Raman sees Ishita in everything Adi does. Which means his heart breaks a thousand times every day. Again, keeping adi at a distance is Raman at self preservation mode. It doesn't mean Raman loves Adi less than pihu. But it's ironic, Adi is technically Ishita's stepson. But that's just it, that word is merely a technicality. More than pihu, who shares her genetics, Adi, shagun's blood is not shagun's son. He is, and will remain more Ishita's son than even Raman's.
Unlike Ruhi who got neglected because it reminded Raman of betrayal, Adi represents someone Raman couldn't imagine life without, and this leaves him, I think in constant agony. This again, avoiding his own son, is a means to keep breathing. Living a good life for Raman is beyond comprehension. I think he loves Adi dearly, as well as pihu, and he simply breathes in and out every second of every day, because he can't leave them to fend for themselves.
Pihu is easier for Raman to let closer. Yes, she is Ishita's daughter, but the point is that not having Ishita around to impact her, she doesn't really behave like Ishita. Adi on the other hand was so influenced by Ishita in such a short time, in my mind, Adi, more than pihu, is Ishita for Raman. It's like he can feel her in Adi, but he can't see or touch her. Pure agony.
And unfortunately our lovely Adi is bearing the brunt of self preservation, much like Ishita used to in relation to Shagun and the wounds she inflicted on Raman. I feel so sorry for Adi.
And what a transformation. From a young child who was essentially bargained and manipulated by shaguniya madam, learning to hate his father's wife, to becoming the very shadow of his father's wife. The shadow to his ishima. He still refers to Shagun as 'mom', but it seems so empty. He might as well address her as 'aunty' or ma'am'. But when he says 'ishima', it's as if Shagun as his mother essentially never existed. This child has grown, and let's face it, he got even less time with Ishita than Ruhi, and yet, in that small space of time, he grew to understand 'Ishita aunty' was not what Shagun had made her out to be. Rather she was everything Adi hoped Shagun would be but never was. Adi went from blindly loving Shagun, to opening his eyes and finding a true mother in Ishita.
0