Ch31The Beginning of Rudravanya
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"Ardhang mere aaradhya tum ho... Sindoor tum hi, saubhagya tum ho..."
And perhaps this was where Rudravanya truly began.
Not with hatred, not with destiny, not even with marriage...
but with a love so deep that even death itself would one day fail to separate it.
This was the beginning of that story which would leave an eternal mark upon hearts forever.
Now Rivanya would show the world what true love really meant how to love selflessly without losing one's self-respect, how to surrender your soul to someone without ever trying to cage them. This was only the beginning...
With trembling steps and a heart that felt unbearably heavy, Rivanya slowly walked inside the room.
The moment her eyes fell upon Rudraksh, it felt as if someone had stabbed hundreds of knives into her heart at once.
The room looked nothing less than a high-level hospital ICU.
Expensive machines surrounded the bed from every side while their constant beeping echoed painfully through the silence.
Doctors continuously checked Rudraksh's condition while nurses moved around quickly, but Rivanya saw none of them. Her eyes only stopped at him.
Rudraksh lay unconscious upon the bed, completely wounded and pale.
The man whose presence always carried the intensity of fire, the man whose face always shone with power and dominance, now looked lifeless.
His skin had lost all color, his lips looked dry, and bandages covered parts of his body while faint blood stains still remained visible despite treatment.
Seeing him like that shattered Rivanya completely.
Her breathing became uneven as tears instantly filled her eyes again, but somehow she forced herself to stay strong and walked further inside.
One of the doctors noticed her and respectfully asked, "Ma'am... you are Mrs. Vardhan, Rivanya?"
Rivanya silently nodded without taking her eyes off Rudraksh even for a second.
The doctor spoke softly, understanding her condition.
"Ma'am, physically sir is unconscious and unable to properly respond to us, but even in this state there is only one name on his lips... yours."
Hearing that, Rivanya's trembling eyes slowly lifted toward the doctor.
He continued gently, "He has been repeatedly taking your name. Perhaps hearing your voice may help him regain consciousness. We'll give you both some privacy. We are right outside, so if anything happens please call us immediately."
Rivanya again nodded silently.
Within moments everyone slowly walked out of the room, leaving only Rivanya and Rudraksh behind.
The silence between them felt unbearably painful.
Rivanya slowly walked toward the bed and sat beside him.
For a few moments she simply kept staring at his face helplessly, as if trying to convince herself that he was still alive and breathing.
Then slowly, with trembling fingers, she moved her hand into his hair and gently caressed his head.
The moment she touched him, her tears finally escaped.
"You are very bad, Rudra... very bad..." she whispered brokenly while crying softly. "What was the need to take such a huge risk for me? Just for one small promise of mine... look what you did to yourself..."
Her voice trembled continuously while tears kept falling down her cheeks. Slowly bending closer, she pressed a soft trembling kiss against his forehead and whispered, "I trust my Gauri Maiya completely. She will never let anything happen to my suhag. You will come back to me, Rudra... you will..."
Her hand slowly reached the mangalsutra around her neck and her lips curved into a faint painful smile.
"You know... maybe every vrat I ever kept in my life, every prayer I ever made, every wish I ever asked from Maa Gauri... all of them were leading me toward you."
Her fingers tightened around the mangalsutra emotionally.
"You are my ardhang now, Rudra... you are my suhag. If you exist, then I exist too... and if something happens to you, nothing inside me will survive either."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks continuously while she held his unconscious hand tightly inside both of hers.
"Your presence lives inside every heartbeat of mine now," she whispered shakily. "Without even realizing it... your wife has fallen in love with you."
A painful smile appeared on her lips through tears.
"But I will never force this love upon you. Even while being mine, you are free... because love is not meant to cage someone, and I never want to bind you."
Her eyes lovingly remained fixed upon his face.
"If your love is truly written in my destiny, then one day your heart itself will find its way back to me... and until that day comes, I can wait forever."
As Rivanya slowly lifted her eyes toward the large windows, she realized darkness had faded away and morning had already arrived.
But Rudraksh still had not opened his eyes.
Suddenly the doctor's terrifying words echoed inside her mind again"If he does not regain consciousness before morning, then saving him may become impossible..."
