"I have to apologize to Mr. Aryan properly," Aanya said with determination.
Tara nodded, then suddenly asked,
"By the way, Aanya… why didn't Prerna tell anyone about this earlier?"
Aanya sighed.
"Even I don't know properly. She just said she didn't want to hurt her family. That's it."
There was a brief silence.
Then Aanya spoke again, thinking aloud.
"But guys… during the argument, Mr. Raichand said something to Mr. Aryan. He said, 'Even after knowing about your father, we still agreed to this marriage proposal.' I didn't understand what he meant."
Meera frowned.
"Did Aryan's father do something?"
"No…he's a good person," Aanya replied quickly.
Meera asked,"How did he die?"
Aanya said,"Well, it's been four years, so I don't clearly remember. But I think it was because of some health issues. That's what my mother said."
"Then why would Mr. Raichand say something like that?" Nisha asked curiously.
"I don't know," Aanya said, lost in thought.
After a moment, Nisha spoke again.
"But Aanya, I feel bad for Dev. He's a good person, right? And you're saying he didn't even react or create a scene."
"Yeah," Aanya nodded softly.
"That's true. Dev is a good person. Even I felt bad for him."
At the Raichand House
The atmosphere in the Raichand house was heavy.
Everyone was upset.
Ankitha sat beside her mother with a plate of food.
"Mom, please eat something," Ankitha said softly.
"I'm not hungry," Shreya replied weakly.
"Mom, how can you not be hungry? You haven't eaten anything since yesterday's evening," Ankitha insisted.
Just then, Dev came downstairs, dressed to leave.
"Where are you going?" Ankitha asked.
"To the office," Dev replied calmly.
As he walked past, he noticed the plate in Ankitha's hand and his mother's pale face.
He stopped.
"Mom, you have to eat something," he said gently. "Look at me — I'm completely fine. You don't have to worry about me."
Shreya looked at him carefully.
"I'm your mother, Dev. Don't try to act in front of me. I know you're going to the office just to pretend that you're okay."
Dev lowered his head.
He walked closer and held his mother's hand.
"Mom, we can't change what has happened, right?" he said softly. "And do you remember what you always say? That everything happens for a good reason."
Shreya looked at him with teary eyes.
"What good is there in this?" she asked.
Dev gave a small smile.
"Well… it's good that we found out Prerna loves someone else before the marriage. If we had gotten married, neither she nor I would have been happy."
Shreya looked at him emotionally.
Dev continued lightly, trying to cheer her up.
"And you know tomato rice is my favorite. If you don't start eating now, I'll finish it before you even begin."
Shreya let out a soft emotional laugh.
Dev and Ankitha smiled seeing her finally react.
At the Mehra House
Devika and Nandini were sitting at the dining table, eating silently.
The atmosphere was still heavy.
Just then, Prerna came downstairs.
Devika saw her… and immediately turned her face away.
Prerna paused.
She was about to sit at the table when she noticed Devika pushing her chair back, as if she was about to leave mid-meal.
Prerna's eyes filled with tears.
"I won't sit here," she said emotionally. "I'll serve my food and eat in my room."
Devika stopped.
Slowly, she sat back down.
Prerna quietly served herself food, her hands trembling. She didn't look at anyone. After serving her plate, she walked away to her room.
Nandini sighed.
"Devika, what are you doing? How long will you ignore her? She's your daughter."
Devika continued eating silently.
"Even though Prerna did wrong," Nandini continued, "Aanya is more at fault. That girl should have told us earlier that Prerna wasn't there. Didn't you always say she's responsible and wise? Look what she did."
Devika suddenly looked up.
"Stop it, sister-in-law," she said firmly. "I know you don't like Aanya. But even you know whose fault this really is. How can you blame Aanya? She didn't do anything intentionally. Poor girl… she just did what Prerna asked her to do."
Nandini became quiet.
Just then, Devika's phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
"It's Radha ji," she said softly.
"Who?" Nandini asked.
"Aanya's mother."
Nandini scoffed. "Oh, so her daughter hasn't let this house live peacefully, and now her mother is continuing it?"
"Please stop it, sister-in-law," Devika said tiredly. "It looks like Aanya hasn't told her mother anything. Radha ji probably doesn't know about all this. She must be calling to ask about the wedding."
"Then pick up the call and tell her what her daughter has done," Nandini said sharply.
Devika took a deep breath and said tiredly,
"I'm not in the mood to talk about this incident right now. I will talk to her later."
Devika got up and went to the kitchen sink to keep her plate.
Meanwhile, Nandini quickly picked up Devika's phone from the table. She noted down Radha's number in her own phone and placed Devika's phone back exactly where it was.
A few seconds later, Devika returned.
"Sister-in-law, are you done eating? Do you need anything else?" she asked politely.
"No, I'm full," Nandini replied, standing up.
"Do you need any help?" Nandini asked casually.
"No need. I'll manage," Devika said.
Nandini gave a small smile… and walked back to her room.
Meaning Aanya's mother,
Radha looked at her phone thoughtfully.
