𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

"Suniye..."

Aaravi's soft voice echoed through the otherwise silent room.

Vardaan, who was sitting in the corner, slowly lifted his head, His room wasn't the luxurious, perfectly arranged space one would expect from a Rajvansh. It was decent, but messy-clothes thrown over the chair, books scattered across the floor, a few photographs lying face down on the table.

Everything looked as though its owner had stopped caring about the world around him.

And perhaps he had.

Only minutes ago, Vardaan had witnessed something that had shattered the little faith he still had left.

His eyes were red ,not from anger.

From the tears he had refused to let fall.

He couldn't take another heartbreak.

Not after everything he had already endured.

His gaze finally landed on the girl standing near the doorway.

Aaravi.

His Aaravi.

Maybe not his but someone else.

She stood there quietly, watching him with eyes filled with concern.

Then she took a few hesitant steps toward him.

Vardaan immediately looked away.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "Chavi is in her room."

He tried to sound normal, tried to sound unaffected.

Tried to be the Vardaan everyone knew-the charming boy who could laugh through anything.

But Aaravi knew him better than that.

She could hear the crack hidden beneath his voice.

"I didn't come to meet Chavi."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I came here for you."

Vardaan froze by hearing her slowly, he looked at her.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Aaravi had never been the one to initiate conversations with him. She was quiet, shy, and usually hid behind her books whenever he tried to tease her.

But today,She had come looking for him.

For him.

Yet the timing couldn't have been worse.

Not after what he had seen,not after what he had heard, not when his entire understanding of love had been shaken within minutes.

He couldn't face her.

Not when he was already questioning whether he had misunderstood everything.

Not when he was questioning himself.

His feelings.

His place in her life.

So he looked away again.

"You don't have to."His voice was barely audible."You can go back to the man you love."Aaravi's heart clenched.

She slowly moved closer and bent down in front of him, bringing herself to his level.

"Usi ke paas hi toh aaye hain hum."

Vardaan frowned ,He finally looked at her.

"What?"

Aaravi smiled faintly.

Her eyes were shining with something he couldn't understand.

Love.

Pure, innocent, terrifyingly sincere love.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she whispered.

Vardaan swallowed,his gaze dropped.

"I am not Vardansh Kashyap."

The words escaped his lips like a confession.

"I am Vardaan Rajvansh."

His fists clenched."I don't know why you would choose someone like me to meet. I am no one in front of you "

Aaravi's expression softened.

"Pata hai hume , you are no one in front of me but if you look into my soul you will find yourself because you are everything of me "

Vardaan's eyes snapped back to hers.

Aaravi silently cursed Aarav and Chavi in her head.

Their little misunderstanding had gone far enough.

And seeing Vardaan like this-broken, doubting himself, believing that she loved someone else-hurt her more than she expected.

She slowly lifted her trembling hand.

Then, with hesitation, she cupped his cheek.

Vardaan went completely still.

Her touch was gentle,almost frightened.

As though she was afraid he might disappear if she held him too tightly.

"Vardaan..."

His breath caught ,No one had ever said his name the way she did.

Aaravi looked directly into his eyes.

"Aap toh humare Vardaan hain."

Her voice trembled.

"The man whom I love with all my heart... with all my soul."

Vardaan's eyes widened.

For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

Aaravi continued, her thumb gently brushing away the tear that had escaped from the corner of his eye.

" humare liye bhi ek vardaan hain Apne Naam Ki tarah"

She smiled through her own tears.

"Mahadev ji ne hume bahut kuch diya hai."

Her voice became softer.

"Par sabse khoobsurat vardaan... aap hain."

Vardaan stared at her as though she had just rewritten his entire world.

Aaravi lowered her gaze for a second, gathering the courage she had been carrying for far too long.

"Mahadev ji ne toh hume vardaan de diya..."She looked back at him."Door se aapko chahne ka."

A tiny smile appeared on her lips.

"Lekin kya aap hume bhi ek vardaan denge?"

Vardaan's brows furrowed.

"Aaravi..."

"Kya aap humare Vardaan banna pasand karenge?"She swallowed hard and continued even when her heart was beating too last like she will die in his arms , and she would happily.

"Jo sirf humare liye ho?"

His heart began pounding.

She was confessing.

His dream girl was actually confessing her love.

To him.

The same girl he had secretly loved,

The same girl he had convinced himself he could never have,

The same girl whose silence had always made him crave her voice.

Aaravi's fingers trembled against his cheek.

"Kya aap..."She paused, her eyes filling with tears."Humare var banna pasand karenge? In future"

A Silence filled in the room,vardaan couldn't speak and couldn't blink can't take his eyes from his dream girl.

His entire world had stopped at that one word.

Var.

She wasn't simply asking him to be her boyfriend.

She wasn't asking him for a temporary promise.

She was asking him to become her var.

Her husband.

Her forever.

~Phase 2~

The room had fallen into an eerie silence.

The same room that had once witnessed their love-their innocent conversations, shy smiles, whispered promises, and the confession that had once made them believe they were destined for each other-had changed completely.

It was luxurious now.

Dark.

Cold.

Almost entirely black.

The messiest room in the mansion, as though a thunderstorm had passed through it. Broken vases lay scattered across the floor, shattered glass glittered beneath the dim lights, and everything that once looked beautiful now appeared destroyed.

But among those black tiles were bloody footprints.

They belonged to her.

Aaravi.

The girl who had once brought sunshine into this very room had returned carrying nothing but darkness.

