The Binding String

N I N T Y - N I N E

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The family were seated in the corridors, with straight backs and hopeful hearts. Ishita looked at Raman uncle, he was seated next to her, asked for her and roohi health. She met him briefly twice , first in their wedding and then the small ceremony they hosted after Roohi birth. She didn't talked much with him but he is a kind and generous man, same as his image made in the public. Yes, people's choose cunning ways to make their work happen but aren't all of us are same. At the other side, Sarika's parents were seated with bent shoulders and moist eyes, sometimes even power can make you powerless.

Every family has a skeleton in the closet. Some are quietly buried and forgotten. But others? They claw their way back to the surface, dragging the present into the ruins of the past. This story… is born out of such a past.

Long before Romi and Sarika’s love story stirred chaos in the present timeline, there existed another love story—one that never saw a happy ending. One that laid the foundation for hatred, bitterness, and shattered ties.

Years ago, Payal Singh, the younger sister of Kuldeep Singh, was the pride of his life. A gentle, radiant girl with a mind of her own, she dared to love someone her brother would never approve of—Bhanu Prakash Bhalla, the youngest brother of Omprakash Bhalla, and Shiv Prakash Bhalla and uncle to Raman and Romi.

Bhanu wasn’t the ideal son-in-law in Kuldeep’s eyes. He was headstrong, didn’t care for political games, and worse—he belonged to the very family that Kuldeep considered his social inferior. Kuldeep had other plans for his sister—an arranged marriage into a powerful bureaucratic family that would cement his political future. Love, for him, was never part of the plan.

But love, as always, writes its own story.

Payal and Bhanu, deeply in love, tried to keep their relationship hidden. Yet secrets don’t stay buried for long. The only person who knew before anyone else… was Shyam Chand Hooda—Raman’s maternal uncle, Kuldeep’s closest friend at the time, and the man who stood between both families.

Shyam was torn. Payal was like a daughter to him, and Bhanu—though flawed—loved her with a purity that was hard to ignore. When the time came, Shyam made a choice that would destroy his lifelong friendship with Kuldeep—he helped Payal elope with Bhanu.

That single act of loyalty to love unraveled everything.

Kuldeep’s political arrangement collapsed. He felt humiliated—his sister snatched away, not by enemies, but by those he once considered family. His trust broken by Shyam, the man he called his brother. Overnight, friendship turned to enmity, and love turned into loss.

Then, came the greatest tragedy of all.

Months after the marriage, Payal died in a car accident. Some claimed it was an accident. Others, especially Bhanu, believed it was orchestrated by those who couldn’t bear her happiness. Whether it was Kuldeep’s vengeance or fate, no one could ever prove. But the wound remained—festering in the hearts of all involved.

Bhanu was never the same again.

Kuldeep’s grief turned into rage. Shyam’s silence turned into guilt. And the bond between the Bhallas, the Hoodas, and the Singhs shattered beyond repair.

Years passed, but the ghosts of that past never truly left.

So when Romi Bhalla, Bhanu nephew, fell in love with Sarika Singh, Kuldeep’s only daughter, history began to repeat itself. Love dared to blossom once more between the same two families who were once torn apart by it.

But this time, Kuldeep was prepared to crush it.

To him, Romi wasn’t just a boy who loved his daughter—he was a symbol of everything he lost. The Bhallas had taken his sister. He wasn’t going to let them take his daughter too.

And yet, the irony of fate is that it plays out the same script, only with new faces.

Shyam Chand Hooda, now a powerful political figure in his own right, stood with Raman and Romi this time. Maybe because he had failed to protect Payal. Maybe because he couldn’t watch another generation be destroyed by the sins of the last.

The past, you see, never stays in the past. It bleeds into the present. And now, as Sarika fights for her life, and Romi clings to survival, the feud of decades has reared its head once again.

This isn’t just a story of lovers torn apart.

This is a story of families broken by pride, of friendships betrayed, and of a love so powerful, it threatens to burn everything in its path—even history.

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The night was heavy for Bhalla family, none of them slept even a blink. Santhosh and Manjot were also present in the hospital, thankfully Romi was doing better and he met with his parents too but Sarika was still on the ventilator and they were begging from God to grace her with life. The little Rohit also accompanied his grandmother's, Ishita cradled Rohit in her arms and started to stoll in the corridors. The little boy was restless and not ready to be in anyone's arms until Ishita took him, he immediately rested his head on her shoulder and started to suck his thumb.

"I know you wanted to meet your mother. She will be fine soon. You need her." Rohit blinked his eyes and than hugged her like he is agreeing with his aunt. Ishita patted his back and moved towards the ward where Sarika was kept. They can see her through the glass panels, Ishita wished if Sarika could listen her son voice. She is still fighting for her life and her son could be an anchor for her.

"Beta! Can I take him."

Ishita's eyes met with Sarika's mother and her hold tightened more around his small frame.

"Let me see him once. He is my Saru flesh." The old lady begged infront of Ishita, passing yearning look to her grandson. Ishita looked at Raman who nodded his head and she passed Rohit to her half heartedly. The old lady hugged Rohit tightly and started peppering kisses on her chubby face. "He looks like my Saru."

"Till yesterday your husband was naming him bastard and now today you are finding resemblance with Sarika." Gulab devi averted her eyes and handed Rohit back to Ishita who already started to feeling uncomfortable in stranger arms. She cooed and took him away, patting his softly. Ishita had noticed the yearning eyes of Kuldeep Singh too but she had no heart to give him a single glance of Rohit, he is pretty much a legitimate child of the Bhalla family and adored by his parents.

Thankfully Mihir took Roohi with him at the midnight. She will definitely ask lots of questions but Ishita know Mihir Mihika are capable to handle her well. This time their priority is Sarika. She was thinking about calling Mihika to ask about Roohi whereabouts, at the same time doctor came out from the ICU, they went to check Sarika.

"What happened doctor." Raman looked at doctor anxiously, their heartbeats were racing fast.

"We have turned off ventilator. Sarika is doing better now."

And their faces broke into a relieved smile, Ishita hugged Raman and peaked Rohit chubby face. The little boy giggled in his aunt's arms, and they saw a bright ray of sun through the glass panels.

"Your mom is getting better. She really loves you alot my pumpkin." Ishita whispered sweet nothings in Rohit ears still cradling him in her arms, basking in the morning sun.

Raat hai toh din hoga hi..........

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Would you guys like to read Ishita handling Rohit and Roohi together as Ishita never handled small kids before!!

Let me know and take care 😘