Veena's voice faltered as she finished her confession, tears finally spilling down her face. "This shadow… this curse… is because of me. I sinned, Gauri. I sinned the day I tore Vihaan from his real mother."
Gauri's eyes softened, her hand instinctively reaching for Veena's trembling fingers. "No, Ma…" she said quietly, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her. "You didn't commit a sin by saving Vihaan."
Veena looked up at her, startled.
Gauri continued, her words carrying both fire and compassion. "Yes… if you had separated a son from a mother whose life resided in her child, that would have been a sin. But you didn't do that. You saved a son from being sacrificed by his own mother. You protected him from being nothing more than a pawn in her hunger for immortality."
Her voice grew firm, resolute. "Vihaan isn't Kamini's. He never was. He is yours, Ma. You are his mother. Not her."
Veena's sobs broke free, her shoulders trembling. For years she had carried the guilt, the fear, the bitterness—but hearing Gauri's words cracked something open in her. She clutched Gauri's hands tightly, almost desperately.
"I… I wronged you too, Gauri," Veena whispered, guilt washing over her again. "I was blinded by my hatred, my fears… I endangered you. I gave Kamini your belongings… I put you in harm's way. That too was my sin. Forgive me…"
Gauri smiled through her own tears, her hand reaching up to wipe Veena's cheek. "I forgive you, Ma. Because even when you stumbled, your heart never stopped beating for Vihaan. And that is enough for me."
Veena broke down, pulling Gauri into a trembling embrace. "From today… I will never doubt you again. You are my daughter-in-law, Gauri. No—" her voice cracked as she hugged her tighter, "—you are my daughter."
In that moment, the old rift that had festered between them healed. The bitterness dissolved into tears, into acceptance, into something that could finally strengthen the family against the storm that was coming.
Outside, the night deepened, shadows shifting restlessly as if Kamini herself had sensed this new bond being forged.
Veena still held Gauri in her arms, her tears dampening Gauri's shoulder. The weight of years seemed to slip from her chest, but fear still flickered in her eyes. "Kamini will come again," she whispered hoarsely. "She won't stop until she drags Vihaan into her darkness. I… I don't know how long I can fight her, Gauri. I don't know if any of us can."
Gauri gently pulled back, cupping Veena's face with both hands. Her own eyes glistened, but there was a fire burning there, steady and unyielding.
"Then let me carry this burden with you," Gauri said, her voice low but filled with resolve. "I make you a promise tonight, Ma. No matter how many shadows Kamini sends, no matter how deep her darkness, I will shield Vihaan from her. I will protect him, even if I have to stand alone before her wrath."
Veena's lips trembled, her heart pounding at the unshakable conviction in Gauri's tone. "But… how, Gauri? She is not a woman, she is a witch, a serpent queen—"
"Even if she's a queen of serpents," Gauri interrupted softly, but firmly, "she will learn that the strength of a wife's devotion, and a family's love, is mightier than her venom. I will not let her take him. I swear it before you, before the gods who watch us, and before Vihaan himself—even if he does not hear me now."
Veena's eyes overflowed again, but this time the tears carried relief, pride, and a faint glimmer of hope. She placed her hand on Gauri's head, blessing her with trembling fingers. "Then you are the shield our Vihaan always needed. My son is safe… because he has you."
Gauri lowered her gaze, her hand brushing over the ring that still clung to her finger—a silent reminder of destiny's hand in all this. Her heart throbbed with both love and fear, but her vow echoed within her soul like a sacred mantra.
Meanwhile, far away in Pratham Vansh, silence cloaked the ancient cottage where the Pratham Vanshi meditated. Suddenly, the flame in her earthen lamp flickered violently, and outside, the skies turned murky. A dark sign spread across the heavens—swirling clouds forming a serpent's coil, its fanged shadow stretching ominously across the horizon.
Her eyes snapped open, glowing white with divine foresight. She rose slowly, gripping her staff, her voice trembling with urgency.
"This is not good…" she whispered, staring at the writhing darkness above. "The omen of the Sarvansh has awakened. Something dreadful is about to descend upon the Kotharis. The ties of family and faith will be tested like never before."
The wind outside howled as if carrying Kamini's laughter across realms. The Pratham Vanshi's expression hardened with dread. "The storm has begun. Now the Kotharis must brace themselves… for the coming darkness."
The lamp extinguished on its own, plunging the cottage into silence, leaving her words hanging in the air like a prophecy.
To be continued…