Page 182 of Rudra Nandani: The Saga of Control And Seduction

He stood up.“Before you hurt her anymore, I want you dead. Because once a traitor… always a traitor,”

His voice rang with finality as he looked toward the soldiers.“Give him a sword,”

I shook my head slowly, my voice steady.“I’m not going to lift my blade against you,”

He walked over to the side table, picked up his sword, and pointed it directly at me.“Unlock his chains,”

The soldiers moved quickly, unlocking the restraints. I rose to my feet slowly, wiping the blood from my nose.

“I promised her I wouldn’t fight you,” I said, locking eyes with him. But he was already pacing, rage seething in every movement.

“If you can’t fight, then leave. Let me save my sister from a bastard like you,”

I stood my ground.

“I’m not going to war against you,”

“Then leave her,” His voice cracked with fury.“You’ve done enough damage. Let her go. A man like you, for whom a woman’s grace or disgrace means nothing… who doesn’t understand the limits of revenge, or the value of relationships—doesn’t deserve her. You don’t deserve my sister or any woman,”

I clenched my jaw, exhaling through the storm in my chest.

“And what about you?” I asked, voice sharp.“You’re here giving lectures on grace and disgrace. But what were you doing with Trisha? That didn’t seem very graceful either,”

His face snapped toward mine in fury. In a blink, his hand was around my throat.“What Trisha and I do is none of your damn business. That’s my personal matter,”

I grabbed his wrists and pushed him back, forcing him to release my neck.

“So if a girl’s a commoner, it’s not a matter of grace or shame—but if she’s a princess, then it suddenly matters?” I scoffed bitterly.“Hypocrisy much?”

His eyes blazed.“Don’t you dare bring her into this,”

“I will. Because she’s like a sister to me,” I stepped closer, matching his intensity.

And then, all of a sudden, he let out a cold, bitter laugh.

“You’re furious over someone who’s like your sister,” He said, his voice low.“But you didn’t even care about a girl who was madly in love with you… Who wanted you… And I know—you loved her too,”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Abhi. I’m so sorry for what I did. I could apologise every day, day and night, because what I did was a sin. And I’mready to suffer for it. I have been suffering. This revenge, this hatred, this rage—I’ve lived through it all. And what did I get?”

I looked at him with broken eyes.

“Nothing. I lost everything. I’m a loser. It’s easy to break someone in a moment, but it takes a lifetime to heal them,” He didn’t say a word.

“Your parents, your sister… even Trisha. None of them deserves the version of what you’ve become. Just because I wronged you, doesn’t mean they should suffer too,” My voice shook now, but I held it together.

“A man who once cared for every woman in his life and respected them, that man wouldn’t do this to a woman who means so much to him. And you mean everything to her. You know you do,” His eyes flickered.“This isn’t you, Abhi.”

I stepped closer, my voice soft but firm.“Tell me, what do you want? Do you want us to separate? If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it. Nandani… she’d choose that over seeing you like this. She’d rather lose me than lose you to this darkness. She’d give up everything before watching you become the very person you’ve always hated,”

His breathing grew heavy. And I saw the crack in his anger. His grip on the sword loosened, and finally, he let it fall to the ground with a soft clink.

“You need to go home, Abhi. Stop running away from your family. What happened to you was not your fault. You were deceived, yes. But don’t deceive yourself now. Don’t deceive Trisha. Don’t deceive Nandani. Don’t deceive your parents,” I finished.

He looked at me. His gaze fluttered with heavy emotions. And then he asked, barely above a whisper:“You want me dead?”

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