"She is destruction incarnate-everything she touches turns to ash."
Ishani, a sharp-witted and fiercely independent businesswoman from the modern world, trusts no one, least of all men. But fate has other plans. Thrust into a treacherous era of warr...
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The shadows of the ancient forest enveloped them as Ishani and Karna alighted from the chariot, the scent of damp earth and pine needles filling the air. They had chosen to retire here for the night, since Kosala was a long way ahead. Ishani's breath hitched. Near her feet, scattered amongst the fallen leaves, were vibrant scarlet hibiscus flowers, their delicate petals a stark contrast to the muted forest floor.
A tremor ran through her, a sudden coldness gripping her despite the warm evening air. The vibrant blooms twisted in her vision, morphing into a cruel reminder. The dark basement... the cloying sweetness of the hibiscus he always brought... his hand... his laughter... A wave of nausea washed over her, the idyllic forest dissolving into the suffocating darkness of her past.
Her breath shallowed, and the world around her receded. The image of Arjun Mehta, his face contorted in a cruel mockery of affection, flashed behind her eyelids. The rough stone walls, the single flickering lamp casting grotesque shadows, the stench of damp and despair – it all came rushing back with brutal clarity. His heavy hand, the way he'd trap her in the darkness... the whispered threats... the violation that had stolen a part of her soul.
Karna, watching her closely, saw the sudden shift in her demeanor. Her face, moments ago relaxed, was now tight with anguish, her eyes wide with a terror he didn't understand. He saw her gaze fix on the scattered hibiscus flowers and a muscle ticked in his jaw. That scent... that flower... A cold dread washed over him as fragmented images flickered through his mind – glimpses of her suffering in the Kali Yuga, moments he had been forced to witness, powerless to directly intervene. He watched her reliving a memory, a terrible one, and his eyes hardened with a protective fury that only intensified his love for her.
"Ishani?" he asked softly, reaching out a hand towards her arm.
She flinched violently, recoiling from his touch as if burned. Her eyes, wide with remembered fear and a fresh surge of anger, snapped up to meet his. "You!" she cried, her voice raw with fury and a heartbreaking tremor of sadness. "You watched! You stood by and watched me suffer! In Kali Yuga... all that pain... all that darkness... and did nothing!"
Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision as the dam of her carefully controlled emotions finally broke. "How dare you speak of love? How dare you touch me, knowing what I endured? Knowing you witnessed it and did nothing to save me!" Her voice rose, echoing through the silent forest, filled with the raw pain of betrayal.
Karna's face paled, his own anguish mirroring hers. "My goddess..." he began, his voice thick with remorse.
"Don't call me that!" she spat, her anger momentarily eclipsing her tears. "Don't you dare call me your goddess! You watched me suffer! You let him... you let him..." The words caught in her throat, the memory too painful to articulate.
Dev's power radiated from him, a palpable wave of raw emotion. He reached for her, his hands trembling. "Ishani, please... I beg you... believe me when I say that every moment of your torment was my own. But the laws... the constraints... My power then was... limited. I was forced to be a witness, not an actor in that particular play of destiny. But every moment of your pain was a blade twisting in my own soul.""
