37.
Vedansh Shekhawat studied his son for a long moment. Shaurya sat motionless, staring into nothing, while in his lap, little Vayu slept soundly, his small breaths warm against Shaurya's arm. Vedansh's gaze softened at the sight, but his sigh carried weight.
"Shaurya," he said quietly, placing a steady hand on his son's shoulder.
Shaurya turned his head, his eyes heavy.
"Get yourself together, just this once," Vedansh urged, settling beside him. "Can't you see what's happening around you?"
Shaurya's voice came out low, almost defeated. "I don't... I don't know what to do anymore."
"That means you don't want Aarav, is that it?"
"I do," Shaurya replied instantly. "But I'm tired now. We're not getting any younger. And look at me. I'm messed up."
Vedansh's tone sharpened. "I didn't raise you to be tired. Aarav is your love—fight for him, son."
"Whatever I do," Shaurya said, his jaw tightening, "it just keeps getting worse."
"Do you even know why it got worse in the first place?" Vedansh asked, arching a brow. "Talk to me. I'm your father."
Shaurya took a long breath, his hand covering his forehead. "Vaani was drugging me for months. And the day I... the day I raised my hand on Aarav, I think the drugs triggered it."
"Does Aarav know this?"
Shaurya shook his head. "I'm scared of hurting him again. He believes that I can be a father to Aarya. I can't risk two lives, Dad. My life has always been... a mess. I can't drag them into it."
Vedansh leaned forward, his tone firm but not unkind. "And don't you think Aarav deserves to hear this from you? You're hurting him with your silence. He's not asking for perfection, Shaurya—he's asking for truth."
Shaurya didn't answer.
"That day," Vedansh went on, "when Aarav threatened me—"
Shaurya's head snapped toward him. "He threatened you?"
Vedansh's lips curved into a dry chuckle. "Yes. Told me he'd kill me if anything happened to you."
A faint, reluctant smile tugged at Shaurya's mouth.
"I saw fire in his eyes that day," Vedansh said, his voice softening.
"Fire... and love. Six years apart, and yet he didn't let that love die.
But everyone reaches their limit. He's just as tired as you are.
The difference is—he's still waiting for your answers.
If you keep this inside, you will lose him. And I think you know that."
Shaurya glanced down at Vayu, still asleep in his lap, blissfully untouched by the storms of the adults around him. Vedansh reached out, gently brushing the boy's hair back, his face lightening for just a moment.
"You know why I didn't kill Ozge for what he did to your mother?" Vedansh asked quietly.
Shaurya's gaze lingered on his father, searching for the meaning behind his words.
"It's because I couldn't risk your life too," Vedansh said at last, his voice low but steady.
"So I pushed you away. I made the same mistake you're making now.
I sent you abroad, thinking distance would protect you.
But Aarav made me see how wrong I was. I thought I was shielding you.
.. but all I did was break you. And now, here we are—drifted apart.
My heart is still paying for that choice. "
He leaned in, his eyes sharp. "You're doing the same thing, Shaurya. Pushing him away. He's not an object you can place on a shelf until you're ready. He's a man who loves you, and the way you treat him—it's insulting. But still, he keeps coming back to you."
Vedansh straightened, his voice carrying the weight of his bloodline. "You're a Shekhawat. Never forget that. And Aarav—he's your life. He belongs to you. So claim him again. Be the man I failed to be. Don't be the kind of father I was to you."
He stood and placed a hand on Shaurya's head, the gesture softening his tone. "You are the most beautiful thing in my life, Shaurya."
Then Vedansh pulled him into an embrace, firm and brief, as if to transfer strength through touch.
"I'll speak with the council," he murmured. "And bring my son back to the Shekhawat mansion Shaurya."
Bending down, he pressed a kiss to Vayu's sleeping forehead. "Give him to me. I'll put him to bed," he said, carefully lifting the boy from Shaurya's lap.
Will you be able to take me back Aarav? You don't even want to see my face. Shaurya thought and ran his hands through his hair.