The sunlight poured through the sheer curtains, coating the entire room in a soft golden glow. The sandalwood scent that always clung to Rudra still lingered faintly in the air, but the space beside Anaya had gone cold. She blinked awake slowly, stretching, only to nearly fall back when a bright voice cut through the quiet, "Good morning, sleepyhead!"
Janvi sat comfortably at the edge of the bed, swinging her feet and sipping tea as if Rudra's room belonged to her. Ria followed her inside with a breakfast tray balanced perfectly on her hands, placing it on the bedside table with practiced ease. Anaya stared at them, half-confused, half-shocked, and finally managed, "Ria? Janvi? Tum log yahan kaise? Kya ho raha hai?"
Before either of them could respond, Misha walked in with her tablet pressed against her chest, her eyes already scanning designs as she said with unbothered confidence, "Aaj big day hai, Mrs. Singhaniya. Emeralds ya diamonds decide karne hain." All three sisters grinned at Anaya like they were up to something suspicious.
Anaya pressed her fingers to her temples, still caught somewhere between sleep and shock. "Good morning..." she muttered weakly. The three girls chimed together, "Good morning!" like an overly enthusiastic chorus. Misha flicked her finger across the tablet and said, "Mujhe kuch classy chahiye... thoda don't-mess-with-me wala vibe."
Laughing softly, Anaya pushed the sheets aside and stood. "Ek minute, fresh hokar aati hoon. Tum log tab tak fashion court shuru mat karna." Janvi waved her off dramatically, leaning back on the bed as she replied, "Haan haan, jao. Hum sab manage kar lenge."
But the moment Anaya picked up her robe, Ria leaned toward Janvi with a sly smile and whispered, "Waise... Aarav ka message aa raha hai kya? Phone se nazar hi nahi hat rahi tumhari." Janvi immediately choked on her tea, coughing violently before snapping, "Pagal ho kya? Main aur Aarav? Never!"
Misha's grin turned wicked as she folded her arms and tilted her head. "Aww... someone's blushing."
"I am NOT blushing!" Janvi shot back, cheeks very obviously pink.
Anaya paused at the bathroom door with a teasing sparkle in her eyes and said, "Ek din accept karogi, Jana," before vanishing inside just in time to dodge the pillow Janvi hurled her way.
The room was still full of laughter when the bathroom door opened again. Anaya stepped out in a cherry-red backless kurti, the delicate doris sliding gracefully along her spine, her wet hair dripping over her shoulders. The girls went completely silent for a moment before Ria finally exclaimed, "Bas! Jeans wali ladki suit mein? Kya twist aa gaya life mein?"
Janvi narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Didn't she wear a saree too? Ya main sach mein sapna dekh rahi thi?"
Misha folded her arms dramatically and said, "Code crack ho gaya. Yeh pura husband effect hai."
Instead of shying away, Anaya lifted her chin proudly and said, "Haan, husband effect. Aur ek din tum sab bhi woh pehnogi jo tumhare husbands ko pasand hoga."
Both Ria and Janvi snapped their heads toward her in horror, shouting at the same time, "Main aisa nahi karungi!"
Anaya and Misha burst into uncontrollable laughter, nearly collapsing onto the bed while Ria grabbed a pillow defensively and Janvi threw another one at Misha. The room filled with their chaotic giggles, the teasing, the back-and-forth banter—warm, messy, lively—just like a home finally learning how to breathe.
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The house was unusually quiet that morning. The Singhaniya Mansion rarely saw such silence—usually, the staff rushed through the corridors, someone discussed business on the phone, or Rudra's clipped commands echoed through the marble hallways. But today, everything felt still, like the air itself was holding its breath.
Inside Rudra's private office, the atmosphere was even more intense. The blinds were half–drawn, letting thin stripes of sunlight fall across the desk where Rudra sat, staring at the computer screen with a focus sharp enough to cut steel. Files, confidential reports, and old documents were spread out across the table. He had barely slept. His jaw was tight, his eyes cold, and the tension around him was so thick it could crush someone's will.
Just then, the door opened without a knock.
Ravi stepped inside, carrying a brown envelope clutched tightly in his hand. His expression was tired, almost drained, like he had spent the entire night digging through places where truth was buried under lies.
Rudra looked up from the screen, his voice low and steady. "Ravi... details of her parents' accident... sab mil gaya?"
