Ch24 Marked by His Name #3
Nothing.
Tension crept into his features as he stepped outside.
The night air was cool, but sweat formed on his forehead not from the weather, but from worry.
He ordered the staff to search as well.
Yet Rivanya remained nowhere to be found.
Even the backyard turned up empty.
Just as he turned back toward the house, a faint mumbling sound caught his attention.
He paused.
Following the sound, he walked a little further and then spotted her.
Rivanya was leaning against a wall, facing a tall ladder, speaking to it as if it were a person.
Rudraksh frowned.
Has she lost her mind?
He rushed toward her but as he got closer, he noticed something alarming.
She wasn't standing steadily.
A cold realization hit him.
Oh God... did she drink?
The moment he reached her, his suspicion turned into certainty.
Yes Rivanya was completely drunk.
She had mistaken the ladder for Rudraksh and was muttering under her breath half complaints, half insults.
Calling him cold.
Emotionless.
A saint.
A madman.
An idiot.
And many things that made absolutely no sense.
Rudraksh stood there, stunned watching the woman he had just introduced to the world as his wife...
arguing fiercely with a ladder.
And somehow despite everything
he couldn't look away.
Seeing Rivanya in such a condition, anger inevitably rose within Rudraksh but at the same time, there was one small relief: thankfully, no one else had seen her like this. God only knew what chaos would have followed otherwise.
Rudraksh rushed toward her, but by then Rivanya swaying under the influence had already climbed halfway up the ladder. The moment she spotted him, she burst into laughter.
"There are two Rudraksh's!" she exclaimed dreamily. "One is standing below me, and the other is above... wow."
Trying to reason with her in this state was pointless. Controlling his temper with great effort, Rudraksh spoke in a sharp, commanding voice.
"Rivanya, come down. Right now. And how did you drink? Did you drink alcohol?"
In her drunken haze, Rivanya shook her head innocently.
"No... I didn't drink alcohol. I only had juice."
That was when Rudraksh understood she must have mistaken alcohol for juice. And this was the result.
"Rivanya, get down," he said firmly. "You'll fall and get hurt. Come down, now."
Like a stubborn child, she shook her head again.
"No, I won't. You're not talking to me properly. Talk to me nicely first... then I'll think about it."
His patience snapped.
"This is nonsense! First you drink, and now you're creating a scene? Mrs. Vardhan, get down immediately!"
Rivanya puffed her cheeks in protest.
"No. Talk to me with love. Call me sweetly otherwise I'm not coming down."
Rudraksh glanced at her heels perched dangerously on the ladder. One slip, and she would fall straight down seriously injured. Left with no choice, he forced himself to calm down and said softly,
"Rivanya... please come down."
She made a face.
"Was that loving? Ugh, Mr. Vardhan, you're useless. You can't do anything."
Grinding his teeth, Rudraksh muttered,
"Just wait till you're sober. Then I'll show you exactly what I can do."
Taking a deep breath, he forced a fake smile onto his face and said exaggeratedly,
"My Sugarplum... my Princess Rivanya... please come down."
That did it.
Rivanya smiled brightly.
"Yes, that's better. Now catch me."
Before he could react, she jumped.
Rudraksh panicked but instinct and training took over. With great effort, he caught her in his arms. Thank God for his years at the gym otherwise, the fall would have been disastrous.
"Are you out of your mind?" he snapped angrily. "What if you had fallen?"
Rivanya laughed carefree.
"How could I fall? You're here to catch me."
Her words left him speechless.
She slipped out of his arms, stumbling slightly, then began singing happily-
"Zara sa jhoom loon main,
Zara sa ghoom loon main,
Aa tujhe choom loon main,
Main chali ban ke hawa..."
Rudraksh was furious yet he couldn't ignore how unbearably cute she looked.
The cold had turned her cheeks and nose red, her voice was off-key, and she laughed without a care, completely lost in her own world.
There's no way I can take her through the main hall like this, he thought. Everyone's still there. I'll have to use the back door.
Holding her gently, he said,
"Rivanya, let's go inside. It's cold out here."
She shook her head stubbornly.
"No. I won't go inside like this."
"What do you mean 'like this'?" he asked sharply. "You have to come."
She pouted dramatically.
"Carry me. My feet hurt."
That pout he stood no chance.
With a quiet sigh of defeat, Rudraksh lifted her into his arms and began walking toward the back door.
Rivanya stared at Rudraksh with wide, unblinking eyes.
Rudraksh was aware of her gaze, yet he chose not to react.
Still looking at him the same way, Rivanya murmured softly,
"You are difficult to understand, Rudra..."
Without turning to look at her, Rudraksh replied calmly,
"Not that difficult."
Rivanya said nothing after that. She gently rested her head on Rudraksh's shoulder.
For a brief moment, Rudraksh was taken aback when she leaned into him like that. But then he dismissed the thought, assuming she was too intoxicated to understand what she was doing. Carrying her the same way, he continued walking toward the back door.
After a while, a sudden sharp pain shot through Rudraksh's neck.
And the reason was Rivanya.
She had bitten the side of his neck hard.