Page 139 of Rudra Nandani: The Saga of Control And Seduction

Did any of it even matter when I had already chosen to let go of my revenge?

“Rajaji, please, I don—”

“Please, Jawai-sa,” her mother gently cut me off.

I paused, inhaling deeply. I could feel the emotion in her voice, the weight of her words pressing into the silence.

“I was around nineteen or twenty when Rajaji's army attackedPratapgarh… and killed my brother,” she began.“He had me captured, and the only hope I was left with was the Prince of Suryagarh—your father. Because my brother, Abhidev Pratap Singh, had promised me to him. Without asking me. Without even telling me. And yet… I accepted it wholeheartedly. Because I trusted my brother blindly,” her voice was steady but heavy with memories. The mention of my father refreshed a few memories of my father and mother altogether.

“He came to Mahabaleshgarh to help me escape Rajvardhan and his torture. But I had no idea he was already married… not just once, but to nearly fifteen women. He was in his forties, and the kind of intentions he had towards me were sickening. I didn’t know any of this. Neither did Raj tell me. Instead, he forcibly married me. But the very next day, when I saw him for the first time and spoke to him, you know what he said?” She paused, her eyes fixed on me, with a sad and quiet disappointment.

“He called me a 'whore.' And then he said he would come back and make me roam naked through the streets of Mahabaleshgarh. Being a girl, I was thankful to the man who had forcibly married me to protect me from another man. And even though that man was once my fiancé, he humiliated me, called me filthy names,” she spoke, and I lowered my gaze, unable to meet her eyes.

“We let him go only because he was a guest in Mahabaleshgarh then. But he didn’t stop there. One day, when I was on my way to Devi Maa’s temple, he attacked me. He abducted me and tried to force himself on me. That day, he confessed—he had had his eyes on me since the first time he saw me. He had befriended my brother only to drag him into the pit of alcohol, drugs, and gambling. Slowly, he drained Pratapgarh’s wealth. And when my brother had nothing left, he asked for my hand in exchange for a hundred thousand gold coins. They traded me, Rudra. It was worse than a political alliance. And if you don’t believe me, see this.”

She handed me a scroll.

Honestly, my hands were trembling. All my life, I believed she had been promised to my father as part of a political arrangement. If what she was saying was true… then everything I had known was a lie.

If it were true, I didn’t deserve to be alive. If it were true… I didn’t want to live anymore.

With shaking fingers, I unrolled the letter. The first thing I saw was the seal of Suryagarh… and Pratapgarh.

My eyes instantly welled up as I recognised my father's handwriting without a second thought.

I silently begged the gods inside—let it be false. Let everything she said be a mistake, I wished.

But as I began to read, my breath slowed, and my heart started to race. In the back of my mind, every sweet memory I had of my father flickered, only to fade and twist into doubt.

The scroll slipped from my hands, and I stumbled back onto the couch.

That meant… my father never loved my mother. All those marriages weren’t just political; they were to feed his physical hunger.

And even with so many wives and children, he had set his eyes on her, just to satisfy himself. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe he had fallen that low.

How could he?

Tears began to stream down my face as Ranvijay held my shoulders.

“Bhaisa…” “Rudra…”

Their voices grew distant, fading into the surrounding blur. I stood up and walked away, unable to speak or stay.

My body trembled. Every step felt heavier than the last. My mind spiralled with questions—what part of my life had ever been true? What part of my struggle, my sacrifices… had ever meant anything?

“Bhaisa!” “Rudra, wait!”

Their voices called out, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to escape. Everything felt too tight, too suffocating, like something heavy was crushing my chest, not letting me breathe.

I cupped my mouth with a shaking hand as I walked through the corridor, lost in a sea of people, searching for some corner to be alone.

Suddenly, in the snap of a finger, everything had changed. My mind felt shattered, scattered into pieces I couldn’t gather.

I held back my tears until I reached her chamber. Closing the door behind me, I slid against it as the dam inside me broke.

I cried—loud, broken sobs tearing through my chest.

My mother loved him. She sacrificed everything for that man.And what did he do? He ran after another woman, throwing it away just to claim her. How could he try to force himself on her? How could he fall so low? Why?

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