Six months later,

Since that night,Atharva had kept his distance from Sanskriti.

Not once in the past six months had she seen him at lunch or dinner.He didn't follow the first vidai ritual eitherthe one where the groom visits the bride's home after marriage.It was as if,after that night,Sanskriti had simply vanished from his world.

Not because he had stopped loving her.

But because he had been shattered by her words.

He admitted to himself that he had married her through strategy,through pressure,through the quiet manipulations of fate.

But still,somewhere in his wounded pride, he believed she should have spoken should have resisted,should have told him she didn't want this marriage.

In royal families,this was how things worked. Alliances were mad.Brides arrived silent.And eventually,they learned to love their husbands.

That was what he had always known.

That was what he had expected.

But Sanskriti hadn't softened.She had cut him instead.And that cut had stayed open inside him.So he chose distance.Coldness.Absence.

On the other side of the palace walls,Sanskriti lived a very different kind of loneliness.

By day,she performed her duties as the daughter-in-law of the palace walking with grace,speaking with restraint,learning every rule that came with being a future queen.

She listened to her mother-in-law's endless instructions,nodded at every correction,smiled through every silent judgment.

And by night,she stayed locked in her chamber.

Alone with her thoughts.

Alone with the weight of a marriage she never chose.

Sometimes,while walking through the corridors,she heard things she wasn't meant to hear.

Whispers.

"Do you know the second prince stays in clubs most nights?"

"He doesn't even like his wife."

"They say even on the first night he didn't stay with her."

"God knows what this new bride brought to the palace..."

Each word felt like poison in her ears.

The palace that looked so grand from the outside felt suffocating from within.Its walls were heavy with judgment,its silence louder than any scream.She felt watched.Measured. Blamed.

And yet... in the quiet of her heart,she still thought about him.

Not with love.

Not with longing.

But with worry.

She would sit by the window at night,staring at the dark gardens of the palace,wondering why he never came.Was it because of her?Because of what she had said that night?Or was this simply who he was someone who could walk away so easily from responsibility?

He is the second prince, she would think.

He has duties.A palace.A wife.

Then why did he spend his nights in clubs instead of his own home?

Why did he live so casually when everything around her felt like a cage?

These questions stayed in her eyes,in her silence,in every breath she took inside that royal palace where she was learning to be a queen,while her husband was learning how to stay away.

It was early morning.The palace was still wrapped in sleep when the telephone rang sharp,sudden,relentless.

Sanskriti stirred,confused,and then sat up as the ringing pierced the silence again.Her heart thudded as she reached for the receiver.

"Hello?"

Her father's voice came through the line, strained and worried.

"Sanskriti beta...your mother isn't feeling well. Please come home soon."

For a moment,she couldn't breathe.

"What? Maa... what happened?"she whispered, panic flooding her.

"We don't know yet,"he said softly.

"Just come,beta."

The call ended,but her fear didn't.

Sanskriti sat there frozen,the phone still in her hand,her thoughts racing.Her mother,though she was strict and didn't like her way of doing things but still she was her mother and she loved her.The idea of her being unwell made something twist painfully in her chest.

She stood up quickly, her hands trembling.

I have to go home.Now.

And then, without meaning to... his name crossed her mind.

Atharva.

She hesitated.

Should she call him? Should she tell him? Should she ask him to come with her?

She didn't even know why she thought of it. Maybe because he was her husband.Maybe because,in moments of fear,the heart looks for someone anyone to stand beside it.

Her fingers hovered over the phone for a second.

Then she stopped herself.

No.

She swallowed hard,wiped her eyes,and moved quickly to change her clothes.There was no time for doubt,no space for hope.

After dressing,she went straight to Rageshwari Devi's chamber.With folded hands and a trembling voice,she told her about her mother's condition.The old queen listened carefully,then nodded with rare gentleness and gave her permission to go.

A few minutes later, Sanskriti stepped out of the palace worried,shaken,and alone.

carrying fear in her heart...and silence where a husband should have been.

When Sanskriti reached home,the sight before her shattered her.

Her mother lay on the bed, motionless and pale,her once-warm face drained of all color.A doctor stood beside her,his expression grave, his silence heavy.The room smelled of medicine and fear.

"Maa..."Sanskriti whispered,rushing to her side.

Her mother had been unwell for days,they told her but no one had dared to say anything.They didn't want to worry her.They thought she wouldn't be able to handle it.

But now...

Now her mother looked lifeless.Fragile.Like she might slip away with the next breath.

Sanskriti's knees almost gave in.

Tears streamed down her face as she held her mother's cold hand."Maa... what happened to you?"

She turned to the doctor, her voice breaking. "Please tell me.What's wrong with my mother?"

The doctor hesitated, then spoke softly but honestly.

"She is suffering from an incurable disease. There is nothing more medicine can do."

The words struck her like thunder.

"She... she can't survive?" Sanskriti whispered.

The doctor nodded slowly."I told Saudamini Devi about this a year ago.It was already serious then.Frankly... it's a miracle she has lived this long."

Sanskriti covered her mouth to stop the sob that escaped her.

