[12th February 2025 | En route to the Maheshwari mansion]
Two Maheswari cars cut through the foggy Delhi streets like blades through mist. Neither vehicle carried conversation —only silence, tense and deafening.
In the first car—
Uttam Maheshwari sat in the back seat, his hand gripping the armrest so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
His jaw was clenched, his chest heavy—crushed beneath something that had begun the moment Aria walked into that hall, with two infants in strollers behind her.
Not just any infants —his grandchildren.
His daughter had carried children, given birth, and revealed the truth in front of two powerful families like a warrior in battle—fierce, unapologetic, unshakable.
And he hadn't known a thing.
The betrayal cut deep. Had he failed her so deeply that she no longer saw him as someone to turn to?
He clenched his teeth harder.
But it wasn't just Aria's silence that burned him.
It was Ahaan.
He had trusted that boy. Truly believed he was different from the rest of the Rajvanshis. Decent. Honourable. Worthy of his daughter.
But that very boy had abandoned her. Left her alone in the most vulnerable moment of her life. And only admitted to fathering those children after being cornered in front of everyone.
Uttam's hands curled into a fist.
This engagement—it shouldn't have happened.
He had tried to stop it—declared loudly and clearly, that there would be no marriage.
But Adityanath Rajvanshi made it happen as per his wishes.
His own wife had supported it.
And worst of all—Aria had said it was what she wanted.
Her quiet compliance, her calm acceptance—it broke him more than anything else.
He felt like a fool.
___
Needhi, sitting beside him didn't speak either.
But her silenct wasn't weighed down by pain. It was something else—calm, calculated satisfaction.
Until today, she'd been walking on a tightrope—terrified that the marriage might fall through. That Aria might refuse. That everything she'd built would collapse.
Her secrets —dark and unforgivable—would destroy her.
But instead, Aria entered with twins—carrying Rajvanshi blood. She had sealed the alliance. And gave Needhi the lifeline she needed.
She'd meant to use Aria as a shield. But now her daughter had become a whole damn fortress.
What began as a desperate gamble had become her salvation.
And more than relief, what Needhi felt now... was pride.
For once, Aria had done something right. She had chosen a powerful man—the heir of the Rajvanshi empire. A match worthy of a Maheshwari daughter.
She even felt a flicker of sympathy—a sliver of maternal pain. A shallow pinch of guilt.
She herself had carried three children. She knew what pregnancy and childbirth did to a woman. She knew what it cost.
And her daughter had gone through it all alone.
But then she reminded herself—of course Aria managed. She was strong. Smart. Independent.
Just like her mother.
She had done what needed to be done. Made her mother proud for once.
___
In the second car—
Vaibhav sat in the passenger seat, his legs bouncing in agitation, fingers tapping against his thigh.
In the back, Aria held Dev gently in her arms. Her expression was unreadable. Unshaken.
Next to her, Manik cradled Navya with quiet reverence. He didn't speak. He couldn't. This tiny being in his arms... it was like holding something holy. Breathing. Fragile.
His neice.
Everything was happening too fast. He wanted to ask a hundred questions—about Ahaan, about the babies, about why his sister had never told their family.
But he said nothing.
Because he wasn't sure he could handle the answers.
Aria, meanwhile, reached for her phone, her thumbs hovered, then typed quickly:
> "He admitted it. He is their father."
She sent the message to Vijay and Vidya, then locked the screen.
From the front, Vaibhav's voice cut in—sharp and suspicious.
"Who are you messaging?"
Aria didn't look up. "None of your business."
He scoffed but let it drop. Just glanced at her through the rearview mirror, trying to peice her together.
He knew Aria. The real her.
The one who caused chaos when bored. The one who knew how to twist pain into theatrics.
But this?
This wasn't her usual drama.
This was something else.
Something darker.
A declaration of war.
And that scared him.
Because if Aria had made this choice… then what was she going to do next?
○●○
[MAHESHWARI MANSION ]
The front gates opened slowly.
Ravi and Pushpa—loyal housekeepers for two decades—stood waiting. Their smiles bloomed at the sight of Aria.
"Aria beta, it's so good to see you—" Ravi stopped short, his eyes widening at the sight of the babies.
"What is this?... whose children are they?" Pushpa half-shouted, stunned.
Aria offered a tired, soft smile. "They are mine, Kaki. I'll explain later."
The moment the Maheshwaris stepped into the main hall, the air shifted.
Tension cracked like thunder.
Vaibhav was the first to speak with a disbelieving laugh.
"This is an act, right?"
Aria didn't flinch.
She handed Dev to Pushpa. "Take him upstairs. Manik—go with them. Stay in my room. I'll come up later."
Manik nodded without argument, holding Navya closer. He glanced at his sister—saw something unreadable in her eyes—then followed Pushpa upstairs.
To Ravi, Aria said quietly, "Please clean the room next to mine. I want to turn it into a nursery. You don't have to start tonight—just tomorrow."
Ravi gave a solemn nod. "Yes, beta. Understood. "
When they were gone, Vaibhav turned back to Aria.
"You really expect us to believe this?" he scoffed. "That you—of all people—fell in love? Had children?"
"Vaibhav!" Needhi snapped.
"What, Maa? Do you really think that this girl—," he said pointing at Aria. "is capable of loving someone? No. Aria Maheshwari only knows how to ruin people."
Aria shot back, "You'd know, after all you are an expert at it."
Before Vaibhav could reply, Needhi interrupted.
"If Aria were lying, Ahaan would've denied it. But he didn't. He accepted the children. That all the proof we need."
Vaibhav sneered. "Since when did you start believing her words?You were never this affectionate toward Aria before. Why now?"
"Why are you suddenly so eager to marry her off? You've never been this desperate before. Why now?" his voice low but accusatory.
Needhi met his gaze, her expression icy. "Because someone has to think about her future. Her reputation. And those children deserve their father. If that makes me a bad mother—then fine, I am a bad mother.
Aria shook her head. "No—no, you are the embodiment of maternal love."
Needhi spun toward her. "Don't try to taunt me, young lady. I'm still your mother."
Aria snorted, folding her arms against her chest.
Uttam stepped forward, pain written across every line of his face.
"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked, voice breaking. "Why didn't you come back home?"
He reached out—but Aria stepped back, jaw clenched.
"Did you really think I wouldn't help you? Was I such a failure as a father?"
Needhi stepped between them, trying to calm him. "Please. This isn't helping anyone —"
"Stay out of it," Aria snapped.
She turned to her father, her voice quiet but razor sharp. "You want to know why I didn't say anything?... Because none of you would've believed me. Never have. Not you. Not Bhai. And definitely not her."
Needhi faltered. Uttam's stood frozen, guilt and fury battling across his face.
Vaibhav looked away, fists clenched.
Aria drew in a slow breath.
"I don't care what any of you think," she said. "The engagement is done. The babies are mine. And whether you believe me or not—this time, I won't let anyone decide my life but me."
She turned on her heel and walked upstairs.
Her steps were even, decisive and final.
Leaving behind the wreckage of a family too tangled in its own pride to see the storm that had just begun.
A family who had all the names—but none of the closeness.
A Family of Strangers.