CHAPTER 8
RAGHAV
Same Night – An hour later
I step out of the bathroom of my villa and walk towards the dressing area, with a towel still draped loosely around my waist. But my mind keeps returning to what happened at the pool.
I hadn’t expected to see Siya Vardhaan lounging by my pool, wearing that skimpy black nightie of hers.
But it wasn’t the sight of her that annoyed me, it was the way she spoke.
“One wrong look, one wrong touch, and I can make even the mightiest men like you crawl on their knees.”
The nerve of that woman. She actually believes she could bring me to my knees.
The thought almost makes me laugh. No one has ever brought me down like this.
But the real shock tonight was Siya telling me that her mother knows the Dark Prince is alive.
My fingers slowly curl into fists. She had said it so casually, as though it were just another passing remark.
No. I cannot trust Siya and her mother. They are Vardhaans. And if they know the biggest secret of my life, then they’re not just a problem. They are a threat that could tear apart everything I have spent years building here.
For a moment, I just stand there, breathing hard, my reflection staring back at me from the mirror. Instinctively, my hand lifts to my neck. That’s when I notice the thin gold chain is still there… but the pendant is missing.
I stare at the bare spot against my skin, as if refusing to believe what my eyes are telling me. That’s not possible.
That pendant has been around my neck since my childhood. It’s a part of my past that has stayed with me through every version of the man I have been. How could I lose it?
I look around the bedroom, scanning the floor, the carpet, and the space near the bed. Nothing. I turn abruptly and march back into the bathroom in panic. Maybe it slipped off while I was in the shower. Again, nothing.
I return to the bedroom, this time searching the drawers. I check the bedside table, the shelves, and then shove the chair aside to look underneath it. Still nothing.
Losing that pendant feels like losing a piece of my life, a part of who I am.
I slam my fist against the wall, trying to recall the last clear memory I have of it touching my skin.
Water! I felt it against my neck when I was underwater earlier tonight.
Which means there is a possibility it slipped off there. At the poolside.
Grabbing my iPad from the desk, I pull up the CCTV feeds. My estate has cameras covering every corner, including the pool area. It takes only a few seconds to locate the footage from the exact time I was there. The video begins to play.
There she is, Siya, sitting at the edge of the pool.
And there I am, standing in front of her.
The entire argument plays out again through the camera’s lens.
The pendant is clearly visible against my neck as we talk.
But the moment I turn away to leave, the tiny clasp holding the pendant to the chain gives way.
The chain remains intact, but the pendant loosens and slips free… and I don’t even realise it.
But she does.
As I walk away, unaware, Siya bends down behind me, picks it up, and studies it.
My fingers slowly curl around the edge of the tablet. I’ve never let anyone touch that pendant. It’s mine, and hold a special place in my heart. The next instant, I hear her voice in the recording, just before she takes the pendant away with her.
“If you’re careless enough to lose something like this, then that’s your problem, RK.”
That’s it. I end the video and place the iPad back on the desk. F*cking hell! She could have returned it. She knew it was mine, and she still chose not to.
Without wasting another second, I get dressed. She has taken something that belongs to me, a that is a mistake people rarely get away with. Tonight, the Vardhaan princess will learn that stealing from me always comes with consequences.
SIYA
Few Minutes Later – Siya’s cottage suite
This day truly refuses to end. I’d thought stepping outside to breathe in the cool night air would settle the thoughts bothering me. Instead, it has done the opposite. Even now, under the hot shower, the same image returns the moment I close my eyes.
Raghav… standing in the pool… watching me.
It’s so distracting. I turn off the shower knob.
The water stops, but the thoughts do not.
I reach for the white Turkish bathrobe and slip it over my damp skin, tying it loosely around my waist. My hair is still wet, the water droplets dripping down my skin, but I don’t bother to dry it.
I just need to step out of the bathroom and put an end to this loop in my head.
But the moment I walk out, I freeze. For a second, my mind refuses to process what I’m seeing. There’s someone in my room. Even in the dim light, even with his back turned towards me, there is no mistaking who it is.
Raghav. Inside my suite. Searching for something frantically.
