Author’s POV

The moment Ruhanika stormed up to the terrace, the air downstairs grew colder.
And without hesitation, Yuvraj, Veer, and Vikram followed.

The dining table downstairs remained dead silent.

Just shame sitting on every single plate.

And then...

Dadu cleared his throat

The silence shattered like glass.
"Bas karo. Sab ke sab." he said
His voice had no softness
“She came back after 7 years… and this is what you give her? Accusations. Humiliation. And you—"
His eyes locked onto her mother.
"You said you never wanted her… right?”

Her mother’s eyes dropped.

For the first time tonight, she had no comeback.

But Dadu didn’t stop.
"Do you even remember the day she was born?"
"That same night, your husband signed a billion-dollar merger—something no  had pulled off in decades. And you called her your Lakshmi. Your blessing."

He scoffed.
"And now she's a burden? A curse? Wah. Maan gaye tumhare standards."

Just then, Buaji jumped in, arms crossed, voice sharp like a knife.

“you always forget how undisciplined she was. She wasn’t obedient. Always questioning, always fighting. We didn’t do anything wrong. We just wanted her to behave. To stay silent. To be a good girl.”

That word stung the air.

Rudransh slammed his fist on the table. Hard.
“No, Buaji. You didn’t want her to be good. You wanted her to be invisible.”
“We made a mistake. No—scratch that—we committed a crime. We let her go. We never heard her. Never loved her. We believed whatever we were told. That she bullied Aarohi. That she changed. That she became cruel.”

His voice cracked.

“But tell me something—do any of us even know what really happened?”

The room froze.

And then—Aarohi stood up.

Tears in her eyes. But not the kind you feel bad for. The kind that still carried lies.
“Bhai... you really think I lied to you all?”
“Why would I lie? I was just a little girl who wanted a sister.”

And just when the tension felt like it couldn't stretch any further—

Kabir spoke.
"We’re not saying you lied, Aarohi... but—"

Aarohi turned sharply.

“But what, Bhai?”
Her voice cracked.

“You think I lied?”
“You think I made it up just to break her?”
“I wanted a sister. Why would I lie? I was a kid back then!”

She looked around, seeking eyes to agree. To save her.
But none did.
And then—

Rudransh stood up and said
“But it’s also true, Aarohi…”

He looked directly at her.

“The day you stepped into this house was the day everything began to fall apart.”

The words hung midair.

Everyone felt it.

Everyone remembered it.

“We thought Ruhanika was the problem.”
“That she bullied you. That she turned wild, angry, undisciplined.”

He glanced toward the staircase.
Where she had stood just moments ago.
Where she stood all those years… alone.

“But before you came—she had no complaints from school. No violence. No drama. And she was the highest scorer in her class.”

Dead silence again.

But this silence was cutting.

Because this one came from realization.

From the ache of truth.
From the pain of knowing that everything you believed... might’ve been a lie.

Everyone’s eyes were down.

But not Yug

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, breaking the silence.
“But if we wanted to talk to her that yuvraj will never. He’s near her now. He’ll never let us speak. He’ll never even listen to us.”

And then—

Ruhan said
“If he dares come close to my sister again—I swear, I’ll kill him.

Rudransh stood up slowly.

He looked right into his mother’s eyes and said
“I don’t know if you ever wanted a daughter…”
“But I wanted a sister.”
“And I let her go.”
“I believed she was wrong. I stood with you all instead of beside her.”

His fists clenched.
“And now, I will pay for that sin.”
“I will rebuild what we broke. I will fight to bring back the bond you all destroyed.”

Aarohi stepped forward. Hurt. Confused.

“Bhai… but she—”

But before she could finish, Kabir interrupted.
“No, Aarohi. He’s right.”

That one sentence silenced Aarohi.

And then—

Dadi’s voice rose.
“Enough. You all did what you wanted.”
“Now face the result.”
“She will not stay in this house another minute.”

Her Dadu. Her father. Her Dadi. All stood up and exited the room. One by one.

No hug.
No apology.
No attempt to stop what they just buried with their silence
And then…

Rudransh stepped forward.

His voice cracked—not out of weakness, but from the weight of guilt.

