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

43

-• resentment •-

happy republic day 🇮🇳

Taranya

Rudra Rana Singh Rawal

I inhale softly, forcing my eyes to stay on him. It's not the name, no, it's the way he said it, owned it, as if he knows no man out there can take this away from him. It's him.

Rudra Rana Singh Rawal

That's him.

And he doesn't need to prove himself, he doesn't need to put on any fake lens to fool the world into thinking that it's him. He is. Esther Industries stands tall and proud to shut the mouths of people daring to wonder who it belongs to.

It's all so clear now.

He's so work obsessed, so dedicated to his business because that's where the real him is, that's where he belongs. And it breaks my heart that he doesn't realise it. This man never needed to be someone else to prove his worth. He is a fucking miracle, and anyone who made him feel otherwise should go choke on a mouthful of lead.

"Why are you running away from yourself, Rudra?" I ask in a whisper.

I'd love to stand next to him and address him as Rudra, not as anyone else. I want to hold his hand as his wife, not as Shourya's. Because I never married his title, or the position, I married him. My faith, my vows, my loyalty, it belongs to him, not because he's Shourya, but because he's my husband.

"I'd never be able to catch up with you if you keep running away from who you are."

He doesn't speak, doesn't say a word, not even a grunt to denote that he's listening to me. Except for his knuckles, branding the wheel so tightly they almost turn white, I've no other way to tell he hasn't already tuned me out of his head.

"Rudra-"

"Don't." He avoids looking at me, his gaze fixed on the road. "You've no idea what I went through."

"But I'm willing to listen." I insist.

I know about his past along the edges, but he never let me in fully. Never.

"I showed you my scars, what more do you want?" He smiles wryly.

"The story behind them." I whisper.

He struggles to cover up the vulnerability using a hostile mask, sealing his lips shut for the rest of the drive. I give up when we roundabout a familiar intersection, and farms start covering the roadsides instead of buildings and shops.

Fifteen minutes later, he's cutting off the engine in front of my family's farmhouse and getting out to walk up to the door without waiting for me. I sigh regrettably. Did I push too many buttons at the same time? We had a silly, stupid argument back at the palace, and then I quickly jumped on his past, eager to know more than the sliver he shows me.

Way to ruin the progress, Tara. Good job.

Ignoring the admonishing voice inside my head, I jog to catch up with his long strides. He thoughtfully slows down upon realising I'm struggling to match his pace. We step up the canopy porch. He waits patiently by my side as I hunch forward to ring the doorbell.

The door is swung open by my eldest brother.

"Is he fine?"

Yuvraaj nods, stepping aside to let me in. I walk inside as the two men get into a hushed conversation out of my eye sight. My gait slows at the main foyer noticing Vivaan descend the stairs. His eyes fall on me and he gives me a weak smile. He looks extremely worn out.