Chapter 7 #3
The atmosphere in the pavilion dropped by twenty degrees. The whispering stopped instantly. The music had died. The only sound was the clicking of Siddhant’s expensive leather shoes on the stone floor. He looked like a predator who had just cornered his prey.
"S-sir," the young waiter stammered, holding his hands up in defense, trembling so hard he looked like he might collapse. "I tripped! I swear, my shoe caught the carpet! It was an accident!"
Siddhant didn't say a word. He stopped directly in front of the boy.
Suddenly, Siddhant reached out and grabbed the waiter by the collar of his uniform, lifting the grown man entirely off his feet with terrifying, brutal strength.
"Siddhant!" Raghav Chaturvedi yelled, running forward from the crowd. "Stop! It was just an accident!"
"It was not an accident," Siddhant snarled, his voice a deadly, vibrating rumble that shook the walls of the tent. His dark, furious eyes bored into the terrified waiter’s soul. "I do not believe in accidents. Who paid you?"
"N-no one!" the boy cried, choking as Siddhant’s grip tightened. "Please, sir!"
"You aimed that tray directly at her," Siddhant stated softly. It was a terrifying, quiet tone that promised absolute destruction. "You aimed fire at the woman wearing my ring. I am going to ask you one last time before I hand you over to my security team to extract the answer. Who. Paid. You."
The waiter broke immediately. He was sobbing in pure terror. He slowly, shakily raised a trembling finger and pointed directly into the crowd.
He pointed straight at Nandini Chaturvedi.
The entire pavilion gasped in absolute, horrified shock.
Nandini’s face drained of all color. She took a panicked step backward as the crowd immediately parted around her, leaving her completely exposed. "He is lying!" Nandini shrieked, her voice high and desperate. "Raghav, do something! This boy is lying to save himself!"
Siddhant slowly lowered the waiter back to the floor, shoving him towards Ishaan, who had just arrived with his security team.
Siddhant turned to face his stepmother. The fury in his eyes was so absolute, so incredibly cold, that Nandini actually began to tremble.
He didn't yell. He didn't scream.
Siddhant walked back to Poorvanshi. He reached out and gently, carefully wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his side. The fierce, protective gesture was the ultimate declaration of power.
He looked across the room at his father and stepmother.
"This party is over," Siddhant announced. His voice echoed through the absolute silence of the pavilion with lethal authority. "Everyone will leave immediately."
He turned his deadly gaze specifically to Nandini.
"If anyone ever," Siddhant said softly, the deadly promise hanging heavy in the air, "attempts to harm a single hair on her head again, I will not just throw them out of my house.
I will completely, systematically dismantle their entire existence.
I will make sure they have absolutely nothing left. "
He didn't wait for a response. He didn't look at his stunned, silent family.
Siddhant turned on his heel, keeping his arm securely wrapped tightly around Poorvanshi, and escorted her out of the pavilion, leaving the burning, chaotic wreckage of the party completely behind them.
When they reached the quiet, isolated sanctuary of his private study inside the mansion, Siddhant finally closed the heavy wooden doors, locking the rest of the world out.
Poorvanshi stood in the center of the dark, quiet room. Her heart was still racing, and her knees felt weak. She looked at Siddhant. He was breathing heavily, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides as he tried to rein in the absolute violence still coursing through his veins.
"Siddhant," Poorvanshi whispered, her voice shaking slightly in the quiet room.
He crossed the room in two massive strides. He didn't say a word. He just reached out, grabbed the soft red silk at her waist, and pulled her hard against his chest.
He wrapped his strong arms around her completely, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He breathed in the scent of her jasmine perfume, grounding himself in the reality that she was safe, she was unburned, and she was right here in his arms.
Poorvanshi closed her eyes, entirely overwhelmed by the massive wave of emotion. She slowly raised her arms and wrapped them tightly around his broad back, holding him just as fiercely as he was holding her.
"They tried to hurt you," Siddhant whispered against her skin, his voice rough, broken, and filled with a terrifying, possessive agony. "I will burn this entire empire to the ground before I let anyone touch you."
Poorvanshi tightened her grip on him. In that quiet, intense moment, surrounded by the smell of cedarwood and old books, the final wall between them completely shattered.
She realized that this dangerous, terrifying billionaire didn't just want to protect her family's reputation.
He was completely, hopelessly, and fiercely in love with her.