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He says that to both but has eyes on me.

“How’s Daadi now? What did the Doctor say?” Jhanvi raises her concerns. Mohit tells she is advised complete bed rest. According to the doctor she is overstressed lately and has no will to stay alive. She is also eating less, and her vitals keep fluctuating. At old age, this much strain on her heart is not good, which is why the worry. People have seen her as a strong, confident woman, and today all she has is regrets from her own decisions she took in life.

Jhanvi takes the rest of the updates from the Doctor and then heads upstairs to meet her. Mohit is alone with me and he doesn’t waste this time to express his apology again.

“Aarav, I am sorry for everything.”

Hadn’t expected this conversation to come up now, but I don’t ignore it.

“I have always hurt you since we were young. Now when I know you were not even my stepbrother, all that enmity we had between us seems pointless.”

“Even if we were brothers, it was pointless,” I debate. “You didn’t hate me because I wronged you. I did nothing until then to hurt you, Mohit. You hated me because your grandmother taught you so. And don’t think I will ever forgive you for the way you treated my mother. You showed no humanity when you called her with ill names, especially when all she did was bake a cake on your birthday.”

My blood boils again as I take a step closer to him.

“That’s why I began hating you and trust me forgiveness for what you said to my mother is non-negotiable. So, don’t even justify that act or try to pacify me in those regards.”

Mohit is speechless but he gets my message loud and clear.

When Jhanvi returns, Mohit walks away giving us privacy. She is in tears already, but wipes them and gives me a hug. My wife needs my strength and I can provide her that in plenty. I hug her and stroke her back to soothe her sobs. When she finally feels better, Jhanvi raises her chin.

“She’s weak.”

That one phrase brings out an emotion I never felt for Durga Raichand. I know she never loved me and maybe now only because she knows Mohit was never her blood, she wants to apologize to me and earn my forgiveness, but that’s not as simple as she thinks. I can’t lie to myself. I still have my reasons to be sour with her for this lifetime.

“I’ll go see her.”

Jhanvi rubs her palm gently over my heart.

“I know you can’t forgive her, but remember one thing, I am never judging you for that. It is totally up to you to choose people you want to see your future with and to make peace with your past or not. Whatever you choose, I am always with you. Just don’t be harsh though. I want her to survive but if she doesn’t, let’s part her with some relief if not a smile.”

I know what that means, and I am glad she isn’t pressurizing me for anything. So, raising her arm, I kiss her fingers.

“Your husband is not a devil or against humanity, Jaan. I want her to survive too. It doesn’t matter if I forgive her or not.”

She smiles back at me and withdraws while I make my way to the door of Durga Raichand’s room. She is awake and looking at her right. I take a minute to analyze her state first. There’s a monitor next to her bed that displays her vitals. She’s stable, but of course, looks very pale on that giant bed. This state of hers reminds me of the last days of my mother when she was hospitalized after the massive heart attack and I was helpless. Pushing these thoughts away temporarily, I focus back on the present.

The nurse is busy segregating her medicines and they are too many. As if Durga Raichand senses my presence, she turns to her left and our eyes meet. There are tears in hers already.

“I want to speak to him,” she says, turning to the nurse, who nods and leaves us alone.

I stop a foot away from her bed. There is a chair I can take to sit but I don’t deem it necessary.

“I thought you wouldn’t come to see me.”

“That was the plan,” I nod, agreeing with her remark. “You didn’t like to see my face, remember?”

“Aarav..” More tears gush out from her eyes as she gasps. “I feel like a monster when I recall my sins. Wish I could take them back. I have wronged each one of you. If only I could take it back somehow and change how I had reacted. I aggrieved my son, who only wanted me to accept his love for your mother. If only I could go back and choose differently,” she cries.

I can’t soothe her!! Nope!! Her tears affect me because I am a human but I can’t soothe her down. We don’t share that between us.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I can’t face myself today. How will I face them when I die? My son? And Geeta?”

She sobs, and her remorse showers some peace to my burning heart. This is what I always wanted. Seeing Durga Raichand guilty and remembering all her sins.

“I wish God had taken me instead of my children.”

I don’t stop her from letting it all out. I think all these years I have waited to hear this and now that it’s happening, I feel the difference in me already. I feel lighter as if the weight of revenge which I always carried in my heart is finally washing off.

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