⚡ The Shocking Truth
Not understanding what exactly had happened, Nakul asked in confusion,
“Uncle… Meera is my cousin? I’m not understanding anything. Please explain clearly. Why should I forget Meera? Why are you angry at my father?”
With anger in his voice, he replied,
“This is not anger… it is hatred of twenty years. Your father is the murderer who made Meera an orphan without parents.”
Prakash’s words struck Nakul like lightning.
“What… my father is a murderer? Uncle, think before you speak like this. How am I supposed to understand? Whom did my father kill? What exactly happened? Please tell me clearly,” he pleaded.
“I will tell you, Nakul,” he said, and began narrating a tragic incident from the past.
🕰️ A Past Filled with Friendship and Betrayal
“Your uncle Siddharth and I were childhood friends, like life itself. Since both of us were orphans without parents, we shared the love of parents with each other and lived our lives together.
Siddharth had studied a little. But I didn’t have interest in studies and stayed back.
While studying in college, Siddharth fell in love with your aunt Sumathi. Despite her brother’s opposition, they got married. Since there were death threats from her family, we left that village and started a new life elsewhere.
We worked in a tea estate. Seeing our hard work, the estate owner gifted both of us 10 acres of land. From then on, we worked tirelessly, and within 5 years, that 10 acres expanded into 50 acres of tea estate. Our success spread across villages and inspired many farmers. Whoever came asking for help, we gave them work, food, and treated them like our own family.”
💔 Greed That Destroyed Everything
“One day, your father, along with your mother and his friend Rajeev—the same man who had once threatened us—came begging for help. He had lost all his property in gambling.
At first, Siddharth refused. But how long can Sumathi ignore her affection for her brother? Finally, listening to her, Siddharth gave him 10 acres of land on lease to rebuild his life.
Your father started growing tea there. But out of greed to become rich quickly, instead of harvesting after 9–10 years, he harvested in just 3 years. To improve the color and taste, he used a chemical called ‘Abin’ and supplied it to the market.
Because of that chemical, many people fell sick. When the Food Safety Department conducted a survey, it didn’t take long to trace it back to Sampigekatte Ratnagiri Tea Estate.
The police arrested your father. Since the land was in Siddharth’s name, he too was arrested. I bailed Siddharth out. Out of brotherly affection, he even got your father released on bail—but scolded him and threw him out of the estate. This led to a small conflict between Siddharth and Sumathi.”
🔥 The Crime That Changed Everything
“Filled with hatred for being thrown out, your father finally killed them right in front of my eyes by staging an accident. Meera survived only because I took her away in time.
Now tell me… should I send her as a daughter-in-law into the house of such a man? Never. I will never allow it.
If she ever comes to know that your father is the reason behind her parents’ death, forget loving you—she won’t even look at your face for the rest of her life. So it is better for you to forget her.”
Without waiting for Nakul’s response, he walked away.
😢 Silence, Pain, and Breaking Hearts
Hearing all this, Nakul sat there, stunned, staring blankly at nothing. Tears flowed endlessly from his eyes.
Nidhi, who had been silently standing nearby after returning from her walk in the forest and overhearing everything, was equally shocked. She gently consoled Nakul and took him home.
At Meera’s house, everyone had breakfast and continued their trip. Traveling from Dandeli to Madikeri through Sirsi, Sagara, Thirthahalli, Agumbe, and Udupi, they finally reached.
But from the moment the journey began, Nakul’s silence grew deeper. Except for Nidhi, no one understood what he was going through. Whatever anyone asked, his silence was the only answer. Meera, on the other hand, kept crying continuously.
Due to this emotional tension, their one-week trip was cut short to five days.
🖤 Love Turning Into Pain
After the trip, everyone returned to college like before—except Nakul. His phone was switched off. Silence surrounded him.
Gradually, he stopped eating and sleeping properly. Unable to tell his father that his love was dying because of his past crime, he even stopped speaking to his parents.
Worried about his behavior, Mohan and Kusuma asked all his friends, but no one had answers. Unable to bear his silence, Meera went to Dandeli.
🌱 A Hope for Solution
Nidhi, now knowing the truth, decided to find a solution. When she thought deeply, only one name came to her mind—Chirant.
“Yes… only Chirant can solve this,” she realized and went to meet him.
Chirant was lying on the bed reading a book.
“Hi Chiru,” she called.
“Hi Nidhi, how are you?” he asked, closing his book.
“I’m fine. How are you?”
“I’m good. How was the trip?” he asked.
“It was good, Chiru… but I came to talk about a problem. And only you can solve it.”
“Really? What problem?” he asked curiously.
With hesitation, she said,
“Meera and Nakul… they both love each other a lot.”
“I already know that,” he smiled.
Surprised, she asked, “How do you know?”
“I had seen them talking secretly. Even Nakul came to know that I knew when I went to Karwar,” he replied.
“That’s good… but the problem is, something happened when we are going to your house,” she said, and explained everything—from the conversation between Nakul and Prakash to Nakul’s silence.
🔥 A Decision is Made
Hearing all this, Chirant was shocked. Some childhood memories flashed before his eyes and disappeared.
“That house… we grew up there. Maybe that’s why it attracted me that day,” he thought.
He felt immense anger towards Mohan for making Meera an orphan. But at the same time, he decided that this hatred should not destroy true love.
“No matter what, I must unite them,” he decided firmly.
Realizing that Meera was actually Nakul’s relative, he strangely felt happy. Thinking deeply about a solution, an idea struck his mind.
Informing Tulasi that he was going out, he directly left for Nakul’s house.
To be continued…
You can also read this story in Kannada.
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