🍁 chapter eight 🍁

Rudra's advancing steps were making Shantanu's heart race. Shantanu's closed eyes, his breath became uneven, and his trembling legs were pushing him to the verge of tears. A Moment later, he felt warm breaths on his neck. His whole body got jolted with hot breath and he turned back quickly, only to find Rudra standing extremely close to him.

Shantanu in a fluster state, stepped back but his legs gave way. Just as he was about to fall, Rudra swiftly grabbed his hand, pulling him towards himself.Shantanu's head collided with Rudra's broad chest, and he let out a pained groan.

"Are you alright?" Rudra's voice, for once lacked it's usual harshness.

Rubbing his forehead, Shantanu retorted playfully, "Are you made of iron? Your chest is so hard, I think my head got cracked." Pouting cutely, he poked Rudra's chest with his finger to see the hardness of his chest.

Rudra was stunned by Shantanu's antics, just stared at him silently.

Before Rudra could say anything, Shantanu backed away and collided with the door. The second bump to his head brought tears to his eyes.

Rudra rushed over to Shantanu, gently massaging his head. "How can you be so careless? you Cannot stay upright for even a moment? " For the first time, Rudra's tone held a hint of concern for anyone.

With tear-filled eyes Shantanu looked up at Rudra and whimpered, "I got hurt and you're scolding me ."

Rudra is taller than shan so he had to look down to speak to shan. As his tear-filled eyes met Rudra's then Rudra found himself at a loss for words to comfort Shan.

"I'm not scolding you. I'm just saying you should take care of yourself," Rudra said, struggling to gather good words.

"You are scolding me and you even looked angry " Shantanu said, insisting on his point. Rudra despite being a successful businessman, wasn't adept at long arguments. He is a man of few, precise words and avoids unnecessary chatter.

"..."

Rudra's expression turned unreadable again. Pulling his hands away from Shantanu's head, he took a step back. Shantanu was still looking at Rudra like a curious child, waiting for him to say something. Clearing his throat, Rudra changed the subject, "I want to talk to you about something."

Shantanu listened intently. "That day, I wasn't there to buy that." Rudra's voice lacked its usual sharpness.

Shantanu got confused with discussion of unknown topic suddenly."Where? What weren't you there to buy?"

"A-Z Store," Rudra said curtly and fixed his eyes on Shantanu. Shan's eyes widened and blood rushed to his neck and face turning them into the shades of pink. This was the last topic he ever wanted to discuss with Rudra. His grip on the file tightened.

"You... You don't need to lie about it," Shantanu said averting his eyes.

"Why would I lie? I wasn't there to buy that," Rudra replied, sounding slightly frustrated. Rudra had never explained his actions to anyone so it's hard for him to convince shan and explain himself.

In a hesitant voice Shantanu mumbled, "Using protection is a good thing. It prevents diseases and unwanted pregnancies. There's nothing to be embarrassed about it, boss."

Rudra stepped closer, gritting his teeth exclaimed "I have nothing to hide, and I didn't buy anything that day. I was just looking at eye masks. I didn't even realize the condoms were nearby. Got it? " For Rudra it is like cracking a new deal and had to convince the board members for the same.

Squinting his eyes, Shantanu replied, "You were looking at eye masks? I didn't see any."

Maintaining his composure Rudra said, "Just like I didn't notice the condoms, maybe you didn't notice the eye masks too"

Shan looked at Rudra for sometime and chided flatly "Alright, I get it. Whatever happened in the store or the office was just my imagination."

Rudra closed his eyes in frustration. Why doesn't he understand me? He felt at a loss for words for the first time. Placing both hands on either side of Shantanu, blocking the door, Rudra said sternly, "Listen Shantanu Joshi, I'm not joking here. The store incident and what you saw in the office are two separate matters."

Interrupting Rudra, Shantanu said, "Boss, what you do in your personal life is none of my business. As for the office, this is your company and your office, do whatever you like. I come here to work, and I'll do that with full dedication, I don't care what you do or don't do in the office. Also, rest assured, I won't tell anyone because I don't like gossiping." Shantanu didn't like how Rudra was lying to him and trying to scare him to keep his mouth shut so he ended the topic in his way.

Hearing Shantanu's abrupt reply, Rudra's expression turned unreadable again. Stepping back, he said coldly, "Leave."

Without wasting a second, Shantanu left Rudra's cabin and rushed to his desk without pausing in the way for even a second.Breathing a sigh of relief, Slumping into his chair, he threw the file onto the desk and gulped down some water. After a moment, he looked at Pari and gestured for her to come closer.

"What happened? Did you not get the approval?"

"No, I got that But don't you think Rudra sir is a bit... strange?" Shantanu asked curiously.

Pari sighed deeply and fixed his eyes at shan"Not just a bit, he's very strange. Did he say something?"

"Nothing much. It's just... he scares me, and his aloofness makes me want to cry," Shantanu shared his woes.

"I get scared too. I don't know how people work with him. I've heard he doesn't even live with his parents," Pari replied.

"Does he live alone? You mentioned he has an elder brother. Where is he?" Shantanu asked diving deeper into the topic.

"From what I know his elder brother, Rajiv sir manages the family business with their father. I've never seen Rudra sir take a day off or even get sick. He's so strange, even I can't tell " Pari said making faces.

Shantanu began to feel bad for Rudra. A pang of guilt struck him for speaking so rudely to him earlier. He realized he shouldn't have to cut Rudra off mid-sentence, especially since he is his boss.

Pari leaned closer to him and whispered, "I've heard something else strange about Rudra sir. There are rumours saying that he has countless affairs. Apparently, he spends time with a new girl every day. I don't know where he gets the time because most of the day time he stays at company. Does he not take rest at night?"

Hearing this, Shantanu's face turned red again. Nervously he pushed Pari away and whispered "I saw him with someone today too " forgetting that he doesn't like gossiping.

Pari's eyes widened in shock "Really?" Shantanu nodded slowly. Leaning closer, Pari asked eagerly, "What did you see?"

Pushing her away again, Shantanu replied irritably, "Don't be nosy, Pari."

Pari pouted. "Whatever"

The two continued gossiping for a while.

After some time, Vivek arrived and took Shantanu to his desk. "Did you get the design approval?" Vivek asked calmly.

"Hmm."

Smiling, Vivek said, "Alright give me the file. Soon your designs will be in the market."

Shantanu handed over the file to him. In return Vivek gave him another ID card, which puzzled Shantanu. "Vivek, I already have an ID card."

Vivek smiled and said, "These two ID cards are for different purposes, Shantanu." Upon closer inspection, Shantanu noticed the straps were of different colors.

Vivek explained, "You're now a member of The Elegant."

Shantanu's eyes widened. "What... what? I've become a member of the famous brand this company, The Elegant? " He still couldn't believe Vivek's words.

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What changes will come to Shantanu's life after becoming a member of The Elegant? Will Shantanu and Rudra grow closer, or will more misunderstandings arise?

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Chained Heart: RuShan

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Author's Note:

This story features Rudra and Shantanu, a BL couple. If you're not comfortable with gay couples, please refrain from reading, as I do not want any hate comments.

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