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“Why?” Shaurya’s anger rose.

Grandpa’s expression hardened again. “Because she’s too young for you. There’s nearly a decade between you two.”

“So what if there’s an age gap between us? There are couples with similar or even bigger differences who’ve built beautiful, lasting marriages. Age is just a number. Love isn’t measured in years. What matters is the connection, the kind that’s rooted in respect, in unspoken understanding. Nandini and I… we have that. We value each other’s dreams. We understand each other’s pain. That’s what makes love real. Not some number on a birth certificate.”

“She deserves someone with a clean slate,” Grandpa said bitterly. “Not a man with a failed marriage and baggage he hasn’t even finished unpacking.”

Shaurya stepped closer, the pain visible in his eyes. “I’ve made my share of mistakes. I’ll not deny that. In my first marriage, I was too obsessed with my work, too closed off, and too emotionally unavailable. I was so blind that I failed to see what I was losing until it was too late, and I destroyed something that could have been beautiful. But even then, when I realised what I was making a mistake, I tried to fix it. I tried to change, to show up, to make it right. I know I failed. Every attempt of mine backfired. But I still gave it my all. Because I’m not someone who turns his back on the people he loves. I carried those lessons with me. I’ve grown from them. And I’m not the man I was back then anymore.”

“I know,” Grandpa said quietly. “I know you’re not that man anymore, Shaurya.”

Shaurya blinked, taken aback.

“It wasn’t just you who started seeing us as a family,” Grandpa continued. “In these past few weeks, ever since you started coming here every day, taking care of me without being asked, without expectations… I saw something in you too.”

He turned to face Shaurya fully.

“You’re a man of your word. A man who doesn’t talk much, but when he does, he means every syllable he says. You were never after attention or praise. You were never trying to win favours. You just… showed up. For Nandini. For me. For this house. And somewhere along the way, I began to see you as family. Like the grandson I never had.”

Emotion caught in his throat. “And I’ve admired that about you, Shaurya. Your patience. Your dignity. Your restraint. Even when I tried to push you away, you never once disrespected me.”

Shaurya narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening, hurt lacing his words. “And yet, the moment you saw me and Nandini together on Valentine’s night… you didn’t think for even a second before yelling at me and judging me. You say you saw me as family, then where was the trust that comes with being considered as family?”

Grandpa said nothing. For the first time, Shaurya let the disappointment speak louder than his defence.

“You didn’t ask what was going on between us. You didn’t stop to question, to understand. You just assumed. You lashed out. Forget me, but what about Nandini? You’ve raised her. How could you believe, even for a moment, that she would betray you?”

Grandpa turned his face away, the fire in his expression dimming. But he wasn’t ready to surrender. Not yet.

Shaurya’s voice cracked as he continued. “It took you less than a second to erase everything we had built. Everything between you and me. Your anger was justified, but not your fleeting trust in us. You didn’t even give us a chance to explain? To tell you what we had? And now, even after both Nandini and I have said we love each other… why is it so hard for you to accept that and give us your blessings?”

“Because she’s my granddaughter, Shaurya. Of course I want the best for her. That’s what any parent, any grandparent would want. Someone with less baggage. Someone who hasn’t already failed at love.”

He paused, then looked directly at Shaurya with painful honesty. “You’re asking me to place my granddaughter’s heart in the hands of a man who’s already lost once at love. Put yourself in my place… if it were your daughter choosing a man with that kind of past, wouldn’t you hesitate too? You’d worry. You’d question. You’d want to protect her from a decision that might break her and ruin her life.”

Shaurya absorbed every word before he finally spoke.

“I’m not asking you to risk anything,” Shaurya replied. “I’m giving you my word. She’s precious. I will protect her heart more than my own. I know the pain of loss. I know what it feels like to watch your love slip through your fingers and live with that regret every day. But I won’t make the same mistake again. Not with her.”

Grandpa’s chest rose and fell heavily. His lips pressed into a tight line, but no words came. The fire in his eyes was beginning to fade with uncertainty.

Shaurya took another step forward, his tone gentler now. “You once told me your second wife taught you how to love again. That if you hadn’t taken that chance, you would’ve missed out on a lifetime of happiness.”

Grandpa’s gaze faltered, the truth hitting too close. His fingers trembled at his side, emotion rendering him speechless.

“Don’t take that away from me now,” Shaurya said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Don’t take it away from Nandini. You, of all people, should understand what it means to get a second chance.”

Grandpa turned away, slowly making his way towards the window. He stared out but didn’t really see anything. His mind was a storm of memories. His granddaughter’s voice, her laughter, her tears—everything flashed before him. So did Shaurya’s sincerity. The conviction in his voice. He didn’t speak like a man trying to defend or justify himself, but like the one who was already carrying the weight of loving too deeply.

Then came the pounding.

Nandini banged the door again. “Shaurya!” she cried, her voice frantic with urgency. “Open the door! Please don’t do this. Grandpa’s health is more important than us. Let me in. Please.”

The words sliced through the tension in the room.

Grandpa swallowed hard on hearing Nandini’s pleas. Then, as if mustering the last thread of control, he turned sharply.

“Open the door,” he said stiffly. “You’ve said what you wanted to say.”