she saw Vicky on the floor beside the bed. He was struggling to get up, one hand held to his head.
"I did not," Pari began angrily, striding over, "spend the entire night taking care of you so that you could hurt yourself." She pulled him up and helped him onto the bed.
"The entire night?" he asked quietly, gazing up at her from the pillows.
Pari snorted angrily and turned to go, but her hand was caught by his. She tugged at it, but while his body had been weak, his hold on her wasn't. No matter how much she pulled, he would not let her go. Tugging incessantly, he got her to sit on the bed beside him.
"Nothing happened between us," he assured her. "I never touched her."
"But she touched you," Pari pointed out.
Vicky looked away from the accusation in her eyes. "She might have," he began in a shamed tone.
"See?!" she screeched, tugging at her hand furiously. "Let me go!"
"It was only hugs and hand holding. Nothing beyond that!" he said, promising her. "I had to fool her, didn't I? I had to make this ... sacrifice worth it. If she didn't believe me, Maan bhai would have been caught," he said, grimly holding on to her hand with all of his strength.
"I am not blaming you for helping Maan!" Pari finally said, frustrated by her inability to get free. His proximity . . . his warmth was getting to her. Her heart had begun beating once more. Now that he was back, nothing could stop her from craving his touch, not even the remembered pain of his betrayal. And she didn't want that, not until they sorted this out.
"Then what? If Maan bhai knows the truth, then you know the truth," Vicky said in confusion. "It was never about Sameera."
"I would never blame you for helping Maan," Pari said. "But the part of me that wanted to be first in your heart does want that you talk to me before you do anything like this. If you had included me in your planning...if you had included me in what your mind was going through...if I had felt like I was a part of your life, then I would have known to trust you. I would have known to wait for you. I would have known."
"I didn't have time to do anything!" he finally said, trying to find the words to explain. "You weren't here. Remember? Maan bhai was running full on towards catastrophe. I called you so many times. And then I ran out of time."
"What about afterwards?" she asked, tears falling from her eyes. He flinched as one landed on their joined hands. He reached up and wiped away her tears. His heart warmed when he realized that she was letting him.
"I called you. Every night," Vicky said in a choked tone. "You never picked up. Every night ... I hoped and hoped that you would pick up. And every night that hope dimmed a little further until there was nothing left to hold onto."
Pari sighed brokenly when she saw silent tears beginning to roll down his face. She leaned in and wiped those tears away and enfolded him in her arms. He sobbed and pulled her in closer, burying his face in her neck. She could feel the warm drops of his tears against her naked skin.
"And Maan bhai forgave me, but it means nothing unless you forgive me. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt anyone."
"I guess I'm going to have to forgive you," she finally said with a small laugh. Turning her head, she planted a kiss against the side of his mouth. "You never were the brightest bulb in the box."
"Hey!" Vicky said, pulling back to glare at her.
She laughed softly again. "I should've expected something like this. The reason I fell in love with you was I saw how supportive you were of this family. No one valued you for what you were. They still saw you as the silly younger brother, but," she leaned in to whisper in his ear, "I saw you."
He gazed at her quietly, a small smile growing on his face.
"You loved all of them so much ... and you did everything to make their lives easier. There was so much love in you, and one day I realized I wanted some of that love for me." Leaning in once more, she planted a kiss against his lips, clinging to his warmth for a moment. "I guess...since I still love you, I can forgive you."
"I love you, too," he said hoarsely, pulling her into his arms.
"Well, it's a good thing you came back," she said mischievously.
He nodded happily at that, hugging her close. He took the chance to plant a big kiss on Pari's forehead.
"We're getting married," she asserted, planting a kiss on his cheek.
He paused at that, and then nodded happily.
"Next week," she continued.
He looked at her lovingly and smiled, nodding his head again.
"You know why?" she asked, pulling back to smile at him.
"Cause you love me."
"Cause we're pregnant," she threw back at him.
His eyes widened and he choked on air, falling back against the pillows. He stared at her questioningly.
"You're going to be a dad."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Present...
"He's not the only one who's returned," Geet murmured in shock, her eyes trained on the figure of the man standing in front of her.
"What do you mean?" he asked softly, reaching up to cup his hand against her soft cheek. Patting it gently, he silently urged her to speak up.
"Dev is back," she finally whispered. "Your other brother," she said, as if making sure he knew who Dev was.
Maan stepped back at the revelation, and then replied, "I know. But why do you know that?"
From the author's desk : Welcome to thread 6! I started to write this story years ago when the show was live and now when I look back on what...
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Cricket
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