AUTHOR'S POV
"And tell me, Miss Rosy." He continued in a slow, taunting drawl. "Which family did I break?"
Drishye tilted his head, studying her reaction with a quiet, deadly satisfaction. His fingers flexed against her skin, his grip neither gentle nor cruel but possessive.
His smirk deepened, his lips brushing dangerously close to her cheek as he delivered the final blow.
"The one that never existed? Except in your illusions?"
Chhavi's breath hitched. Tongue-tied. Brain-fogged. Her mind scrambled for words. But there was none. Nothing but the cold, cruel reality pressing down on her like an unforgiving burden.
Her lips parted...but no sound came. Instead, she just stared at him. Deep into his eyes- those greys, burning abysses that seemed to swallow her whole.
And he? He stared right back at her, just as wrecked as her.
He didn't blink. He didn't waver.
His glare bore into her, like he was stripping away her defense, peeling back every layer until there was nothing left but the raw truth between them.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. His followed a second later.
Yet, neither of them looked away.
It didn't matter that there were people around them- watching, waiting, holding their breaths.
Nobody made a noise.
No one dared to move, to interrupt the war waging in their eyes.
It was just them. Them and the wreckage of what they had become.
They stood there, trapped in each other's haze.
Chhavi wanted to scream, to push him away, to demand why? Why he had done this to her, why he had shattered everything she had held dear? But all she could do was stand there, drowning in his gaze.
And Drishye?
He didn't move. Didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
He just watched her as if he was seeing his greatest regret unfold before his very eyes.
A loud thunderclap tore through the silence, shaking the very walls around them.
The curtains billowed violently, caught in the fury of the storm. The wind howled, sweeping through the room, sending papers flying, chandeliers rattling.
Her hair whipped around her face, strands sticking to her damp cheeks but neither did her eyes leave his nor did they move.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the lines of their faces for a fraction of a second.
The world around them was in havoc but the real mayhem? It was in their eyes.
Chhavi suddenly sniffed as she pushed him away, fisting against his chest. Drishye barely budged but let her pull away, from him.
Without a word, she turned on her heel and stomped out, slamming the door open.
Drishye stood frozen, her words ringing in the drums of his ears. He saw her retreating figure vanish from his sight.
He should've stopped her. But he didn't.
Maybe this was how it was always meant to be- her walking away and him watching. It has always been like this, wasn't it?
Ten years ago. Ten years later.
No matter what he did, she had to leave him.
And, he had always been running behind her, to protect her, to keep her safe.
But, this time, from whom did he have to protect her?
Whom?
The question slammed into his chest like a sharp bullet. His fists clenched. His heart twisted in on itself.
Himself?
But why?
Doesn't he love her? Doesn't every fiber of his existence breathe for her?
Can loving someone be maddening enough to hurt them?
Can devotion become a cage?
But, did he ever try to cage her? No!
All he did was uncage her.
He was the one sewing her wings back, thread by thread, mending the tears, stitching her broken feathers to her ribs so she could fly again.
So that she could soar, untethered.
So that she could stretch her wings wide, touch the sky and set her limits at infinite.
Then why...why did she still look at him like he was the one holding her down? Like the one who ruined her?
If love is meant to protect, then why does his love feel like ruin?
His pulse roared.
Without thinking twice, he ran outside, in a blur.
His eyes darted across the empty premises. There was no sign of her.
The half-open gate swayed with the wind, screeching softly. he barged through it, his feet slamming against the concrete.
The air was viscously merciless, slapping chilly gusts against his skin.
But he had no time to feel the cold. No time to think.
He had to find her.
His Rose.
His delicate Rose.
He needed to protect her.
Until...or at least, until she has grown her thorns, sharp enough to protect herself.
His delicate Rose didn't deserve this storm. All she deserves is eternal affection.
But, what did he give her?
Wasn't he the very storm who stripped her bare of her soft petals?
His steps faltered.
He crouched to the ground, his knees colliding with the rough concrete, the sharp edges biting into his skin. Blood seeped through the fabric of his trousers, soaking into the cold.
But he didn't care.
He closed his eyes, taking a moment.
And, then...he screamed. A loud, gut- wrenching scream. A scream letting out a thousand emotions trying to claw their way out since time unknown.
"Roseeeeeeeeeee!!!"
