The candles were almost halfway burned.
The food had grown cold.
And Alankrita was still waiting.
She sat at the dining table, occasionally glancing at the entrance, then at the phone beside her.
Nothing.
Not a message.
Not a call.
Not even a small indication that Arjun remembered what day it was.
She tried calling him again.
The phone rang.
And rang.
Then went unanswered.
She slowly lowered her hand.
A painful lump formed in her throat.
Perhaps he's busy.
She tried to reassure herself.
Maybe something important came up.
She looked at the beautiful table she had arranged.
Three plates.
Three glasses.
Three people who were supposed to celebrate together.
Her eyes settled on the little birthday decoration she had placed beside Raghuveer's high chair.
She had imagined him clapping while Arjun brought out her birthday cake.
She had imagined Arjun smiling at her.
She had imagined hearing the words she had been longing for.
Happy birthday, Alankrita.
Just that.
She didn't need expensive gifts.
She didn't need a grand celebration.
She only wanted to feel remembered.
### Unexpected Guests
The doorbell rang.
Alankrita immediately looked up.
For one hopeful second, her heart leapt.
Arjun!
She hurried toward the entrance, adjusting her saree.
But when she opened the door...
It was Lavanya and Don Vittorio.
They stood there with beautiful gift bags and a bouquet of flowers.
"Happy birthday, piccola!"
Vittorio greeted her warmly.
Lavanya immediately embraced her.
"Happy birthday, my darling!"
Alankrita smiled.
But it wasn't the smile they had expected.
"Thank you, Amma."
Lavanya stepped back and looked at her.
"Why are you standing here? Come, let us see our birthday girl!"
She entered the apartment, followed by Vittorio.
But the moment they reached the dining area, both stopped.
The table was beautifully arranged.
The food was prepared.
The candles were burning.
Everything was ready.
Except the people who were supposed to be there.
Lavanya looked around.
"Where is Arjun?"
Alankrita lowered her eyes.
"He hasn't come yet."
"Not yet?"
Vittorio glanced at the clock.
"What time did you ask him to come?"
Alankrita hesitated.
"I messaged him in the afternoon."
She picked up her phone.
"I called him too."
Lavanya looked at the screen.
There were several unanswered calls.
Her expression changed.
"Didn't he respond?"
Alankrita shook her head.
"No, Amma."
She tried smiling.
"Maybe he's busy."
But her voice betrayed her.
Lavanya gently held her hand.
"Alankrita..."
The young woman looked away.
Vittorio understood immediately.
He had seen enough of the situation to recognise that this wasn't merely disappointment over a delayed dinner.
His daughter-in-law had been waiting for someone to remember her.
And she had been waiting alone.
### The Tears She Could No Longer Hide
Lavanya placed the gifts aside and pulled Alankrita into an embrace.
"Come here, sweetheart."
That was all it took.
The moment she felt Lavanya's arms around her, Alankrita's composure began to crumble.
Her lips trembled.
Her eyes filled.
And suddenly...
She began crying.
Not the quiet tears she had shed into her pillow on countless lonely nights.
These were uncontrollable sobs.
The kind that came from a heart that had been holding too much for too long.
Lavanya tightened her embrace.
"Oh, my child..."
Alankrita buried her face against her shoulder.
"I just wanted..."
She struggled to speak.
"I just wanted today to be different."
Lavanya stroked her hair.
"It will be okay."
But Alankrita shook her head.
"I prepared everything, Amma."
Her voice broke.
"I made all the food. I dressed up. I waited..."
She wiped her cheeks, but the tears kept coming.
"I thought this year..."
She couldn't finish.
Vittorio stood nearby, his expression growing increasingly serious.
Lavanya gently cupped her face.
"Listen to me. You are important. Do you understand?"
Alankrita tried to nod.
But she couldn't stop crying.
"I just wanted one day..."
She whispered.
"Just one day to feel like I mattered too."
Lavanya's eyes filled with tears.
She hugged her again.
And for the first time, Alankrita allowed herself to cry without pretending she was fine.
### The Man Who Came Home Too Late
The front door opened.
Arjun entered.
He had returned from his boys' day out.
Raghuveer was already asleep against his shoulder, his little face nestled comfortably near his father's neck.
The little boy smelled faintly of vanilla ice cream and the evening breeze.
Arjun was still wearing his casual clothes.
He looked relaxed.
Until he entered the dining area.
His steps slowed.
His eyes moved from his parents...
To the beautifully decorated table...
Then to his wife.
Alankrita stood beside Lavanya.
Her beautiful saree was slightly disarranged.
Her eyes were swollen.
Her cheeks were wet with tears.
The sight immediately erased his smile.
"Alankrita?"
His voice changed.
He walked closer.
"What happened?"
He looked at her face with genuine concern.
"Are you hurt?"
Alankrita stepped back.
Not toward him.
Away from him.
That small movement confused him.
He glanced at Lavanya.
Then at Vittorio.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Alankrita looked directly at him.
"You didn't care about me."
Her voice trembled.
Arjun frowned.
"What?"
"You didn't care."
She wiped her cheeks.
"I messaged you to come home early. I called you so many times. You didn't answer."
He stared at her.
For a moment, he didn't understand.
Then he remembered the phone in his pocket.
He pulled it out.
The screen lit up.
Missed calls.
Messages.
One after another.
His eyes widened.
He opened her message.
Please come home early today. I've prepared something special.
He looked at the time it had been sent.
