Soulmates Without Rules

“How much longer will it take?”
“I’m going out,” Raghav said, exhaling deeply.

Aarushi, his wife of nearly a year, was lost in another romantic movie. She love romantic films, every exaggerated gesture of affection, every stolen glance. Raghav didn’t. He found them awkward, especially the intimate scenes that Aarushi watched with unreserved curiosity.

Their marriage had grown familiar yet unbalanced. Aarushi’s affection overflowed—hugs, caresses, eager moments of closeness. Raghav played along, but his enthusiasm rarely matched hers. He wondered, Why does love always come wrapped in physicality? Can’t love be just… love?

Later that evening, as they watched yet another romantic film in a crowded theater, Raghav often felt that the actors and actresses were overly dramatic, their exaggerated performances making romance on screen seem confusing and unrealistic to the general audience. He particularly disliked the intimate scenes, which made him uneasy. Aarushi leaned closer and murmured, “See how beautifully they admire each other? Why don’t you do that for me?” Her tone was playful but tinged with sincerity. Raghav pressed a light kiss to her cheek and smiled, but deep inside, a hollow ache lingered.

The thoughts followed him home. What’s wrong with me? he wondered. His friends had once joked that he was an “old-school romantic,” someone who cherished handwritten letters and soulful conversations over physical intimacy. But was that so wrong?

In another part of the city, Taara sat on her balcony with a steaming mug of coffee. Her husband, Samath, hummed an old tune as he scanned the newspaper. The morning air was crisp, yet Taara felt stifled.

Samath was a good man—attentive, caring—but his affection often came with unspoken expectations. Dancing together, reading together, even quiet mornings like this—all seemed to carry the same undercurrent: physical closeness. Taara obliged, yet each touch felt like a performance, her mind elsewhere. She knew she wasn’t broken, but why did the world insist otherwise?

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain and finding joy in the midst of life’s challenges.”

Vivian Greene

That night, both Raghav and Taara found themselves scrolling through their phones, searching for answers. For months, they’d been trapped in marriages where love felt like a script written for someone else. Raghav stumbled upon a community forum for asexual individuals. Curious, he clicked. The words resonated deeply: Romance without physicality. Love that values the soul over the body.

Taara discovered the same forum. Reading stories of others who felt the way she did was like breathing fresh air after years in a suffocating room. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t broken.

Through a dating app for asexuals, their paths crossed. They shared tentative messages at first—fragments of their lives, their frustrations, their dreams. With time, those fragments grew into a mosaic of mutual understanding.

A month later, Raghav and Taara met in person. Sitting across from each other at a small café, their conversation flowed easily. They spoke of their childhoods, their favorite books, the quiet ache of living in a world that didn’t understand them.

But as their bond deepened, guilt began to creep in. They were both married, after all. Could they abandon their spouses for a connection they couldn’t yet name? They agreed it wasn’t fair to live a lie—not to themselves, nor to Aarushi  and Samath.

Raghav and Taara arranged a meeting at a quiet resort, inviting their spouses. A cake decorated with the Ace Flag sat on the table. Confused but curious, Aarushi  and Samath listened as Raghav and Taara explained everything—their orientations, their feelings, their struggles to fit into expectations that weren’t their own.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Aarushi asked, her voice trembling.
“I didn’t know how to explain something I didn’t fully understand,” Raghav admitted.

Samath sat silently, processing. “So… this isn’t about us being unworthy?”
Taara shook her head. “You’re both wonderful. But love isn’t one-size-fits-all. Pretending otherwise only hurts everyone involved.”

Though the conversation was raw and emotional, it ended with an understanding. Aarushi and Samath didn’t fully grasp their partners’ orientations, but they saw the sincerity in their words and the relief in their eyes.

In the following years, Raghav and Taara began their lives together, having a surrogate baby , not as rebels but as two people who had finally found themselves. They also worked to raise awareness about asexuality, hoping to create a world where no one would have to hide their truth.

One evening, on a beach under a golden sunset, Taara leaned her head on Raghav’s shoulder. Tears streamed down her face—not of sadness, but of gratitude.

“We’ve come so far,” she whispered.

Raghav smiled, holding her hand. “And there’s so much more ahead.”

 This story is purely a work of fiction.