The name tore through the storm as if it would carry it to her, to wherever she was heading to.
His voice cracked, splintering under the agony that bled into the night.
His hands fisted his hair as his chest rose and fell with every erratic breath he took.
And he wept.
He wept the weep of a man who had tried God.
He wept the weep of a man who had tried to built a home in someone's heart, only to be sent to an exile.
His sobs tore from the deepest pits of his chest because this time, she might be gone forever.
He drove her away due to his own sins.
He was the storm that ruined her while she was his very calm.
But for whom did he commit these sins? For whom did he become the storm?
These sins aren't mere enough to be let gone of, never ever. God can never forgive him.
・○・
Chhavi ran.
Barefoot. Blind. Breathless.
The cold wind lashed against her skin, slicing through her like a scalpel.
But she didn't stop. She couldn't. If she stopped, if she let herself feel, she would break. And, she couldn't afford to break. Not now. Not like this.
Another thunderstorm and the clouds accompanied her to weep.
Her vision blurred. Was it the rain? Or the tears she refused to acknowledge?
She wiped at her face furiously.
I made your husband cheat on you.
The words replayed in her head, over and over again, until they didn't feel like words anymore but knives. Knives that sliced through her wounded heart.
But why am I getting mad at him?
That husband of mine...he never really thought of himself as married to me. Hence, he cheated.
Then why did it hurt so much? Because he touched me with the same hands which roamed over other women? Or, because he made promises? Or, because he was the father of my child?
It was after all a betrayal. But, wait! Why betrayal when there was no love?
It was humiliation. Humiliation of my devotion as a partner.
She stumbled, her foot catching against the jagged edge of the pavement. Pain shot up her ankle but she didn't cry out. Pain was nothing new. Pain was a shadow she had carried for years, tucked beneath her ribs, hidden behind her smiles, behind her tired eyes.
"Ouch!"
She whimpered.
Hot tears streamed down her face, against the cold air.
Her heart pounded violently against her chest. She didn't know where to stop. She just ran, ran...and ran, leaving bloodied footprints to be washed away by the heavy downpour.
But no matter how far she ran, the storm inside her refused to calm down.
She knew the calm to her storm was just another nastier storm.
The rain lashed against her skin, soaking through her clothes. Raindrops clung to her lashes, blurring her vision with water and tears.
The empty streets witnessed her ruin as loud thunders and heavy rain joined her in her breakdown.
And then, just as she took another staggering step, she felt a strong pull yanking her back.
She knew the touch.
She barely breathed once before she was spun around and made to collide against a hard chest.
She looked up and once again, she met those smoky eyes but this time they're burning into ashes.
The rain pelted down harder, drenching him to the bone. His chest rose and fell with each heavy breathe he took. Trickles of raindrop traced down his jawline. Strands of hair stuck to his forehead.
"Let me go."
She said in a shaky voice as she tried to break free from his grip.
"Never."
He declared, in a rasp voice.
"LET. ME. GO!"
She tried to scream but all she could do was whimper.
He shook his head while holding her gaze.
One thing was clear in his eyes, like always- the determination to never let her go.
"Kill me and then go."
Chhavi froze. Her fingers, which had been clawing at his wrist, went limp.
"You're hurting me."
She sobbed.
"And, what about me?"
Drishye's voice cracked.
HIs grip around her wrist loosened as he cupped her face with both of his palms, tightly, making her pout forcefully.
"Do you have any idea of my suffering, Rose? The agony which has made a home in my heart for years? The longing for you that has burned me alive, day after day? Night after night?"
Chhavi's breath shuddered. Her lips quivered.
"Do you think I never suffered? Do you think- loving you, then losing you was easy for me?"
"What is love to you, Miss Rosy?"
She stared at him. She couldn't believe the tinge of mock he had in that statement.
"Do you even know what love is?"
He continued.
Silence was all she could answer. Her heart sniveled.
I failed to make you realize my love for you, Drishye. I failed in this too...
"Do you even care about how much my soul aches for you? How much my soul craves for you?"
He chuckled painfully.
"Tell me."
She replied, drawing his attention back to her eyes.
"Tell me, how much you love me?"
She questioned despite knowing the answer, in a husky tone.
His eyes darkened and for a moment, all he did was stare deep into her pupils.
The next moment, his hands travelled to her nape, encaging it within his grip.
