The Soul's Unfinished Story
Chapter 6: SHEKHAWAT FAMILY HOME – LIVING ROOM –
The moment the front door clicks shut behind her, Inara barely takes a step in before—
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
You broke off the engagement?!
Her voice slices through the air like a whip.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(sets down bag calmly)
Good evening to you too, Mom.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(storming toward her)
Good evening? Good evening?! You’ve gone mad! Have you any idea what you’ve done?
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
I called off a fake fairytale with a man who ghosted me while I was in a coma. Sounds sane to me.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(scoffs)
He was busy!
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Yeah. Busy with his girlfriend.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(flippant wave)
Inara, you always dramatize everything. You act like this was some great love story gone wrong!
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(crossing arms)
I’m sorry. Was I hallucinating the part where I was engaged? Or do we just toss rings around like party favors now?
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
You were obsessed! That’s what it was! A teenage crush we mistook for something more.
Inara blinks. That lands like a slap.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(cracks a bitter smile)
Crush?
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
Yes! You followed him around like a lovesick puppy. Blushed every time he looked your way. We just thought—fine, let her have it. Maybe it’ll grow into love. But it never did. You never loved him, Inara.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(laughs coldly)
Wow. That’s… that’s really something, Mom. Thank you for that beautifully delivered character assassination.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
Oh, stop the drama.
Inara turns sharply to see her father standing there, tight-lipped, visibly anxious.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Papa?
He opens his mouth, but the words don’t come. He looks trapped, cornered.
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
I—I w-want to tell you
The front door slams open. HARD.
Enter VARDAN. Not just irritated. Not fuming. He’s volcanic. Rage dressed in a tailored coat.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(startled)
Vardan?
He doesn’t look at her. His eyes are locked on their father. Jaw clenched. Hands shaking, but not with fear—with restraint.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(to Father, low and deadly)
You made a deal.
Silence falls like a dropped glass. Everyone freezes.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
With "Illias Raventhorne".
The name hits the room like thunder.
Inara’s pulse kicks. Her chest tightens, though she doesn't understand why. But her father? He goes ghost-pale.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(quietly)
Who…?
Vardan finally looks at her. And what she sees in his eyes steals the air from her lungs.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
You’re… you’re scared.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(slowly)
You don’t remember, do you?
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Remember what?
He glances at their father again. Anger surging.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
Tell her.
Their father opens his mouth. Shuts it. Breathes like each inhale is a negotiation.
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
I was trying to protect you—
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
From what?
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(hard)
From him.
Inara’s confusion turns to dread.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Who is Illias Raventhorne?
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(voice flat)
Born without a name.
Forged without love.
The bastard of a king who denies him,
Yet built to protect his throne.
He walks in silence,
But leaves ruin in his wake.
Not a man.
Not a myth.
What is he?
A weapon… disguised as a son.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(hissing)
Vardan!
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(to her)
No! You knew too, didn’t you?
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
It was supposed to be discreet! We didn’t think she’d—
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(snarling)
Didn’t think I’d what? Find out I was a pawn?
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(to Inara)
He’s not a suitor, Inara. He’s a power play. A loaded gun dressed in silence. And you—somehow—ended up engaged to him.
Her heart stutters. Vision swims.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
But… I don’t even know him.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
He knows you.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(turning to father)
Tell me. Everything.
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
(whispers)
It was the only way to keep our family… safe.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Safe from what?
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
(cuts in, low)
From the devil you’re now promised to.
Inara stares at them all. Her family. The betrayal. The fear in their eyes. The silence around that name.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Illias Raventhorne
A name that now lives beneath her skin like a ticking bomb.
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