Veena's gaze turned sharply to Adrija, her voice dripping with suspicion.
"Adrija, tell me the truth. Is what this girl is saying true?"
Adrija hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes… Veena ji. Gauri is my sister."
Veena's expression hardened, her tone unyielding and laced with venom.
"If you want to marry Vihaan, you have to sever ties with this cheap girl."
Gauri's eyes flashed with anger. She straightened her posture, her voice firm.
"Gauri. That is my name. Don't address me as 'girl' or 'cheap girl.'"
Vihaan stepped forward, his voice stern but controlled.
"Gauri, be in your limits."
Gauri's gaze locked on his, her lips curling into a sarcastic smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Vihaan. I didn't realize that your family's matriarch crossing every limit by asking Adrija to break ties with her own sister was perfectly acceptable."
Her words turned sharper, cutting through the heavy silence of the hall.
"You and your family are so quick to judge me, but you're blind to your own double standards. You're more concerned about protecting your so-called prestige than about doing what's right."
Veena's nostrils flared, but before she could lash out again, Gayatri intervened, her voice calm yet edged with warning.
"Gauri, enough. Did I teach you to argue with your elders like this?"
Her eyes shifted subtly, a calculating glint hidden within them. She was already thinking how Gauri's sharp tongue could ruin their luck—especially now that Adrija was marrying into a wealthy family like the Kotharis.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the guest room, Pratham Vanshi slowly opened her eyes. A faint, knowing smile spread across her lips. She could sense Jalpanchi's presence, and her voice rang with conviction.
"Jalpanchi has arrived."
With quiet confidence, Pratham Vanshi rose gracefully to her feet.
But as she neared the window, her gaze froze on a murder of black crows perched ominously on the sill. A sudden chill swept through the warm daylight as the shadows of their wings flickered across the walls.
Her eyes narrowed in recognition. In the very next instant, Pratham Vanshi's form blurred—and she vanished past the window, disappearing into the bright day as though pulled toward the sinister energy lurking nearby.
Downstairs, Veena's voice dripped with disdain as she said,
"Gauri is so shameless. Unlike Adrija, who knows how to be respectful."
Gauri's gaze met Veena's, her voice calm but firm.
"I give respect to those who are worthy of it, even if they are elders. But I won't tolerate disrespect or injustice, no matter who it comes from."
As Gauri attempted to continue, Dadi subtly signaled her to stay silent, and Gauri respected her gesture, holding back her words.
Dadi then turned to Veena, her voice calm but assertive.
"Yes, Gauri might be too outspoken at times, but even you are wrong in this matter."
Her tone grew firmer, though still gentle.
"Gauri only came to attend her sister's engagement ceremony. How is it fair that Adrija has to break ties with her own sister?"
Veena's expression remained unyielding.
"I don't care, but I don't want this girl to have any relation with us, Mummy ji."
Dadi's eyes locked onto Veena's, her voice steady as steel.
"Would it be right if Gayatri ji demanded that Vihaan break his ties with either Yug or Raani?"
Veena fell silent, her lips pressing into a thin line.
Dadi seized the moment.
"No, right? Then how can you expect Adrija to sever ties with Gauri? It's wrong."
Veena's face twisted in a mixture of disdain and concern.
"Fine, they can keep the relationship, but I don't want this girl around any of the functions. Otherwise, she might jinx it."
Gauri's eyes flashed with sarcasm as she shot back,
"Your point of view has already jinxed it. Besides, I'm leaving. I'm fed up hearing taunts from you and your statue of a son who never acknowledges when his mother is wrong."
With a swift motion, Gauri turned to Dadi and bent slightly for her blessings.
"Dadi, I'm leaving."
After receiving Dadi's nod, Gauri turned to go.
But just as she stepped away, her gaze locked onto Vihaan's. The air turned heavy, charged with unspoken emotions.
The two exchanged a killer stare—Vihaan's eyes narrowed, sharp and unyielding, while Gauri's sparkled with fiery defiance.
Neither blinked, neither stepped back.
The moment stretched taut, a silent clash of wills—until Gauri finally broke it, turning on her heel and walking out of the Kothari mansion with unshaken pride.
Outside, Pratham Vanshi's voice cut through the courtyard with an otherworldly authority. "I know you're here, Nishigandha. Reveal yourself."
As if summoned, Nishigandha materialized on a nearby tree branch, all sinuous motion and poisonous grace. Her smile was slow and wicked. "Pratham Vanshi," she mocked, "an old crone clinging to her fading powers."
Pratham Vanshi's eyes flashed steel as she met the witch's gaze. "You can mock me, witch?" Her tone was low and dangerous, the promise of power barely contained.
Nishigandha's grin widened, the amusement in her voice like acid. "Oh, I'm not mocking you. I'm stating the truth. Your strength dwindles — soon you'll be nothing but a relic."
Pratham Vanshi's gaze hardened, every word deliberate. "Boast all you want, Nishigandha, but you forget one thing: jalpanchi has surfaced. In her light, your darkness falters."
Nishigandha's expression soured into fury. "How dare you," she hissed. "You think jalpanchi is invincible? I will expose her limits, and you will pay for your arrogance."
Pratham Vanshi did not flinch. "You have the dark," she said quietly, "but she has something older — blessing and fate. If she chooses, even your shadows will unravel."
The two women held each other's stare beneath the bright day, the air between them humming with the promise of a war that was no longer only whispered in the dark.