Nidhi spoke a little uneasily,
"It's quite expensive… isn't it?"
Anil smiled lightly and replied,
"Not at all, ma'am."
Raghav immediately said in a confident tone,
"Your dad can easily afford this. You don't need to worry about anything."
Nidhi slowly lifted her eyes and looked straight at Anil, intentionally putting pressure on him.
The moment Anil met her gaze, he understood the meaning behind it.
Seeing his boss's eyes like that gave him a clear hint.
He quickly added,
"Well… since Mr. Singhania has done such a big amount of shopping, I can give you a 10% discount."
"Ten percent?"
Nidhi repeated calmly, her eyes cold.
"Twenty percent,"
Anil said hesitantly.
But Nidhi was still staring at him without blinking.
Anil swallowed and finally said,
"Alright… last offer. Thirty percent. I can't go beyond this."
Raghav and Kavita had never imagined that their daughter would negotiate like this.
They thought Nidhi was only worried that her parents were spending too much money.
Nidhi said softly,
"Don't you think this is too much? Maybe we should return half of these clothes."
"No, absolutely not!"
Raghav refused immediately. Then he looked at Anil and said,
"Anil, transfer the remaining amount into my daughter's account.
After all, she is the one who negotiated and reduced the price.
She deserves this money."
Then Raghav turned to Nidhi and added warmly,
"Nidhi, consider this pocket money from your dad."
So much pocket money?
Anil was shocked for a moment.
Everyone present felt a strange mix of envy and disbelief.
Mansi couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Her parents had given crores as pocket money to this new girl—
something they had never done even for her.
She was about to react in anger when Daisy stopped her from behind and whispered,
"Miss, please control your anger."
The truth was bitter, but it hadn't yet reached its worst point.
Mansi kept watching how lovingly her parents were treating Nidhi.
"Dad… Mom… who is she?"
Mansi asked with a forced smile, trying to control her emotions.
Only then did Raghav and Kavita finally notice Mansi properly.
Kavita turned to the servants and instructed calmly,
"Move all these items to little miss's room."
Little miss.
The moment Mansi heard those words, she froze completely.
"Thank you, Anil. You really did us a big favor by bringing everything on such short notice,"
Kavita said politely, then asked Meena to take Anil for refreshments.
Anil understood that a serious family discussion was about to begin.
Before leaving, he glanced at Nidhi once, then followed Meena.
"Mr. Anil, please come this way,"
Meena said politely.
Kavita then looked at Mansi and said,
"Come, let's sit and talk."
She held Nidhi's hand and gestured for Mansi to sit as well.
That single action pierced Mansi's heart deeply, but she stayed silent and sat down.
Raghav sat beside Kavita and said calmly,
"Mansi, as we told you before… Nidhi is your sister."
Before he could say anything more, Mansi interrupted sharply,
"A cousin? Or a distant relative's daughter?"
Raghav and Kavita exchanged glances.
Raghav signaled Kavita to handle the situation.
Then he looked at Mansi and said firmly,
"Mansi… Nidhi is not a distant relative or cousin.
She is our biological daughter—the true heir of the Singhania family."
Holding Nidhi's hand, Kavita continued with a heavy heart,
"Eighteen years ago, Raghav and I were traveling back to our old house.
We passed through a small village when I suddenly went into labor.
The only option was a small nursing home there.
There were no private rooms, so they placed me in a general ward with other pregnant women.
But late at night, a fire broke out in the hospital.
It spread everywhere. We were panicking and didn't know what to do.
In that chaos, I picked up a baby, believing she was ours.
But the truth is… I picked you up by mistake.
You were not our child."
Those words completely shattered Mansi.
Kavita continued with trembling lips,
"Nidhi was taken away by the Mehra family.
Their baby was taken by a cleaning staff… and you came to us.
If I hadn't posted about that incident online later, we might have never known the truth."
Mansi was a special case.
Then Kavita paused, took a deep breath, and finally said,
"As for your biological mother… she didn't survive the fire.
She passed away the same day you were born."
Mansi's face turned pale.
"And about your biological father… we couldn't find him,"
Kavita added.
Then she looked at Nidhi and said,
"We have discussed everything with Nidhi.
You are still our family.
What happened to her was because of our mistake, and we want to make things right.
You are still our daughter.
But from now on, you must treat Nidhi well and take care of her. Okay?"
In just a few moments, Mansi's entire world had turned upside down.
For years, she had taken pride in her status—
boasting about her rich father, elegant mother, and successful brothers.
Everyone had always tried to please her.
But today… she felt orphaned.
Controlling her emotions, she finally spoke,
"This is too sudden.
If I say it doesn't hurt, I would be lying.
I've lived in this family for eighteen years…
and now I'm being told I'm not your real daughter."
She paused, lowered her head, and said softly,
"I never imagined my real mother died the day I was born.
Will I never get to meet my real parents?"
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Wiping her tears, she added,
"Mom, Dad… I'm grateful you still consider me part of the family.
I promise I'll take good care of my sister."
Her tears looked sincere.
But Nidhi—who had grown up among lies and manipulation—
could tell at a glance that Mansi was acting.
A few minutes later, Mansi stood up, walked toward Nidhi, and smiled.
Nidhi looked at her, confused.
Placing a hand on Nidhi's shoulder, Mansi said sweetly,
"Welcome back to the family."
Mansi had decided to play this game of hatred with love.
But when she moved forward to hug Nidhi,
Nidhi stepped back.
Mansi looked confused, glancing between Nidhi and her parents.
"Thank you for the warm welcome,"
Nidhi said calmly,
"but I'm not comfortable with physical touch.
It makes me uncomfortable. I'm sorry."
Mansi felt offended.
It seemed to her that Nidhi was deliberately making things difficult.
"Nidhi is a bit introverted,"
Kavita said gently.
"She'll adjust soon. We are a family now, so there's no need to be formal."
Hearing this, Mansi smiled quietly…
but something dark had already started growing inside her.