THE PRINCE WHO LOVED ME ??

Rudransh, however, could not shake the feeling of shock that gripped him. His body trembled, not from fear, but from the weight of something more complex. His heart, which had already been heavy with the revelations about Kailash, now carried another burden: the sudden death of his greatest adversary.

His thoughts spun wildly, his mind unable to reconcile what he was feeling. Despite everything, despite the bloodshed, the manipulation, the endless power struggles between their families, he found himself... feeling something akin to sorrow. Something bitter, something unexpected.

Rudransh : He's gone... Narasimha Rayudu is really gone.

He told himself repeatedly.

It didn't feel like the victory he thought it would. The man had been a monster, yes. But beneath that mask of power and pride, he had once been more than that. He had been a friend to his father, a man who had shared dreams and ambitions with him long ago. Rudransh remembered the old stories, how Narasimha Rayudu had been like family to his father once, before the betrayals and the bloodshed had torn them apart. Before his father's rage had turned him into the enemy of the man who had once been his brother-in-arms.

And then, there was the deeper truth. Narasimha Rayudu wasn't just some nameless enemy. He wasn't a stranger to Rudransh. He was a part of the tapestry of his life.

Rudransh could remember his childhood, how Narasimha Rayudu's presence had loomed large, both distant and intimate. He had been there in the background, sometimes a looming figure in their home, sometimes a distant shadow on family gatherings. He remembered the stories his father would tell, about their bond, before the betrayal, before everything changed.

But Narasimha Rayudu had never been able to escape the scars of his past, just as Rudransh could never fully escape the weight of his own.

Suddenly, everything felt wrong. The rivalry, the hatred, the bloodshed, it all felt so pointless now. Rudransh's throat tightened. His vision blurred, and for a fleeting moment, he felt like crying. He wanted to sob, not for the man who had been his enemy, but for the monster they had all become, every one of them.

Rudransh : Why does it feel like I'm losing something, even when he was my enemy ? What does it mean that I feel this way ?

Rudransh asked himself,

He looked over at his father, Shivarama Raju, who stood with a cold, expressionless face. His gaze was locked on the worker, who was still waiting for orders, but Rudransh saw something different in his father's eyes—a certain emptiness, a weariness, a recognition that the war was never truly won.

Rudransh : Is he a saint ? Is anyone here a saint ? I myself know that i am one of the most ruthless person.

The question echoed in his mind. His father, the man he had admired and feared his entire life, was not a saint. Neither was he. None of them were. They had all been complicit. His father had built his empire on the bones of enemies and allies alike. He had waged rivalries not just on Narasimha Rayudu, but on every man, woman, and child who stood in his way. And Rudransh... Rudransh had learned everything from him, the cruelty, the cunning, the obsession with power.

But the cruelty wasn't just his father's, it had seeped into every corner of their lives, into the lives of his family members, into his own heart. It had turned Kailash into a monster. It had turned his father into a tyrant. And it had turned Narasimha Rayudu into the very thing his father had sworn to destroy.

Rudransh : Everyone used to side with me. They ignored Kailash, they treated him like an outsider. And ... he was never really accepted, was he ? Not by my father's family. Not by anyone. My father's lovechild. The son who was always a threat, a reminder of something they wanted to bury. So, they just cooked up something and made Padmavathi to claim him as her son. Rudransh is surprised at the way how Padmavathi is confidently calling kailash as her son. She believes that rudransh is unaware of all this.

He closed his eyes, the images of his childhood flooding back. How his family had never truly embraced Kailash. How they had ignored him, belittled him, made him feel small and insignificant. And even Narasimha Rayudu, he had never truly been a part of their world either. He had always been the outsider, the illegitimate son of a powerful man, never accepted, never truly loved. The pain, the bitterness, the feelings of being outcasted and rejected had shaped them both into what they had become. That mean behaviour of people made narasimha rayudu to turn into the man he had been.

It all made sense now. The cruelty, the hate, it wasn't born out of some innate desire to hurt others. It was born from a desperate need for respect. For validation. For power.

Rudransh : Monsters... made by circumstances. All of us. Even me.

As he stood there, the weight of this realization pressing on him, the room grew unbearably quiet. Everyone waited for his father's next move, but Rudransh wasn't sure what to expect anymore. He wasn't sure if his family, if he himself, could ever undo the damage that had been done.

But one thing was certain, nothing would ever be the same again.

The death of Narasimha Rayudu had changed everything, even if Rudransh didn't fully understand how yet. The line between enemies and family had blurred, and in that moment, he wasn't sure where he stood anymore.

Rudransh stood before Padmavathi, his gaze intense, the weight of his words pressing down on her like an invisible force. His voice was cold, cutting through the tension that had thickened the air.

Rudransh : Tell me, Attha !  are you proud of yourself for what you've done ? You killed your own son. A man who may not have been a saint, but he was still your blood. And for what ? To protect a legacy that never really belonged to him, and certainly not to me.

Padmavathi flinched, her face drawn with the anguish of her choices, but she didn't say anything. Her eyes were downcast, avoiding his piercing gaze. She could feel the heat of his contempt as though it was physically burning her, but she remained silent.

Rudransh : Look at you now. You're no better than him. You became a monster too, Padmavathi. You didn't hesitate for a second to take your own son's life, no matter how much he deserved it. You think you're a savior, but you're just another executioner. Isn't that what you always feared about Kailash ? That he would turn into a monster ? You're the same, you know. You just don't see it.

Padmavathi's eyes filled with tears as Rudransh's words cut through her heart, but she didn't respond. Her hands were trembling, the weight of her actions suffocating her, yet there was a stubbornness in her silence.

Rudransh : Remember when you begged me not to kill him ? You begged me to spare him, telling me he could change, after everything he did, after knowing he was the one behind Chitra's death, you still pleaded for him. How foolish you were.

Padmavathi : Rudra.....

Rudransh : I know the truth !!! Even if I visit the village once in a while , do you guys think that your "Trustworthy" people around you will spare these nonsense talks ?

Rudransh turned towards khatyaayini who is nervously shaking. Kailash is always a bitter reminder for her. A bitter reminder of her husband's love for a woman called Valli who was part of his life before she married him. She didn't let that affect her as he is always loyal to her and told the truth before marrying her. Valli was dead during the labor.

............

How's the chapter ?