Breathing Underwater

The river took his voice. The palace took his pride.

Arjuna returns to Indraprastha as a hero, but the man inside is drowning. Haunted by the memories of the Naga Kingdom, he flinches at the sound of rain and suffocates in the silence of his own home.

But his silence is mistaken for guilt.

To his brothers, he is the Prince who broke his vows for pleasure. To his wife, he is the husband who returned with the scent of another woman on his skin. Surrounded by the people who love him most, yet utterly unseen, Arjuna slowly begins to crack under the weight of a perfection he can no longer maintain.

He is waiting for a hand to pull him out. He just never expected it to be the hand that was raised to strike him.

Slow Burn | Trauma Recovery | No Smut