Chapter 30
They didn’t move.
Not even when Aaryan’s feet barely touched the floor.
Not even when his breath shook against the stranger’s chest.
They just…
stared.
Randhir’s grip was firm, one arm locked around Aaryan’s waist, holding him effortlessly above the cold marble.
But his body had gone still unnaturally as if moving might break something fragile unfolding between them.
Those eyes.
Wide.
Black.Drenched in tears that hadn’t yet fallen.
Randhir felt something strange tightened in his chest.It was as if those eyes were speaking fear, innocence, confusion, all at once. As if they were asking him something he didn’t know how to answer.
He didn’t blink and didn’t look away.
For the first time in years, Randhir felt like he was listening… without words.
Aaryan’s gaze didn’t drop either.
He should have.
He wanted to.
But something about the man’s sharp, commanding eyes held him captive dark, intense, unreadable. They frightened him… yet anchored him.
The world narrowed to just that look.
Randhir’s breath slowed.
Unconsciously, his free hand lifted.
Slowly and Carefully.His fingers hovered near the side of Aaryan’s face near the white dupatta tucked behind his ear.
The strong urge to remove that piece of cloth.
Bas ek baar…
Chehra dekh loon.....
Just once.
His fingers brushed the edge of the cloth.Aaryan’s heart slammed violently against his ribs.Reality crashed back.
Nhi.
The moment Randhir’s fingers closed around the fabric just as he was about to pull it away.
Aaryan's broke eye contact fear flooded his expression.
“Nhi... !” he gasped.
His hand shot up, clutching Randhir’s wrist desperately. With all the strength his trembling body could gather, he pushed him away.
Randhir staggered a step back in shock.Aaryan slipped from his hold, feet hitting the floor unevenly.
Before Randhir could say anything before he could even process what had happened Aaryan turned and ran.
Barely seeing where he was going.
Tears spill freely now.The dupatta clutched tightly to his face as if it were armor.His soft footsteps echoed down the corridor, fading quickly into the shadows.
Randhir stood frozen.
His hand is still raised in the air.
His fingers still curved as if holding something that was no longer there.
The corridor fell silent again.
Some time later, Randhir finally returned to his chamber.
The room was dim, lit only by a single lamp near the bed.
He shut the door behind him and crossed the space in slow steps, as if his body was heavy with something unnamed.
He lay down on the bed, one arm tucked beneath his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Silence pressed in and then his thoughts spoke.
Randhir (to himself):
“Kya tha ye…?Kaun tha vo…?”
His brows furrowed, but instead of fading, the memory sharpened.
Those eyes.
Randhir ( spoke in a low and almost breathless voice):Itni sundar aankhen…
His jaw tightened.
“Itna naram sharir…Aise jaise rui se bana ho.”
The feel of that light weight in his arms returned uninvited.
His lips parted slightly.
“Itni meethi awaaz… Aur vo… madhosh kar dene wali khushboo…”
Randhir turned his face to the side, staring into the shadows.
Randhir:Kaun ho tum, huh?
But soon A slow, dangerous smirk curved his lips.As if something inside him had awakened after years of sleep.
Randhir (in soft and certain voice):Aakhirkaar tum aa hi gaye humare paas.
His fingers curled into the bedsheet.
“Kitna intezaar kiya humne tumhara… tumhe pata bhi hai?”
The room stayed silent.He closed his eyes but sleep stayed far cruelly far.
Every time his lashes lowered, those teary black eyes appeared again, wide and startled, staring straight into his soul. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t chase them away.
Randhir exhaled slowly.
A final thought slipped from his lips, quiet but possessive.
Randhir (almost a whisper):Bas kuchh din aur…Phir tum yha humari baahon mein hoge.
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“Humaari… nanhi si jaan.”
The lamp flickered.
The palace slept.
But Randhir Rathore lay awake on his bed thinking of someone .
.....................
Aaryan ran.
He didn’t know where his feet were taking him.
He didn’t see the corridors, didn’t register the turns.
Tears streamed freely from his eyes, blurring everything as his chest burned with every breath he took.
The white dupatta was clutched tightly in his fists, pressed against his face like a shield.
Galti ho gayi… bohot badi galti…
Finally somehow he reached the small chamber allotted to him.
The moment he was inside, he shut the door hard, the sound echoing sharply in the tiny room. His back hit the wood, strength leaving his legs all at once.
Aaryan slid down slowly, curling himself on the cold floor.The silence broke.A sob tore out of him loud, helpless and unrestrained.
His body began to tremble violently as he wrapped his arms around his knees, forehead pressing against them.
Tears soaked into the fabric of his kurta as fear poured out in broken gasps.
Aaryan (crying):A... agar usne… m...mujhe dekh l... liya hota to…
His voice cracked completely.
“M.... mai i.... itna k... kaise bewakoof ho sakta hoon…?”
He pressed his palm against his mouth, but the sobs only grew louder.
Aaryan:
“S.. Saanvi ji ko p.. pata ch..chala to…”
His shoulders shook violently.
“V.. vo b... bohot g...gussa karengi…”
The thought terrified him more than the stranger’s eyes.He rocked slightly where he sat, breath hitching, chest aching. His mind replayed everything the sudden collision, the strong arms, the way those sharp eyes had stared at him like he was something important.
Too important.
Aaryan squeezed his eyes shut.
“N… nahi…” he whispered desperately.
“agar un..hon ..e ba..ta diya to..."
He dragged the dupatta tighter around his face even though no one was there, as if the memory itself could still see him.
He didn’t know who that man was.
Didn’t know his name.
Didn’t know his power.
Didn’t know he had just crossed paths with the most dangerous man in the kingdom.
All Aaryan knew was this For a moment, someone had looked at him too closely and was going to see his face.
And it scared him more than anything ever had.He cried himself silently on the floor of that small chamber, unaware that fate had already marked him… and that the man whose arms had caught him would never forget those teary black eyes.
.............
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