His hands move restlessly, going through my shelves, opening drawers, pushing aside things that don’t belong to him, as if none of it matters.
A few items tilt dangerously when he brushes past them.
One drawer is pulled open too hard and left hanging, half out.
For a second, I just stare at him, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. And then the anger hits.
“What the hell are you doing in my room?” I shout.
He doesn’t even turn to look at me and continues to ignore my presence. That only makes my anger spike higher.
“I’m talking to you, RK. And how did you even get inside?” I demand, taking a step closer. “Didn’t my guards outside stop you?”
Still nothing.
He brushes past me and moves towards my bed, his attention still focused on whatever it is he’s looking for.
What the f*ck!
Seeing him in my bedroom, walking around so causally, is enough to mess with my head. How did he even get in? A duplicate key? Well, this resort is his, so that wouldn’t be a problem.
And my guards? The one stationed outside my cottage, must definitely be snoring again, completely oblivious of what is happening around him. It’s all my fault for not informing Michael about him sleeping on duty yet.
But even if he had been alert, I know it wouldn’t have made much difference. Someone like Raghav cannot be stopped by a man like that.
He now opens my bedside drawer and starts rummaging through it, and I’m done watching.
“Get out of here, RK,” I snap. “Or I’ll call my guards right away.”
I move towards him, ready to force his attention if I have to, but he simply shifts to the other side of the bed and opens the other drawer. The charging cables of my phone and iPad get in his way, and he pushes them aside carelessly. They fall to the floor, tangling with each other.
Urgh. The audacity of this man.
He walks into my space, turns it upside down, and still doesn’t think I deserve an explanation.
He keeps searching my room, touching everything and leaving a mess behind.
I can’t even call my guards because that would only complicate things further.
Nor can I complain at the reception desk.
This is his estate. Every inch of this place belongs to him.
They cannot do much in this situation either.
But that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate this nonsense.
Before I can take a step, he’s already in front of me.
Two strides. That is all it takes for his arms to grab me.
And before I can even react, my back hits the wall.
The movement is so quick that I have no time to resist. He doesn’t slam me against it, but the force is enough to make me freeze.
“My pendant. Where is it?” he mutters angrily.
My gaze lifts to meet his. So… this is what it’s about? He stormed in here for his lost pendant and, instead of asking, decided to turn my room upside down.
No way! He’s definitely not getting it back. Not after this.
As if he reads my expression, his eyes lock onto mine, the earlier irritation replaced by something far more unforgiving.
“You’ve dared to keep it with you without my knowledge,” he says, moving closer. “I need it back.”
Raghav Kundra is dangerously close to losing it. For the first time since I stepped into this estate, I’m witnessing this volatile side of him.
This is not intimidation. It’s a warning. A real one.
And for what? A mere pendant?
My heart tells me not to test his limits. This is not a fire I should stoke. Maybe I should end this and return what’s his.
“Where… is… it?” he spells every syllable, his nails almost dig into my skin through the thick robe.
“The pillow,” I answer, exhaling slowly, and gesture towards the bed.
The change in him is immediate. Raghav leaves me without another word and turns towards the bed, as if whatever patience he had left is gone.
As soon as he reaches the bed, he starts pushing the pillows aside, not bothering to be gentle.
Fabric shifts, cushions fall out of place, and then he stops.
His hands freezes as he finds the pendant under one of my pillows.
The moment his fingers close around it, something shifts in his expressions again. It’s as if this pendant is his whole world, and he’s just got his world back.
His breathing steadies, and his shoulders relax slightly. The tension is still there, but it no longer feels like it is about to snap. It feels contained again, locked back where it belongs. Clearly, the pendant means a lot to him, enough to bring him into my room like this.
I watch him for a second longer. And then the anger I had pushed aside while trying to figure him out returns, just as strongly. I march towards him and close the distance between us.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing? First, you walk into my room without my permission, and then you turn everything upside down. I won’t tolerate this, RK.”
But as expected, he doesn’t even look at me, as if my words don’t deserve his attention. And that irritates me more than our arguments have.