Chapter 32 — She Has Every Right

The dining room remained silent after Ritika ran upstairs.

Arnav stood still, his expression tense.

Rehnaa finally broke the silence.

Rehnaa: She should have slapped you one more time.

Arnav looked at her.

Rehnaa: What you said to her was completely wrong.

Shabana sighed.

Shabana: Beta, don't judge people like that.

Abhram looked at Arnav sternly.

Abhram: How could you tell her that she was trying to separate you from your family?

Arnav: Then why did she want the penthouse?

Abhram: Because—

Arnav interrupted.

Arnav: I know she would have asked you to send us there.

Rehnaa immediately became angry.

Rehnaa: Shut up, Arnav.

Arnav looked at her.

Rehnaa: It was our plan.

Arnav remained silent.

Rehnaa: Your Ammi, your Abbu and I discussed sending you both to the penthouse for some time so that you could understand each other properly.

Shabana nodded.

Shabana: We were trying to give you and Ritika some privacy, beta. Nobody was trying to separate you from this family.

Abhram's expression remained serious.

Abhram: And Ritika asked to stay at her parents' house for another reason.

Arnav looked at him.

Abhram: Because of what happened during her Muh Dikhai ceremony.

Arnav's expression changed.

Abhram: Your Khala, Safeena, insulted Ritika in front of everyone.

He spoke firmly.

Abhram: She told your Ammi that she had only one son and questioned why we had married him to a widow with a child.

Arnav's jaw tightened.

Rehnaa: Those words hurt Ritika badly.

She looked at Arnav.

Rehnaa: But she didn't answer back. She stayed quiet because she didn't want to create a scene in the family.

Shabana: Your Abbu stood up for her.

Abhram: I told Safeena clearly that Ritika was our daughter-in-law and that Arnav had accepted both her and Rishi.

Shabana: And I sent Safeena out of the house.

Rehnaa: I made her apologise to Ritika.

She paused.

Rehnaa: And do you know what Ritika said?

Arnav remained silent.

Rehnaa: She said, "It's okay, Phupi."

Her voice softened.

Rehnaa: She didn't hold a grudge. She simply went upstairs.

Shabana's eyes became emotional.

Shabana: And Rishi followed her.

Rehnaa: He found his mother crying and tried to comfort her.

Abhram looked directly at Arnav.

Abhram: That is why she wants to stay at her parents' house for a while. She needs her family around her after everything that happened.

Rehnaa: We don't regret choosing her as our bahu for even one moment.

Shabana: Not even once.

Abhram's voice became firm.

Abhram: And Arnav, listen carefully.

Arnav looked at him.

Abhram: Ritika has every right to stay at her parents' house.

He paused.

Abhram: Just because she married you does not mean she stopped being their daughter.

Rehnaa nodded.

Rehnaa: Marriage gives her another family. It doesn't take her first family away.

Arnav looked down.

The anger he had carried earlier was slowly replaced by guilt.

He remembered Ritika's face.

Her tears.

Her disbelief when he had accused her.

And finally, the sound of the slap.

For the first time, he understood that she hadn't been trying to leave him.

She had simply been asking for a little piece of the life she had always known.

Arnav quietly looked toward the staircase.

Arnav: I misunderstood her.

Abhram: Yes, beta.

Arnav said nothing more.

His eyes remained fixed on the floor as the weight of his words finally began to sink in.