PAST
SMRITI POV
Six months later... Papa finally got a job.
But not as an owner.
Not as the respected businessman Shrivastava Arora.
He was working as an employee... in a small software company.
His salary was just 3000 per month.
I stood near the window that evening, watching him remove his old shoes quietly.
His shoulders looked heavier than ever.
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
The man who once provided jobs to hundreds...
Was now working under someone else.
But he never complained.
Not once.
Mumma... she started working too.
In the same house that legally belonged 50% to my father... she worked like a maid there.
Cleaning utensils. Washing clothes. Sweeping floors.
Chachi would say loudly,
"Achha hai Sita, kaam toh aata hai tumhe. Kam se kam kisi kaam ki toh ho."
Mumma would just lower her eyes and continue working.
Papa heard everything.
But he remained silent.
That silence hurt more than anything.
One day, Chachi took all of Mama's sarees.
"These are too expensive for your condition now," she said mockingly. "I needs them more."
Even my dresses were taken by Shweta.
"Waise bhi tumhe kaha jaana hai?" she laughed. "Ghar mein hi toh rehna hai."
I ran to our small room and cried silently.
Why were we being punished for something we didn't do?
Then came 12th May. My 21st birthday.
I didn't expect anything.
But when I entered our tiny room that evening... I saw a small cake on the table.
And a simple dress kept beside it.
Papa stood there smiling softly.
"Happy Birthday, beta."
My heart broke.
"Papa... you didn't have to..." I whispered.
He tried to act normal.
"Arre, 20th birthday toh maine kharab kar diya na... iss baar theek se manayenge."
His voice cracked.
I shook my head immediately.
"No Papa... please don't say that. It wasn't your fault."
He held my hands.
"Beta... if someday... if I am not there..."
"Papa!" I interrupted, tears falling.
He continued softly,
"Promise me... you will prove that your father Shrivastava Arora was not a fraud. Not a criminal. Not an assaulter. I am innocent, Smirti. I have never done anything wrong."
His eyes were filled with pain.
Mumma started crying too.
I hugged Papa tightly.
"I promise," I said through tears. "I promise I will bring out the truth. I will prove you are a good man. I will take back your company. I will punish those who destroyed us."
That small room became witness to our silent vows.
We cut the cake together.
Three broken people.
But still holding each other like strength.
That night... I didn't just turn 21.
That night...
I became stronger.
And I promised myself -
One day, I will expose every culprit.
One day, I will bring back the name Shrivastava Arora with respect.
And that day...
No one will dare insult my parents again.
___________________________________
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