Chapter 1: An Innocent Claim
"Mummam"!
a little five-year-old girl came running down the grand hallway, crying "Mammum!" at the top of her lungs, and threw her tiny arms tightly around Mimi’s waist.
Mimi froze in utter shock, her entire body going stiff. Who is this little girl, and why on earth is she calling me Mammum? she thought frantically, her mind going completely blank.
The little girl looked up with tear-filled eyes and said, "Mammum, where did you go leaving me all alone? Why did you stay away for so long?"
Wow, she is such a small child, yet she speaks so beautifully and clearly, Mimi thought to herself, surprised by the child's sweet voice even in this tense situation.
The girl continued to cry, "Tell me, Mammum, you won't leave your Nidhi again, right?" Saying this, she hugged Mimi even tighter. Even without knowing the child's true identity, Mimi instinctively wrapped her arms around her, feeling a strange, deep warmth in her heart.
Suddenly, a young woman came rushing into the hallway, calling out the child's name. "Nidhi! Nidhi Mamoni, where are you?"
She seemed to be the domestic help of the mansion. The moment her eyes fell upon Mimi, she skidded to a halt, gasping in absolute shock. "Boudimoni! You?!" the maid gasped, looking as if she had just seen a ghost.
Mimi was completely bewildered. What are they talking about? Who is Boudimoni? Who are these people? She couldn't understand a single thing happening around her.
Meanwhile, miles away, Mimi's family driver, Ramu, finally returned home to the Chowdhury mansion with the car. When the anxious family members gathered around and asked if Mimi had reached her destination safely, the driver simply nodded his head and said, "Yes, she reached safely." He had no idea about the nightmare that had unfolded on the highway.
Back at the grand estate, the cold and intimidating man from the car came out of his room after changing into casual clothes. He walked down the corridor, looked at the maid with hard eyes, and ordered coldly, "Take Nidhi inside right now."
Though the little girl cried and didn't want to leave Mimi, the maid forcefully picked her up and led her away into the inner rooms.
The moment Nidhi was gone, the man's expression turned furious. He stepped forward, grabbed Mimi’s hand roughly, dragged her into a spacious bedroom, and threw her onto the grand bed.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?! Please, let me go!" Mimi cried out, trembling with fear.
The man stepped closer to the bed, twisted her hand behind her back in a raging fury, and hissed, "Are you still denying who you are? Has the man you ran away with made you completely forget my face?"
"Ah! Let go of me! It hurts! Please, it hurts!" Mimi cried out, tears of pain springing to her eyes.
"Getting away from this Mahir Sen is not that easy. You should have known that before our marriage!" the man barked, his voice goggling with pure rage.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Whose marriage?!" Mimi shouted back, completely shocked.
"Oh, so now you don't even remember our marriage? Next, I suppose you'll look at me and say you don't even know who Nidhi is!" the man sneered.
"No! I am telling the truth, I really don't know who Nidhi is!" Mimi replied desperately.
The man was about to yell further in his anger when the bedroom door burst open. Little Nidhi came running back into the room, with the worried maid chasing after her. Seeing his daughter, Mahir immediately let go of Mimi’s hand, stepped back, and asked the maid sternly, "What happened now?"
The maid replied, trembling in fear, "Sir, Nidhi Mamoni is crying and refusing to eat. She says she won't touch a single morsel of food unless her mother feeds her with her own hands."
Nidhi immediately rushed to the bed, hugged Mimi, and pleaded, "Mammum, you will feed me, right? Please feed your Nidhi."
Mimi remained silent for a long moment. She looked at Mahir’s cold, angry face and then down at the fragile, innocent child. Softly, a wave of pity washed over her, and she nodded her head in agreement. Nidhi began jumping with joy on the bed. Mimi looked at the maid and said gently, "Please leave the food tray here." The maid kept the food on the table and left in a hurry, and Mahir, casting a final glare, stormed out of the room as well.
Mimi took Nidhi onto her lap and lovingly began feeding her. While feeding the child, Mimi couldn't help but wonder, Who is this beautiful little girl? Why do I feel such a strange, deep affection and maternal bond for her? And why are these people acting like they have known me for years? Who was Mahir Babu talking about when he mentioned marriage?
In the middle of her deep thoughts, Nidhi spoke up, "What happened, Mammum? Keep feeding me, see my mouth is wide open!"
Seeing Nidhi waiting patiently with her mouth open like a little bird, Mimi smiled softly through her tears and put another spoonful into her mouth. Looking at Nidhi's face, it felt as though the child was eating with true peace and satisfaction after a very long time. Once she finished eating, Mimi gave her water and told her to go to the playroom. Nidhi happily kissed her cheek and left.
A few moments later, the maid entered the room again, looking tentative. "Boudimoni, Saheb—I mean Mahir Saheb—is calling you down for dinner. Food is served."
"I am not hungry," Mimi replied flatly, turning her face away.
The maid left quietly. Sitting all alone in the large, unfamiliar bedroom, Mimi completely broke down in tears, thinking about her own home. How beautifully we all used to eat together at the dining table... how much fun, laughter, and joy we shared, she wept bitterly. She missed her parents terribly and desperately wanted to escape this nightmare and go back to them.
Suddenly, she heard the sharp sound of the door opening. She turned around to see Mahir walking in, holding a dinner plate in his hand. He placed the plate on the table, reached out, and bolted the door firmly from the inside.
Mimi panicked, her heart dropping into her stomach. She was terrified of what this angry man might do next. She began scrambling backward on the bed as Mahir advanced toward her with slow, deliberate steps. She kept moving back until her spine hit the cold wall; she was completely trapped.
Mahir closed the final distance, slamming both of his hands against the wall on either side of her head, pinning her completely within his arms. He glared down at her with furious, storm-filled eyes, looking as if Mimi had committed a terrible, unpardonable crime against him. Terrified by his fierce, suffocating gaze, Mimi tightly shut her eyes.
Mahir suddenly reached down and grabbed her upper arms roughly, his fingers digging into her skin.
Mimi screamed, "Let me go! It hurts! Please, it hurts!"
"Let it hurt!" Mahir roared angrily, his voice shaking with years of hidden pain. "Are you in pain now? Imagine how much agony I went through because of you! I can still overlook what you did to me... but Nidhi? What was her fault? Why did you give that innocent child such a massive, cruel punishment? Why are you quiet now? Answer me!"
"What are you saying?! I don't understand anything you're talking about! Please let me go, it hurts!" Mimi sobbed, shaking her head frantically.
"You don't understand anything, right? You destroyed my life and my daughter's life, and now you act completely innocent! Who is that guy for whom you betrayed me? Who is the man for whom you snatched a mother away from my innocent child? Speak up right now!" Mahir yelled at the top of his lungs, his raw fury echoing off the walls.
Before Mimi could utter a single word of defense, a sharp, frantic knock rattled the bedroom door.
Little Nidhi’s voice called out anxiously from outside, "Papa! Mammum! Please open the door!"
Hearing his daughter's voice, the rage instantly vanished from Mahir's face. He released his harsh grip on Mimi and opened the door. Nidhi stepped inside, looking worried, as Mahir stormed out of the room without looking back.
The moment Nidhi walked in, she saw Mimi sitting huddled against the wall, crying bitterly in complete devastation...
