Book 1 of the Love and Duty Series
Anirudh Roy, the steadfast and disciplined army officer, had always lived by a set of principles, none of which involved love. His life revolved around duty, honor, and the pursuit of his ambitions. Marriage, children, and emotional entanglements were unnecessary distractions in his eyes-until he met Dhairya Sharma.
Dhairya was everything Anirudh thought he could easily overlook: an average girl with humble dreams, working a simple job and striving to carve a career for herself. She had left her hometown, filled with determination, to build a new life in New Delhi. Love was never on her agenda either. She was driven by her ambitions, not romantic fantasies.
Yet, the moment they met, something shifted. Anirudh felt an undeniable attraction-one that grew into something deeper and more profound. It was as if all his carefully laid plans unraveled, his walls crumbling down piece by piece as he fell in love with Dhairya. She, too, found herself surrendering to emotions she hadn't anticipated, breaking her own resolve.
But life had other plans for them. Their love story, unlike the fairytales, wasn't destined to have a smooth path. Years after their fateful meeting, something catastrophic happened-an event so shattering that it left Anirudh in pieces, unable to comprehend how his life could spiral so far from the strength and control he once held dear.
The question that remains is not merely what devastated them but why Anirudh, who never believed in love, found himself so consumed by it that even in his brokenness, every breath he took was still devoted to her. His journey, from an unyielding soldier to a man completely undone by love, reflects the inexplicable power that Dhairya had over his heart, a love that he could never let go, no matter the cost.
Started- 19th July 2024
Ended-
#1 in short-story out of 325K stories!! on 28 September 2023
Give it a try!!
---‐--------
"So I was not worthy of you?" It was more of a statement for Anvi. Her voice was broken. Rudra prayed her finger from the necklace and held her hand.
"Sweet.....It was never about what I thought. It was always about what you thought." Rudra pulled up her chin gently to look into her eyes. "If you thought you were good enough for me, you would have never proposed the deal. You would have never put your health at risk to achieve it. And yet I had always seen you as a kind little girl who took care of me like a mother. Who would make samosas for me when I came home. Who would wait outside my room for hours together. Who would make sure that my socks were restocked every summer. And many other things.....Baby it never occurred to me to measure your worth. I was not in love with you back then, but you were a part of my life, sweet." He finished with a sweet tender kiss.
"You..you..knew?" A very red Anvi asked in astonishment.
"What? That I was your first crush?" He smirked, turning her redder by the second. "Now let me kiss you before you put on that lipstick." He pulled her into a soul-satisfying kiss.
______________
It is a beautiful journey of Anvi and Rudra. A short heart warming love story.