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The front door burst open and Lakshmi came running out in panic, barefoot and wide-eyed. She froze for a split second at the sight before her, then rushed to Grandpa’s side.

“Please stop,” she pleaded, her arms wrapping around his free one. “You’ll make yourself sick. Please!”

But Grandpa wasn’t listening. He wasn’t seeing anything beyond the fury clouding his vision.

“I trusted you,” he growled at Shaurya. “I treated you like family. And this is how you repay me? Sneaking around behindmy back, luring my granddaughter and getting involved with her?”

“That’s not what happened!” Nandini’s voice rang out. Her cheeks were flushed with emotion. “Don’t blame him, Daadu. We haven’t done anything wrong. I’m in love with him too.”

Grandpa froze.

His hand fell from Shaurya’s collar as he turned towards her, stunned.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, you’re not. He’s just confused you. Filled your head with nonsense. He’s brainwashed you into thinking this is love. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying,” she shot back, her voice sharp.

His face crumpled with part pain, part betrayal. “How long?” he asked hoarsely. “How long have you been lying to me?”

Shaurya spoke before Nandini could. “We were going to tell you tomorrow. I wanted to—”

“Tomorrow?” Grandpa spat the word like poison. “What a convenient excuse. Now that you’ve been caught, suddenly you had plans to come clean?”

Then, something shifted in his stance. His eyes narrowed further as he looked at Nandini. “Wait. You told me you were going out with Priya tonight.”

His whole body trembled. “So you lied.Youlied to me?”

She hesitated. That split-second pause said everything. Her silence hurt more than any words ever could.

“She would never lie to me,” Grandpa murmured, more to himself than anyone. “You’ve taught her to lie.”

His fury ignited again, and he lunged toward Shaurya. But this time, Shaurya stopped him and caught his hand midair, firm but respectful.

“You have to trust us,” he said quietly.

“Stay away from her,” Grandpa snapped, yanking his arm free.

“I won’t,” Shaurya replied, unwavering.

That was the final crack. Grandpa’s chest rose and fell with barely contained fury. His face was flushed as he pointed a shaky finger at him. “You are not welcome in this house again. You hear me?”

Nandini reached for him, her voice laced with worry. “Daadu, please. Your blood pressure will spike again. Please… just come inside.”

Lakshmi joined her, trying to pull him back towards the house. But his feet resisted, and his voice boomed, spitting broken accusations as they dragged him away.

“Don’t even come near our villa. You are so fond of sending legal notices, aren’t you? This time, I will be the one sending them if you so much as look at my Nandu again.”

He kept shouting as Lakshmi pulled him away.

Shaurya instinctively took a step forward, ready to follow them to the Raichand house, but Nandini stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Don’t,” she said. Her voice broke, but she stood strong. “Not now. Let me calm him down.”

“I don’t want him to lash out at you,” Shaurya protested, his jaw tight.

“If you’re there, it’ll only get worse. Please. Let me handle this.”

He hated it. Every inch of him screamed to go after her. But in the end, he nodded. Just once.