(Manik brings Riya out to the garden to an isolated area and makes her sit on the bench. She is shaken from what Harshad did, and Manik sits next to her.)
Manik- Riya, it's okay. Kuch nahi hua hai. Vo kuch nahi kar payega.
[Manik- Riya, it's okay. Nothing will happen. He won't be able to do anything.]
(But Riya is all silent and is not at all reacting to his words, making him more worried. She is still shaking in fear, and the fact that he cannot do anything makes him frustrated.)
(Here, Riya is lost in her traumatic past. The worst days of her life. The voices from her past are ringing in her ears and are making her go crazy.)
- You are just a worthless piece of shit.
- You are a curse.
-You don't deserve love at all.
- Your parents don't love you.
- We hate you! You destroyed our lives.
- I am not your mother. Call me Mam. Don't call me Mumma.
- If you ever came in front of my friends, then I will throw you out of this house.
- We never wanted you. Why didn't you die when you were born?
- You destroyed our lives. I never wanted a daughter like you.
- You are a disgrace to our family.
- You deserve the worst of everything.
- I wish that you never get love. I hope everyone hates you. You deserve all the hate in this world.
- You are horrible.
- You are just a disappointment.
(All the voices from her past keep echoing in her head, and she is breathing heavily and shivering in fear. On seeing her not responding to him, he shakes her a little, breaking her trance, and she returns to the present.)
Riya (murmurs)- I am not worthless. I am not a disappointment. No... no...
Manik (rubbing her back)- No. You are not worthless, Bache. You are not a disappointment.
(She looks at him in tears, and he looks on sadly.)
Riya (choked voice)- I am not a curse.
Manik- No. You are not a curse. You are a blessing. You are a blessing to me.
Riya (in tears): Don't hate me, Manik. Don't hate me.
(He shifts closer to her and takes her crying frame in a comforting hug.)
Manik- I can never hate you, Riya. Never. Don't think about all this. Shhhh.
(In response, she hugs him back tightly in tears, her head on his chest and him caressing her hair gently to calm her down.)
Riya (in tears)- You know Manik, jab bhi main bachpan mein koyi galti karti thi naa, to Mrs. Dixit mujhe main gate ke bahar khada kar deti thi. Chahe dhoop ho, baarish ho, unn ko koyi farak nahi padta tha. Aur phir.... phir ghanto takk mujhe andar nahi aane deti thi. Kisi ko mujhe paani tak nahi dene deti thi vo. Agar unke kisi friend ke saamne aa jaati thi naa to.... (cryingly) 02.... 02 din takk store room mein band rakhti thi vo mujhe. Bina khaane aur paani ke. Main darr se behosh ho jaati thi. But... But vo mujhe bahar nahi nikalti thi.
[Riya- You know Manik, whenever I made a mistake as a kid, Mrs Dixit used to make me stand on the gate outside. Be it sunny or raining, it did not affect her at all. And then... Then she won't let me come inside for hours. If I used to go in front of her friends, she used to keep me locked in the storeroom for 02 days. With no food or water. I used to faint because of fear. But... But she won't let me come out.]
(Manik closes his eyes to control himself and continues consoling her.)
Riya (in tears)- Why did they do this, Manik? Why? My parents didn't want me. I should have died. Why did I live? Why? (breaks down crying) I should have died.
Manik- Shhhh. Dare you say that again. Quiet.
(She hugs and holds him more tightly while crying, and he keeps consoling her, trying his best to calm her down.)
Manik (in her ear)- Shhhh. I got you. We are okay. Everything is fine. Shhh. No one hates you.
(It takes some time for her to calm down, and he gently caresses her hair and rubs her back while she keeps holding on to him tightly. After a few minutes, she breaks the hug and wipes her tears while he is still rubbing her back.)
Manik- Theek lag raha hai abhi?
[Manik- Are you feeling okay now?]
Riya (nodding in yes)- Hmm. I am fine.
Manik- Sure? Do you want me to get you something?
Riya (meekly)- No, I am fine!
(He sighs and turns her face to his side with his finger under her chin. She looks at him, scared, and he speaks.)
Manik- From now on, if someone says or does something to you, you will not get scared, okay? I told you, right, I will always support you. And I mean that promise to you. Whenever someone tries to disturb your personal space, just do anything that you can do to save yourself. Be it hitting them or pushing them away or anything, okay? Don't worry about anything else in the world. I will deal with the consequences. You just save yourself, okay?
Riya (sacred)- Mujh se nahi hoga Manik. Jaise hi unn mein se koyi mere saamne aata hai... Mujhe... Mujhe pata nahi kya ho jaata hai. I go numb. I.... I just lose all my strength.
