Redemption of Royals (Royal #1: Book 3) | ✔

19

I'm sorry y'all, I'm not a cricket fan. I just wanted to lift your spirits. I didn't know we were going lose so terribly. Hope this makes you feel better.

-• lies and confessions •-

Rudra

Is it the penance of my sins, to be feeling so much, so deeply?
Or is my soul finally free?

I brace myself for whatever is coming my way when Yuvraaj storms inside the office that evening. The door bangs open, he barges in and I get up from my chair. "Hear me out-" he doesn't. His fist crashes into my jaw, followed by a hard punch in my gut. I topple over in pain, holding the desk corner and panting roughly. Grabbing me by the collars, he hurls me up and our eyes meet leveled. Something akin to surprise flashes through his eyes. As if he realised I'm not the same 12 year old boy anymore, looking up at him timidly, but a man of the equal height, perhaps, even equal power and influence.

"What did I tell you?" He overcomes the moment, anger seizing him again. "What did I tell you about using my sister against me? You're trying to cross me? What do you think of yourself?"

"Nothing." I whisper.

He frowns.

"Nothing. And I'm not planning to use your sister against you. Maybe three years ago, I'd have. Not anymore." His hold on my collar gradually loosens. But I don't pull away. "I love her." I confess.

He slams me into the wall behind and I brace myself for another punch, maybe this time on the face. It comes, but next to my head, an inch away from my face, and I flinch. I open my eyes. Yuvraaj pants like a wolf, rabid, savage, bloodthirsty. I've driven him out of his patience. I knew it'll happen when I saw the news this morning. I had expected a lot more than a punch, I'm lucky he held back in time. I don't want to retaliate. I don't want to rebel. I want to be with her peacefully, with his agreement and trust, and I want him to accept me as more than a business partner, as more than a warrior fighting by his side in this painfully long battle. I want him to accept me as his sister's husband, as a.... family.

Maybe I don't deserve it. But I'm tired of living with what I deserve. I need what I want. And I want to be happy. I want to be with the woman I love and I want her family to trust her with me.

"You can't keep her happy." He states.

"I'll try."

"Try what?" He asks, stepping back to look at me carefully, a respectable distance between us. I stand straight. Comfortable in my space now. "What are you, Shourya? You've picked up yourself from the ruins, and you're still standing there, unaware when you'll be able to walk out. And you want my little girl to stand there next to you? In those ruins?" He shakes his head. "My sister deserves better. She had a tough childhood. She needs a stable man, who can provide her all the happiness of the world. And you're not him."

I clench my jaw.

"I was of your age when I saw your sister. I couldn't believe so much innocence had survived the barbarous reality of our world. And that fascinated me. It was when I married her that I realised it's not the innocence that kept her alive, it's defeat." His voice thins to a mere whisper. "She was in pieces when I married her. And instead of being there for her, I left her to fend for herself. I couldn't be the man to heal her. I couldn't even look at her without regretting the decision of marrying her. I thought she was perfect. And the illusion broke. She needed someone different. Someone who could be hers, someone who wanted to be hers. And I wasn't that man."

I nod, understanding the underlying meaning of his words.

"But you got the chance, right?" I say. He blinks. "You didn't deserve it. It came to you on its own. You blew it off. And now you're regretting it, aren't you? You want her back, don't you?" He stiffens. "Maybe when you see her again, you'll try to mend the broken. Maybe you'll ask for another chance. Unabashed. Unashamed. Then why not me? I love Tara. I've been in love with her for the last three years. I've suffered the distance, the time, the insecurities, the longing, the yearning, the patience, and the..... the wrenching, wrecking pain of that patience. So why not me? Why don't I deserve a chance to prove my worth to her? To prove that marrying me might be not the worst decision of her life? That despite standing in the ruins, I can show her the sky full of stars. Why can't I?"