"I'm going to make her my sister again."
"I don't care what it takes—I’ll kneel in front of her. I’ll beg her to forgive me."
"I will stand beside her."

A pause.

And then Kabir joined him.
Followed by Rohan, who for the first time wasn’t cracking jokes.

"We’ll be your brothers again Ruhi. they both said together.

But then—

Yug leaned back on the wall, arms crossed.
"I’m out of it."
"She’s here—I’m okay. She’s not here—I’m okay."

Just then

Aarohi stormed in, eyes wet, lips trembling.
"Stop! Just stop, all of you!"

She ran to Rudransh, trying to pull his hand back.
"She will do indiscipline with you! She will hurt you with her words!"

But Rudransh didn’t even blink.
"Not now.

He gently moved her hand away.
His eyes didn’t leave the staircase she once stood on.

"I deserve her anger."

And then Rohan, who was always quiet in pain, finally let it show.

"We deserve every word she throws at us.
"Now leave."

Aarohi blinked.

And in that moment, something dark broke inside her.

She turned to her mother. Chest heaving.

"Ma... if they become siblings again—if she returns..."
"I swear, I don’t know what I’ll do."
"I hate her, Ma!"

But her mother didn’t flinch.

In fact—

She smirked.

And quietly walked to Ruhanika’s mother, who was sitting alone, drowning in her own shame.

She sat beside her, leaning in with fake concern.

"We all wanted Ruhanika back, didn’t we?"
"But now look… if she stays close to YuvRaj—then YuvRaj will never do business with us."

She fake-sighed.
"This partnership is so beneficial for my brother… and I think YuvRaj is also getting too soft for her. Too emotional."

Her lips curled.

"You know… they don’t even look good together."
"I was thinking—what if we… slow things down between them?"

"And if YuvRaj and Ruhanika get divorced in future—and they will..."

She tilted her head and whispered like poison.
"How long can any boy survive her drama?"

And that one line—stuck.

Because Ruhanika’s mother went silent.

She didn’t defend her daughter.

She didn’t protest.

She just… went thoughtful.

And that was enough.

The seeds of betrayal were planted—again.

Ruhanika’s POV

My tears had dried, but the ache inside hadn’t left.
I was quiet.
Not because I had nothing to say, but because too much was bubbling inside me.

Veer  bhaiya held my hand tightly & said
"I shouldn’t have let you come here," he whispered.
"I knew they’d ruin your peace… even after all these years."

Vikram bhai’s hand was on my shoulder.

Veer bhai knelt beside me, giving me water.

And I just sat there… silent… broken… trying to breathe.

Then—
Footsteps.
Sharp. Familiar. Unwanted.

I didn’t even have to look.

I knew who it was.
Rudransh. Kabir. Rohan.

My past... dragging itself to stand in front of me again

"What are you doing here?"
It was Yuvraj.

Rudransh stepped forward and said
"We’re here for our sister."

My breath hitched.

Sister?

I turned my face away. The word tasted bitter now.

But Yuvraj took a step forward too.

"You let her go." His voice cracked slightly. "You made her believe she was nothing. You don’t get to call her ‘sister’ now."

Rudransh’s jaw clenched.
"I made a mistake—"

"—No. You made a choice, Rudransh." Yuvraj snapped.

"You chose to believe lies. You chose to humiliate her. You chose to watch her walk away."

Rudransh took a deep breath.
"And what about you?" he asked. "You weren’t even there when she cried herself to sleep. You weren’t the one holding her hand at five years old—"

"No," Yuvraj said, his voice low. "I wasn’t."
"But I was the one who saw her pick herself up without you."
"I saw her fight the world that told her she was too loud, too emotional, too much—because you abandoned her."

Kabir flinched.
Rohan looked down.

And I…

I looked at Yuvraj.
His eyes were fire.
But that fire wasn’t for me.
It was for them.
He wasn’t defending me to be the hero.
He was defending me because…
I was his.

"You think you can buy forgiveness with one apology?" Yuvraj snapped, eyes on Rudransh. "One sorry, and now you want to be a brother again?"

Rudransh stepped forward, guilt in his eyes but stubbornness in his tone.
"I know I was wrong, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love her. She’s my sister—"

"Don’t." Yuvraj’s voice turned venomous. "Don't throw that word around like you earned it."
"You left her, Rudransh. You watched her cry. You made her believe she was a burden. And now you're here acting like some knight?"

