"Usually, we don't disclose this matter to anyone not even to our closest of the people and relatives but as Vihaan's future wife you need to know this so just listen to me and think carefully before you speak about this
Vihaan had an elder sister who is five years older than him by the time your father and me got married and it is known to your grandfather I was already pregnant with my daughter Ananya at that time your grandfather didn't agree to our marriage as he already choose some other lady for your father but eventually, we both managed to convince him and he accepted me as his daughter in law and after Ananya was born it took me five years to be pregnant again due to some medical complications
So, we pampered Ananya a lot to the extinct she became a spoiled princess of Johal estate she is your grandfather's best companion he loved her and spoiled her more than us as she resembled his late wife and compromised to her every wish and desires, after Vihaan was born she took care of him more than me she is like a mother figure to him he loved her, admired her and respected her a lot
But after her marriage everything changed, she loved her husband and despite Vihaan's protest she married him at that time Vihaan is just sixteen years old and just took over the business after following his father and he insisted that her husband is not a nice guy but Ananya was head over heels for that man and she threatened with her life if he tries something to stop her from marrying her love
Eventually Vihaan compromised for the sake of his sister and neglected all the things her husband did behind her back while using the title as Johal's son-in-law but Ananya got to know about the happenings and investigated everything on her own and got to know about her husband's hand in dealing with drugs and human trafficking and how government and police cannot do anything as he was using her family as a backing
Ananya became too devastated and she divorced him with the help of Vihaan but that's when the real problem started at the time of their divorce Ananya is already six months pregnant and the whole shocking news she received one after another and knowing about her husband cheating behind her back had led to the depression and due to this there are complications in her delivery which cost her life for the sake of my granddaughter
Yes, the Ananya who was with us now is not Vihaan's younger sister as the world portrays, she is his niece, my granddaughter which Ananya herself is not aware as we intended to hide it from her as we don't want to her to feel burdened with her father's character and think that she is the reason behind her mother's death" Maria finally told her as tears started to roll on her cheeks as she remembered the horrible experience of her life
"Then does her paternal family didn't make any move to claim the legal rights of Ananya I mean she is like another meat ball to them which they can use to their advantage right" Aadvika asked her as she gently patted her hand
"You guessed right, after Ananya's birth that man's parents sued us for taking their granddaughter away from them and applied for her custody but Vihaan make sure to provide all the proofs of that man's character and his crimes before putting him in jail while he made their family go bankrupt to the point where they cannot provide for Ananya and with her growth and support her financially like Johal's, so it made the court to reject them while giving full custody of Ananya to us
At that time Vihaan decided to adopt Ananya as his daughter but court rejected his decision as he himself is a minor at that time and he cannot have the custody of another small girl according to the law so we decided to lawfully register her as our daughter and told the whole world that I tried to have another child after my elder daughter's death to come out of misery and everyone believed our lie without any doubt according to the circumstances"
"What about Mr. Johal he didn't say anything" Aadvika asked her as she was sure that with Vihaan's character and stubbornness it is very difficult to change his mind once he set into something
"You seem to know Vihaan very well despite knowing him for a very short time" Maria got truly surprised as really guessed the thought process of Vihaan and without giving any chance for Aadvika to find an excuse she continued with a sigh
"After Vihaan reached the legal age suitable to adopt a child the first thing, he did was to make the changes in her adoption he himself became her legal guardian, in the eyes of public she may be his sister or his niece but in the eyes of law she is his daughter and that is why I told you this whole story as once you marry him, she will be your daughter too" Maria finally revealed the truth behind the whole flashback and disclosing the hidden secrets of the family to her
But much to Maria's surprise Aadvika didn't look that shocked as if it was the expected outcome she was anticipating as she simply nodded her head without saying a word.
"Do you mind if I lay my head in your lap?" Aadvika asked her as they leaned to the headboard of the bed all this time talking with each other
"You call me mother and still asking such a small request" Maria gave a gentle smile to her before she told Aadvika that it is her right as a daughter, so Aadvika put her head in her lap before she looked at Maria with full of emotions as her eyes rim with tears