OS: Family- Laila's POV

For Laila, family meant belonging.

It meant being a part of relationship that would never falter under the heavy storms of life. Family meant being with someone, and being only that someone's. It gave someone a possession. It gave someone a title. It made a person understand where they belonged. So if Laila felt like she belonged, then she had family. 

Laila lost her parents at a young age. Without any other living relatives, she was forced to face the cruel streets alone. She walked aimlessly for days, just trying to survive, even if it meant she had to steal scraps from vendors in the market. Then, one evening, she saw them. The beautiful women dancing in the brothel before dozens of men. Money and praises were being thrown at them. Those women captivated those men, making them their prisoners with their beauty. They were desired. They were wanted. They had a place where they belonged. It was with this peek of fantasy that made Laila approach them. 

She grew to be a notorious dancer, known for her beauty and cunning nature. Laila became the temptress of every man that looked her way. Not a man walked passed her without glancing back as she sensually swayed her hips from side to side. She felt desired. She felt coveted. They all sought her, hungry for her, desperate to have her to please their own carnal desires. But Laila only had eyes for one man: BSD Major Rudra Pratap Ranawat. 

He came to her, trying to run away from a past she didn't learn about until much later. He told her never to expect anything from him, not love, not commitment...nothing. Laila accepted. They shared an intense, intimate relationship for eight years. In that time, Rudra had become Laila's everything. She continued to dance before the other men, but her nights were reserved for him, and only him...for eight years. Laila believed that she was his and he was hers. He never said it, but she felt he didn't need to. She had eight years of reassurance. Eight years Rudra came to her, and only her. He hated beautiful woman, but Laila was convinced she was the exception. Like he marked her, she marked him as hers. They belonged to each other. She was determined. She was convinced...She was blind. 

The glass wall that stood as a boundary between her dreams and reality was shattered by the piercing arrow known as Parvati. The animal Rudra, her Rudra, had been tamed. Laila wasn't ready to accept it. She yelled, fought, plotted, did everything in her power to get her Rudra back.  Laila believed this was her right. She didn't feel ashamed in fighting for what, she felt, was hers. Her attempts were futile. She saw the changes in Rudra almost instantly. The care. The concern. The protective nature. It was the other side of him Laila had never seen. Her Rudra was gone the minute that Parvati...that Paro...entered his life.

Laila had only seen her, but never talked to her. When all her attempts to get Rudra back had failed, she decided it was time. Time for the wife to meet the mistress. Laila stood before Parvati in the middle of the market, ready to confront her. She glared at her, observing every inch of the woman who dared to take what belonged to her. Parvati was beautiful, there was no denying that. Her fair skin, her large brown eyes, her slim figure. It was no wonder Rudra was caught in her web of enchantment. Laila was filled with envy. She was beautiful too. She was smart and cunning, so why did Rudra have to choose this Parvati over her?

Then, Parvati spoke.

Parvati already knew who she was, and her relationship with Rudra. This stunned Laila. She never expected Rudra to tell about their relation, especially not to her. Laila was more surprised that Parvati was so calm while speaking to her, while she was burning from within, waiting ready to claw Paro's eyes out. But what Parvati said next shook Laila to the core. She said she knew about her eight-year relationship with Rudra, but she wasn't angry with either of them because it was their past. It all happened before her. She even apologized for unknowingly coming in between them. In the sweetest way possible, Parvati told Laila that she loved Rudra and he loved her. He would always be hers, and only hers. 

Laila now understood why Rudra chose Parvati. She may have won Rudra with her body, but Paro...she won him with her heart and soul. In spite of the truth before her, Paro forgave Laila for everything. Most women would have hated their husbands after finding out such a truth, but she embraced it as a part of him. She understood and accepted it wholeheartedly. She was something else. With her words, Laila realized that Rudra would never belong to her. He was always meant to be Parvati's. Her eight years didn't stand a fighting chance when Rudra's soul intertwined with the woman's standing in front of her. As she picked up the pieces of her broken heart, Laila smiled sadly, thinking that she was a fool for dreaming such dreams of her and Rudra.

So, Laila went back. Back to the streets she started on. Back to where she became a part of those seductive dancers surrounded by those who vied for her attention. Back to tempting those drunken men with her body, making them want her, desire her. Making her feel like she belonged. But this time, Laila controlled her heart to make sure she didn't fall for anyone ever again. Because she knew that no matter what, she would belong to no one.

For Laila, family was a luxury she was never destined to have. 

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OS: SOMETHING MORE?- https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/4060174