A broken laugh slipped from Gauri's lips, trembling with tears. Everyone stared as she wiped her cheeks, her smile more pained than joyous.
"Forgive me, Vihaan," she said softly, her voice cracking. "Forgive me for ever thinking… you would stand by me."
Her eyes burned as they locked on his. "I only have one question for you. If tomorrow you were asked to break ties with Yug, with Raani, with this family you hold so dearly—would you agree?"
The hall grew silent. Vihaan lowered his gaze, lips pressed tight. His silence was louder than any answer.
Yug and Raani shifted uneasily, guilt clouding their eyes as they watched Gauri's heart shatter.
Sharda's sharp voice cut through the heavy air. "How dare you compare your wretched family to ours? You will not put the Kotharis on the same scale as filth."
"Why can't I?" Gauri shot back, her voice trembling yet fierce. "Are only the Kotharis made of gold, and every other family dirt? No, Bade Maa. To me, my family is no less than gold. They may not shine in your eyes, but in mine, they are everything."
Sharda's face darkened. "Mind your tongue, girl! Speak respectfully. Or is this what Gayatri taught you? To argue shamelessly? To dance and earn money with no honor?"
Her words were venom, dripping into the silence.
And then—
"Enough!"
The single word cracked like thunder, pulling every head toward Gayatri. Her eyes blazed as she stepped forward, her voice shaking with suppressed rage.
The hall froze. Even Sharda was silenced.
Gayatri's steps echoed as she moved forward, her eyes locked on Sharda with a fire no one had ever seen. Her voice trembled with both fury and pain.
"Utter one more word against my daughter," she warned, her finger raised. "Just one more… and I will forget every shred of respect I ever tried to hold for you."
The hall went dead silent. Even Sharda faltered at the raw force of her tone.
Gayatri's voice broke as she continued, "This family… this house… none of you will ever understand my daughter's worth. For days, I have stood here and heard you spew nonsense, calling her a dancer, shaming her, tarnishing her dignity. Enough!"
Gasps fluttered around as she raised her chin, her tears glinting like steel.
"Gauri is not a dancer. She never was, and she never wanted to be."
Everyone stared, stunned.
"Yes," Gayatri admitted, her voice rising. "I am a dancer. I don't deny it. I lived on the stage, I earned my living with it. But Gauri—she never chose that life. I made her dance. I forced her into it… for my selfishness, for my survival. I blackmailed her into dancing."
The entire Kothari family exchanged shocked glances.
"I held Charvi over her head!" Gayatri confessed, her voice cracking. "My little girl… my Charvi, born with a hole in her heart. And I—" she choked, clutching her chest. "I used her sickness to chain Gauri. I told her if she wanted her sister alive, she would dance for me. That was my sin, my crime. Not hers."
A stunned silence swallowed the room. Yug's eyes widened. Veena turned pale. Vihaan's throat tightened as he looked at Gauri, whose tears shimmered with both hurt and love for her mother.
Gayatri turned to Sharda, her voice steady now, fierce with maternal pride.
"So don't you dare… don't you dare again call my daughter shameless. The shame lies with me, not her."
Gayatri's voice shook as she went on, ignoring Gauri's pleas.
"You don't know… none of you know… the struggles my daughters endured as children," she cried, clutching her chest. "I never loved them… because they were not my children!"
The hall echoed with shocked gasps. Dadi covered her mouth, Raani's eyes widened, and even Sharda froze in disbelief.
Gayatri's words cut like glass. "They don't carry my filthy blood. I treated them as burdens… punished them for sins that were never theirs."
"Ma, stop!" Gauri begged, stepping forward, her palms trembling. "You don't need to give them justifications!"
But Gayatri shook her head violently. "No, Gauri! Today, everyone will hear the truth. Every last, ugly truth!"
Her voice cracked as she screamed, "I… I am a selfish mother. I sold Charvi—my little girl—" her throat closed on the words as tears streamed down her face, "to a brothel."
The world went still. Everyone stared at her in horror.
"And Gauri… my Gauri… she is selfless," Gayatri sobbed. "She came to save her sister. She agreed to perform at that filthy place… just to protect Charvi!"
Vihaan's head snapped up, the blood draining from his face. His mind replayed that cursed night—Gauri in the brothel, her eyes filled with fire, his own hand throwing money on her, his bitter words lashing at her like knives. Cheap… worthless…
His chest tightened as the weight of guilt crushed him.
Gayatri's confession didn't stop. Her voice was raw, torn open by grief. "You all think she's shameless? No! She is pure. She dropped out of college—her dreams, her life—because Charvi was born with a hole in her heart. While I… I, her so-called mother, pushed her toward hell, she… she drove a cab, like a man, like a fighter, just to keep our family alive!"
Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, wailing. "My daughters are diamonds, and I am the dirt that tried to bury them."
All eyes shifted to Gauri, who stood frozen, tears streaming down her cheeks, her body trembling between rage, heartbreak, and love.
Vihaan's fists clenched as he realized the depth of his cruelty toward her, his eyes burning with regret as he stared at the woman who had borne so much silently.