"Maybe Devika ji was busy," she said to herself.
"After all, the wedding was just yesterday.
There must be so much work at home."
She paused.
"But I should at least convey my regards for the marriage. What should I do?"
After thinking for a moment, she said,
"Wait… let me call Aanya. I think today she might be at home helping Devika ji."
She dialed Aanya's number.
Aanya was sitting with her friends in the canteen.
"let's go guys. Class is about to start," Nisha said.
Aanya stood up, picking up her bag.
Just then, her phone started ringing.
She looked at the screen.
"Mom…" she whispered.
"Why is your mom calling?" Nisha asked.
"Maybe to ask about Prerna's wedding," Meera said.
Aanya's face fell.
"What should I say? I can't tell her the truth right now. She'll definitely get angry."
Tara looked at her seriously.
"Aanya, it's better if you tell her yourself. If someone else tells her, it will create a bigger problem."
Aanya thought for a moment.
"I'll tell her… but not now. Class is starting in a few minutes. I'll talk to her calmly at night and explain everything.
The phone kept ringing… but Aanya didn't answer.
Radha looked at her phone again.
"She's not answering either," she said softly.
"Maybe she's busy too."
At Aryan's Office,
In the office, employees were quietly gossiping.
"Did you hear? Aryan sir's sister's wedding got cancelled."
"Yeah… something big must have happened."
Just then, Aryan entered.
Within seconds, the entire office fell silent.
Aryan glanced around sharply. His cold stare was enough to make everyone look down at their desks.
Without saying a word, he walked straight into his cabin.
Inside, his secretary Simran followed him.
"Sir, Mr. Rathore and a few other clients want to meet you immediately," she said.
Aryan looked up. "Why didn't you inform me earlier when I asked for my schedule?"
"Sir, they contacted us only an hour ago. I wanted to tell you immediately, but you were in a meeting," Simran explained nervously.
Aryan leaned back in his chair, thinking.
"Sir… I feel something is wrong," Simran added carefully. "This has never happened before. Maybe it's because of Mr. Raichand—"
Aryan suddenly looked up at her sharply.
Simran stopped speaking immediately.
Aryan didn't say anything, but his mind started connecting the dots.
Meanwhile — At Nandini's Room
Nandini was sitting alone, lost in thought.
"Should I call and tell them what their daughter has done? Or should I stay quiet?" she murmured to herself.
She thought for a moment.
"No… I should tell them. Otherwise, this girl Aanya will never leave this house. She'll always try to stay close to Aryan."
Her expression hardened.
"I should inform her parents. Once they know the truth, they'll take her away."
A calculating look appeared on her face.
Nandini looked at the number she had saved.
she dialed Radha's number.
At Radha's phone rang.
She saw an unknown number on the screen.
"Who could this be?" she wondered.
She answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Is this Aanya's mother?" Nandini asked in a formal tone.
"Yes… this is Radha speaking. May I know who is calling?"
"I'm Nandini… Devika's sister-in-law."
Radha was surprised.
"Oh! Namaste, Nandini ji. Devika ji has mentioned you a few times. Actually, just a few minutes ago I tried calling Devika ji and Aanya to convey my regards for the wedding, but they didn't answer. I thought they must be busy. Anyway, how are you? How was the wedding?"
There was a brief pause.
Nandini's tone changed.
"I did not call to ask about your well-being… nor to tell you about mine. I called because of your daughter, Aanya."
Radha's smile slowly faded.
"About Aanya?" Radha asked in confusion.
"Yes," Nandini replied coldly. "Do you know what your daughter has done?"
Radha's voice filled with concern. "What did she do?"
"What did she do?" Nandini repeated
sarcastically. "Because of her, Prerna's marriage was called off."
Radha froze.
"What? The marriage was called off?"
"Yes," Nandini continued coldly. "And this happened all because of your daughter."
Radha's voice trembled.
"What are you saying?
"Do you have any idea what humiliation we faced yesterday?" Nandini continued sharply.
"But… what did Aanya do?" Radha asked, unable to understand. How is she connected to the marriage being called off?"
"Your daughter wore the bridal dress and acted like the bride," Nandini said harshly.
"She lied to everyone and created a huge drama."
Radha was stunned. "I… I don't understand. Why would Aanya do something like that?"
"Ask your own daughter why she did it," Nandini replied firmly.
Radha fell silent.
"You said you tried calling your daughter, right?" Nandini continued. "Did she answer your call? No, right? Why would she? She had to hide the truth from you."
Radha felt a deep sting in her heart.
Nandini didn't stop.
"Even after everything that happened, I don't know how Devika is allowing your daughter to stay here."
Radha's eyes filled with tears.
"And honestly," Nandini added, her tone turning cruel, "if your family had any shame, you would have already taken your daughter away from this house."
That was enough.
Radha, now hurt and angry, cut the call without another word.
Nandini looked at the disconnected screen… and smiled.
"Now," she said to herself, satisfied, "the real drama will begin."
---
End Of Chapter 59.