"I was young—"

"She was younger." Yuvraj growled. "And yet, she didn’t become cruel."

Rohan finally spoke, his voice trembling. "We made mistakes, yes. But don't pretend you know everything. You came in her life when she was already strong. We were there when she was five—"

"And you let her feel like a stranger in her own childhood." Yuvraj barked. "Tell me, what hurts more? Watching her walk away, or knowing you’re the reason she did?"

Rohan looked like he’d been slapped.

But Rudransh still didn’t step back.
"You think you’re the only one who loves her, Yuvraj?"

"I don’t think." His tone darkened. "I know."
"Because unlike you three, I chose her when it wasn’t easy. I stayed when she pushed me away. I held her when she was screaming at the world."

"And I didn’t need blood to stand beside her."

There was silence for a moment.

And then it happened.
I saw it before I could stop it.

Rohan’s hand raised.
A step forward.

His eyes burned with rage, knuckles white.

He was going to hit Yuvraj.

My Yuvraj.

The only man who stood when the world gave up on me.

“Don’t you—”

But before his palm could even reach Yuvraj’s face,
I stepped in.

My hand slammed into Rohan’s chest, pushing him back hard.

“Touch him once,” I snapped, my voice trembling but lethal, “and I swear, you’ll never see me again.”

Rohan stumbled, not physically—but emotionally.
Because he saw it.

He saw the fire in my eyes that once burned for them, now burning for him.

“Ruhi…” Rudransh whispered.

But I wasn’t done.

I turned to all of them.

“You had your chance. All three of you.”
“You had years to choose me, to fight for me, to believe me. But you didn’t.”

My voice cracked.
But I didn’t stop.

“You believed lies over your sister.”
“You believed silence over my screams.”
“And now when he’s become my voice, my strength, you want to shut him up?”

I looked at Rohan — his jaw clenched, chest rising like he was holding in years of grief.

But I didn’t soften.

I couldn’t.

“You only love me now because it’s convenient.”
“Because the world knows the truth. Because I’m not weak anymore.”

“But he—” I turned to Yuvraj, tears finally falling, “he loved me when I was nothing.”

Yuvraj’s eyes widened.

But I kept going, my voice choking.

“He held me when I couldn’t even hold myself.”
“He believed in me when I was called mad, spoiled, undisciplined, manipulative.”

“He stayed, when you all… left.”

Silence.

You could hear their guilt breathing in the air.

Kabir took a step toward me, eyes glossy.
“Ruhi, please…”

“No.” I stepped back.
“You don’t get to be my brother just because you’re sorry now.”

“Brotherhood isn’t in blood. It’s in actions.”
“And right now, all I see in front of me… are strangers I once begged to love me.”

I looked at Yuvraj.

He looked like he wanted to say something.

But I just moved closer and held his arm.

Tight.

Like I belonged there.
Like I finally found home.

“He’s mine now.”
“And if anyone—anyone—dares to touch him, you’ll lose me forever.”

They didn’t speak.

They couldn’t.

Because they knew—

They had already lost

And then I looked at Rudransh.

My eyes burned, but I didn’t blink.
"You know..." my voice came out softer than I expected,trembling, cracking under the weight of years, "...I loved you so much, Rudranj."

My breath hitched.
"I loved you so much. You were my big brother. You used to love me. You used to care for me. You used to fight for me..."
My lips trembled as I swallowed the ache, "...until she came. Aarohi."

His brows knit together, but I didn’t give him a chance to speak.
"And then everything flipped."
"I waited for your text, Rudran."
"I waited for your call."

Tears lined my eyes, but my voice turned stronger, louder, full of pain.
"You know, our bond didn’t break when you didn’t stop me that night. I let it go. I told myself—you were younger. You didn’t know how to go against father. You didn’t know how to fight back."

"I forgave that."

My chest rose and fell, my heart thudding so loud it echoed in my ears.

"But in seven years..." I stepped closer, eyes locked on his, "Did any of you contact me?"

"I waited."
"I waited on my birthday."
"I texted you on yours."
"I did everything."

I laughed a little. Broken. Bitter.

