"Did you touch that photo?" His voice echoed through the room, sharp enough to make her flinch.
His voice was laced with anger as he gritted his teeth.
That picture was everything to Ekagra.
Everyone knew it.
He never let anyone enter this room.
If it wasn't Maan bhaiya...
He would've killed anyone for even touching that picture.
"How many times have I told you not to touch anything that belongs to her?" His jaw tightened. "Including me. And what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you never to come into this room? Answer me, Rooh."
She instinctively stepped back.
"I... I didn't touch anything... woh..."
"Woh kya, Rooh?"
"Ji... woh... Maan ji was here. He took it with him... I didn't touch anything."
"Maan took it..."
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
His voice lowered, but the anger never left.
"Even he can't take it... Even though it was his sister's picture... it belongs to me. She belongs to me."
The words that left his mouth hurt more than they should have.
They stung my heart.
She belongs to him.
A mocking laugh escaped her lips.
Eleven years.
Eleven years since she died, yet she was still the only person who existed in his world.
He breathes for her. He mourns her. He lives for her.
He hallucinates her. It's always her.
His world revolves around her.
He never looked at me... and even if he did, it always felt like I was nothing more than a stranger.
It's always her. I was never her replacement. Maybe I was never meant to be anything at all. I shouldn't care about him. I shouldn't fall for him.
Then why...
Why does seeing him... Being this close to him... Make my heart pound so crazily?
Ugh... at this point, my head is going to explode.
Her brows furrowed as she saw him walking towards the main door. She immediately followed behind him.
"Aap... aap kahan jaa rahe?"
He suddenly stopped mid-step.
"None of your business. Stay out of my matters."
He said without even glancing back at her.
His words stung.
"You are injured... At least let me treat you... Please."
"Koi zarurat nahi hai... Tum apna dhyan rakho... and please leave."
He cut her off, clearly wanting her to leave.
"I... I prepared something for your birthday, Ekagra... Can't you stay to celebrate with me? Please..."
Her voice softened.
"Celebrate?"
He let out a laugh that felt more like a slap across her face.
"What's there to celebrate in my life?" He gritted his teeth, but this time, his eyes held nothing but pain.
"I died long ago, Rooh... The day I saw her dead body."
He paused, trying to steady his voice.
"My soul left with her. I don't celebrate my birthday anymore... If anything, celebrate my death anniversary on this day."
He gulped.
"The day Aashvi died... Ekagra Rajwardhan died with her. What's left is just a hollow body carrying responsibilities."
He looked away.
"So don't waste your efforts on a man who has nothing left to give you, Rooh."
With that, he walked away, leaving her standing alone in the mansion.
She still remembered that day.
Her fever was 103, but instead of resting, she spent the entire day preparing for Ekagra's birthday, wanting to express her feelings to him.
But instead... He walked out of the door. He never came back. He never answered her calls.He never replied to her messages. She cried the entire night, staring at the cake she had baked for him.
Maybe he wasn't cruel. Maybe fate was.
All she ever wanted was for him to understand her... to let her in. But he always pushed her away. She had no place in his heart.
Yet, all she wanted was to heal the man who deserved the love he had lost.
"Aashvi... Aashvi... Aashvi..."
"I can't take your place... But I love him."
Her jaw tightened as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Tsk... Tsk..."
The man walked towards her. She sat on the cold floor, injured, her hands chained.
"Still crying for a man who clearly doesn't give a fuck about you?"
"You think Ekagra Rajwardhan would come to save someone like you?"
"That's where you're wrong. Doesn't matter whether he loves me or not... he's not a monster who'd let people like you hurt me."
"Hahaha..."
"We are the infamous Serpents. You think the Vipers don't know we have you? You think they can't track us?"
"They can."
"They just don't want to."
"And your Ekagra Rajwardhan is busy with the woman he found."
"The girl he refused to sell."
"W-What do you mean? What did you just say?"
"The Ekagra Rajwardhan is with a woman in his mansion."
"That's impossible..."
"He never lets any woman get close to him."
"Don't lie."
"And let me go."
"You can't brainwash me."
"If you think they don't care about me, then why kidnap me?"
"Because deep down, you know that if they find you and your little gang... you're doomed."
His jaw tightened, as if she had struck a nerve.
Before he could say anything, one of his men called him.
He left.
"Ekagra... is that true? You found someone?"
She looked down at herself.
Bruised. Chained. Locked in a place she didn't even know. It was her fault. She had left.
She had chosen to run away instead of facing everything.
It had become too much. Her grandfather's illness. Watching Ekagra love someone who was no longer alive. She couldn't take it anymore. Even though she still remembered his warning...
"If they want to get to me... they'll hurt you, Rooh. So stay out of it. Stay safe."
She couldn't deny it.
She was naive.
