Her Only Saviour

87. Reclamation

𝕷𝖔 𝖒𝖆𝖆𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖞𝖆 𝖉𝖊𝖐𝖍𝖆 𝖍𝖎 𝖓𝖆𝖍𝖎
𝕿𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖐𝖆𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖍𝖊 𝖐𝖆 𝖜𝖔 𝖙𝖎𝖑

𝕷𝖔 𝖒𝖆𝖆𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖞𝖆 𝖙𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖆 𝖍𝖎 𝖓𝖆𝖍𝖎
𝕿𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖓 𝖘𝖊 𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖆 𝖉𝖎𝖑

𝕮𝖍𝖍𝖆𝖆𝖔𝖓 𝖒𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖎 𝖇𝖊𝖊𝖙𝖎 𝖍𝖎 𝖓𝖆𝖍𝖎
𝖂𝖔 𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖎 𝖐𝖎 𝖇𝖆𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖎𝖓

𝕭𝖆𝖆𝖍𝖔𝖓 𝖒𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖎 𝖌𝖚𝖟𝖗𝖎 𝖍𝖎 𝖓𝖆𝖍𝖎
𝖂𝖔 𝖘𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖎 𝖐𝖎 𝖗𝖆𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖎𝖓

~~~~~~

As they emerged into the dimly lit corridor outside, the heavy silence cracked under the buzz of neon lights.
Her heels slowed, and she finally turned toward Naina and Aarvi.

Her voice was soft, but no less resolute.

“Thank you,” Nandini said, her eyes heavy but honest. “For standing by me… for fighting this war like it was yours.”

Aarvi gave a shaky smile, the adrenaline still fresh in her eyes. But it was Naina who replied first, brushing a hand through her dark locks, that sharp glint in her gaze never fading.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Naina said with that same signature smile, “don’t thank me.”

She stepped closer, resting a hand gently on Nandini’s shoulder.

“Anirudh is an old friend of mine—and a damned loyal one at that. But more than that… we're childhood buddies. You and I, Nandini—” she tapped a red-painted fingernail lightly on Nandini’s chest, just above her heart “—we carry the same fire.”

Naina’s voice turned just a touch softer, almost reverent.

“I see myself in you. That rage? That righteousness wrapped in red lipstick and scars? You don’t need a gun to be dangerous. You already are.”

Nandini’s throat tightened. Her lashes fluttered once as she absorbed those words—not as praise, but as recognition.
From one warrior woman to another.

Then Naina’s voice hardened again, eyes now flashing as she stared down the path they’d just come from.

“They didn’t just kill your baby, Nandini. They killed the soul of every woman who’s ever prayed, loved, and raised their child. They killed hope. They killed safety. They killed us.”

Her jaw clenched.

“And now? They’ll live remembering our faces.”

Aarvi stepped forward next, her demeanor softer, but no less fierce.

“I… didn’t know I could do this,” she admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her voice trembled—not with fear, but disbelief.
“I’ve always been the one to hide. To survive. But Naina—” she looked over at her mentor, her guide “—told me I could. That I was more than what they reduced me to.”

She took Nandini’s hand in hers gently.

“And when I heard what they did to you… to your baby…” her voice cracked, eyes watering, “…I knew I had to come.”

“I couldn’t stay silent. Not anymore.”

A breath hitched in Nandini’s throat as she looked between the two women.

Different pasts.
Different paths.
But tonight… they had become sisters bound not by blood, but by vengeance.

She wrapped her arms around both women, holding them close in a rare moment of silent unity.