[Sequel of Warm Love, hence can't be read as a standalone.]
In the first phase, Reyansh concealed a web of mysteries, but as they stand face to face once more, it's Kiraz who holds the tantalizing secrets waiting to be unveiled. These hidden truths...
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I squeeze the stem of the flower hard. The thorny stem pricks my thumb, drawing blood. I hiss at the sight—dark red, like the rose itself.
The moment ornate, perfect and laden with emotions. The perfection of the moment only deepens my uncertainty. Is this real? Veer and Reyansh. My baby getting to know his father. Reyansh is finally opening up, shedding the cocoon he had created over the years, encased in darkness. Today, he is stepping out of the shell he built for himself, discarding it completely.
He is not the upright Reyansh Rathore I met years ago—the man who set emotions aside and found contentment in dismissing them as a waste of time, as sign of weakness. For all those years, he carried a fragment of his childhood in his heart. His once hopeful eyes, waiting for his parents, had hardened into shrewdness, and he had harbored disdain for the concept of parenting. Now, his eyes radiate warmth, as if he is the most innocent man in the world. He has learned so well. The smile on his lip spreads like a young sun, and his hair tousles in the wind. I adjusted my cashmere shawl, covering my shoulders.
An orange glow was all that remained in the sky. What was wild in him was now tempered. Their laughter and carefreeness mingled with the cold, haunting wind of the approaching night. I step towards the weathered chair, the paint peeling off with rust on the metals.
A presence steps beside me. Tearing my gaze from the two, I look at the Tavir who steps out of the shadow. Body straight, eye fixed on Reyansh and especially Veer. A stoic framing his face that I've been unfamiliar with. He brought Veer from the safe house about which I hardly knew anything.
Reyansh wouldn't say anything regarding it. Even to me. Only Vishal and Tavir are aware of it beside him. I slide aside to the corner of the bench, twisting the rose in my hand, "You can seat."
He looks at the offered space and towards Reyansh. He contemplates for seconds and then brushes whatever thought roaming in his head taking the seat. I look ahead. Reyansh gives Veer a gentle push on the swing, his face lighting up with each burst of laughter from Veer. Veer's eyes sparkle with delight as he soars back and forth. I watch them, a warm smile spreading across my face. My heart swells seeing them so happy and connected.
"You are back with him." He gets my attention. I look at him. The cascading warmth of sun highlighting his feature. If I look at him closely, Tavir is not bad. He is handsome in his way. The locks, the bandana, the twisted sense of humor that sparkles in his orbs. Any girl can or could've fall for him. Yet still he dedicated his five years in sticking by my side and giving whatever he could offer to Veer.
Was I cruel to keep Veer away from Tavir? Just because of that nagging fear in the back of my head. Then, no matter what the truth remains Veer is Reyansh's blood and no matter what, he will always have a connection to his world.
Instead of answering him, I say what was due since a long time, "I am sorry," I owed him the apology, "It was wrong of me trying to keep Veer away from you. Though, I was unsuccessful in doing so yet still," I look down at the rose, "I am sorry."
