“He broke all ties with you, because ofme, Mishti. But you never once asked me to fix it. That’s exactly why I decided to put this guilt of yours to an end. Because I love you. I don’t want my wife to miss her family and stay quiet about it, only because she doesn’t want to hurt me.”
He wiped her tears and smiled.
“So, the first thing after we returned from Jaipur, and after I slowly recovered from getting shot, I drove to Panchgani, Nashik, and met Daksh personally to sort this out.”
Karan continued narrating how, almost three weeks ago, he initiated this meeting with Daksh.
It was the same period when Karan had begun taking decisive action against Dilip Goel, after discovering that he was the one who had orchestrated his shootout at the private airport.
Although Mishti stayed silent about missing Daksh, he knew how badly she wanted to reach out to Divya and her brother after getting to know through some of her extended family members that they were now parents to a beautiful little girl. She wanted to meet them, love and pamper her five-month-old niece. Karan knew she missed the version of her life that had existed before everything broke apart. She never said a word to him. But the longing was always there.
And that was why Karan went to see Daksh himself.
Through his sources, he learned what Daksh’s life looked like now. After both his businesses had collapsed, after everything had been stripped away, Daksh and Divya no longer lived the life they once knew. The Goel House had been sold long ago, lost to mounting losses and unavoidable debt.
Now they lived in Panchgani, near Nashik, where they had started a small strawberry farming business. It was modest, but enough to keep the family from breaking completely. Enough to survive and still lead a happy life.
The moment Karan got his details, he went to meet them. Since there had always been friction, mistrust, and resentment between them, when Daksh saw Karan standing at the doorstep of their Panchgani home, he was shocked.
“You?” Daksh snapped. “What are you doing here?” he demanded, barely masking his hostility.
Karan did not bother with pleasantries either. “I have no interest in meeting you. I’m here only because of my wife.”
The moment Divya saw Karan standing there, she turned to Daksh and urged him to at least let him come inside. Even Karan didn’t wait for permission. He walked past them and straight into the small villa. It was nothing like the Goel Mansion they once owned—no sprawling halls, no marble floors, no quiet luxury screaming from every corner. And yet, the space felt warm and lived in. The living room was modest with simple furniture, soft curtains filtering the light, and little touches that made it unmistakably home. There was a gentleness to the place, as if love had replaced luxury here.
“I have no ties with your wife,” Daksh said, following Karan inside the house. “She is the reason my world collapsed and why I am here. She is the reason for my doom.”
Divya was instantly hurt, as she looked between them, still hiding that one truth which Mishti had asked her to.
But Karan had no intention to keep Daksh in any kind of ignorance anymore, at least not where his wife Mishti was concerned. Hence, he lost his patience fast when Daksh still accused her.
He stepped forward. “Mishti is not the reason for your fall, Daksh. And you know that. You have always known that. You are just not ready to accept it.”
Daksh scoffed, but Karan did not stop.
“Even if Mishti had never been in the picture, I would still have destroyed your businesses,” Karan said coldly. “My revenge had nothing to do with you or her. The real person behind your downfall is your father.”
The room fell silent.
“Dilip Goel started this,” Karan continued. “Everything traces back to him. And you are facing the consequences because of his actions, not Mishti’s. You know it. But you are not ready to accept it because of your ego.”
Daksh’s expression cracked, just slightly.
“And let me be very clear,” Karan added. “Even if I had chosen not to take revenge, karma would have caught up with you eventually. Your companies were already sinking, Daksh. The losses were piling up. You were barely holding them together.”
He looked straight at Daksh, unflinching.
“They were going to collapse someday. Not because of me. Not because of your father. And certainly not because of Mishti. But because you were incapable of handling them.”
That angered Daksh again.
“So now Karan Wadhwa is talking about karma?” he scoffed. “How ironic. I always heard you don’t believe in God. Or any of this.”
Karan did not flinch.
“I didn’t.” He nodded. “I stopped believing in all this the day God snatched my family away from me.”
Daksh looked away, but Karan continued.