Ravi nodded once, a stiff, heavy nod that didn't bring relief—only more weight.
Rudra's eyes darkened. "Good. Put it there."
But Ravi didn't move forward immediately. His fingers tightened around the envelope. His throat worked like he was swallowing something bitter.
Rudra raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Ravi exhaled sharply. "Rudra... main DNA test report bhi check karke aaya hoon."
Rudra's shoulders tensed—not visibly, but enough for someone as close as Ravi to notice. He stood slowly from his chair. "DNA test... of whom?"
The silence stretched for a moment. Ravi finally stepped forward and placed the envelope on the desk. "Tum Anaya ke bhai ko dhoond rahe the, right?"
Rudra's voice turned quieter. "Yes."
Ravi hesitated, then said in a flat tone, "Toh phir... yeh sab dekhna zaroori hai."
He opened the envelope and slid out multiple sheets—sealed, stamped, government-certified documents. Rudra's eyes scanned the first page... then the second... his breathing slowed.
Old accident files. Malhotra family history. Medical registries. And then... the DNA report.
Rudra picked it up without sitting. His fingers were steady, but the storm inside him was not.
Ravi spoke, voice almost a whisper. "Rudra... tumne poocha tha ki Anaya ke bhai ka koi trace mil sakta hai ya nahi. Government database mein jo match mila hai... woh tumhein dekhna padega."
Rudra's eyes flicked sharply toward him. "Say it clearly."
Ravi swallowed hard and pointed to a line on the report. "Blood group match... Malhotra lineage match... and everything else... perfectly aligns."
Rudra scanned the report again, slower this time. His gaze hit the final result—a line printed in bold black letters.
100% DNA Match Found.
He read the name beside it.
His expression froze.
His jaw clenched.
His hand tightened around the paper until it crumpled.
Ravi stepped back instinctively. "Rudra... yeh sach hai. Test government lab se hai. Kisi tarah ki mistake possible nahi."
For a long moment, Rudra said nothing. Not a word. He just stared at that single name.
Ravi looked down, unable to meet his eyes. "Report keh rahi hai... Anaya Malhotra ka ek hi biological blood match India mein register hai."
Rudra's voice came out harsh, strangled. "Kiska naam diya hai?"
Ravi answered quietly, almost painfully, "Aapka."
The word dropped like a bomb.
Rudra didn't move. Didn't blink. His entire world paused—like reality itself had gone silent.
Ravi continued in the same low voice, "DNA match aapke naam se aaya hai, Rudra. Blood relation... positive. Exact match. Yeh report jhooth nahi bolti."
Rudra lifted his gaze slowly, as if pulling himself out of disbelief. His voice was barely audible. "You're saying... Anaya is... my..."
Ravi closed his eyes for a second and nodded. "Haan... Rudra Singhaniya ka DNA... Anaya Malhotra ke DNA se hundred percent match hua hai."
The silence in the room turned suffocating.
Rudra took one step back. Then another. His breath felt heavier, his pulse unsteady. He dragged a hand through his hair, pacing once, twice, before slamming the report onto the desk.
"Impossible." His voice shook—not with fear, but with something deeper. "It can't be."
Ravi did not argue. He simply said, "Sir... whatever this truth is... yeh report kehti hai ki Anaya is not just connected to the Malhotras."
He paused, then added quietly, "She's connected to you."
Rudra stood completely still, staring at the crushed report lying on the wood. The truth hit him so hard it felt like the ground beneath him shifted.
He whispered only one thing—
"Anaya..."
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The study room felt different today. Too quiet. Too still. The kind of silence that presses on your lungs until breathing feels like work. A dim golden lamp cast a soft pool of light across the desk, but the rest of the room stayed shadowed, like even the walls were holding their breath.
Ravi stood near the window, shoulders rigid, fingers trembling slightly as they gripped the curtain. His eyes weren't really looking outside. They were looking somewhere far—somewhere old. Somewhere painful.
His breath hitched.
Rudra had seen that look only once before... years ago. A child shaking in the ruins of what used to be a home.
"Ravi," Rudra called softly as he stepped inside.
There was no response. Ravi didn't even blink.
Then, in a voice so broken it barely sounded like him, Ravi whispered, "Rudra... main uska bada bhai hoon..."
The words scraped out of him, trembling, fragile.
"I am her elder brother..."