"If love means craving you so fiercely that the mere thought of not being yours feels like my soul is being torn from my body, then yes. If love means ripping myself apart and stitching the pieces back together, over and over, just to be worthy of you, then yes. If love means bleeding devotion, spending lifetimes on my knees, worshiping you as my only salvation, then yes."
His grip tightened around her nape as he pulled her closer, their lips just a breath away. In a sinful voice, he whispered against her skin.
"Then I've loved you in ways that no God could ever forgive."
She choke on her breathe and a sinfully, unbidden moan escaped her lips.
Heat surged through her veins, causing a wicked shrill curl up her stomach at the sheer intensity of his confession.
She realised his love for her was not just love but an obsession, a worship in its own form. This was mad love, his religion.
A delicious shiver ran down her body, aching her in places she never knew they could as his touch seared into the skin of her nape.
Their lips were just one kiss away when he decided to brush them lightly on her and pull away.
Chhavi's eyes snapped open, clouded with longing. She hated how her body betrayed her, how every nerve in her being screamed for him. Her lips tingled where his should have been, where she wanted them to be.
She cursed herself for being so reckless about her emotions.
She swallowed thickly.
"Drishye..."
Her voice was a bare plea.
He lifted his hand, brushing a stray strand of her rain-drenched hair behind her ear, fueling the already ignited fire amidst the heavy downpour.
"Do you want me to touch you?"
He murmured, sending chills down her body.
She was embarrassed of the fact that he could read her expressions.
His hand cupped the left of her cheek. Softly resting his thumb on her lips, he brushed them lightly.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to absorb all of his touch with the utmost focus. She felt like a moth being drawn towards a flame.
"Give us a chance to explain everything."
Chhavi opened her mouth to protest but he silenced her by resting his forehead against hers, exhaling deeply as if he was gathering the strength to hold himself back.
She clenched her fists and nodded, dropping her gaze to the drizzling road.
A slow, victorious smile appeared on his lips. His touch slipped away from her, leaving her colder than before yet more ignited from within.
Without another word, he crouched and scooped her up into his arms.
"Dri-"
She gasped but all he did was ignore her and start walking down the lane.
It was only when she noticed the blood smeared across his hand that she realized- her feet. Her soles throbbed with pain, torn from running barefoot on the jagged pavement.
But then she saw him clench his jaw tight and a flicker of strain on his face. He was hurt, too.
Yet, he carried her. Willingly.
She remained silent, letting him.
The sound of the rain filled the silence between them as he carried her back to the bungalow.
After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice barely audible over the downpour.
"Don't you ever get tired?"
She didn't need to elaborate further. He knew.
Of trying. Of fighting. Of chasing her, again and again.
His lips pressed together, as if suppressing a thousand emotions at once. And then, he spoke.
"How can I get tired of someone who keeps me alive?"
Chhavi's eyes flickered. She sucked on the moist scent of the earth laid on both sides of the road, biting the lower of her lips.
"Loving you, chasing you, hurting for you- it's the only thing I know how to do. The only thing that reminds me I'm still breathing."
Her chest ached.
"I've only and only worshipped you, Miss Rosy. I've worshipped you with so much heart and soul that even God is jealous of my devotion to you. My faith in you is stronger than any prayer, my love for you deeper than any scripture. And if devotion for a human with blood and flesh is a sin, then I have sinned so endlessly that redemption will never find me."
He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"You're my faith, Rose. You're someone I'll kneel before, always and forever. I'll destroy myself for you. I'll let myself burn, over and over, just for a chance to be in your light. I'll shatter, break and bleed to make you feel the most loved, blessed and desired woman on the earth. I'll spend my entire lifetime to help you recover from the pain you went through all these years. I'll help you sore high like a dragon and burn them all in the fire of their evil."
A shudder wracked through her. She was already in his embrace. His words acted like chains coiling her to him. She closed her eyes, letting every word of his confession seep into her.
"Stop!"
She whimpered as an ache settled low in her belly.
She took deep breathes to calm down her erratic heartbeats. It was too much for her to absorb. Her soul was trembling.
After what seemed like some minutes, she lowered her gaze, pressing her cheek against his shoulder and for the first time in forever- she didn't fight him.
She felt she had to surrender to his love and this time, clarity graced her vision.
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