The man stayed single for 22 years to raise his ex-lover’s child. On the day the child graduated, she went to the school to get the child back, but a turn of the back made the man heartbroken and burst into tears.

Twenty-two years ago, in the sweltering heat of Delhi, when Arjun Mehra’s life was falling into the abyss because his small company had just gone bankrupt, a woman appeared at the door of his old rented house — Priya, his ex-lover whom he had loved with all his heart.

In her arms was a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket. Her eyes were cold, her voice trembling but determined:

– “This is your child. I cannot raise it. If you do not accept it… I will leave it here.”

Arjun was stunned. No papers, no explanation, not even a single tear. Only the red baby crying hoarsely in the arms of the woman he once loved. Priya turned away, quickly walked into the bustling crowd on the street, leaving behind Arjun and a small creature.

At that time, Arjun was only 34 years old, penniless, living in a cramped rented room in Paharganj. Relatives laughed at him, friends tried to dissuade him:

– “It’s not certain that it’s your child, Arjun. Why bother yourself?”

But he couldn’t bear it. When the baby’s round eyes opened to look at him, Arjun saw a strange light in them – as if wanting to pull him out of the darkness of despair. He named his child Aarav, meaning peaceful light.

From that day on, Arjun became a single father.

During the day, he worked as a construction worker at construction sites in Noida, and at night, he drove a tuk-tuk to earn extra money. Sometimes he had to ask for leftovers from restaurants, sometimes he scraped up every penny to buy a carton of milk for his child. But Arjun never complained. He was only afraid that his son would be deprived, that people would laugh at him, and that he would be asked about his mother.

In his first years of school, Aarav often cried because his friends teased him: “Don’t you have a mother?” Every time like that, Arjun could only hug his son and whisper:

“Your mother is very far away, son. When you grow up, I will come back.”

That was the sweet lie he kept for twenty-two years.

Time passed, Aarav grew up, studied well and became valedictorian of the Civil Engineering major at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai — coincidentally, the same dream that Arjun had once left unfulfilled.

On the day of graduation, Arjun woke up at four in the morning, carefully ironed his old shirt, and bought a bouquet of sunflowers — Aarav’s favorite flower. He sat quietly in the middle of the large auditorium, his eyes filled with tears as he heard his son’s name being called out on the podium.

But that joy was shattered when he saw a woman standing near the school gate.

Priya.

She was still beautiful and elegant in a turquoise sari, wearing designer sunglasses, holding a large, carefully wrapped gift box. Her eyes were a little shy but still kept a cold look.

– “I heard that my child graduated today,” she said softly. “I just wanted to let him know… his mother is still alive.”

Arjun clenched his hands, his voice low:

– “Don’t mess up his day. He doesn’t know anything yet, and I don’t want him to get hurt.”

Priya smiled faintly:

– “I don’t intend to fight for anything. I just want to stand here… so he knows his mother was there too.”

When Aarav walked out into the middle of the school yard, holding his diploma, his face radiant in the sunlight, Arjun was about to run over and hug his child. But he stopped — his eyes were fixed on the gate, where Priya was standing.

Everyone around seemed to be silent.

Aarav approached, looking at the strange woman suspiciously. Priya took the initiative to hand over the gift box, her voice trembling:

– “Congratulations, Mom. You are the one who gave birth to me.”

An endless silence.

Then Aarav took a step back, his eyes determined, his voice clear among the crowd….– “You gave birth to me… but the one who raised me, taught me to be a person… is standing behind.”

He turned around, ran to, and hugged Arjun tightly.

– “Dad is enough, Dad. I don’t need anyone else, Mom.”

Arjun stood there, choked up, unable to say a word. He could only hug his child and burst into tears – the cry of a man who had hidden his loneliness for 22 years.

Priya was stunned. She didn’t expect the child she had abandoned could love that man so much. She quietly turned away, leaving the gift box falling to the ground, the wrapping paper blown off by the wind.

And Arjun – who was once left with a newborn baby – is now the one who is loved the most completely.

No need for status, no need for clear blood ties.
Just 22 years of unconditional love — like the warm light that Aarav is the most vivid proof of.