Page 98 of The Royal Beast & His Rising Queen

The next few days passed in regret for Ranveer, he couldn't look his sister in the eye, he didn't talk much, neither had his food properly, but made sure Isha had hers... Isha is worried for her brother, his silence is bothering her a lot, she tried to talk to him but he responds in monosyllables, but he loved her the same, maybe more... he took care of her a lot, but he looks lost always... she tried to tell him that her marriage was something she could never regret, she told him she is happy in her life but nothing could reduce Ranveer's guilt. She apologized to him for shouting at him the other day, he just shook his head at her wiping her tears but said nothing, and her worry grew every single day...

Vikram left the next day, when Ranveer asked him to... he knew his friend was very upset and felt betrayed by the revelation and Vikram thought to give him some time, it wasn't something small he did... he was partially the reason for Isha's sufferings and Ranveer's guilt that might last lifetime... his mistakes became unbearable and cost his friend a lot, Vikram regretted them a lot, but regrets are the worst thing a man can have, they can neither be forgotten nor forgiven, regrets are like unremovable thorns that will keep pricking you, the pain is not too much to die but enough to remind you of it's presence always...

"Bhai... dinner is ready, let's eat", Isha told her brother, who is indulged in his thoughts like he is, for the past few days...

"I'm not hungry Ishu... you eat, please don't force me today", he said, he refused to eat all the time but Isha blackmails that she wouldn't eat without him which gets him to eat but today, he wasn't in a mood...

"Bhai, please... stop being like this...", Isha said sitting in front of her brother...

"Ishu...", Ranveer said tiredly...

"No bhai... please, I can't see you like this... we can't change the past... and look at the brighter side, I'm happy in this marriage...", Isha started,

"Ishu... I am not in the mood to eat, please bacha, go, eat, and sleep", he said cutting her words off... Isha sighed, walked to the kitchen, got food enough for her and her brother in a plate, and sat in front of him again...

"Okay, if you don't want to talk, I won't force you, but eat...", she said forwarding a morsel towards his mouth... Ranveer's eyes got wet seeing his sister's affection, his regrets are like fresh cut wounds, they keep burning him... his sister's love and care are only causing him more pain...

He silently had the food, fed by her, and she kept eating along with him... after their dinner, she settled in front of him, both of them sat silently when she put her feet up and sat cross-legged and started pressing her legs...

"Kya hua ?? (what happened ??) Your legs are aching ??", he asked in concern

"Yes, bhai... don't know why", she said, and extended her legs towards him silently asking him to press them... Ranveer smiled at his sister's antics before starting to press her legs... "feeling better now ??", he asked putting very little pressure suitable for her...

"Yes...", Isha said giving him a smile... "Bhai...", she called him after a few minutes of silence...

"Yes, bacha...", Ranveer responded

"What would have happened to me if something happened to you while trying to rescue me from the marriage ??", Isha suddenly asked, Ranveer's hands that are massaging her foot now stilled...

"That would have been my choice Ishu... which Vikram snatched from me... I wouldn't be dying with regret now if I had died then trying to save you from that catastrophe you call marriage", he replied after a few minutes...

"Bhai... what about me then ?? I would still be married to Rana sa, and in addition to all my sufferings, I would be dying every minute of my life blaming myself for what happened to you", she said with tears, even imagining her brother in danger is heart wrenching for her... Ranveer looked at her wiping her tears... "the life I have now is blissful compared to what I might be having in that case... I will be blaming myself for what happened to you, I would be hating Rana sa for life, and every single day will be harsher than death... do you want a life like that for me ??", she asked and he shook his head vigorously... he never wanted such a life for his sister, that would be horrible... she has enough pain for life dealing with the loss of her parents and grandmother, he couldn't imagine her pain if she lost him too...

"Ishu... that's not what I meant, at least I could have tried to save you if Vikram would have let me know", Ranveer said

"I'm glad he didn't tell you, at that time, I didn't know Rana sa and what he is capable of, if I had, I wouldn't have called you in the first place, Rana sa would have killed you for even trying to take his bride away hurting his respect...", Isha shivered even thinking about the possible scenario... Ranveer side hugged his sister consoling her...

"Nothing of that sort happened, I'm here right beside you, and since Ranawat knows how much you love me now, and considering how much he loves you, he wouldn't do anything to me ever", Ranveer said to his sister with a smile, wiping her tears...

"Bhai... the things you got to know might be hurting you, you might be blaming yourself for not being able to protect me, but trust me, this is the best way things could shape on", Isha said, yes, the torture she bore in the initial stages of her marriage ishuge, but she wouldn't be uttering about it to her brother who is drowning himself in guilt...

"No Ishu... I can't forget how much you suffered right from the day of your marriage and even before that, you might be so scared and alone, thinking about it makes my skin cold, I can never forgive myself or Vikram for all this", Ranveer said

"Bhai... it's all in the past, don't hurt yourself now thinking about it", Isha said, though with her convincing explanation about her being in a worse condition if he had managed to come there to rescue her from the marriage, Ranveer felt a little better, he couldn't just throw off his guilt...

"It's not in the past Ishu, it's still hurting you", Ranveer said indicating her condition a few weeks ago

"But this will come to an end soon... when Rana sa tells me the truth", Isha argued

"How long is this soon ?? And how are you so sure that this will end ?? You don't know what lies in that truth bacha", Ranveer put out his worry

"Huh...", Isha frowned in confusion... he shook his head in 'nothing'

"I just hope the truth won't hurt you and actually solve all the issues", Ranveer said, "though that's very unlikely", he whispered which his sister didn't hear...

Abhyansh called Isha as he did for the past few days, she has been talking to him lately, thanks to her brother's sad mood. He wished Ranveer stayed that way till his wife returned toRanawat palace, he could at least talk to her... rather than sending those stupid texts which irritate the hell out of him, her short replies such as 'Fine', 'Good', 'Yes', and 'No' has made him want to banish those words from 'The English' language. He was that frustrated with her short texts. He is thankful that those irritating texts are replaced by phone calls these days. Though she only spoke about her brother and his well-being he was happy to hear her, listen to her voice. It kept his heart at Peace.

Isha looked at her phone which is ringing...

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