Page 59 of Substitute Bride

THEIR CLOSENESS

Jhankar had spent the entire day with her parents, and Sharda had also stayed with her throughout.

Everyone had, for the first time, openly shared their thoughts.

Even after Ravindra and Vikrant left at night, everyone had dinner together.

It was the first time that Vikrant and Jhankar’s parents were able to meet in such a warm and positive way.

Jhankar had been noticing Ravindra very closely, and even Ravindra could feel it clearly—that she was paying a lot of attention to him. Yet, each time he caught her gaze, he would simply smile and immerse himself in conversation with her father.

Because of everything happening around her, Jhankar was feeling a unique kind of joy, especially after seeing Ravindra’s behavior toward her parents.

She realized how little she truly knew about Ravindra until now.

They had never had a chance to talk properly, as he was rarely at home.

And even when he was, he would either not speak at all or say something so off-putting that she never found it necessary to try understanding him.

Vikrant had to leave again for some work, and so Jhankar walked out into the garden, where Ravindra was already sitting, petting his dogs.

“You haven’t slept yet...?”

Hearing her voice, Ravindra looked at her and then turned his attention back to petting the dogs as he replied,

“Sometimes, staying in different countries for so long messes up my sleep schedule. I find it difficult to adjust to the time. I should be asleep by now, but I’m not sleepy.

And I thought, since I haven’t spent time with them in a while, I’d come and be with them.

Vikrant has gone out for some important work; he’ll be back in a while.

I just spoke to him. You should get some rest.”

“Yes, I was about to... but then I thought I’d walk around the garden for a bit.”

“Good…”

Ravindra turned his focus back to the dogs, and Jhankar began glancing around. When Ravindra noticed her, he said,

“If you want to misunderstand me, you’re free to do so.

But I want to say something. The way this marriage happened and the circumstances in which it took place, neither was I happy with the marriage, nor was I happy with you, nor with anything else.

I wanted Vikrant to get married because I believe he should have love in his life.

I’ve known Sonakshi since childhood, so I chose her for him.

I don’t know you, and let me be completely honest—I’m not assured about you either.

But you’re the one my son loves, and so I’m willing to accept you into this family, to welcome you with open arms. However, I’ll make it very clear—if Vikrant suffers in any way because of you, I will be the first person to destroy you and your family. ”

Hearing this, Jhankar froze slightly and stared at him. Ravindra quickly added,

“To understand a parent’s emotions, one has to be a parent.

I only have Vikrant. You can’t possibly understand what he means to me.

Today, he loves you and cares for you, so I expect that you will respond with the same love.

Be good to him. Live a happy life with him.

But I’ve lost my ability to trust completely.

That’s why I won’t be able to trust you easily. ”

Jhankar made a sincere effort to understand his words and immediately said,

“I understand now... someone you loved deeply must’ve betrayed you, and that’s why you’ve lost faith in people.

But is it fair to assume that everyone will do the same?

Just because one person failed you doesn’t mean the rest should be punished for it.

What I believe may not be what you believe, and every person is unique, with their own thoughts and principles.

You can’t judge everyone based on one mistake. ”

“I know that very well,” he replied calmly. “But occasionally, when a wound cuts too deep, you start to observe everything around you more cautiously. Because you’re terrified of experiencing that pain again.”

Jhankar nodded slowly, trying to truly grasp the depth of what he was saying. Then, with a soft smile, she said,

“You loved her very much... didn’t you?”

“I didn’t just love Sonia... I still love Sonia. And maybe I’ll keep loving her until the day I die. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop loving her.”

Hearing this, Jhankar was slightly taken aback. There were some things she couldn’t fully comprehend. She asked him directly,

“You love aunty... and even now you claim you could never forget your love for her. But your son—your own son—hates his mother. He believes what she did to you was wrong, even though he knew his mother loved him deeply. Why didn’t you ever tell your son that his hatred was unjust?”

