Chapter 42
KAVYA
I had only one week left with Saurav, and I was determined to cherish every second of it.
But since our confrontation a week ago, he had become a ghost in his own home.
He remained indifferent, avoiding me at every turn.
Most days, he stayed buried in his room or locked away in the study, drowning in the paperwork of his late father’s business.
Uncle Dhruv had managed things well enough, but the company still needed Saurav’s signature on a thousand different lines. Despite the stress, Saurav refused to sell. He planned to take the reins fully in five years, once he retired from the air force.
His coldness was killing me. I walked through the halls of the villa, desperate to hear his voice, to know he’d be okay once I was gone.
I wanted to explain that I wasn't leaving out of anger.
I was leaving because I could no longer endure the way he had treated me over the last three months.
I remembered the one time he had tried to ask about my life.
I wanted to tell him everything, but I had chosen to hurt him instead.
Now, I lived with the guilt of knowing I had ripped his soul out when I told him the truth.
As I walked down the hallway toward his study, his voice drifted through the door, sharp and clear.
"Yeah, I miss that too," he said. "I’ll be back next week. I can’t wait to sell this shitty villa. It gives me the creeps. It just reminds me of everything I want to forget, Yashvi."
A sharp pang struck my chest. Yashvi. I recognized the name instantly.
Tanya had sent me photos of Saurav with a woman and that woman was her.
I read her name tag on her uniform, the same woman who had interrupted my video calls with Saurav, the one who looked so comfortable standing beside my husband in every picture.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and knocked. Saurav turned, his expression flattening the moment he saw me. "Okay, I’ll call you later," he muttered into the phone.
"Coffee?" I offered, my voice small.
He gave a curt nod. No words. No smile. Nothing.
I turned to leave but stopped at the doorway, the question burning a hole in my tongue. "Who’s Yashvi, by the way?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Were you eavesdropping?"
"No," I lied poorly. "I just heard the name."
"She’s my batchmate," he replied, turning back to his desk.
"Just a batchmate? Nothing else?"
He sighed, a heavy, weary sound. "Nothing else."
"Okay." I walked out before I could make a fool of myself by asking more.
The next day followed the same agonizing routine. Saurav ate breakfast in his room while I sat alone at the massive dining table. He left for the office at eight and didn't return until nine at night. To avoid him, I took my dinner in my room while he ate downstairs.
My phone buzzed with a message from Abhiraj. He was worried, asking if I was holding up okay. I’m fine, I typed back, though every part of me felt like it was breaking.
By eleven, I decided to make him a cup of black coffee, the way he liked it when he worked late. As I approached the study, I heard a woman’s laughter coming from his laptop. He was on a video call.
I moved quietly, trying to be invisible as I set the mug on his desk. I began to pull away, but before I could retreat, Saurav’s hand shot out and gripped my wrist. With a sudden, firm tug, he pulled me toward him.
I stumbled, landing right on his lap. My heart hammered against my ribs.
"Wow! Now that’s romantic," Yashvi’s voice boomed from the speakers. "Typical Saurav." She laughed, her eyes bright on the screen.
"What are you doing?" I whispered, my face heating up as I looked at the camera. My stomach dropped when I realized it wasn't just Yashvi. A whole team of soldiers sat in the background, watching us.
"She’s my wife," Saurav announced. I caught a flicker of something in his eyes, a hint of pride that made my breath hitch. "And she’s an absolutely mesmerizing classical dancer."
"Wait, I think I’ve seen her before," one of the soldiers said, leaning closer to the screen. "Does she have an Instagram?"
Saurav didn't hesitate. "Yes. She has over a hundred thousand followers."
"Wait a minute, Saurav," Yashvi chimed in, a mischievous smirk on her face. "Is this why you made me create a fake Instagram account? Just so you could stalk your wife’s profile?"
"Actually," another friend interrupted, chuckling, "he spends half his time picking fights with the guys who leave comments on her photos."
I froze, looking at my husband in total shock. His grip on my waist tightened slightly, and I watched as the tips of his ears turned a deep, tell-tale pink.
"Ignore them," he muttered to me, though he couldn't hide his small, sheepish smile. He looked back at the screen, his voice regaining its commanding edge. "All of you, shut up now!"
The group erupted into laughter, but the sound faded into the background for me. A memory clicked into place, a specific follower who had been defending my honor in the comments section for months.
"Are you..." I started, my voice trembling with a mix of shock and realization. "Are you '@DarkLove'?"