His hand clenched the curtain so tightly the fabric dug into his palm. His shoulders shook as he forced in a breath.
Rudra moved forward, slow and steady, placing a grounding hand on Ravi's shoulder. "Ravi," he said again, firmer this time. "Come back."
But Ravi kept staring at the darkness outside, as if trying to find himself somewhere in it.
"That accident..." he whispered, shutting his eyes hard. "Main bhool hi gaya tha... I had forgotten..."
He swallowed, voice breaking. "When I met you... I was just a kid. Lost. And Dada ji... he saved me, Rudra. He saved my life."
Rudra's jaw tightened. He remembered that day. The rain. The sirens. The boy who didn't speak for two days.
Ravi shook harder, breath turning sharp. "But Anya... she was younger. Why did she become an orphan? Kyu uske saath hua? She was innocent. And me... I survived. WHY?"
His fist came down on the table with such force the lamp rattled.
Rudra reacted instantly, grabbing his arm, stopping the second blow before it could land.
"RAVI!" Rudra barked sharply, yanking him back from the spiral.
Ravi's eyes were wild—filled with guilt, rage, grief tangled into one nightmare he'd never spoken of.
Rudra gripped him by the shoulders, forcing him to meet his gaze. "Control your anger. Use it on the people who caused this. Not yourself."
Ravi's chest heaved, his jaw clenching so hard it looked painful.
Then slowly, inch by inch, he lowered his eyes.
"I won't tell Anya the truth," he whispered. "Not yet..."
Rudra exhaled sharply. "Are you sure? You know she's desperately searching for—"
He paused, a smirk creeping onto his lips, trying to lighten the suffocating air.
"Actually... shouldn't you be happy? Matlab... she's your sister... I'm your brother-in-law."
He lifted his collar dramatically. "Family bond and all."
A tiny smile betrayed Ravi. Just a flicker. But enough.
Rudra wiggled his brows in the dumbest, most un-Rudra way possible. "See? I have other talents besides killing board meetings."
Ravi shook his head with a broken huff of laughter.
And then—
The door flew open like someone had kicked it.
Aarav stumbled in, panting hard, hand flailing with his phone in the air. "GUYS!"
Both men turned instantly, Rudra's expression sharpening into threat-level focus.
Rudra's brow arched. "What happened now?"
Aarav held the phone like it was a bomb about to go off. "I found who's behind everything—BUT—do you know where the ladies are?!"
Ravi blinked. "Our ladies?"
Rudra shrugged lazily. "Mine is in my room, obviously. Where else?"
Ravi nodded. Very confident. Very wrong. "Haan. She must be resting."
Aarav's horrified face said otherwise.
"Nope!" He held up three fingers like announcing a national tragedy. "All three of them went SHOPPING!"
Rudra's smirk died instantly.
Ravi's jaw dropped.
Both together, panicked and loud:
"KISKE SAATH?!
WITH WHOM?!"
Aarav blinked with the innocence of a confused puppy.
"Apni car se?"
The room went silent for two seconds.
Then Ravi turned to Rudra sharply. "We need to go. NOW."
Rudra didn't argue. His expression flipped from irritation to deadly. He grabbed his keys, already moving.
Aarav blinked, confused. "Why are you both running like this?"
Rudra shot over his shoulder, voice low and edged,
"I need my wife safe."
Ravi added, "And I need my sister safe."
Aarav froze like someone had hit pause.
"Sister?"
Both men stopped.
Rudra answered smoothly without missing a beat:
"Nahi—my wife's friend. Sister jaisi."
Ravi nodded aggressively, supporting the lie before Aarav's brain could reboot.
If Aarav found out the truth now, Janvi would find out in two minutes, and then Ria, and then Rakhi Ma, and then the whole damn mansion. Ravi wasn't ready for that storm.
Rudra pointed at Aarav like a general giving orders.
"You stay here. Don't move."
Aarav pouted. "But—"
"Not a word," Ravi snapped.
And before Aarav could blink, the Singhaniya duo bolted out of the study, footsteps echoing down the hallway, hearts pounding with fear, secrets, and a fierce protectiveness only family could understand.
Behind them, Aarav scratched his head, still confused.
"Shopping ke liye itna tension?"
But the brothers knew better.
When the women they love are out there...
anything can happen.
And they weren't letting danger touch them twice.