Page 56 of When Love Trespassed

His gaze lowered slightly as if remembering those moments. “Those were some of the best days of my life. Not just because I was falling for her… but because being here with both of you, I felt myself changing. Something inside me softened. Not just towards her, but towards you too.”

He looked up again. “Spending time with you… watching your disciplined routine, your quiet wisdom, your protectiveness for Nandini… it all reminded me of something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Somewhere along the way, you became more than just her grandfather in my eyes.

You began to feel like the father figure I never had. ”

He met Grandpa’s gaze as the truth slipped out.

“I had ample love from my parents during my childhood, but when I lost them, work became my only mode of survival. I buried myself in it to avoid the grief, to fill the silence. I forgot what it felt like to come home to someone. To be part of something more. I forgot what it meant to belong. To sit across from someone older, someone wiser, and feel that guidance again. Until I got to know you.”

Shaurya exhaled slowly. “The more time I spent with you and Nandini, the more I longed for that feeling of belonging again. And suddenly, all those petty fights, the mango tree, the property lines… they stopped meaning anything. They felt childish because you and Nandini mattered more to me than anything and anyone.”

Grandpa stood still, staring ahead at the wall. His hands trembled slightly at his sides. His eyes welled up, but he quickly turned away, refusing to let it show.

Shaurya’s voice broke. “And somewhere along the way, my feelings for her grew. Slowly. Genuinely. And everything felt… right. Being with her. Watching you soften towards me, bit by bit. It felt like maybe, just maybe, life was giving me another shot. A new kind of family. A second chance… with all of you.”

He paused, his breath hitching as emotion clogged his throat.

“But then… Nandini’s words jolted me back to reality.

She spoke about the future. Her dreams. Her expectations.

And that’s when it hit me. I wasn’t ready.

I wasn’t capable of giving her everything she deserved.

I panicked, Grandpa. I ran. And in doing so.

.. I broke the heart of the one person who meant the world to me. ”

Shaurya stood tall but looked haunted, torn between confession and hope.

“You remember that day? When you caught me talking to the mango tree? Pouring my heart out like a fool?”

“I had already hurt Nandini by then,” Shaurya said quietly.

“I let her in… and then I pushed her away. Because I was scared. Terrified that I’d ruin her life the same way I ruined my last marriage.

I thought walking away was the noble thing to do.

That by doing so, I was protecting her. But then you showed up.

You heard me. You told me not to run from love.

That second chances are rare. That they’re God’s way of saying you are worth it. ”

Grandpa swallowed hard, recalling that very day.

“It was your words that changed everything for me. You opened my eyes. You told me not to let fear dictate my life and make my decisions for me. So I listened. I fought through every voice of doubt in my head, and I chose her.”

He looked at Grandpa straight in the eyes with conviction. “I chose Nandini because I love her. And now, the very man who pushed me to follow that love… is the one trying to tear it apart. How am I supposed to stand by and watch that happen?”

For a beat, neither of them said anything. The room was silent except for the muffled sounds of Nandini outside the door, still pleading to be let in.

Shaurya’s voice cut through the calm. “You told me not to live in fear of the past. So why are you letting my past define her future?”

Something flickered in Grandpa’s eyes, if only slightly.

“I didn’t know it was my granddaughter back then,” he snapped. “I have no problem with you getting your second chance. Just not with my Nandu.”

“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.”