Rudra Pratap Rathore’s POV
They say I’ve got no heart.
I say I gave it to Shiv ji a long time ago.
I don’t talk much.
I don't smile unless my brother cracks something absolutely stupid.
And I definitely don’t explain my actions to anyone.
But if you touch my family...
I become your goddamn karma.
---
Aarzoo is the only rose in this desert of five brothers.
And I never thought someone would dare bruise that rose.
But her husband tried.
Once.
Now he doesn’t exist anymore.
I didn’t yell.
Didn’t even lose my temper.
I just walked into the warehouse like it was just another day in the empire,
picked up the rusted hammer lying in the corner,
and made sure he felt each breath he took without her permission.
He cried.
Begged.
But see... I don’t hear begging.
My ears only open to mantras and my sister’s laughter.
---
When it was done, I cleaned my hands with Ganga jal.
Lit a diya.
Chanted “Om Namah Shivaya” till my heartbeat matched Shiva’s damru.
Peaceful.
---
Aarzoo came back home.
Quieter.
Stronger in some ways, broken in others.
She’s healing.
Slowly.
And lately... she keeps talking about someone.
Some girl she met in Chennai.
Aayna.
From Delhi.
Came down south for college, apparently.
"She reminds me of me, Bhaiya,” Aarzoo said one evening, curled up on the divan like she used to when we were kids.
“She’s so soft, you know? Pure. Shy, but... she’s got this strength too. You’ll like her.”
I didn’t reply.
Just nodded while rotating my rudraksha mala.
Didn’t think much of it.
But Aarzoo being Aarzoo, she wouldn’t shut up about her.
“She’s so cute na, Bhaiya? A bit clumsy… always falling or dropping things. I scold her and she pouts like a baby. You have to meet her once. She’s staying in the hostel now, but I’ve told her to come home for the break"
I looked up from my tea.
That was the first time I registered the name properly.
Aayna.
Hmm.
Didn’t say anything out loud.
But something about the way Aarzoo spoke…
Made me pause.
---
I haven’t seen her yet.
But this name it’s lingering.
And when something lingers in my mind, it usually means it’s walking straight into my story.
She’s from Delhi?
Interesting.
Far from home.
Vulnerable.
But if she’s under Aarzoo’s wing, that makes her... mine too.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
YOU ARE READING
Only His✔️
RomanceI thought monsters lived in nightmares. Then I met him. Rudra is powerful, feared, and impossible to defy. When he took me into his mansion, I thought it was to save me. I was wrong. His kindness hides chains. His touch burns like fire and freezes l...