The thought alone shook Rivanya completely. Her heart trembled violently with fear.
"What kind of fate is this?" she thought painfully. "The moment I realized my love... his life itself came under danger..."
And finally Rivanya completely broke down.
She tightly held Rudraksh's hand against her chest and cried loudly, "You cannot leave me... please open your eyes..."
Her tears continuously fell upon him while her breathing became uneven from crying.
"You made me yours first... and now you want to leave me behind?" she cried helplessly. "No... this cannot happen. Our story is incomplete, Rudra. Rivanya becoming Rudraksh's is incomplete... and Rudraksh becoming Rivanya's is incomplete too..."
Her voice shattered completely under the weight of her emotions.
"Yes... I love you. Deeply... endlessly... even when I tried not to, my heart still chose you. You became my entire world without permission..."
She bent closer toward him while crying uncontrollably.
"Our story cannot end like this. You have to come back for me... please... please come back..."
Then finally, with all the love buried inside her soul, Rivanya confessed the truth she could no longer hide.
"I love you, Rudra... I really do... please don't leave me..."
Completely shattered, Rivanya rested her head upon Rudraksh's chest while holding him tightly, crying as if her soul itself was breaking apart.
"Rudra..." she sobbed helplessly. "Please come back..."
Rivanya kept crying helplessly, unable to do anything except pray for Rudraksh to open his eyes. Her heart felt like it was being crushed every passing second. Just then, a familiar voice reached her ears, the same voice that never missed a chance to tease her even in the worst situations.
"You look like a swollen tomato when you cry, Mrs. Vardhan."
It was Rudraksh.
Rivanya's breath got stuck for a moment. She immediately lifted her head in shock and saw his eyes slowly open. He had finally regained consciousness.
The very next second, tears of relief escaped her eyes. Without thinking twice, she bent down and tightly hugged him while crying.
"You're awake... you came back to me, Rudra... do you know how scared I was?"
Despite being in unbearable pain, Rudraksh weakly wrapped his arms around her and said in a faint voice, "You can't escape from me that easily, Mrs. Vardhan... don't worry."
Rivanya quickly pulled back and wiped her tears in panic. "I'll call the doctor!"
She immediately turned to leave, but before she could take another step, Rudraksh held her wrist and lightly pulled her towards him.
Even in his condition, he still had enough strength to make her lose balance, and within a second Rivanya fell beside him on the bed.
One of her hands landed directly on his bare chest.
Rivanya instantly became nervous. Her heartbeat turned uneven as she looked at him with wide eyes.
"A-Aap yeh kya kar rahe ho Rudra... chodiye mujhe... let me call the doctor..."
Rudraksh slowly raised his hand with difficulty and tucked the loose strand of hair falling on her face behind her ear. His eyes stayed fixed on her as he softly asked, "Rivanya... are you alright? You didn't get hurt anywhere, right?"
Rivanya stared at him in disbelief.
This man had just fought death... he had barely opened his eyes... and the first thing he cared about was her.
What was happening to Rudraksh?
The man who never showed emotions to anyone was looking at her with so much concern that Rivanya herself couldn't understand him anymore.
They were so close that they could feel each other's breaths. Rivanya's eyes automatically lowered and she whispered softly, "I'm fine... please don't worry about me."
Rudraksh finally took a relieved breath as if hearing that alone had calmed him. Then he asked, "Since when have you been sitting here beside me?"
The moment he asked that, Rivanya froze.
All the things she had confessed while he was unconscious... her love... her fear of losing him... every single word flashed before her eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She nervously looked at him and asked, "You... you don't remember? I mean... whatever I said to you... did you hear anything?"
Rudraksh looked at her with slight confusion and replied, "No. I just woke up right now. Was it something important? You can tell me now."
For a moment, Rivanya became completely silent.
Maybe Mahadev wasn't ready for Rudraksh to know her feelings yet.
She slowly stood up, trying to control herself, and said softly, "It was nothing, Rudra. You should rest now. I'll call the doctor... everyone outside is really worried too."
Rudraksh looked at her as if he wanted to say something more, but before he could stop her, Rivanya hurried out of the room.