The video call exploded. His entire unit let out a collective roar of laughter, hooting and clapping at his exposure. Saurav looked away, unable to meet my eyes, but he didn't let me go. For the first time in months, the ice between us didn't feel quite so thick.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he grumbled, though his thumb was tracing soft circles on my hip.
"You do," I teased, feeling a genuine smile break across my face. "You were the one who told that guy in the comments that his poetry was 'technically deficient and visually offensive'."
"It was," Saurav snapped, finally looking at me. "The man couldn't rhyme to save his life, and he was being disrespectful to you."
The soldiers on the screen were having the time of their lives. "He’s obsessed, ma'am!" one shouted. "He makes us look at your dance videos during briefing breaks!"
"That's enough! Dismissed!" Saurav reached over and slammed the laptop shut, cutting off the chorus of laughter.
The silence that followed wasn't heavy like before. It was warm. I was still sitting on his lap, my hand resting on his shoulder. The man who had been a stranger for three months was suddenly right there, hidden behind a pink-eared blush.
"You stalked me?" I asked softly.
Saurav sighed, his shoulders dropping. "I couldn't talk to you. I didn't know how to be near you without feeling like I was failing. So... I watched from a distance. I …” he hesitated, looking away. “I wanted to see you happy, even if I wasn't the one making you smile."
I searched his eyes, watching something flicker deep within those dark orbs. My fingers traced the exact spot on his neck where I had found that lipstick mark.
“One day, I saw lipstick on your neck,” I whispered.
Saurav looked confused for a second, then realization dawned on him. “The night I came home drunk?” He chuckled, though the sound was low and rough. “A woman tried to make a move on me... If I didn’t have such a beautiful wife, I might have let her.”
I forced a smile, but the warmth didn't reach my eyes. Before I could pull away, Saurav caught me by surprise, his mouth crashing onto mine. He kissed me rough, hard and passionately.
“I’ve missed you all these months, Kavya,” he breathed sharply, pressing his forehead against mine.
His scent was intoxicating. “I hate you for putting me through this, but I can’t shake this feeling.
.. it’s like...” He searched my face, his gaze burning.
“...like I’d take any kind of hell from you, as long as you’re with me. ”
His words ripped through me.
Saurav swept his laptop off the table in one swift motion and lifted me onto the wood.
He devoured me, kissing my lips, my jaw, and my neck.
He kissed me like a man who had been starving for years, and I was the only thing that could satisfy him.
Without breaking the kiss, he pulled his shirt over his head.
I pressed my palms against his bare chest, savoring the heat of his skin.
I raised my arms as he slid my gown off, leaving me exposed to his hungry gaze.
“I missed every inch of you,” he groaned.
He unhooked my bra, his hands calloused and warm.
He took one breast into his mouth, sucking and teasing the nipple until I was breathless.
I arched my back, closing my eyes and wrapping my legs tightly around his hips.
I could feel his hardness straining against his jeans, pressing into me.
He ran his tongue down my stomach, lower and lower, tasting every inch of my skin. He pulled back just long enough to shed his jeans. I gasped when I felt the scorching heat of him against my thighs.
“Oh God,” I moaned as he slowly pushed inside. I gripped his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin as the initial sting of him stretching me turned into a deep, pulsing pleasure. It had been so long; I felt a sharp ache as he buried himself fully within me.
Saurav stayed still for a moment, looking into my eyes with raw desire. He cupped my face, his thumbs brushing my cheekbones. “I love how much you ache for me,” he smirked, biting my lower lip. “You’re goddamn beautiful, Kavya.”
I tried to smile, but it turned into a wince as he began to move, thrusting deeper.
At first, he was slow and agonizingly gentle, but then his pace quickened.
He began to pound into me, harder and faster, making the table shake with every heavy strike.
Tears gathered in my eyes from the sheer intensity of it.
I reached up, pulling him down by his hair to kiss him deeply.
“I love you, Saurav,” I whispered against his lips.
He froze.
The heat in the room vanished instantly. He looked at me, slowly pulling out of me. The sudden coldness made me shiver. I felt a wave of regret as he turned away, picking his clothes up from the floor and pulling them on without a word. He tossed my gown toward me.
“Get some rest, Kavya,” he said, his voice flat.
“Saurav?” I clutched the gown to my chest, feeling foolish and exposed. He didn't look back. He simply walked out of the room, leaving me shivering on the table, humiliated, confused, and completely alone.
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