Forcibly Yours

||In Her Arms||

                                                                         .               **Dheer's POV**

It's been two days since that night. I haven't pressed her about it, not a single question. I can see it lingering in her eyes, but if silence is what she needs to feel safe, I'll respect that. Every time our conversations get too close to the edge, I gently pull them back to safer shores.I talked to Ishaan about her, and what he told me had me taking a long, shaky breath just to steady myself. 

                                                                                           **Flashback...**

It was early morning when Ishaan arrived. He had been in a meeting, but he took a jet just to be here, to meet Ruhi. I could see the weight in his eyes, the hurt, as he watched her sleep, curled up with her teddy like a child, her face soft and peaceful. But I knew better. I knew the pain that lay beneath her calm.

"Ishaan, I need to talk to you," I said, gesturing to the couch by the pool area. He nodded silently, still not taking his eyes off her."I knew you would ask for it," Ishaan replied quietly as he finally settled beside me, but his gaze never left her face. There was a tenderness there, the kind of tenderness only a brother could have for his sister.

"Dheer, I know you have a lot of questions. And it's your right to know, after all, she's your wife now. But..." He trailed off, his words like a whispered confession, heavy with things unsaid. He stared at Ruhi, his eyes filled with unspoken pain.

His "but..." stirred something deep inside me, something I hadn't felt in years. Fear. Real fear. "Dheer," Ishaan's voice was low, shaking with emotion, "there's something I need to tell you." He paused, eyes lingering on Ruhi's face before he spoke again, "You know about her family, right? How her cousin wants to marry her? They're still looking for her."I nodded. "I know, but they don't know how she looks, right? There was a man following her a few days ago, but Kush handled him well." I shared what I knew, but Ishaan's silence told me there was more.

"Dheer," Ishaan's voice cracked, and he took a deep breath, as though trying to hold something back. "We don't know how many of them are out there. We know about the threats, but Ruhi doesn't. And that's what scares me. What will happen if she finds out? What if she learns the truth?"

I felt my chest tighten, a gnawing unease spreading through me. Ishaan continued, his words breaking the silence, "Dheer, you don't understand. The one thing she hates the most is the idea of someone sacrificing for her. She doesn't want anyone to suffer because of her. We're doing this out of love, but she'll see it as a sacrifice, and that might destroy her. We don't know how she'll take this, what it will do to her. I've seen her at her lowest, and I can't bear to see her break again."

His voice cracked, and I saw the tears welling up in his eyes, his heart laid bare before me. The love he had for her was infinite, a love that could shatter mountains and rebuild them all over again. "Ishaan," I began, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "I understand, but I don't get it. Why can't we just tell her? Yes, it will hurt her, but wouldn't it be better than having someone else tell her, twisting everything with lies?"

Ishaan paused again, and this time the weight of the silence made my frustration bubble up. "What's 'but' now?" I asked, my voice rising, unable to keep the storm inside me. "Tell me what the hell it is. Do you have any idea what it felt like, seeing her so vulnerable? She was falling apart in my arms. It felt like if I didn't hold her tight enough, she'd vanish. Just... disappear. That's how fragile she looked. I can't let that happen. I can't lose her, Ishaan."Ishaan's deep breath was the only sound for a long moment. His eyes were distant, haunted. Finally, he spoke, his voice barely a whisper.