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Why Do We Root for Damaged Characters in Romance? – There’s something so magical about the broken characters of any story. Not the kind that simply broods in the corner or throws smoldering glances at the person they like but the kind who carry wounds so deep that even they can’t remember how or where it started. Characters like these tend to believe that they are unworthy of any form of love and yet end up giving it more fiercely than anyone else.  And in Shakti, a.k.a. Sindhu writings, we find them again and again. From emotionally wrecked female leads who have been caged, betrayed, burned and buried under varied cruelties to the cold hearted billionaires, mafia kings and revenge driven husbands who refuse to let anyone into their emotional walls, you’ll find each type of character in her stories. These characters are far from perfect. They are messy, complicated, flawed and what not! Yet readers cannot stop themselves from falling for their incredible charm. But the question is, why? Why do we, readers, root for the broken, insecure, and imperfect characters? Because to some extent, we find ourselves in their fractures. Their hurt reminds us of our own imperfect life and seeing them overcome those challenges makes us feel alive within ourselves. Most of us don’t live in mansions or get engaged in forced marriages but we are all aware of the pain. We all have been misunderstood, unloved, or betrayed at some point in our lives. So when we read about a girl like Mahima, trapped in a forced marriage where love is just another lie, we all can feel her pain. And as she proceeds to rise, love, and heal despite all the hardships she has been through, we rise with her. These stories are more than just fictional platters, they are all inspired from real life hardships. Authors present such characters in dramatic, poetic and romantic ways, that you cannot stop yourself from falling for them and fulfilling your emotions along with the characters.  Let’s take Rudra, for example; a ruthless man who marries a woman suffering from haphephobia, a fear of touch. Instead of forcing his love, he chose to understand Swecha. How often do you get to meet such male characters who are enough to win the world yet chooses to slow down, wait and break the cycle of damage with gentleness? It’s not about perfection. In fact, the very opposite. We do not fall for these characters despite their flaws, we fall for them because of their flaws. The flaws that make them feel so real and incredible that you can see your hidden self within those characters. Author Sai doesn’t write plain heroes or damsels in distress. She writes storms, scars, resistance and fierceness. Characters with a past who are terrified to believe in the future.  And somehow, love walks in their lives, not as a saviour but as a mirror. That’s where the magic begins. In her book, His Ruthless Revenge, Ashwath enters Vennela’s life to destroy it. Her father’s death, her forced marriage, the hardships she goes through, all that is triggered by a man who is out for blood. However, a question still prevails, why is he like this, what made him do all those bad things that he did. Why does vengeance feel like the only answer to all her issues? And as we read the book, we see the layers being peeled back. The readers don’t just want Ashwath to fall in love but to be redeemed as well, to have him feel like he deserves love as well.  And, honestly, that’s a powerful thing! Rooting for damaged characters means believing in second chances. Living in a society that tells us we have to be whole to be loved, Shakti’s stories tell us something else. Her stories are a perfect indication of the fact that you do not have to be perfect to be loved. You just need to be able to feel it. You can be messy. You can be afraid. You can be scarred. But at the end, what matters is, regardless of all these things, you are still worthy of love, healing and of being chosen.  This is why these books touch something deeper than just escapism. When we root for damaged characters in romance books, it’s not just the characters; it’s the hope that we root for. A hope that everything will be good in the end. A hope that everyone, including these broken characters, deserves love. A hope that, like these characters, you are also worthy of all the love. A hope that people can change. A hope that even when everything is ruined, there’s still something inside you worth saving, that love can reach even in the darkest places.  Because love, real love, doesn’t erase the pain. But it teaches you how to live with it without letting the pain ruin your life. It says: “I see what you’ve been through. And I still want you.” And, if that is not the most powerful kind of romance, I don’t know what is! So yes, we do root for the damaged characters in romance books, whether they are morally grey billionaires, wounded heroines, reluctant lovers or shattered souls. We do that because deep down, we believe in healing. The messy, raw, beautifully broken love stories do not exist only to entertain us, but they change us, inevitably.  And maybe, just maybe, that’s the kind of love we all deserve, too.