The Second Bloom • 18+ [Completed ✓]

29. Fire Of The Heart And Body (Nandani's POV)

Varun.

Varun. Varun.

I’ve loved Varun for as long as I can remember.

Even as a little girl, I would follow him around the village, trying to keep up with his long strides, my heart swelling with pride when he smiled at me or helped me climb a tree.

I didn’t know what love was back then, not really. But I knew what it felt like to want to be close to him, to see him every day, to hear his voice call my name.

The elders would laugh when they saw us together, teasing me, “Arre, Nandani, yeh toh Varun ki hi dulhan banegi!”

I would blush and giggle, but deep down, I wanted it to be true.

As we grew older, my feelings only deepened.

Varun was no longer just the boy I played with. He became the man I dreamed about. His strength, his kindness, the way he carried the weight of his responsibilities without complaint, his muscular body, the man he was growing into, the handsome man—it all drew me to him.

I used to imagine what it would be like to marry him, to build a life with him, side by side, in our village. I’d cook for him, laugh with him, love him the way I always had, but this time, as his wife. He would care for me. He would love me. He would pull me in his arms. I would rest my head on his chest. At nights after everyone would have been asleep, he would make love to me. Rough. Just like his personality. And we would have sex the entire night.

I would bear his child. Children, actually. His lips, he would kiss me every now and then.

Sometimes I even used to peep inside his room when he used to be shirtless. Those muscles, abs, attracted me so much. I have even touched his chest — one noon when he was asleep and I had sneaked inside his room.

Everything felt so certain, so destined.

Even Varun’s mother would make little comments about us, always calling me ‘bahu’ playfully. I never denied it. Why would I? It felt inevitable. Everyone thought so. And in my heart, I believed that Varun would one day look at me not just as his childhood friend, but as the woman he wanted to spend his life with and bear kids with.

A night changed everything.

The letter came from my Nani’s place. Her health was failing, and my mother and I needed to be with her. I couldn’t stay behind—I had to go. It was only supposed to be for a short time, just until she recovered. But days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into six long months. Six months away from my home, away from Varun.

Even before leaving I had hugged him and told him that I would miss him a lot. He said he will miss me too.

I thought about him every day, wondering what he was doing, how he was managing without me. I missed him desperately, but I told myself that when I returned, everything would be as it was. Varun would be there, waiting, and our lives would pick up right where they left off. Then I would finally tell him what's inside my heart. How badly I love him. How badly I want to be his. How I crave for him. How I've touched myself thinking my hands were his and fingers were his length. How I've moaned to his name several times.

But when I returned to the village, everything had changed. COMPLETELY.

The moment I stepped inside his home and saw a woman standing with him, I knew something was wrong. And then, I found out about the news that shattered my heart into a thousand pieces—Varun had gotten married.

My love. My entire life. Got married.

Married. To another woman.

Not me. ANOTHER WOMAN.