Chapter 97: The Broken Heart

The sounds of sobbing were reaching their ears but they were busy staring at each other. Young-Soo wanted to say sorry to her on one hand. On the other, Ashma wanted to apologise to him for being rude and arrogant to him the previous night. She also wanted to apologise on behalf of her mother.

"Are you okay?" asked Ashma while wiping her tears.

"I just broke your mother's heart," sobbed Young-Soo and said harshly. "I am not okay neither is she."

"I will take care of her," assured Ashma.

Young-Soo was surprised at her answer. Why was she not angry? Why was she not shouting at him for hurting her mother? "You are not angry," asked Young-Soo.

"If you would have chosen her over mumma, I would have been angry but now I am happy and proud of you," said Ashma smiling.

"What?" Young-Soo was shocked at her reply.

"I was angry at you yesterday and I am sorry about that," apologised Ashma. She bowed down and joined her hands in namaste.

"What are you talking about?" Young-Soo was still in shock.

"The word daughter triggered something in me. I didn't like when you called me daughter. I was rude and rotten. I should not have talked with you like that. I am really sorry," Ashma pulled her ears and apologised to Young-Soo.

Young-Soo stared at her for minutes, without speaking a word. She first looked at him with a smile but when he kept staring at her, her smile vanished. After a few minutes, he gulped and asked, "Let me understand, I made your mother cry and instead of getting angry, you are saying sorry."

"I know now what happened to you and what happened with your father. You chose the health of your father and I appreciate that. I would have done the same, anyone would have done the same. And about mother, you know she has been lying to all of us," informed Ashma.

"You know about her fake cast," shouted Young-Soo, shocked.

"You know about her fake cast?" screamed Ashma, surprised.

"She slapped me," educated Young-Soo.

"I saw. She slapped me too," said Ashma.

"We think alike. Well, she herself outed her lie. I had no idea she would such a thing. The Vidhi I knew is not the Vidhi you brought to Korea," declared Young-Soo

"I too had no idea she was capable of something like this, that's why I am disappointed with her and I am sorry on her behalf," said Ashma.

"But why are you not taking her side?" asked Young-Soo, puzzled.

"I could never. I never knew you. I still feel betrayed that you left me, you never even tried to contact me. So why would I want a father? If it would have been about her happiness and some other man, I would have supported her but snatching someone else's life, I can never do that. But now I am happy that you chose mumma," said Ashma.

"I could never contact you," said Young-Soo, ashamed. He lowered his head with shame unable to look into Ashma's eyes.

"Of course, you could, if mumma could, why not you," protested Ashma.

"She told you a lie that she was Vidhi's friend, what should I have told you that I too am Vidhi's friend," snapped Young-Soo.

"Well, you were her friend," pointed Ashma.

"That's true but I was a coward. I left you alone and I will regret that decision all my life," said Young-Soo, sadly. The sobs of Vidhi grew louder. It was not sobs, it was wailing.

"I accept your apology. What you did today was what I wanted and expected from you. You have gained the right to call me your daughter," suggested Ashma.

"What?" shouted Young-Soo, excited. For the first time, Ashma allowed him to call her, his daughter. Her words send him over the moon.

"I love mumma, she has been my friend, my mentor, my pal, my supporter and my fairy godmother. I can never see her sad," said Ashma.

"But you can see your mother sad?" asked Young-Soo, sadly.

"That's her own design," chided Ashma. "Don't worry, I will go and take care of her but before that, I needed to say sorry and thank you to you."

"May I hug you?" Young-Soo tried his luck.

"Of course," said Ashma and wrapped her arms around Young-Soo. He pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. He was on seventh heaven after hugging her. He could not contain his smile. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I have news to give you but not right now. I need to support my mother."

"Anything, my daughter. When will you call me your father?" Young-Soo pushed his luck even more.

"I don't know," said Ashma. Young-Soo was slightly disappointed. "Give me some time to be ready. You chose to be a good husband and good father to Bong-Cha and Baek-Hyeon, you gained good points in my book. I am proud of you."

"I have always been proud of you, my dear daughter," said Young-Soo.

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He again grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in a hug. His heart was beating faster as he was hugging her. His happiness knew no bounds. His heart was jumping up and down with excitement. He closed his eyes and took in all the happiness.

A few minutes ago he was sad and hurt because he hurt a very important person in his life but his daughter healed him by allowing him to call her his daughter. He was even hugging her. He hugged her twice. His sadness subsided.

"See you in the morning," said Ashma.

"Yes."

