The Soul's Unfinished Story
Chapter 7:Last Option
The room is drowning in silence. A slow, suffocating silence that makes the chandelier above feel heavier. INARA stands in the middle, caught between her brothers—VARDHAN, stone-faced, and AKIRA, a restless storm pacing the rug. PAPA sits slumped in his chair. Hollow.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(softly, pleading)
You’re scaring me, Akira bhai...
No answer. Akira 's eyes don’t even flicker toward her. They’re locked on Papa. But there’s something else there. Something she’s never seen before: fear. Real and raw.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(harder)
Tell me.
How much time do I have?
No one moves. The room swells with silence.
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
(shaky)
We… we don’t know.
The air shifts. Like the weight of it has doubled. It squeezes her lungs. INARA’s voice trembles but sharpens
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Days? Hours? Minutes?
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(low, bitter laugh)
We’re just waiting now. Like sitting ducks.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(tight-jawed, stepping forward)
No. No, I won’t just sit here and let it happen.
She turns sharply to her father.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Fix this.
Mohan doesn’t meet her eyes.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(yelling, voice cracking)
Fix this, Papa!
Mohan Shekhawat(FL father)
(quiet, defeated)
You think I haven’t tried?
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
(cutting in)
Tried?
You handed her over, Papa. You didn’t fight—you bargained.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
You handed me over to someone who even my brothers can’t stand in front of.
A man so caged in power he doesn’t even own his own name.
And you expected me to bow my head… and say yes?
The silence that follows is louder than shouting. Then—
A GUARD steps in. His face is pale.
Guard
Sir… Nivaan Rathore is here.
Everyone turns. Tension crackles.
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
No
He strides toward the guard but—
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(softly, firmly)
Let him in.
Her voice halts the room. Everyone turns to her. She stands poised, but her eyes—her eyes are glassy, like she’s been holding this in for too long.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(disbelief)
Mumma?
Guard
(quiet)
He says… he brings a deal.
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
We don’t need his deals. Not from him.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(to Akira, quietly)
This isn’t about pride anymore.
She turns to INARA and steps forward. Her hand comes up to gently cup her daughter's cheek. For a moment, she is just a mother. Not a fighter. Just a mother who’s afraid.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(soft, aching)
I tried, Inara.
I tried to keep you away from him... from this.
You think I was rushing your marriage with Nivaan because I didn’t care?
I was scared.
Terrified... that one day he would come collecting.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(whispers)
You knew?
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
Not everything.
But enough to lose sleep.
Enough to pray you’d marry a man who had warmth… not blood on his hands.
INARA swallows hard, blinking back a rush of tears.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(quiet, with steel now)
Let’s hear what Nivaan has to offer.
Because I am not handing my daughter to a Raventhorne...
Not without burning down every option left first.
INARA stares at her. Her mother’s eyes are no longer afraid—they are on fire.
The doors open. NIVAAN RATHORE steps in, shoulders straight, jaw set—but the calm is a mask. His movements are too careful. Like a man playing brave.
VARDHAN’s fists clench. AKIRA shifts, unreadable. INARA watches him enter—eyes sharp, heart unmoved.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(He walks like he’s offering peace.
But peace isn't power.
And I don’t need a savior who shakes behind his smile.)
NIVAAN looks at INARA for a beat too long—then turns to MOHAN.
Nirvaan Gupta (finance)
I have a way out.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(dry)
Do you? That’s generous of you.
Nirvaan Gupta (finance)
(clearing throat)
If Vanaya marries me... Illias can't claim her.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(The words drop. Not like thunder—but like a paper hitting stone.)
INARA stills. Akira sits forward. Mama closes her eyes for a second.
Akira Shekhawat (FL 1 elder brother)
(flat)
Absolutely not.
Nirvaan Gupta (finance)
(quickly)
Think about it. If she’s my wife, the contract—whatever it is—can’t be enforced. It’s legal protection.
Vardan Shekhawat (FL 2 Elder Brother)
(smirking)
You think contracts mean anything to Illias Raventhorne?
Nivaan shifts. That fear flashes—just once—but it’s there.
Nirvaan Gupta (finance)
I’m just... trying to help.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
No. You’re trying to make yourself feel braver than you are.
Nirvaan Gupta (finance)
(Falters)
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(cont’d)
You think marriage is a shield?
You think Illias Raventhorne plays by laws, Nivaan?
She takes a step closer. Her voice is cold steel now.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(cont’d)
You’re not protection.
You’re just another decision made for me instead of by me.
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(gently)
Beta... I only asked him to come because I was afraid.
I thought—maybe if he came forward, before Illias—maybe we could—
Naintara Shekhawat (FL Mother)
(cont’d)
I was trying to save you… from this day. Before it ever came.
INARA turns to her mother, softer now, but still unshaken.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
Then trust me to fight it my way.
NIVAAN exhales. He knows there’s nothing left to say. No place left to stand.
Nirvaan Gupta (finance)
( nods, barely, then turns and walks out. Quiet. Defeated.)
The door closes gently behind him. Not with power. With finality.
Inara Shekhawat (FL)
(They keep offering me doors out of this nightmare.
But every one leads to a smaller cage.
And I... I’d rather burn.)
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