Then at the missed calls.
His phone had been on silent.
He had completely forgotten to check it during the outing.
His hand immediately went to his forehead.
"Dio mio..."
He struck his forehead in frustration.
"Alankrita, I'm sorry."
He stepped closer.
"We were just out. Me and Raghuveer... we went for a boys' day out."
He looked down at the sleeping child.
Then back at her.
"I didn't see your messages. My phone was on silent."
He spoke quickly, trying to explain.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
But then...
He made a mistake.
A mistake that would change the way he understood his marriage.
He looked at her tear-streaked face and asked,
"Why are you crying? We came back, right?"
Silence.
Alankrita stared at him.
For a few seconds...
She didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't even seem to breathe.
We came back, right?
That was all he had to say?
He had no idea what she had been waiting for.
No idea how many times she had looked at the clock.
No idea how much love she had poured into that dinner.
No idea how many nights she had cried because she felt invisible.
And now\...
He was asking why she was crying because they had returned.
Something inside her finally broke.
### The Birthday Dinner
Alankrita turned toward the dining table.
The beautiful table she had arranged with so much affection.
The food she had prepared.
The candles.
The flowers.
The little place she had set for Raghuveer.
She looked at everything.
Then, with a sudden cry of anguish...
She swept her arm across the table.
CRASH!
The plates fell.
The serving bowls shattered against the floor.
The food she had prepared with love spilled across the dining area.
The candles toppled over.
The carefully arranged flowers scattered.
The birthday dinner was destroyed in a single moment.
Everyone froze.
Arjun stared at the wreckage.
Raghuveer stirred slightly against his shoulder but remained asleep.
Alankrita was crying uncontrollably now.
"Today is my birthday!"
Her voice echoed through the apartment.
"Today!"
She pointed toward the ruined table.
"I haven't celebrated my birthday since I was sixteen!"
Her voice cracked.
"This year, finally, I thought..."
She pressed her hand against her chest.
"I thought I had someone to celebrate with!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"But I was wrong."
She looked directly at Arjun.
"I have nobody!"
Arjun's expression changed.
"Alankrita..."
But she continued.
"My husband doesn't love me!"
The words struck him.
Hard.
"Yes! I am happy for you!"
She gestured toward Raghuveer.
"I am so happy that you love him! I am happy that he has a father who adores him!"
Her voice trembled.
"But you never think about me!"
She took a shaky breath.
"Not once!"
Arjun stood completely still.
Alankrita continued, her words spilling out through years of suppressed pain.
"I carried him alone!"
"I went through twenty hours of labour!"
"I took care of him alone!"
"I studied while taking care of him!"
"I woke up every night!"
"I fed him!"
"I held him!"
"I was there for every little thing!"
Her hands trembled.
"I was alone, Arjun..."
She looked at him through her tears.
"But he had me."
Her voice softened for a moment.
"I was everything for him."
Then her expression crumpled again.
"Now he has me and you."
She pressed her trembling fingers against her chest.
"But I don't have anyone!"
The room became painfully silent.
"I am happy when you both laugh together. I am happy when he runs to you. I am happy when he sleeps peacefully in your arms."
She swallowed hard.
"But what about me?"
Her voice broke.
"Who is there for me?"
Arjun's eyes remained fixed on her.
She looked toward the ruined table.
"Today, I prepared everything because I wanted to celebrate with my husband."
Then she looked at him again.
"But you forgot me."
A sob escaped her throat.
"Today you proved it..."
She struggled to complete the sentence.
"He is your prince..."
Her lips trembled.
"And I am just a dustbin you come home to."
The words fell into the room like shattered glass.
Before anyone could stop her...
She turned and ran toward their bedroom.
The sound of the bedroom door slamming echoed through the apartment.
### The Realisation
Nobody spoke.
Lavanya stood holding Raghuveer.
Vittorio looked at his son.
The dining room was a mess.
Broken plates.
Spilled food.
Extinguished candles.
A birthday celebration that had never truly begun.
Arjun stood motionless.
His phone was still in his hand.
He looked at the messages again.
Then at the table.
Then toward the closed bedroom door.
I don't have anyone.
Her words repeated in his mind.
He slowly lowered his phone.
For months...
He had been so consumed by his love for Raghuveer that he hadn't noticed what was happening to his wife.
He had wanted to give his son everything.
Every experience.
Every happiness.
Every moment of affection.
He had taken him to competitions.
He had travelled with him.
He had held him while cooking.
He had made him the centre of his world.
And he had believed that because Alankrita was happy seeing their bond...
She was happy too.
He had never asked whether she was lonely.
Never noticed how quietly she waited.
Never realised that every time he returned home with Raghuveer, he was bringing happiness to one person while leaving another with an aching emptiness.
He loved his son.
There was no doubt about that.
But he loved his wife too.
And somewhere along the way...
He had neglected her.
Terribly.
He looked at the bedroom door.
For the first time, he understood that Alankrita wasn't asking him to love Raghuveer less.
She was asking him to love her too.
Arjun handed Raghuveer gently to Lavanya.
"Mama..."
His voice was unusually low.
"Please take him."
Lavanya held the sleeping child close.
Arjun looked at his mother.
"I need to talk to my wife."
Vittorio placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Then go and listen to her, son."
Arjun nodded.
He turned toward the bedroom.
And walked away.
End of Chapter 149
She had never wanted him to choose between her and their son. She had only wanted to know that, in the family she had helped create, there was a place for her too.