Her mother opened her eyes faintly and looked at her.With great effort,she lifted her hand.

"Sanskriti..."she whispered.

Then she turned her head slightly and spoke to the room, her voice weak but firm.

"Please... leave us.I want to talk to my daughter... alone."

One by one, everyone walked out,closing the door softly behind them.

Mother and daughter were left alone with truth, with time,and with a goodbye waiting to be spoken.

Saudamini slowly held her daughter's trembling hand in hers.

Her touch was weak,but full of love.

"My dear child..."she whispered, her voice barely above breath."I always wanted what was best for you.If I ever hurt your heart,please forgive me."

Tears slid down Sanskriti's cheeks as she leaned closer.

"That boy...the one you loved," Saudamini continued,gathering her strength, "I stopped you from marrying him because I didn't want you to live the kind of life I lived.I wanted more for you."

She paused,her eyes distant with memory.

"My marriage with your father was also a love marriage.I fell for him because he was simple... kind-hearted... gentle.But after marriage I learned something painful being simple and kind is not enough when you are connected to powerful families."

Her grip tightened slightly on Sanskriti's hand.

"Your father was trapped many times.I had to give money to protect our family... to save his position... to keep us safe.I carried those burdens alone."

Sanskriti's sobs grew louder.

"That is why I wanted you to marry into a strong household.With a man powerful enough to protect you," Saudamini said softly.

"Atharva is a prince.Soon he will be king.

He just needs the right motivation.And you, my child... you are going to be that motivation."

Sanskriti shook her head,crying helplessly.

"He is a good man," her mother whispered. "When he married you,he gave me his word.He promised to protect our family.And without hesitation...he paid all our old debts."

That broke her.

Sanskriti listened through tears,barely able to understand everything but for the first time,she saw her mother not as strict... but as brave.A woman who had carried storms silently just to protect her daughter.

She felt ashamed.

She had spent her nights crying over Ved... and never once asked what her mother was fighting alone.

"Maa..." she sobbed. "I'm sorry... I didn't understand..."

Saudamini smiled faintly,her lips trembling.

She tried to say something more,but her voice faded into a whisper.Sanskriti leaned closer,but couldn't hear the words.

"Maa?"

Her mother's eyes slowly closed.

Sanskriti's heart stopped.

"Maa!" she cried out in panic and ran to the door. "Doctor! Please doctor!"

The doctor rushed in and checked her pulse,her breathing.

After a tense moment,he looked up and said softly,

"She has fainted... the medicines are strong. She needs rest."

Sanskriti collapsed back beside the bed, holding her mother's hand tighter than ever.

afraid of every second... and terrified of what tomorrow might take away.

The doctor gently advised everyone to let Saudamini rest.Her body was too weak,her strength almost gone.Before leaving,he said in a low,careful voice that cut straight through the room,

"Be prepared... it could be anytime."

Those words stayed with Sanskriti like a shadow.

She wiped her tears and walked out of the room quietly.Her legs felt heavy as she went to her old bedroom the one she had grown up in.The walls still held her childhood,but today they only echoed her fear.

She picked up the phone and called Mona.

For more than an hour,they talked.Mona listened to every sob,every broken sentence, and tried to console her in every way she could. She wished she could be there,but she was in another city and helpless.Still, her voice gave Sanskriti some strength.

After the call ended,exhaustion took over. Sanskriti lay down on the bed,her face buried in the pillow.Tears kept falling...and somewhere between crying and praying,she fell asleep without even realizing it.

It was noon when Atharva arrived at the mansion.

Sanskriti didn't know this but he had been visiting Saudamini regularly ever since she fell ill.Even before the wedding,he already knew about her condition.He had never spoken about it...but he had never ignored it either.

Saudamini slowly opened her eyes and saw Atharva sitting beside her bed.

He smiled softly.

"My dear mother-in-law... how are you feeling today?"

She smiled weakly.

"I feel much better after seeing my handsome son-in-law."

They both shared a gentle smile.

"You should rest,"Atharva said warmly.

"And please stop worrying about my wife.She is my responsibility now."

Her eyes softened at his words.

"If you say so... then I will rest,"she whispered. "I am more than satisfied... seeing my daughter with you."

Just then,the door opened.

Sanskriti stood there stunned.

After that night...this was the first time she was seeing him.

Atharva stood up like a gentleman,walked toward her,and gently held her hand.With a quiet warmth in his eyes,he guided her to the chair beside the bed.He didn't say anything he didn't need to.

Then he stood beside her....calm,composed and strangely peaceful,as if this was exactly where he belonged.

Seeing them together like that side by side

Saudamini smiled.

A deep,contented smile.

Her eyes slowly closed.

And just like that...her breath left her.

Forever.

Sanskriti felt the world stop.

The room went silent.

And somewhere between that silence and her mother's last smile,a daughter lost her strength... and a wife began to realize something

she never expected about the man she had pushed away.

Hey beautiful Ladies ❤️

So this chapter was bit emotional and I felt really bad after writing this.

I felt I'm really cruel how can I just kill a mother but look I did it.🥲

Love_Qiana❤️