Naina froze. Manik's hand on hers in front of his entire family was more than a touch; it was a public claim. Everyone in the room was shocked. Manik, the famous actor, who was always surrounded by admirers but never openly linked to anyone, had never acted like this, especially not with a woman he was not already involved with.
Naina felt a flush of embarrassment. Is he going mad? Why is he making a scene?
"Please, help," Manik repeated, a desperate plea hidden beneath his commanding tone.
Naina tried to pull her hand away, but Manik's grip tightened. He was internally furious. Why does she always do that? Doesn't she care about how he feels? Every other woman in the world would want him to touch them, but his own wife acted like he was a stranger.
Manik leaned in, his voice dangerously low but clear. "Wifey," he said, the word a cold assertion of ownership, touching the back of her hand with his thumb.
The entire ward erupted. "WHAT?"
Naina instinctively dropped her head and tried once more to wrench her hand free, but Manik's powerful grip was unyielding. She couldn't speak.
Manik's grandparents and Kabir, his elder brother, stepped forward, demanding an explanation. "What is going on?"
Naina kept her gaze fixed on the floor, but Manik didn't hesitate. He calmly told them the story: "Six years ago, she accidentally walked into my room during a movie shoot. We got intimate. She left before I could find her again. She came back into my life recently with three children-my children-and I forced her to marry me. Now, we are husband and wife."
The family was stunned into silence. It was Arjun, Manik's younger brother, who broke the tension. "You mean... I have one more sister-in-law, two nephews, and one niece?"
Kabir stared at Naina. "When I saw the three children at my villa... they were my brother's?"
Naina simply nodded, her nerves stretched thin. What will happen now?
Manik remained perfectly calm, his hand still firmly holding hers. The grandmother approached Naina, gently placing a hand on her head and giving her a blessing. The grandparents, however, quickly turned their anger on Manik, shouting at him for how he treated Naina.
Manik stood silently, accepting the reprimand, until Kabir intervened, urging the grandparents to forgive him.
It was Naina who finally broke her long silence. "I have already forgiven Manik," she told his grandparents.
Their faces softened, overjoyed that they now had three more great-grandchildren. Manik quickly apologized to them. Arjun, beaming, stepped forward and hugged Naina, a gesture that surprised her.
"Happy... sorry for that hug," he stammered. Naina simply smiled at him.
Kavya wanted to approach Naina, but stayed rooted in her spot, holding her daughter's hand. Sahil noticed her pain and walked to her, taking her hand and moving her gently toward Naina. Naina watched the small, loving interaction between the couple.
"I need to leave," Naina said, trying to end the intense confrontation.
Kavya still longed to talk, but she knew Naina wasn't ready. Everyone in the ward was happy and excited about the news, but as Kabir tried to speak to Naina about... something, Naina shook her head, said nothing more, and quickly left the ward.