Page 119 of One Hellish Love

Daadi’s tears wouldn’t stop after Rudra revealed his haphephobia. She sat in her room, surrounded by Shekhar and Anjali, who were desperately trying to console her.

“Daadi, please, you need to be strong. If you keep crying like this, how are we ever going to solve this?” Shekhar urged, his voice tight with concern.

“I feel so guilty, Shekhar,” Daadi sobbed, her voice trembling. “I failed to protect my grandson. I should have known something was wrong. I should have known he wasn’t safe.”

Anjali gently rubbed Daadi’s back.

“Daadi, how could you have known? Rudra kept it from all of us for so many years. He never wanted to share what happened. If he had, we could have helped him long ago,” Anjali reasoned softly.

Shekhar nodded in agreement. “Exactly. But at least now, there’s hope. I can’t believe how much Kashish has done to help him. She’s the only one who’s been able to break through to Rudra.”

Daadi’s sobs quieted as she fell into deep thought. After a long pause, she turned to Shekhar with suspicion in her eyes.

“But why, Shekhar? Why is she doing all of this for Rudra? There’s something more going on here. I can feel it. Something they’re hiding from us.”

Shekhar had been feeling the same way, but hearing Daadi voice her suspicions only heightened his own unease.

“Even if there is something more, Daadi, we’ll find out in time. For now, please calm down,” he urged.

“I can’t calm down. I need to take action. The authorities at that juvenile home need to be held accountable for what they did, for covering it up. A child was molested! How could they hide something so monstrous?”

Shekhar agreed, his own anger simmering beneath the surface.

“You’re right, Daadi. But if this leaks to the media, it could add more fuel to Rudra’s pain. We have to tread carefully.”

Daadi fell silent, her expression torn between rage and fear.

“I want justice, Shekhar, but not if it costs Rudra his peace. We need to handle this with care.”

“I’ll speak with our lawyers and figure out what can be done,” Shekhar assured her, determined to finally bring justice to his brother.

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Rudra stood by the pool, when he heard her footsteps. Without turning around, he knew exactly who it was.

“I think you lost your way to your room,” he said, his voice laced with a casual coolness.

Kashish was once again surprised how he always knew when she was nearby? But she wasn’t going to let that distract her from why she had come. Rudra finally turned, his sharp gaze locking onto hers. She stood there in her peach kurta, her hair still damp from a recent shower and clinging to her shoulders.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, his eyes dark with mischief.

Her breath hitched at his sudden compliment. As she tightened her grip on her phone, he grinned.

“I could stand here all day just looking at you. Unless you have something else on your mind,” he teased.

Kashish swallowed hard. Why was she letting him throw her off like this? She had come here to confront him about hiding the truth of her father’s suicide note from his family.

“I saw your smartness today. How could you mislead your family like that?” she demanded, her voice shaking with anger.

“Is it always necessary for us to fight?” he interrupted, stepping closer.Too close.

Her words caught in her throat. His proximity, the intensity in his gaze—it all left her speechless. With a predatory grace in his movements, he stepped even closer.

“Can’t we just have a normal conversation for once? One that doesn’t revolve around guilt or pain?” he continued.

Kashish’s confidence wavered.

“No,” she snapped, trying to regain her ground. “There’s nothing between us but guilt and pity.”

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