Rumors spread like wildfire in families. This time, it came with poison. A distant relative whispered to Gunnu that Abhinav had “a past.” Old flings, women who adored the soldier. Gunnu held her smile in public, but doubt burrowed inside like a thorn.
At night, she turned away when he reached for her hand, silent and stiff. Abhinav noticed immediately.
“What is it?” His voice was calm, but the sharp edge of a commander was there.
She swallowed. “They said… before me… you weren’t always this serious man. That you—”
His jaw tightened. “That I had lovers?”
Her silence was her answer.
He leaned closer, his tone low and unflinching. “Yes, women admired me. No, none of them mattered. Do you think I would have married you—tied my name, my life, my soldiers’ oath—to someone unless I meant it with every breath?”
Her eyes widened at the storm in him. Guilt flushed her cheeks. “I… I’m sorry. I just…”
He touched her face, surprisingly gentle. “Trust is harder than love, Gunnu. But it’s the only thing that keeps us alive.”
And in that moment, she realized—his past was irrelevant. Because his present was all hers
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