CHAPTER- 38

                                    

                                          
"And now, I am taking My daughter with me! Dare To Stop Me!" Aditya told her and stepped forward, Yash was about to stop him but Shivalika actioned him not to, She knew she couldn't do anything, It was coming and she already knew, There was no point of stopping him. But she frowned when he stopped on his track just after taking a few steps, He was frozen. In confusion, Shivalika looked in the direction he was already looking at, and what she saw made her heartbeat drop, and she turned numb again.
Vartika was standing on the stairs.
Her expression was unreadable, a swirling storm of emotions barely held together. Everyone else in the room fell into stunned silence. Aditya's gaze softened immediately upon seeing her. His heart surged with warmth and overwhelming relief. There she was, the daughter he had longed for, the one he thought he lost. He had found her, the part of his life that had been missing all these years. But there was sadness in her eyes, and it stabbed through him like a knife.
She had heard everything.
The weight of the truth hung heavily in the air between them. Aditya's mind raced, wondering how much she had taken in and how she would process it all. Would she accept it?
Could she?
"Vartika!" Aditya whispered, his voice desperate, his heart pounding in his chest.
Vartika glanced between Shivalika and Aditya, her face still a battlefield of emotions. She didn't say a word. Then, without warning, she turned and ran back towards her room.
Panic shot through both Aditya and Shivalika, who exchanged a brief, tense look. This wasn't how the truth was supposed to come out. It was too much for Vartika, too sudden, too devastating.
Without wasting a second, Aditya sprinted after her, his footsteps echoing through the halls. Shivalika followed closely behind, her mind racing with fear. How would Vartika cope with this? The truth had shattered her world, and Shivalika knew it could break her.
"Where are you going?" Yash's voice rang out, sharp and commanding, as he stepped in front of Shivalika's parents, blocking their path. He had noticed them heading upstairs, clearly in a rush, and knew exactly what they were about to do.
"What? Didn't you see?" Shivalika's father exclaimed, his face tense with urgency. "Vartika heard everything! We have to-"
"No need," Yash cut him off coldly, his tone final and unwavering. "Her mother and Father are already with her. She doesn't need anyone else." He stressed on the Father word.
Arjun bristled, his expression tight with barely contained frustration. "Yash! What you did today is not at all forgivable!!," he spat.
"I'm not even sorry for that," he replied, his words dripping with defiance. "You have no right to interfere. Let her live her life."
"Oh! What got into you all of a sudden? Why are you being defensive? Trying to get into Aditya's good books?"
"I am not trying to get into anyone's good books! I was so blind in being a protective brother that I forgot to see that My sister needs protection from your mentality!!" He replied, his gaze hardening.
Taking a deep breath, He looked at her parents and smiled making them frown.
"Why do you think that Aditya is here all of a sudden after 8 years? The thing which you kept hidden came in front of him all of sudden even when he didn't try to find it out by himself! The guy who didn't know what was happening in Shivi's life for 8 years got to know that he had a daughter... His grandpa, His secretary... all of a sudden?" Yash's voice was laced with accusations, each word pointed