Page 223 of Rudra Nandani: The Saga of Control And Seduction

I shook my head.“It wasn’t about trust, Nandan. You and everyone else gave me love and comfort. It’s just that at that moment, I was waiting for him to talk to Father properly. I was so in love with him. And then... everything fell apart so suddenly—”

“Suddenly, he broke your heart... and you still forgave him,” hesaid, cutting me off with a pained voice.

I bit my lower lip, feeling the sting of those words. I nodded.“Yes. He broke my heart... and I still forgave him. Because he admitted he was wrong. Because he tried to win my heart back,” I said quietly.

“Why break the heart if you want to win it back?” Abhinandan asked bitterly.

I shook my head again.“I don’t know, Nandan. I just know I love him... and he loves me. I never saw my life with anyone else,” I tried reasoning.

“And yet he played with you, dumped you, and used you for his sick games,” he said, his voice shaking.

I shook my head firmly.“That’s not true. He didn’t know about his father,” I said.

Abhinandan let out a short, bitter laugh.

“You may call it anything, all I understand is that he doesn't deserve you, Nandani. And it’s not too late to rethink your decision. He could be anything but a good husband. He played with you, used you, and I don't understand how you can forgive him just like that,” he said, frustration etched across his face. I lowered my gaze, feeling my heart grow heavy. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

“I don't know, Nandan,” I said.“But I feel complete when I am with him, close to him. It makes me feel happy from within,” I took a moment to put it in words.“He might not be the perfect husband, or even perfect at all, but he’s the best lover one could ever have,”

Exhaling heavily, I turned completely to him.“You see, Nandan, someone who holds the power to break you and still make you whole... there’s something so profound about that. I don't know what energy he radiates, but I have always belonged to him. From the moment I laid eyes on him to the last moment I’d see him, I would belong to him—in good and in bad times, in love, and even in pain. Because love isn't always blooming and beautiful. It hurts, sometimes, it breaks you, it moulds you, it defines you. It holds you and it makes you. And I’m lucky enough to have seen it all,”

I furrowed my brows, explaining what I truly felt.“Perfect, dreamy love is just a phase; real love is much deeper than that. What you see in him is different from what I see in him. The way he looks at me like I’m the last person he ever wants to see... theway he smiles around me, as if I’m the only reason he’s happy... the way he cares for me, as if he feels solely responsible for me... the way he holds back from overpowering me, as if he would give up anything for me... It’s so beautiful, thrilling, overwhelming, almost,”

A gentle smile tugged at my lips as I looked at my twin, listening to me intently.“I have seen every side of him—the good, the bad, the dangerous, the gentle—everything. Never has anyone been so transparent with me as Rudra has. He doesn’t love me because I love him; he just loves me unconditionally. And so I can never hate him. I can get angry, yes, but hate? Never. Because I know, my soul knows, I belong to him,” I finished, drawing a deep breath.

A single tear slipped down my cheek as memories of our first meeting flooded my mind.

“Oh,” Nandan breathed, frowning.“Sounds like trouble to me,” he added playfully, making me chuckle.

“Shut up,” I warned lightly, wiping my tears away.

“Come here,” he said, shifting closer, pulling me into a hug.“Let bygones be bygones. If you are happy and healthy, that’s all that matters to me,” he said warmly, and I smiled, closing my eyes.

“But,” he added mischievously,“I hope he doesn’t trouble you too much,”

I suddenly laughed.“No, not much. But I trouble him a lot,” I said, and he burst into laughter.

“I wouldn't expect anything less,” he said, still laughing.

“Do you remember when the three of us went hunting, and it suddenly rained?” he asked, and I nodded eagerly.

“Yes! And Rudra slipped in the mud, and while helping him, you slipped too,” I added, and we both laughed hard at the memory.

Our conversations continued until late morning, and soon I asked the attendant to bring breakfast for Abhinandan.

“Ask for him too, let's eat together,” he said, and I smiled, asking the attendant to call Rudra as well.

After a while, Rudra joined us, and the three of us sat down to eat.

“Seems like things are good again between you two,” Rudra teased, and I nodded, smiling brightly.

“Yes, seems like it,” I replied.

He grinned, and suddenly Abhinandan said,“But honestly, it would've been better if you hadn’t come into our lives,” he joked, laughing while chewing his food.

“Ask your sister to say that,” Rudra shot back, smirking at me.

Their banter filled the room with laughter, and just seeing them together again brought happy tears to my eyes.

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