Morning sunlight streamed gently into the Malhotra residence, filtering through the lace curtains like blessings from a calmer time. The air smelled of cardamom chai and buttered toast, the comforting scent of a home trying to forget the shadows of yesterday.
But Karan couldn't.
He stood by the window, gazing at the quiet street beyond, shoulders tense and jaw clenched. His reflection in the glass-this stranger's face-stared back at him, both familiar and not.
Inside, he was still Karna.
He had no sword. No kavach. No chariot wheels turning to fate's cruel music.
Only memory. Regret. And a silence that pressed heavier than any armor.
He hadn't spoken much that morning.
Not even to Shaurya, who had popped into his room an hour ago and tried making jokes until Arnav chased him out with a rolled-up newspaper.
That moment of peace didn't last long.
Because the doorbell rang.
And fate walked in.
---
"Karan bhaiya is still being moody?" Diya's voice cut across the living room as she stepped in, brushing past Bhavesh like a queen inspecting her court. "Tell him we didn't come here to look at his sulking face."
Rhea trailed behind her, graceful and sharp-eyed, a quiet calm in her stride.
Sia was last, humming something under her breath as she entered, nose twitching. "Smells like someone's cooking parathas. Oi Bhavesh bhaiya, where's breakfast?"
"Your stomach's the one thing that never reincarnates," Arnav muttered from the couch.
"I heard that!" Sia snapped.
"I meant for you to hear it," Arnav replied, unfazed.
Before the chaos could escalate, Shaurya skipped into the room dramatically. "Ladies, ladies, welcome to Malhotra Mental Hospital! Where Karan bhaiyya might still think he's a Mahabharat character!"
Karna had just stepped into the living room.
And his heart stopped.
---
He saw them all at once.
Sia. Diya. Rhea.
Sia-was none other than Subhadra,Vasudev's little sister,Arjun's youngest wife,they lady known for her kind and calm nature.
Diya-was none other than Draupadi,the fire born woman.Last time Karna saw her,she had washed her hair with Dussasana's blood...
But it was Rhea who made him freeze.
His gaze locked on her as if the past had just arrived wearing jeans and kohl-lined eyes. She tilted her head slightly, curious. "Why is he staring at me like that?"
And then it slipped from him, low and cracked-
"Vrushali?"
Shaurya choked on his chai so violently that Bhavesh had to slap his back.
Diya's mouth fell open. Arnav dropped his phone.
Rhea blinked. "Sorry... what?"
Karna stepped back like the floor had shifted under him. "I... forgive me. That name. It just-"
He didn't finish.
He couldn't.
His throat closed over the thousand apologies he never got to give. To her. To Vrushali. The woman who had waited in silence while he raged against destiny. Who burned on the pyre with him. Who never asked for anything but his return-and never got it.
Now she stood before him, reborn, eyes wide with confusion.
No memories. No pain.
Only he remembered.
Karna turned away, fingers trembling slightly.
He couldn't let her see his grief.
---
Sia, meanwhile, elbowed Diya. "What just happened?"
Diya shrugged, whispering, "Maybe he thinks he's in a soap opera. Who's Vrushali?Is not that a character from Mahabharat?"
Rhea just stood still, frowning slightly. "It felt like... I knew that name."
Shaurya tried to recover the moment with his usual flair. "Okay! Okay! Time out. Reset. Girls, this is the new-and-improved Karan bhaiyya. Now with 20% more historical trauma!"
Karna shot him a sharp glare. "Shaurya."
"Yeah?"
"Quiet."
"Noted."
---
The tension was thick enough to cut with a butter knife when Diya decided to change the topic. As usual, with zero subtlety.
"Where's Nikhil? Don't tell me he overslept again. That boy's brain runs on sugar and sarcasm."
"Did someone say sugar and sarcasm?" came a voice from the hallway.
Nikhil, hair messy and shirt half-buttoned, sauntered in with a lazy grin. "You miss me already, Princess Chatterbox?"
Diya crossed her arms. "Only missed insulting you, Nonsense Factory."
"Oh good," he said cheerfully. "I was worried you'd forgotten your main personality trait."
"Right after you forgot how to iron a shirt, clearly."
"Fashionably wrinkled. It's a thing."
The rest of the room had gone completely silent.
Arnav whispered to Shaurya, "Are they flirting or fighting?"
Shaurya whispered back, "I think they're plotting each other's assassination, and I support it."
---
As the chaos swirled around him, Karna watched it all with a strange stillness. This was a different world. One filled with life, movement, pointless arguments and little joys.
He wondered if this was what he had missed in all his lifetimes. Moments like this. Bickering siblings. Teasing glances. Shared breakfasts.
Peace.
It made the ache of everything he had lost a little sharper.
Vrushali... Rhea, didn't even know him.
Maybe that was mercy.
Maybe it was punishment.
---
"Come on," Bhavesh finally declared. "Everyone to the table. Before Maa yells."
Sia immediately obeyed. "I'm not dying before I eat paratha."
As they moved toward the dining area, Karna lagged behind, his steps heavy.
Diya glanced at him. "You okay?"
He nodded without speaking.
Behind her, Nikhil added, "He's just processing the trauma of meeting you all at once."
"Want to process my sandal?" Diya shot back.
Nikhil smirked. "Only if it's brand-name."
Karna exhaled slowly. Somehow... he knew this was only the beginning.
---