"I used to wait for your call."
"I wrote you letters..." My lips trembled, "So many letters."

But he looked... confused.
Clueless.
And then he whispered, "Letters? Little Dove... we never received any letters. And about , father said that—"

"Yes, father said that!" I snapped, my voice breaking.
"Yes, father said that. Father said everything, didn’t he?"
"And you believed it. You, your mother, your father—everyone."
"But did you ever think about me? Did you ever come to check once?!"

I stepped forward and grabbed his collar, shoving him lightly, violently, helplessly.
"You never texted me."
"You never visited me."
"You left me for seven damn years, Rudran!"

My fingers clutched the fabric harder.
"You were the eldest."
"I thought you'd protect me."

My voice dropped to a whisper.
"...But you didn’t."
"You didn’t."

And just like that—I broke.

And then I looked at Kabir.

My hands dropped from Rudransh collar.
But my chest?
It kept burning.

"You..." I whispered, barely able to speak his name, "You were my favorite."

"Kabir."
I breathed it out like a curse and a prayer at the same time.
"You were the one who knew all my secrets."

My lips curved into a hollow smile, my throat tightening and I said
"Remember when I used to sneak into your room after fights with mom?"
"You’d hide me in your blanket, play songs on your phone, and say — 'Don’t worry, Ru. Your Kabir bhai is here.'"

I laughed bitterly, the memory slicing through my heart like a rusted knife.
"But where was my Kabir bhai when I actually needed him?"
"Where were you when they dragged me out of this house like I was a mistake?"
"Where were you when they made me believe that I was a burden?"

I looked up, straight into his eyes and said
"I needed you."
"I begged in silence, Kabir. I stared at my phone screen like a mad girl, just hoping for your name to pop up."

"On Diwali, on New Year’s, on my birthdays..."
"Even on Raksha Bandhan."

My voice cracked.

"Do you know what it feels like to sit in a hostel room with a rakhi in your hand and no one to tie it to?"

A sob escaped my lips. My legs shook, but I didn’t stop.
"I sent you one, Kabir. Every year. I sent you a rakhi and a letter."
"Every. Goddamn. Year."

"And not once..." my voice trembled, "not even once... did you reply."

His face dropped, his mouth parted slightly, but I didn’t give him a second
"You know what’s worse than hating someone, Kabir?"
"It’s being forgotten by the one you loved the most."

"You forgot me."

"You moved on."

"And all this time, I was here—growing up without the only people I called my brothers."

Tears finally spilled.

But there was no softness in them.
No mercy.

I took a step closer and said
"You all act like you're here to make it right now."

"But guess what?
I built my life without you."

"Without your protection."
"Without your love."
"Without your rakhi gifts or Bhai Dooj promises."

"So don’t come now acting like family."
"Because family doesn’t forget."

And then…
I turned to the last one.

Rohan.
My twin.

The one who should've felt my pain before I even spoke it.

I stared at him.
For a long moment, I couldn’t say a word.
Because with Rohan… the betrayal was different.

It wasn’t loud.
It was quiet.
Silent.
Like standing next to someone your whole life and still feeling alone.

"You..." I whispered, my voice barely holding together.
"You were my twin, Rohan."
"My other half."
"We shared the same womb. The same date of birth. The same goddamn childhood memories."

I paused, my throat aching as memories flashed—balloons, cakes, decorations...
"But you always noticed it, didn’t you?"
"How your birthday was celebrated like a festival... and mine was treated like an afterthought."

"You saw it."
My eyes stung.

"The guests came for you."
"The cake had your name first."
"The gifts were always better, the pictures were always more of you."
"And still... I didn’t complain."

My voice cracked as I stepped closer to him.

"Because I didn’t care about the world, Rohan."
"You were enough."
"As long as you stood beside me, nothing else mattered."
"You were the loudest voice whenever someone hurt me."
"You were the reason I smiled after crying under the covers."

I clenched my fists.

"But when they sent me away... when they made me pack my bags and leave... where was your voice then?"

"Where was my brother who used to fight the whole world for me?"

"Why didn’t you scream for me then?"

A tear rolled down my cheek.
"I kept thinking—maybe you’d come to the hostel one day and surprise me."

