The Monster King

Chapter 70

Kiara stood frozen, her eyes widening to the size of saucers as her mind struggled to process the sight before her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her lips parted, but no sound came out. The room seemed to spin, the air growing thick as her breath caught in her throat. She felt as if she might faint at any moment, the weight of the shock crushing down on her like an avalanche. Her hand instinctively rose to her forehead, trying to steady herself, but the tremble in her fingers betrayed her.

"E—Eklavya..." she finally whispered, the name slipping through her lips like a ghost from her past. Her voice was barely audible, choked and fragile, as if she could scarcely believe the word she had just spoken. She stared at the man standing before her, her mind racing with disbelief and confusion.

Meera looked at her, eyebrows knitted in bewilderment. "Kiara? What's wrong? Do you... do you know him?"

But Kiara could barely hear her. Her gaze remained locked on Eklavya—Rahagir, as Meera knew him now. Memories flashed in her mind like lightning, bringing a flood of emotions she thought she had buried long ago. Her lips trembled, but still, no words would come. It felt as though her world was collapsing in on itself.

The man before her, the one Meera had fallen in love with, was not just anyone. He was Eklavya, someone tied deeply to her past in a way that shattered her present.

Kiara took slow, unsteady steps toward him, her voice trembling with disbelief as she repeated the question, "You're alive?" She barely registered Meera's confused laughter beside her, her focus entirely consumed by the man she thought had vanished from her life forever. Her eyes darted over him, trying to reconcile the image of Rahagir with the memory of Eklavya—the man she once knew, now standing before her under a different name.

Meera, noticing the intensity between them, let out a nervous chuckle, clearly baffled. "No, Kiara. You're mistaken. He's Rahagir. Right, Rahagir?" She turned toward him, her tone filled with confusion, seeking his reassurance.

But Kiara's gaze remained locked on his, her eyes searching the hollow depths of his. Her heart pounded, her mind still refusing to fully accept what was right in front of her. Eklavya... Rahagir... They were one and the same. The man Meera loved was the man who once haunted Kiara's past.

"You're alive," she repeated, her voice breaking as bitterness seeped into her tone. It was not a question this time, but a statement—a painful realization that cracked through the fragile reality she had built. Her lips twisted into a bitter smile, a dark, humourless laugh escaping her throat. "You're alive."

The air in the room grew heavier, as if the weight of the past was pulling everything down. Kiara's laughter, though quiet, was sharp, filled with both anger and disbelief. She couldn't understand why or how he was here, but one thing was clear—the man who once disappeared from her world had somehow come back into it, disguised in a way that only added salt to her wounds.

Kiara's heart pounded in her chest, her body frozen, trapped between disbelief and a flood of emotions she hadn't felt in years. Eklavya. The name, the face—so familiar, yet so distant—stood right before her, reborn as Rahagir. The betrayal, the confusion, all mixed together in a maelstrom of shock. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but she was paralyzed, her mind trying to piece together the impossible.

Meera, sensing the rising tension between the two, grew visibly more perplexed. "Kiara, what are you saying?" Her laughter faded, and her voice grew more concerned. "This is Rahagir. The man I've spent months with. You're confusing him for someone else."

Kiara's lips trembled as she spoke again, this time more steadily, though her voice was tinged with a cold fury. "I'm not confused, Meera." She stepped closer, her eyes never leaving Eklavya's face. "This man... he's not Rahagir. He's Eklavya. The man who disappeared from my life without a trace. The man I thought was dead."