And now she had ended up in the hands of the Serpent... The people who wanted revenge against the Vipers and the Ravens, the two secret societies that ruled the illegal underworld.
"Ekagra Rajwardhan..." Dadaji smiled. "The heir of the Rajwardhan family. He runs both the Rajwardhan Empire and the Vipers with an exceptional mind. People fear him because no one can ever predict his next move. He's such a brat"
Dadaji chuckled at the last line.
She shook her head.
"I'm not here for marriage, Dadaji. Seriously? You're lying on this bed, fighting a deadly illness..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I came here because I wanted to see you. I left everything behind just so I could take care of you. I don't want to marry anyone right now. Not for an alliance... not because he's the great Ekagra Rajwardhan."
"Meri bachhi..." he smiled weakly. "I won't be here forever. Before I leave, I just want to see you settled. Not because of any alliance... Chandra Pratap Thakur doesn't need one."
She still remembered that conversation.
Her grandfather was battling cancer when he asked her to get engaged to Ekagra.
She agreed. Not because she wanted to.
But because she wanted to see her grandfather happy, even if it was for the last time.
He had raised her. He was the only family she had.
How could she refuse him?
But Ekagra...
He rejected her the very first day.
Love?
That word no longer existed in his life.
For him, there had only ever been one woman. And there always would be. In the end, he only agreed for her grandfather's sake. A fake engagement. A promise that would last only until her grandfather was alive. After that...
They would become strangers again.
He promised a dying man that he would take care of her. That was all it was. Then why did it hurt so much?
Why did seeing him drown in someone else's memories hurt her this much? Why did watching him cry for another woman break her heart?
A broken sob escaped her lips.
"Ekagra... will you really not come looking for me?"
"Do you really not care about me at all?"
"Did you really find someone else?"
"Choose someone else?"
"Why... why couldn't that person be me?"
"Please, Ekagra... save me."
"Find me... please..."
Tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably.
She was tired. Tired of leaving her leaving everything behind. Tired of taking care of her dying grandfather. Tired of lying to him. Tired of falling for a man who never acknowledged her existence.
And now... She was kidnapped. Chained. Injured. Alone.
"I've lost everything too..." she whispered through her tears.
"I'm human..."
"It hurts me too..."
"When will my suffering end?"
She closed her eyes, trying to block out the pain. She was physically and mentally drained. She suddenly flinched.
The noise.
Loud gunshots echoed through the warehouse.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Then... A laugh. A familiar laugh.
A laugh that sounded almost maniacal.
The sound of footsteps grew closer.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Then a tall figure appeared.
"My, my, my..."
"What have they done to my poor little thing?"
The tone was mocking.
Rooh gulped.
She definitely wasn't expecting to see this person here.
Tvesha Rajwardhan.
Even with fresh blood staining her face, she still looked intimidatingly gorgeous.
She crouched in front of Rooh, tilting her chin up with two fingers.
Gently brushing the blood away from her lower lip.
She was no less than a maniac.
Smiling after killing men, gracefully resting the gun on her shoulder.
"Were you waiting for Ekagra? Tsk... tsk... Too bad. It's me who came to rescue you."
She untied her and helped her to her feet.
"Th-Thanks..." Her voice trembled, her throat dry.
"Ugh... don't bullshit me with thanks. You're just too naive to get caught by these filthy pests."
She spoke as if getting kidnapped had personally offended her.
"Ekag..."
"No. He doesn't know anything about you. He still thinks you just left. It was Maan and Raghav who were searching for you... but too bad, those brats aren't as good as I am."
She winked before walking out of the warehouse.
Rooh hesitated before asking the next question.
"Is he... with someone else?"
"Who? My brother?" She hummed. "Yes... there's this little girl he found. For now, he's keeping her."
She paused before adding,
"Don't worry. Dad already found out... and he'll take care of her."
"By morning..."
"...her existence will be wiped out."
Rooh gulped.
Goosebumps rose all over her skin.
She couldn't tell whether it was because of the cold sea breeze...
Or because of Tvesha's words.
๐หหณยทห ึดึถึธ โ๐นโ ึดึถึธหยทหณห๐ ึดึถึธ.
Hello, my lovely readers! ๐ค
I hope you're all doing well.
Finally... the chapter is here! And with it, the reveal of two of the most anticipated characters. Rooh and Tvesha Rajwardhan. ๐ I can't wait to know what you think about them, especially Tvesha. Did you guys liked her?
Now, a tiny request from me...
I know many of you read the chapters silently, and I'm genuinely grateful that you're here. But sometimes, seeing so ma
ny reads with very few votes or comments can be a little discouraging, especially for a new author.
It only takes a second to press the โญ Vote button and leave a small comment. Even a simple "Loved it," "Next CHAPTER," or your favorite line means a lot to me. Your support motivates me to keep writing and helps my story reach more readers.
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