"Maybe you'd stand at the gate with my favorite chocolate and say, ‘Ru, let’s run away from all this.’"

I laughed…
But it wasn't happy.
It was shattered.

"But you didn’t come."
"You didn’t call."
"You didn’t fight."

I stared at him like he was a stranger.

"And that hurt the most."
"Because if even you gave up on me, Rohan..."
"Then maybe... I really wasn’t worth staying for."

My lips trembled.

"I still tied a rakhi for you."
"Every year, I celebrated your birthday in my hostel with a cheap pastry and tears in my eyes."

"And when I closed my eyes to make a wish..."
"I didn’t wish for gifts."
"I didn’t wish for fame or revenge or apology."

"I just wished for you to miss me back."

Silence fell.

Painful. Heavy. Suffocating.

I looked at all three of them now—Rudranj, Kabir, and Rohan.

"You were my brothers."

"And I loved you like my life depended on it."

"But now I see..."

"Maybe I was the only one who did."

And then...

Someone moved behind the crowd.
A familiar face.

I knew that silhouette even before I saw it properly.

Yug

He was standing near the edge, probably coming to call the others back, but the moment he saw me—
He stopped.

And I froze too.

My heart clenched.
Because unlike the others…

I never hated him

I never even allowed myself to.

"You..." I whispered, my voice trembling as my eyes met his.

"You were the youngest."

I took a step closer.
He didn't move.

"You were my little baby."
"My chhota sa baccha. I used to fight with everyone if they even looked at you wrong."

My lips trembled as I smiled through the pain and said
"I loved you with my whole heart.
"And you know, in these seven years… I never blamed you."
"Because I told myself, he's too young to understand... too small to speak up."
"I convinced myself that you didn’t know anything, that you were just a kid."

A tear escaped before I could stop it.
"But still… still I used to pray, hoping maybe, maybe one day you’ll ask about me."
"Maybe you’d fight with papa and say ‘Where’s Ru?’"
"Maybe you’d come searching with a bag full of chocolates, saying, ‘I missed you, Didi.’"

"But you never came."

My voice cracked.

"And still, I didn’t hate you."

"I told myself… Aarohi must’ve manipulated you too."

I glanced at him. His eyes were moist now.

"But you know..."
"I thought maybe my love for you was stronger than her poison."

I paused.

And then my voice turned heavier—colder.

"But it wasn’t, was it?"

"You weren’t the baby I remembered."
"You weren’t my little brother anymore.
"You became just another one of them."

Silence.

He opened his mouth—maybe to deny it, maybe to justify—

But I didn’t let him.

"You lost me the day you believed them over me."
"You lost me the day you turned my name into a joke."
"And I swear..."

I took a step back, eyes burning with betrayal.
"That hurt more than anything else ever could."

And with that, I turned around.

I had no more words left.
Only wounds.

My heart was done.

Every breath hurt. Every word I had spoken felt like knives I had pulled out from my chest one by one.
And now there was nothing left—
Just the emptiness echoing louder than their silence.

Suddenly, I felt two familiar arms around me.
Veer bhai. Vikram bhai.

They hugged me so tightly, as if trying to hold together the shattered pieces of me that had fallen everywhere on the marble floor of this damned hall.

"Please stop crying, Ruhi... please," Veer whispered against my hair, his voice cracking.

"We’re so sorry, Ruhi... please…" Vikram added, trembling.

But the tears wouldn’t stop.

Because how do you stop tears that were never allowed to fall for seven years?

I didn’t even get a chance to respond when—

Yuvraj saud

"Look at her!" he roared.
"LOOK at what you’ve done to her!"
"You think your silence, your absence, your ignorance was nothing? THIS is what you’ve caused."
"This broken girl—this girl who still stood here and begged for your love—this is what’s left of your sister."

They didn’t even fight back.
They just stood there, frozen.

But before I could reach out, before I could stop Yuvraj—

My vision spun.

I blinked.
Once. Twice.

But everything was blurry.
My head… it felt heavy.
My knees buckled.

And then…
Darkness.

Everything faded.

But just before I collapsed, just before I was swallowed by that pitch-black void—

I heard the only thing I always heard them call me.
"Everyone says… Ruhi Butterfly Ruhanika..."

And then…

Silence.

Just silence.