She broke the embrace and ran to the terrace. She pushed opened the door and found Vidhi, crying badly, on her knees on the floor. The floor in front of her was wet with her tears. Ashma ran to her and held her shoulder. Vidhi immediately turned and hugged her daughter while on her knees.

"I lost, Ashu, I lost," wailed Vidhi.

"It's okay, mom. Everything will be fine," reassured Ashma. She caressed her mother's hair and patted her head.

"That's what you wanted, right?" Vidhi broke the embrace, jerked herself away from Ashma and stood up.

Ashma too stood up and faced her mother. "I never want you to lose, but the fight you picked up was not worth it," said Ashma. She moved towards Vidhi to hug her again.

"Get away from me, you made me lose," Vidhi rejected Ashma.

Ashma created some distance between herself and her mother and took a deep breath. She rolled her eyes and said, "calm down mom, it is for the best."

"I lost the love of my life, how is it for the best?" chided Vidhi.

"You lost the love of your life ages ago, now you lost someone else's love," reprimanded Ashma.

"Ashu!" In anger, Vidhi again tried to slap her but Ashma grabbed her palm in the mid-way.

"Enough!" yelled Ashma at the top of her lungs. She was scared that all that noise would make the whole family to wake up. "Snap out of it. You didn't lose, you were just never in the competition."

"But what about my happiness?" shouted Vidhi.

"Is finding love the only path to happiness? Were you not happy when you were with your father? Were you not happy when you were raising me on your own? Were you not happy when you laughed all day with Madhu maasi? Were you not happy after receiving so much love from your students and fellow professors? Were you not happy when you were advocating for women's freedom in India? Did you mean everything you said all those years or was that just hypocrisy?" shouted and said Ashma in a single breath.

Vidhi kept sobbing but after hard-hitting words of Ashma, she wiped her tears and kept staring at Ashma. She was right. Love was not the only way to happiness. She didn't need a new family, she already had a happy family.

"So, he is more important than your family that you have. He is more important than your father, your sworn sister, your daughter. I am not asking you to choose between relationships, a man already did that for you. I am asking whether all those years with us meant anything for you. Do you regret birthing me? Do you regret never marrying anyone? Is a relationship so important in someone's life? Does everyone have to be a couple? Can't single people be happy? Is your identity because of him or because he was not in your life? You gave me my identity and I am proud of being a Dewan. I never want to be a Park, that would mean that I am leaving my precious life in India. Is that what you want, leave everything you have just for a man who wants nothing to do with you? You always advocated for girls to never change their surname and never lose their identity but now you are ready to leave everything because of a man?" snapped Ashma. Every word out of her mouth was like daggers.

"Ashu!" Vidhi exclaimed and threw herself in Ashma's arms. Ashma let her mother cry and hugged her tightly.

"I know, mom, you are hurt, you are heart-broken again. But you were barking up the wrong tree. He is married and has two kids. I wish that you fall in love once again but with the person who wants you to not fall for one-sided love. You can open your heart again, mom, but open it for a worthy person," persuaded Ashma.

"You are his kid too," sobbed Vidhi.

"No, that's where you are wrong," protested Ashma. "I am your daughter, I am Madhu maasi's niece, I am Mr Surya Dewan's granddaughter. I don't have a father, I never needed a father because I had my mother, my lovely, kind-hearted, sweet mother."

"I am sorry! I am sorry!" begged Vidhi.

"You don't need to say that mom, I can understand how you would have felt after seeing him after so many years. All those lost feelings that you kept pent up came flooding all at once. I am sorry for not being with you. I was too occupied with my emotions and my anger that I never realised what you would be going through. I am sorry," sniffled Ashma. He understood her mother's pain. She too started crying after hugging her mother.

"I am sorry for hitting you," apologised Vidhi.

"No, I can say now that my mother too hit me. I will be in the desi kids club," teased Ashma.

"I am sorry Ashu," said Vidhi.

"I am sorry mom that you got your heart-broken, again," apologised Ashma.

"I am sorry for behaving like a bad person," Vidhi expressed regret.

"Wanting your love back in life is not being a bad person, yes hurting someone in the process is bad," said Ashma.

"I did that," sobbed Vidhi.

"No, mom, no one got hurt except you. Let me take you to the room. Sleep with me tonight," assured Ashma.

"Yes, Ashu," said Vidhi, sweetly.

Ashma held her mother, closed the terrace door and took her to her room. The whole night she kept an eye on her mother.. She didn't want her to cry again but she knew she needed to cry to get over her broken heart.

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