Page 117 of One Hellish Love

Rudra fell silent, realizing that if they continued arguing, she might reveal her father’s suicide note and the truth she was burdened with. He couldn’t allow that. Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving the room in a heavy silence. Kashish helplessly stormed back to her room with her luggage.

“Shekhar,” Daadi began. “What did she mean by saying she’s guilty of hurting Rudra? Why would she feel guilty?”

Shekhar and Anjali exchanged uncertain glances, now equally confused by Kashish’s words.

“Rudra and Kashish are hiding something from us,” Daadi concluded. “Just like Rudra hid his feelings for her. There’s more to this, Shekhar, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

Shekhar could only nod in agreement, sharing his grandmother’s concern.

Savitri Raheja knew she had to act fast—this confrontation would need to happen, and it would need to happen in Rudra’s absence. After all, her favourite grandson - her Rudra - was in love with Kashish. The same Kashish that she couldn’t stand.And even if she changed her mind about Kashish, she knew the truth: nothing in the world could make Kashish love Rudra back.

***************

Kashish tossed and turned on her bed. Rudra had thrown her life into chaos. He had proposed to her—marriage, no less—right in front of his entire family. For so long, his feelings for her had been hidden, a secret neither of them acknowledged. But now, they were out in the open, exposed for everyone to see. If his family knew today, tomorrow the entire world would. How was she supposed to handle that?

On one hand, she was furious that he harbored such feelings for her. On the other, she couldn’t help but feel a strange sympathy for him. He was still seen as the man responsible for her father’s death, but she knew the truth—he wasn’t fully to blame. Even though her father had died under Rudra’s car, it hadn’t been solely his fault. Her father had a hand in it, too. But how was she supposed to carry that truth for the rest of her life?

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The next morning, Rudra was startled awake by a blinding light. He had come home late the night before, not wanting to face the inevitable questions from his family after proposing to Kashish. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes, his brother Shekhar’s silhouette coming into focus as he drew the curtains wide open.

“Shut the curtains. It’s Sunday, I have the right to sleep in,” Rudra muttered, turning away from the sunlight and burying himself in the darkness of the other side of the bed.

But Shekhar ignored him, sliding the remaining curtains aside, flooding the room with sunlight.

“What the—” Rudra finally sat up, glaring at his brother.

Shekhar just smiled, undeterred.

“You remember how I used to wake you up like this when we were kids? You hated waking up early on Sundays,” Shekhar said, his tone nostalgic.

Rudra grumbled but accepted the coffee Shekhar handed him. Those days seemed like a different lifetime.

“I know you’re not here to reminisce. You only wake me up this early for one reason—to talk.” Rudra took a sip of the coffee, already bracing himself.

“Right again,” Shekhar said, his tone shifting. “We need to talk about last night.”

Rudra groaned internally. He wasn’t ready for this conversation, not yet.

“I’m not in the mood to talk about it, Bhai. Not today,” he said, standing and heading to the closet, hoping to evade the conversation.

But Shekhar stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “Rudra, how can I help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on?”

“I don’t need help,” Rudra said flatly, trying to move past him.

“Maybe not,” Shekhar admitted. “But a little support from your family never hurts.”

Rudra stopped, sensing the persistence in Shekhar’s voice.

“Kashish mentioned something about guilt yesterday. What was that about?”

Rudra froze. This was the conversation he had dreaded. Shekhar pressed on.

“As far as we know, you’ve been the one feeling guilty. Why did she say she would never hurt you again? What are you two hiding?”

Rudra exhaled sharply, frustrated.

“I need to go to the gym,” he deflected, moving toward the door, but Shekhar blocked him again.

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