She sat on the couch, dressed in bridal attire.

But she wasn't sitting there as Aaravi Abhir Singh Rathore anymore.

She was Aaravi Vardaan Rajvansh.

His bride.

His replaced bride.

The same woman who had once sworn she would never face that man again.

The same woman who had once loved him with every fibre of her being.

And now, circumstances had made her his wife.

A contract wife,for one year.

At least, that was what she believed.

She felt like a prize she had willingly handed over to the very person she had once promised herself she would never return to.

And the reason?

No one but the man kneeling before her.

Vardaan.

The man she had once loved.

The man who was now treating her wound with an almost unsettling gentleness.

Her injured foot rested on his thigh as he carefully removed the tiny pieces of glass embedded in her skin.

His fingers were careful,His touch was gentle.

As though he wasn't the reason she was hurting.

Aaravi stared at him.

I gave him one wound.He gave me every wound imaginable.

"Eshhh..."

She hissed when Vardaan pulled another shard of glass from her foot.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

Vardaan looked up.

The eyes that had once held immense love whenever they looked at her now held nothing.

No warmth,no softness,Nothing.

His lips curved into a bitter smile.

"Bas itni si kharoch par aap aise ro rahi hain?"His voice carried a mocking edge.

"Us kharoch ka kya jo aapne humare dil ko di thi, Rajkumari ji?"

Aaravi stared at him.

He paused then deliberately corrected himself.

"Oops..."

His gaze travelled over her bridal attire.

"Mrs. Rajvansh."

The title stabbed deeper than the glass.

"Aise kyun dekh rahi hain humein?" he continued. "Sach hi toh keh rahe hain."

He lowered his gaze to her injured foot again.

"Saalon pehle aapne humse kaha tha na..."His fingers paused."Ki hum aapke liye Vardaan hain."

Aaravi's expression softened for the briefest moment.

A memory flashed before her eyes.

A younger Vardaan.

His smile,His innocent eyes &His promise.

I'll come to your palace and ask for your hand.

But Vardaan's next words destroyed that memory.

"Ab dekhiye..."His voice turned bitter,

"Kaise ye Vardaan..."

He looked directly into her eyes.

"...ab aapke liye shraap ban gaya hai."

He pulled the glass out ,Aaravi's body jerked from the pain Tears escaped her eyes.

"Shhhh..."

Vardaan's voice suddenly softened.

"Mrs. Rajvansh, aise rote hue achhi nahi lagti aap."

He brushed a tear from her cheek.

Then his expression hardened again.

"Bhooliye mat."He stared into her eyes.

"Ye shaadi aapne khud ki marzi se ki hai."Aaravi's jaw tightened."Hum toh sirf aapke parivaar ke liye shraap banna chahte the."

He paused.

"But aapne khud ko hi is shraap ka bhaagidaar bana diya."

He lifted her foot and placed it against his chest.

Right over his heart.

Then he pressed a slow kiss against her foot.

Aaravi immediately kicked him instantly making him lost his balance.

He fell backward onto the floor ,A sharp hiss escaped him as the broken glass pierced his bare back.

He wasn't wearing a shirt.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then Aaravi stood.

Her bloodied feet left crimson footprints across the black tiles.

She walked toward him ,stopped her hem of her lehenga touched his shoulder and looked down at the man who had once been her everything.

"Lekin aap bhool rahe hain..."Her voice trembled not with fear but With rage.

"Humare andar Rathore ka khoon hai."

Vardaan looked up at her,Aaravi's eyes burned with determination.

"Aap keh rahe hain ki aap humare liye shraap banenge?"She stepped closer.

"Toh aap ye bhi bhool rahe hain..."

Her voice lowered.

"Hum usi shraap se aapki jaan le lenge."

Vardaan's expression didn't change."Aur is shaadi se azaad ho jayenge."

She wiped the tears from her face.

"Humare parivaar se door rahiye."

She turned toward the closet.

Then stopped."Warna..."She looked back at him.

"Aap hume khud ki maut bante hue nazar aayenge."

She walked away,leaving him among the broken glass, leaving behind a trail of blood.

For a moment, silence returned.

Then-A laugh escaped Vardaan.

Low,Quiet &Almost unsettling.

He slowly sat up despite the glass embedded in his back.

His eyes remained fixed on her retreating figure.

"My feisty doctor..."

He murmured,his fingers touched the tear she had left on his cheek.

He looked at it for a moment then kissed it.

"So silly of you..."

A sinister smile slowly appeared on his face."You really think you'll be free from this marriage?"

He stood.

"One year?"He shook his head,"No, my Aaru."

His voice dropped into a whisper.

"Not one year."His eyes darkened.

"One lifetime."

He looked at the bloody footprints she had left behind.

"You are bound to me until destiny decides otherwise."he paused then his smile widened.

"But I want to see that maut roop of yours."He touched the blood staining his chest."Because you..."His voice softened,

"...are the only maut I would willingly choose to see again and again."

He laughed under his breath.

She was fighting to escape the destiny she had once prayed for.

He was fighting to bind her to the destiny he believed was still theirs.

One wanted freedom,One wanted revenge.

One wanted to forget their love.

The other wanted to turn that love into an obsession.

And neither of them knew that beneath all the hatred, revenge, and betrayal...

There was still a truth neither was ready to face.

They had never stopped being each other's destined love.

☆𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓭 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 ☆

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Hope you all love the prologue.

Do tell me your thoughts in comment section

Love 💕