Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2020 (Judge's Choice) in the New Adult category.
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"The lights are cheeky, you can't live without them, and yet if you get too close, they'll blind you. Darkness? Well it doesn't cheat. It's cool and soothing. It's r...
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The Mahabharat is an epic tale about two sets of warring cousins.
The heroes of the epic, the five Pandava brothers, were known for unique virtues. One was the wisest, the other was the strongest, and so on.
The brother who inspired of the name of the man lying beside her, Nakul, was the most beautiful brother. His looks and charm were unrivalled in all of India. If any human could be physically perfect, Raghu Kaka used to remark, it was the fourth Pandava brother.
Her Nakul wasn't like that though.
"What?" he mumbled, peeking at her through half-lidded eyes as he pulled her on top of him.
Tracing the white scars on his chest, countless lines criss-crossed together, Madhu looked up at him. "How did this even happen?"
"I fell."
"On what? A cactus field?"
"Burning cactus field more like." Taking her hand, he pressed the palm to his lips, before reaching for her mouth, kissing it slowly, languidly.
What were they talking about again?
Madhu couldn't remember. She didn't bother to either, not when Nakul pinned her under him, leaving a trail of hot kisses down her body. She was afraid of his intensity and even more terrified of her response to it. She shouldn't be getting so attached to him after knowing him for little over two weeks but that was impossible. Nakul's presence in her life, or rather, in this break from life she had taken, felt like the comfort of a serene island in the middle of a raging ocean. Safe. Calm. Peaceful.
So cut off from the world, it made her forget about the chaos that was her life outside of it. Outside of him.
She didn't want to think of the time when she'd have to sail away.
"What's on your mind?" he breathed in between little nips of her lips, having reappeared above her.
She was about to answer when a wail reached her ears. Her initial reaction would have been to dismiss it as Chikki being restless in the cow shed but then she heard it for a second time, and it sounded much more humane than her dog.
"Kamal?"
"That's not my name."
"No, not that." Madhu pulled herself into a sitting position as he moved away, regarding her in confusion. "I think Kamal is outside."
Still frowning, he adjusted his aid as she hurriedly put on her clothes, certain that she had heard the boy calling for her. Without waiting for Nakul to do the same, she rushed out of the room, practically running around the slippery corridor as Kamal's screams became clearer.
"Madhu didi!"
It was a terrifying screech. Helpless. All kinds of scenarios flashed through her mind. She cursed herself for not enquiring into Champa's absence. Madhulika had simply blamed the rain when she hadn't turned up to cook breakfast that day. But she should've sensed something was wrong. The woman rarely took days off.
