My eyes met Manav’s, and the quiet strength in his gaze steadied me. He sat down again, his hand finding mine under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze.
The atmosphere at the table gradually returned to normal after Dad’s tense outburst. He had retreated to another table, surrounded by his friends and business associates, his laughter loud and forced as though nothing had happened. Meanwhile, I sat quietly, unable to touch the food in front of me. My hands trembled slightly in my lap, but then Manav’s warm hand slipped over mine under the table.
“Eat something,” he murmured, his voice low enough for only me to hear.
I shook my head faintly, unable to meet his eyes. Instead, I focused on the steady rhythm of his thumb brushing over my knuckles, silently comforting me. Around us, the others began to talk and eat again, though I could feel their stolen glances in my direction.
Roy suddenly stood, lifting his glass high. The table quieted, and all eyes turned toward him. “I’d like to propose a toast,” he began, his voice steady but full of warmth. “To Dadi. The heart of this family. The one who has kept us grounded through every storm, whose love and wisdom are unmatched.”
Dadi’s eyes sparkled with pride as the rest of the table raised their glasses and cheered. She reached out to Roy, touching his arm affectionately as he continued.
“And,” Roy paused, his gaze shifting toward me, “to Kiara.”
My stomach dropped, and I froze in my seat, unsure of where this was going. But Roy’s face was soft, his expression full of affection as he spoke.
“She is the sister anyone would wish for,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “When she was born, everyone told me, ‘Roy, she’s your little sister. You have to protect her, care for her.’ But the truth is,” he chuckled softly, “she has been the one protecting and caring for me ever since she came into my world.
“Kiara, you’ve been my rock, my guide, and the person who has always reminded me what it means to have a family.” His voice grew softer, more emotional. “Mom would be so proud of you, Kia. You are perfect, exactly as you are. And you will always be a part of this family because that’s what Mom chose. That’s what she wanted—and nobody can change that.”
My visionblurred with tears, and I blinked rapidly, trying to hold them back. But when Dadi reached out and placed her hand on mine, her smile full of love and approval, I couldn’t stop a tear from slipping down my cheek.
The table erupted in cheers and applause, the tension from earlier finally dissolving. Roy sat down beside me, leaning over to kiss the top of my head. “Your brother will always love you…” he whispered.
The sound of clinking glasses and laughter surrounded me, but it all felt distant, like I was trapped in a bubble of my thoughts. Dad’s words had cut deep, not because they were unexpected—I’d heard them before—but because they reminded me of all the moments I’d tried so hard to prove otherwise—
“You’re not part of this family.”
But they didn’t break me. Not this time. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that family isn’t always about blood. It’s about who shows up for you, who sees you, and who holds you together when you feel like you’re falling apart.
And then Roy’s toast… His words were the kind of love I never thought I deserved. He reminded me that strength isn’t about pretending the scars don’t exist; it’s about wearing them proudly, knowing they’ve shaped you into who you are.
“Mom, you’d be so proud of him,”I thought, my heart swelling.“He’s been my anchor, even when I didn’t know I needed one.”
A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it, and I quickly wiped it away, hoping no one noticed. The garden lights twinkled above, and I stared at them, trying to steady mybreathing.
“I wish you were here, Mom. You’d know what to say, wouldn’t you? You’d hug me tight and say it doesn’t matter what Dad thinks. I wish you could see Dadi and Roy tonight, and I wish you could see me too. See me the way I hope you’d have wanted to.”
God, I miss you, Mom.
And then there was Manav. The way he held my hand under the table, the quiet strength in his eyes when he confronted Dad… It wasn’t just support; it was something deeper, something I wasn’t ready to name but couldn’t ignore.
“What would you think of him, Mom? Would you see what I see? This impossibly complex man who can make me laugh one moment and feel like I’m the center of his universe the next?”
Love—what a strange, maddening thing. It sneaks in quietly, like a thief, until one day, you realize it’s taken over every corner of your heart. That’s what Manav has done to me. He’s not just a man I admire or desire; he’s the storm that uprooted my fears and the calm that settled them.
He isn’t perfect—far from it. He’s guarded, brooding, and maddeningly stubborn. But he’s also the man who looks at me like I’m the only person in the room. The man who held my hand tonight, not to protect me but to remind me that I’m never alone. The man who whispers “cheeseball” like it’s a secret meant only for me.
Love isn’t about grand gestures. It’s in the little things. The way he knows when I need silence and when I need to laugh. The way he looks at me, not just like I’m beautiful, but like I’m the reason the world spins.
Strength. Family. They’re not always loud or easy or even fair. They’re messy and complicated and sometimes fragile. But they’re worth fighting for.
And Manav… he’s my person. My safe place. The one who sees me, not just the woman the world thinks I should be, but the woman I am.
“I don’t know where this road will take us,”I thought as I glanced at him.“But for the first time, I’m not afraid to follow it. Because wherever it leads, as long as he’s with me, I know I’ll find home.”
Love doesn’t always come easy, and it doesn’t always make sense. But when it’s real, it has the power to heal things you didn’t even know were broken.
27 ♥?Manav