“Because I am selfish…”

“I don’t understand…”

“When I realized Sonia was going to leave me, I tried so hard to stop her. I pleaded, begged—I did everything in my power to keep her. But she had made up her mind. She was determined to leave me. Vikrant is my son, and she wasn’t even willing to take him with her.

And then she left… she left this world. She had already taken her path long ago.

I tried so hard to hate her—to truly hate her—but I had loved her so much that I could never bring myself to do it.

Even now, I try to hate her, just a little.

.. but the more I try to hate her, the more I end up loving her.

And so... when Vikrant was angry at her, when he didn’t grieve her loss, when I saw the hatred in his eyes for his mother—it made me selfish.

Because if I couldn’t hate her... at least her own son could.

Call it madness, call it anything you like, but this is the truth.

I couldn’t punish Sonia. But seeing Vikrant’s hatred for her.

.. it felt like she was receiving punishment through him. And that gave me satisfaction.”

Jhankar listened to him in stunned silence. Seeing her reaction, Ravindra smiled, stepped closer to her, gently placed a hand on her head, and said softly,

“There are some things you don’t need to understand.

This is life—not everything is in our control.

Just like I can’t stop loving her, the anger I carry for her doesn’t lessen either.

That’s why I never tried to stop Vikrant from hating her.

Now you should go rest—it’s getting cold.

And if you fall sick, the one who’ll suffer the most will be my son. Go take care of yourself.”

Jhankar was beginning to understand how strong emotions can push a person to do wrong things.

She knew that Ravindra was deeply mistaken, but she also understood that it wasn't in her hands to correct or change him.

However, what she did not want—at any cost—was for Vikrant to continue hating his mother without reason.

So she decided to focus solely on that thought.

She gave Ravindra a gentle smile and walked away.

Jhankar was trying to understand Ravindra’s words, but she was also confused.

All this left her restless, unable to sleep.

Vikrant wasn’t home either, which was starting to worry her.

He had been gone for quite some time now, and she had a strong feeling that his absence wasn’t due to any business work—it was definitely related to the mafia.

Her heart raced, prompting her to pick up her phone and call him.

Vikrant sat calmly, staring ahead. In front of him hung four men—suspended, skinned, their flesh peeled from their bodies.

As he had promised, he rubbed salt into their wounds every time they regained consciousness, causing excruciating pain.

By now, they were beyond screaming; he couldn’t hear a single sound from them anymore.

So he looked over at one of his men. Without needing instructions, they immediately picked up thick pipes and stood in front of the hanging men.

In an instant, water burst forth from the pipes with immense pressure, striking their exposed bodies like blades.

The force was unbearable; screams erupted again as they jolted back into consciousness.

With no skin on their bodies, the water felt like fire.

They were desperate for death, begging for it for the past two days, but death wasn’t coming.

Every moment of being alive was now their punishment.

Suddenly, Vikrant’s phone rang. He glanced at his men, who promptly stuffed cloth into the victims’ mouths. He smiled and answered the call. It was Jhankar.

“Yes, love…”

“You sound romantic…”

Jhankar’s surprise was evident in her tone the moment she heard his voice, making Vikrant chuckle.

“I honestly didn’t know you could sound this romantic,” she added, amused.

“You really don’t know how deeply I’ve fallen in love with you… or what I’m willing to do for it.”

“I want to know. And for that, you’ll have to come home.”

Vikrant looked ahead, satisfied with his men’s work. He also knew that without his command, they wouldn’t kill those four. Meanwhile, all of Australia was searching for Viren Chandel—it would all come together soon. Standing up from his place, he replied,

“Just make sure you don’t get scared when I come home and show you just how much I love you.”

“You’re trying to scare me for no reason. If you think I’ll get scared—then come home and try. Let’s see how scary you really are.”

Vikrant burst out laughing and responded:

“Hurting you, scaring you, or causing you pain, those are the last things I’d ever want to do.”

Jhankar fell silent. Their breaths now seemed to speak more than their words. Feeling her breath through the phone, Vikrant got into his car and said softly,

“I love you…”

“And I love you too…”