When Daisy and Mansi both confirmed that no one was around, Daisy finally spoke.
"Mansi, you're going through a lot of trouble these days," Daisy said softly.
"In the past, you never had to do so much just to impress Madam and Sir."
Hearing this, Mansi lowered her eyes.
The truth was, she never wanted to do all this.
But ever since Nidhi entered the house, everything had started to change.
"Mansi, these are healthy fruits," Daisy said gently.
"You didn't even have proper breakfast today."
Then Daisy continued in a lower voice,
"I wanted to tell you something important.
So far, Madam and Sir haven't revealed this girl's identity to the public.
That means, in the eyes of the world,
your engagement with Mr. Malhotra is still fixed."
The moment Mansi heard this, her eyes lit up.
"Yes… Shubham," she thought.
She still had Shubham.
What difference did it make whether she was the real daughter of the Singhania family or not?
If she married Shubham, she would become the wife of one of the richest men in the world.
"You've grown up with Mr. Malhotra since childhood," Daisy said.
"Even if you didn't talk much,
you've still spent far more time with him than this new girl ever has.
She probably hasn't even seen Mr. Malhotra properly yet."
"Daisy… are you trying to say—"
Mansi stopped mid-sentence.
She already understood what Daisy meant.
"I know some servants who work at Malhotra Mansion," Daisy continued.
"I heard that Mahendra Malhotra forced Shubham again and again to meet you.
He even stopped eating food and taking medicines.
Because of that, his condition became very serious."
Mansi listened carefully, her heart beating faster.
"But he was saved in time," Daisy added.
"He's completely fine now.
He wants you to visit him with Shubham.
Don't you have Shubham Malhotra's number?
You should contact him and talk about this."
Mansi replied hesitantly,
"He runs such a big company… I'm sure he's very busy."
"No matter how busy he is, he's still a man," Daisy said confidently.
"If a beautiful girl like you asks him directly,
how can he refuse?"
She smiled slightly and continued,
"Even if he's not very romantic, it doesn't matter.
You're not married yet, there's no hurry.
You both can spend time together.
This is the perfect time to strengthen your bond.
Once you marry him, what difference will this new girl make?"
Mansi felt like she was floating in the sky after hearing all this.
But then a thought struck her, and she spoke again.
"Daisy, the engagement is fixed between the Singhania family and the Malhotra family.
But what will happen when they find out that I'm not their real daughter… and Nidhi is?"
"Right now, no one knows the truth," Daisy said calmly.
"You still have time to win Shubham Malhotra's heart."
Daisy had seen Mansi grow up in front of her eyes.
She couldn't see her in this condition.
She truly wanted Mansi to marry Shubham.
Once that happened, Mansi's life would be completely settled.
Mansi stood silently, thinking about Daisy's words.
Then Daisy spoke again, her voice serious.
"Who knows whether they'll care about your future later or not?
You know how high society works.
Even as an adopted daughter, getting married will be difficult for you.
If you don't marry Mr. Malhotra,
you'll have to live your entire life under Nidhi's shadow…
always below her."
Hearing this, Mansi took out her phone and opened Shubham's WhatsApp chat.
There were many messages she had sent earlier:
Are you asleep?
Are you busy?
Good night.
But Shubham had never replied to any of them.
The last message was from yesterday,
when she had informed him that she had landed from her flight
and asked if he was here.
Still, there was no reply.
"Mansi, please…" Daisy signaled her to send a message.
Mansi finally typed:
"Shubham, are you here?
I heard that your grandfather's health is not well and he's in the hospital.
I want to visit him.
Are you free today?
Can you come pick me up?
If not, I can come with my driver too.
I don't want to disturb you.
I'm genuinely worried about Grandpa's health."
While Mansi and Daisy were talking in the garden,
on the second floor, Nidhi was standing on her large balcony,
admiring the beautiful view outside.
Her eyes briefly fell on Mansi and Daisy in the garden.
Nidhi didn't pay much attention to them.
After enjoying the scenery for a while,
she went back inside her room.
Just then—
A message finally arrived on Mansi's phone.
For the first time…
Shubham had replied
But his reply was cold and short.
"There's no need."
The excitement Mansi felt when she received Shubham's message vanished the moment she read it.
It felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her.
Still, after Daisy explained again, Mansi sent Shubham several more messages.
She told him how worried she was about Grandpa Mahendra.
She said she really wanted to meet him.
But even after lunch, there was no reply.
Deep down, Mansi already knew.
Shubham wasn't going to respond anymore.
Meanwhile, Nidhi was sitting on the sofa in her room, holding her phone and sending an order to someone.
"Find out the reason behind the fire at Baby Care Nursing Home eighteen years ago."
A reply came from the other side.
"Baby Care Nursing Home?
What exactly do you want to know about it?
What's the benefit?"
Nidhi had always believed that the incident eighteen years ago was not an accident.
It felt like a planned conspiracy.
Something was wrong.
Everything had been normal just a minute before the fire started.
And suddenly, the entire hospital caught fire.
Her mother had told her that it was raining heavily that night.
Even if someone had accidentally started a fire,
it could never have spread so fast in such weather.
Another message came.
"If I find out that the fire was started intentionally,
and because of that you had to suffer so much in the Mehra family…
I won't let that person go so easily."
After talking for a while, Nidhi suddenly remembered that she had to leave.
As she started getting ready, she thought,
Sejal must have already reached there. I need to hurry.
Just as Nidhi was about to leave the house, her mother Kavita asked,
"Beta, where are you going?"
"I'm going to meet some friends," Nidhi replied.
"Why don't you invite your friends home?" Kavita said with a smile.
"We would like to meet them too.
We want to know who our lovely daughter's friends are."
Hearing her mother, Nidhi smiled and said,
"I'll definitely invite my friends home very soon.
But today, we already have a plan to go out."
Saying this, she hugged Kavita.
Kavita smiled warmly.
"Go, enjoy yourself and have fun.
But just one request—don't go alone. Take Jack with you."
Just then, Mansi came from behind and said quickly,
"Mom, I'm taking Jack with me.
I'm going to meet one of my friends."
Kavita frowned slightly and asked,
"Can't Peter take you?"
"Uncle Peter is sleeping," Mansi replied calmly.
"If we wake him up now, he'll drive while half asleep.
That could be dangerous."
Then she turned to Nidhi with a sweet smile.
"Nidhi, if you have something urgent,
I can call my friend and cancel my plan.
After that, Jack can take you."
"There's no need," Nidhi said politely.
"I have a driving license. I can drive well."
But suddenly, she remembered something.
The day Jack uncle had come to pick her up…
the luxury car had been completely damaged.