"But if you hold me without hurting me you'll be the first to ever did"

Chandigarh, India...

As Vidhant made his way through the crowd, he greeted his family with a bittersweet smile. Seeing his little sister, Pihu, on the verge of marriage stirred emotions he hadn't expected. The idea of marriage always made him uneasy, but for his family, he would be there, no matter what. After applying haldi to both Abhay and Pihu, Vidhant stepped back, watching as the guests danced and celebrated with full enthusiasm.

As he glanced around, he noticed some unfamiliar faces. The decorations, it seemed, were the work of the Hitchhikers, a group he had heard of before, but he didn't give it much thought. His focus remained on the celebration-at least, until something caught his eye.

There was a strange tension between his mother and Pihu that he couldn't quite place. When he asked about it, they simply brushed it off, claiming it was just a bit of stress from the event. Although Vidhant sensed there was more to it, he didn't press the issue, instead choosing to mingle with the guests.

However, after a while, he realized he hadn't seen his children in some time. A flicker of worry passed through him. Rishu and Reet were usually full of energy, running around, but now they were nowhere to be found. Trying to keep calm, he asked his mother about them, but she reassured him, saying they were probably playing nearby with the other children.

Still, Vidhant couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. His focus shifted entirely to finding his kids. He scanned the crowd, the once festive atmosphere now filling him with an undercurrent of anxiety. Rishu and Reet were his world, and until he was sure of their presence, nothing else mattered.

His search began, eyes darting through the crowd, his heart beginning to race as he moved through the decorated venue, desperate to confirm that his children were safe.

Vidhant, not wanting to raise any alarms, quietly continued his search for Rishu and Reet. He knew his children well-they were mature for their age and wouldn't leave the venue without informing him. Nor would they go anywhere with a stranger. Still, his heart wouldn't rest until he had them both within his sight.

He decided to check upstairs, thinking they might have wandered off into one of the rooms or perhaps fallen asleep. As he walked down the corridor, a familiar voice halted him in his tracks.

"Dad, here!" Rishu called out, waving enthusiastically as he ran toward Vidhant.

Relief washed over him, and without a second thought, Vidhant scooped his little boy into his arms. "Oh, champ! Where were you and your sister?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

Rishu, as always, was full of energy. "Dad, I want you to meet someone," he chirped excitedly.

"Your sister?" Vidhant asked, expecting to hear about Reet.

But Rishu shook his head with a wide smile. "No, Dad! Come! Reet is inside, and I told you about a lady I met at the wedding. SHE'S HERE!" Rishu squealed in excitement, wriggling in Vidhant's arms.

Vidhant paused for a moment, remembering how Rishu had gushed about meeting a woman during a wedding. His son had been so enthusiastic, describing the lady as kind and someone he connected with deeply. At the time, Vidhant hadn't thought much of it-it seemed like a harmless interaction at a family event.

As Vidhant stepped into the room, his eyes first fell on Reet, who was sitting comfortably, talking and giggling with a woman on the couch. Relief briefly washed over him-his daughter was safe and happy. But then, when his gaze shifted to the woman seated beside her, everything inside him seemed to freeze. His heart stopped, his breath hitched, and it felt as though the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

There, sitting before him with his daughter, was Ruhi.

For a moment, it didn't feel real. The woman he hadn't seen in so many years, the woman who had been his wife and mother of his kids was now in front of him, talking with their child, as if the past had never existed. She was laughing softly, making Reet giggle, a sound so familiar yet distant in his memory. The world seemed to tilt, everything blurring except for the sight of her.

Rishu, oblivious to the shock that had enveloped his father, shouted in excitement, "Dad, this is the lady I was telling you about!" His voice echoed in the room, snapping Ruhi out of her light-hearted conversation and drawing her attention to the door.

When Ruhi's eyes met Vidhant's, it was as if time itself had unraveled. So many emotions surged between them in that one look-shock, confusion, rage mostly pain and an unbearable sense of loss. It had been years since they had last seen each other, and now, in the most unexpected of circumstances, they were standing face to face. The weight of the years apart, the unspoken words, and the emotions they had buried threatened to overflow.

Ruhi's heart raced as her eyes locked with Vidhant's. She could see the shock and pain mostly rage in his eyes, the same emotions she felt stirring within her. Her throat tightened, and her chest felt heavy with the weight of everything unsaid. The years they had been apart, the lives they had led separately, all collided in that one moment, making it hard to breathe.

Vidhant stood frozen, grappling with a whirlwind of emotions-rage, sadness, disbelief, and something deeper, something he wasn't ready to confront yet. His children were there, with Ruhi, completely unaware of the tangled web of their parents' past.

For a few long, tense moments, neither Vidhant nor Ruhi said a word. The weight of their shared history hung heavily in the air, while their children remained blissfully unaware of the storm brewing between their parents.

Rishu wriggled free from Vidhant's arms and ran to Ruhi with the innocence only a child could have. "Mom, meet Dad!" he chirped, his small voice filled with excitement as he introduced them, unaware of the turmoil brewing between the two adults.

"Mom...?" Vidhant repeated, confusion darkening his face as he shot a sharp look toward Ruhi, his jaw tightening in anger as he kneel down to Rishu's height. His mind struggled to process what his son had just said. He felt a surge of undeniable rage for the woman sitting before him, a woman who had vanished from their lives, only to now be introduced to him by his own son as their mother. How dare she? How could she have the audacity to sit here, pretending as if nothing had happened?