[ Riya- I can't do this Manik. Whenever someone from their family comes in front of me, I don't know what happens to me. I go numb. I... I just lose all my strength.]
Manik- Okay, fine. So whenever something bad happens, and you feel you are losing strength, just close your eyes and think of what I said. Think and remember that you have Manik, your husband, at your back, and I will protect you at any cost. Hmm? Will you do that for me? Just fight for yourself when I am not there. And once I am there, I will handle everything. Okay?
Riya- Okay.
Manik- So now why these tears? Everything is fine now. You are fabulous, okay? And you are not a curse. You are a blessing.
Riya- You think so?
Manik- Yes. This is the only truth I know. You are a blessing.
(She looks at him, and he smiles, so she also gives him a small smile.)
Manik- Now shall we leave? People have already started the fireworks in the open.
(They both then get up and join others in the party. On the other side, Harshad is filling Mukti's ears against Riya.)
Mukti- Oh my God, Harshad! What happened to your hand?
Harshad- Nothing major, Mukti. I am used to all this.
Mukti- What are you used to? Getting hurt? What are you saying, Harshad?
Harshad- I am used to getting hurt because of Riya, Mukti. She has been hurting my family and me for a very long.
Mukti- What? But Bhabhi....
Harshad- She will never tell you the truth, Mukti. Vo tumhe apni sad story suna ke emotionally blackmail kar legi aur tumhe usse sympathy hogi, and she will use that as her tool. Tum uss ki game nahi samajh paogi isiliye I am warning you. Uski meethi meethi baaton mein mat aana. And save Manik from her. She will destroy his life.
[Harshad- She will never tell you the truth, Mukti. She will emotionally blackmail you after telling you her sad story, and you will sympathize with her, and she will use it as a tool. You will not understand her game. That's why I am warning you. Don't fall for her sweet talks. And save Manik from her. She will destroy his life.]
Mukti- To ye sab tumhari family ne hume pehle kyu nahi bataya?
[Mukti- So why didn't your family tell us all this earlier?]
Harshad- Because she threatened us. Ki vo humari reputation mitti mein mila degi. Aur main apne parents ki itni mehnat se kamayi huyi reputation aise barbaad nahi karna chahta tha. Isiliye, I am warning you now. Only you can save us all now. Because aur koyi meri baat par yakeen nahi karega. And she has already started trapping Manik. Tumne dekha hoga naa ki Manik usko favour karta hoga har baat pe? That's her plan. She is with him just for his fame and money.
[Harshad- Because she threatened us. That she will destroy our reputation. And I didn't want to waste my parents' hard-earned reputation. That's why I am warning you now. Only you can save us all now. Because no one else will believe my words. And she has already started trapping Manik. You must have seen that Manik would support her in everything. That's her plan. She is with him just for his fame and money.]
(Mukti is thinking something, and Harshad knows that his work is done, so he leaves from there, smirking evilly.)
Harshad- Ab dekhte hain Manik Malhotra! Jab baat apni biwi aur family mein se choose karne ki aayegi to tum kisse choose karoge. Apni kuch din ki shaadi bachaoge ya saalon purane rishte.
[Harshad- Now, let's see Manik Malhotra! Whom will you choose? Your wife or your family? Will you save your marriage of a few days or your years-old relations?]
(On the other side, Riya is talking to a guest in the garden area, where people are also bursting firecrackers on a side. Manik is talking to his client but is keeping a check on Riya as well to see if she is doing fine or not. But he fails to notice that Ashwin has been staring at Riya for the last 15 minutes, and the way Manik behaved with him at his own house is roaming in his mind. Harshad comes there and sits with him.)
Harshad- To kuch socha hai aap ne? Kahin humara game over naa ho jaye uss Manik Malhotra ki vajhe se.
[Harshad- So, have you thought about something? Our game should not be over because of that, Manik Malhotra.]
Ashwin- Aisa kuch nahi hoga Harshad. Kab tak bacha lega Manik usse aur kis kis se bacha lega? Kabhi naa kabhi aur kahin naa kahin to mauka humare haath aayega hi. Jaise abhi.
[Ashwin- Nothing of that sort will happen, Harshad. For how long will Manik save her and from whom? Sometimes and somewhere, the opportunity will come into our hands. Like now.]
Harshad- Abhi?
[Harshad- Now?]
Ashwin- Just wait and watch.
(Ashwin gets up from his seat and mixes with the people standing near Riya so that no one can notice him. He then looks at Riya, who is smiling and smirks evilly, looking at her.)
Ashwin- Happy Diwali, Baby girl.
(And what he does next is the thing that a father would never do to his daughter.)