Page 185 of Rudra Nandani: The Saga of Control And Seduction

“But, he did, he was ready,” I immediately explained, but he shook his head again.

“No, Nandani. You seduced him to do that. You used to get revenge on me. You promised him a hair for the throne. He wasn’t completely wrong. You too were wrong, and so I cannot kill him because he was framed between us, by no one else, but you,”

I inhaled a deep breath.“But, Rudra, he is wrong. He’s a womaniser who sexually assaults young girls and treats them like trash,” I said.

“Until proven, he’s not guilty. Right now, he's a commoner, which means he has no kingdom, no support. If anyone raises an objection or files a complaint against him, then I can act. But I cannot kill him just because you brought him between us. That would be wrong,” He spoke firmly, but I inhaled a sharp, disbelieving breath.

“But—” I tried to object, but he cut in.

“Nandani, Badimaa matters. To me. To us. And he's her husband. I can't act against him after knowing nothing happened between you and him,”

Something in his voice felt off, and his words confused me. It was like he was convincing himself more than me. My heart tightened at the thought that he might have been hiding something from me.

“Did you meet Abhi?” I asked quietly, searching his eyes.

His face flinched, barely, but I caught it. His brows furrowed in mock confusion.“What? No,”

I stared at him, deadpan.“Swear on me,”

Immediately, his hand rose to cup my cheek gently.“What are you saying, Nandani? Of cou—”

“You're lying,” I cut him off, my voice steady. His hand froze mid-sentence.

“What?” he asked, stunned.

I pushed his hand away, a fire building inside me.“You met Abhi. I can tell. It’s written all over your face,”

He shook his head, but it was unconvincing.

“Tell me, Rudra. What did he say? What happened between you two? Why do you have bruises? Did you fight? Is he alright? Is everything okay?”

His hands returned to my face, trying to calm me.“Shhh… Yes, everything is okay,”

I held his wrist, shaking my head.“No. You're lying. Everything is not okay. Something happened. Tell me. Now,”

I said with strength in my voice, and he just stared at me, blank, silent. Tears welled in my eyes and spilt over as he finally nodded.“Yes, I met him,” he confessed softly.

I stared into his eyes, but he lowered his gaze and exhaled.

“What did he say?” I asked, my voice trembling. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks. I was terrified that something worse had happened.

He shook his head.“Nothing... He’s devastated by everything. And he misses you,”

That broke me. I collapsed into quiet sobs, and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Hey, he’s okay. I promise,”

“He’s not,” I hiccuped.

“I spoke to him. He agreed to go back home. You should go too, Nandani. Be with him... with your family,”

I pulled away and looked at him.“Then come with me,” I said.

“No, Nandani,” He shook his head.

“This is about your family now. All of this happened because of me. Abhinandan is right. After everything I did to you, your family still supported me. No one even asked him what he went through. They chose my side. You chose me—your happiness, our happiness. That was a mistake. Now... now it’s time to choose him. He needs you. He thinks he’s the reason for everything—like I met you through him, like he lost you to me. This is your moment to bring your family back together. Be there until everything is backto normal again,”

I blinked, trying to understand his words.

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