Publish with Us

Follow Penguin

Follow Penguinsters

Follow Penguin Swadesh

He Stood By Me—From the Bestselling Author of The Right Guy and She Stood By Me

He Stood By Me—From the Bestselling Author of The Right Guy and She Stood By Me

Love Only Happens Once

Tarun Vikash
Select Preferred Format
Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Aditya is in love with Shreya—his steady confidant since college. He has made his peace with the possibility that they might never be more than will they-won’t they friends, that is, until Shreya begins reciprocating his feelings.

Meanwhile, his college best friend, Varun, has fallen hopelessly in love with Aishwarya—an elusive woman, who just so happens to be close friends with Shreya.

Goaded on by Varun, Aditya musters up the courage to ask Shreya out. What follows is a rollercoaster of events, one where the two young lovers are forced to navigate the turbulent road towards marriage—one marred by office politics, disapproving parents, and societal expectations. Through it all, Varun and Aishwarya play the roles of the ever-supporting best friends, standing by in solidarity.

Based on a true story, He Stood By Me, in true Tarun Vikash fashion, offers great empathy and understanding to its protagonists, pulling readers into a captivating world of love, hate, and everything in between. After all, love only happens once.

Imprint: Ebury Press

Published: Jul/2026

ISBN: 9789377308254 (Paperback)

Length : 240 Pages

MRP : ₹299.00

He Stood By Me—From the Bestselling Author of The Right Guy and She Stood By Me

Love Only Happens Once

Tarun Vikash

Aditya is in love with Shreya—his steady confidant since college. He has made his peace with the possibility that they might never be more than will they-won’t they friends, that is, until Shreya begins reciprocating his feelings.

Meanwhile, his college best friend, Varun, has fallen hopelessly in love with Aishwarya—an elusive woman, who just so happens to be close friends with Shreya.

Goaded on by Varun, Aditya musters up the courage to ask Shreya out. What follows is a rollercoaster of events, one where the two young lovers are forced to navigate the turbulent road towards marriage—one marred by office politics, disapproving parents, and societal expectations. Through it all, Varun and Aishwarya play the roles of the ever-supporting best friends, standing by in solidarity.

Based on a true story, He Stood By Me, in true Tarun Vikash fashion, offers great empathy and understanding to its protagonists, pulling readers into a captivating world of love, hate, and everything in between. After all, love only happens once.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Tarun Vikash

Tarun Vikash hails from Patna, from where he finished his schooling. He pursued his graduation from Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, and is currently working as a Senior Technical lead in a reputed information technology (IT) firm in the same city.

Tarun was a theatre artist in his college days, participating in several plays and performing in inter-college competitions. When writing became a passion for him, he sought to author books that would resonate with every household in India.

He aims to bring many more real love stories to his audience, which spans the world. Tarun believes that real stories have the power to change society. Besides, reading about them also gives us some time off from our mobile phones so we can connect with ourselves.
She Stood by Me and The Right Guy are his bestselling novels, inspired by true events.

In his latest romance novel, He Stood By Me, Tarun tries to keep the characters and story genuine and authentic—as with his previous two novels. This novel takes readers back to their college days and shows them another side of the world we live in, the fact that love is not easy in any part of the world. This is a true love story.

More By The Author

She Stood By Me

She Stood By Me

Tarun Vikash
The Right Guy

The Right Guy

Tarun Vikash
error: Content is protected !!