His teeth clenched, his hands fisted by his side as he tried to control the storm of emotions ready to erupt. Ruhi, watching him closely, could feel the tension in the air. She knew him too well-his posture, the way his eyes darkened-he was barely holding himself together. But she was filled with her own anger. This man, who was her husband, the father of their children, had never understood the depth of what they shared. He had let her go so easily, without a fight. Now, here he stood, seething with fury, while she felt the same bitterness bubbling inside her.

"Dad, she's the lady I told you about. She's my and Reet's mom too!" Rishu announced brightly, oblivious to the firestorm his words were stoking.

Vidhant's voice, when he finally spoke, was deceptively calm, but the venom was unmistakable. "How can she be your mom, Rishu, when your mom is up there, among the stars in the sky?" His tone was filled with a cruel sort of politeness, revealing a truth that he had planted in his children's minds-he had told them their mother was gone, painting Ruhi as dead in their world.

Ruhi's heart shattered at his words, each one hitting her like a physical blow. The tears she had been holding back finally began to fall, one by one, silently tracing the pain she felt. Vidhant had not just erased her from their lives, he had lied-lied to their children about her existence, telling them she was nothing but a distant memory, a star in the sky. She wanted to scream, to break through the walls he had built around her absence, to tell her children the truth. To tell them she was their mother, their real mother, the one who had carried them, the one who had loved them even from a distance.

But how could she? What could she possibly say to undo the years of lies? What explanation could she give for why she had been gone all this time, why she had left them as newborns? The truth was too messy, too painful. She had dealt with the pregnancy alone, the heartbreak alone, because Vidhant had never taken a stand for her. He had left her to suffer in silence, while he continued on with their children, building a life without her.

The room was thick with tension, neither of them willing to speak further in front of Rishu and Reet. Vidhant's rage simmered beneath the surface, but he knew he couldn't explode-not here, not now. Not in front of the children. They didn't deserve to see that side of him, the part of him that was ready to tear Ruhi apart for daring to show up after all these years.

And Ruhi, broken as she was, had to stand there and absorb the weight of the lies and the lost years, while her heart screamed for the truth she couldn't share.

"Mom, why are you crying?" Rishu asked, his voice filled with concern. His small hands reached for Ruhi's, while Reet, always the quieter of the two, gently wiped away the tears streaming down her face. Both children, though still young, were perceptive beyond their years. They could sense something was wrong-something deeper than just a causal talk. Whenever their father meet another person they greet them but the situation is quiet hella difference their father just stood rooted.

Reet looked up at Ruhi with those same questioning eyes that mirrored her own, searching for answers that no child should have to ask. Rishu, on the other hand, looked between Ruhi and Vidhant, clearly puzzled by the strange tension hanging in the room. Why hadn't Dad introduced himself to this lady whom he likes to say mom. Why was Mom so sad?

Vidhant saw the suspicion forming in their eyes. The kids were sharp; he knew he had to act quickly before the weight of the truth started to crack through the thin veneer he had built. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, his voice suddenly warm and fatherly as he crouched down to the children's level.

"Hey, you two," Vidhant began, forcing a smile, "Hi i am Vidhant Vadhera", He formally told and chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood. "You've both been so wonderful today, haven't you? Meeting new people, making friends. You're such good kids."

Rishu's face softened slightly, but Reet wasn't convinced. Her gaze flickered from Vidhant to Ruhi, still sensing that something wasn't quite right. Vidhant saw the doubt in her eyes and quickly added, "Grandma and Pihu bhua just been missing you both. It's a lot for her to see you two after so long. Let's give her a moment, okay? Why don't we go to Grandma and Pihu bhua to tell them all about your adventures today?"

Rishu nodded, the explanation seeming to calm him a little, but Reet hesitated, still looking back at Ruhi. She held Ruhi's hand for a moment longer, reluctant to let go, but finally, she followed her brother toward the door.

Vidhant stood up, watching as the kids left the room, leaving him and Ruhi alone once again. His facade of calm shattered the moment the door closed behind them. His eyes narrowed, filled with a storm of emotions he could no longer contain.

"What do you think you're doing, Ruhanika or Ruhi whatever the fuck u are?" he hissed, his voice low but laced with anger. "Why are you here, and why are you trying to confuse my children?"

Vidhant used to call Ruhi as Ruhanika as this is her full name Ruhanika Vadhera after marriage.

Ruhi, still wiping the remnants of her tears, met his gaze with a steely resolve she hadn't felt in years. "Confuse them? I'm their mother, Vidhant. They are also my children. I have every right to be here. They deserve to know the truth."

Vidhant scoffed, shaking his head. "Their mother? The mother who left them behind? You don't get to just walk back into their lives and claim that title like nothing happened. I raised them, Ruhanika. You weren't there."

Ruhi's heart clenched at his words, but she didn't back down. "I didn't have a choice, Vidhant, and you know it. You pushed me away, made decisions for your fucking self. I did what I had to do."

Vidhant's fists tightened, his voice cold. "The only thing the kids know is that their mother is gone. Dead. And that's how it's going to stay.", Saying this he slammed the door shut leaving a sob wreaking Ruhi behind.

P.s.- Ruhanika and Ruhi are same. Don't get confuse.

So they meet what's next and their kids are next level..🎃

Tillthengoodbye
moonwithflames_