Dare to Be | Heir & Heiress #1 | ✓

Author's Take: Dare to Be

Forewarning: this part is quite a wordy read & I did not expect for it get this long but please do give it a shot. You won't regret <3

Dearest readers,

Firstly, I hope not many of you are too disappointed. I'd already warned/asked to keep an open mind and it will be unclear who ends up with whom. (Even now, I cannot tell you the end game as I have not thought that far ahead). 

But the way book 1 has concluded, I feel it necessary to explain so far why I have written it the way I have. So, here is my take to help you understand the complexity that I have attempted to bring out.

In the beginning, I told you this is Aarav's journey. As such, I did not want this to be a love story between two people. I wanted this to simply tell a story of love and life. Of how one person can come to realize the meaning of the word. Of how something could be right in front of your eyes but we humans keep searching for it elsewhere. Of how we may think there is something better out there. Of how loving someone doesn't necessarily mean that they love you back - and as such, because they do not love you back, it also does not mean that you stop loving them. 

Love does not come in only one form, as we all know. It comes in multiple forms and nor is it always requitted and end happily and sometimes, it takes us by surprise. 

Now, breaking down the characters:

The very first thing I would like to say is that Aarav, Jhanvi & Annie are drawn from life. They are not 'real' events, ofcourse, but they are a combination of such traits. Their backgrounds may be dramatized for story-telling purposes but their thoughts, feelings, actions are meant to symbolize an average person's dilemmas. Perhaps a part or two that you yourself can connect to: be it in any of the characters.

More specifically...

Aarav: He spent his life growing up with a fixed idea that the end was going to be him and Jhanvi. As such, he sidelined everything that was in front of him. Told himself over and over again that he loves Jhanvi till he started believing that as well. 

How many of us fall in love with the idea of loving someone? Or have first crushes and take that to be something more because either it is easy to do or because we are fooling ourselves into thinking it will last? We read all these cliche high school sweetheart stories and even know of some in real life and believe it will survive past college, etc but only a handful do. 

Love has no clear definition and as such, it can get misdirected. The same happened with him. He took something and multiplied it tenfold. He forgot about the journey and only focused on the destination, unaware that along the way, things change - and that it is okay that life took such a turn. He can't be blamed for it because he did have every good intention but... when it comes to love, can you really control the heart? No. Heart rebels and there is nothing you can do about it.

If you still need to understand why he loves Annie more even after his and Jhanvi's conversations, then I'd say it's because he has far more memories with Annie which are real but with Jhanvi, it's what he wanted so desperately that he convinced himself it was real. With Annie, he's grown up with her. He confides everything in her. He tells her his insecurities. He gives her everything without any hesitancies. He isn't afraid of showing his dark side to her because they have that deep a connection. And her love is the kind of pure love that keeps him going. And, in short, it's not wrong to love your best friend because many a time, no one can match up to that relationship.

I once read a quote on IG after I'd already started writing H&H and I saved it, feeling how very apt it was. It goes like this: He hugged her, but never kissed her. Dreamt about her, but never fantasized. Loved her, but never confessed. Wanted to be her boyfriend, but was her bestfriend. If you ask me, it speaks volumes to his feelings.