CHAPTER 22 #3
I stare at Samarjeet one last time before shoving him away from me and straight into the hands of my men.
They catch him immediately and keep their rifles trained on him so he doesn’t dare move an inch again.
Only then does Siya step away from me and turn towards Samarjeet, who is still coughing violently for air.
“What did you just say?” Siya asks him, her voice shaking with years of buried anger. “That if Dad were alive, he would’ve killed me himself for betrayal?”
Samarjeet’s jaw hardens, but Siya still steps closer before I can stop her.
“No, Samarjeet. If Dad were alive, none of you would’ve dared force me into this marriage in the first place.
” Her eyes glisten, but her expression is fierce as ever.
“This alliance wouldn’t be happening against my will.
I would never have needed to run to Raghav for protection, nor would I have needed an escape plan from my own family. You forced me into this.”
Samarjeet’s face darkens with humiliation and anger, but Siya doesn’t stop.
“You stand here calling me a traitor while you sold me off like a business deal the moment Dad died.” Her voice rises.
“So don’t stand there pretending you cared about my loyalty when you never cared about my choice.
I tolerated your anger, your aggression, even your need to control every part of my life. But Mom?”
Her breathing turns uneven. “The way you treated her after Dad died…” she continues, her voice trembling now. “The way you isolated her, controlled her, and spoke to her as though she was a burden in her own home…”
For the first time, Samarjeet looks away.
“You were never a good brother,” she adds, her words tinged with disappointment.
“But after Dad passed away, you stopped being a good son too. And that I couldn’t tolerate anymore.
That’s why I decided to take Mom with me.
To leave this mafia world… to get away from you and your toxic control forever. ”
She wipes her tears harshly before finally stepping back towards me and meets his eyes one last time.
“You forced this war upon yourself, Samarjeet. It came to Vardhaan’s doorstep because of you. Not me.”
But Samarjeet shows no guilt or remorse in response to Siya’s outburst. His expression hardens the moment I reach for Siya’s hand and intertwine my fingers with hers. Then, he lets out a bitter laugh.
“Fine…” he says arrogantly as a smug laugh escapes him. “Go ahead, dearest sister. Go wherever you want. But if you think you can disappear forever and I’ll just sit quietly watching it happen, you are wrong. I will find you. It doesn’t matter where in the world you hide… I’ll still find you.”
I tighten my grip on Siya’s hand.
“And the day I do,” he continues darkly, “I’ll drag you back into this hellhole myself, crush your stubbornness, and make sure you regret humiliating this family. I’ll marry you off to Parag, even if I have to break you piece by piece first.”
Something inside me snaps as he fixes his gaze on me now.
“You can’t protect a mafia princess from another clan forever, Raghav Khurana,” he sneers, a mocking grin on his face.
“The day your little obsession with her fades, the day you get bored of playing with your new toy, will be the day Siya’s countdown to returning to this shithole begins. ”
Wrong f*cking move. A pulse throbs near my temple and the veins across my neck bulge sharply beneath my skin. Legends know the Dark Prince never loses. And tonight, I decide to remind the underworld exactly why.
For one brief moment, I close my eyes. Everything around me dulls into silence while Samarjeet’s challenge echoes in my head, repeating over and over again.
Then, I exhale slowly and open my eyes.
The decision is made.
My gaze sweeps around the garden. Over the syndicate heads. The armed men. The terrified guests. Every pair of eyes is locked onto us. Waiting. Watching. Good. Let them all witness this. Because what I’m about to do will go down in underworld history by morning.
My arm tightens around Siya’s waist before I pull her fully against my side in one deliberate move. Her body collides with mine, but I never look away from Samarjeet. The hatred burning in his eyes hasn’t dimmed even slightly.
“You’re right,” I say softly, a dangerous smile curling at my lips. “As long as she carries the Vardhaan name, men like you will keep hunting her.”
I look around the lawn before speaking again.
“But what if she carries my name instead?”
I tilt my head slightly towards Samarjeet, whose expression freezes in stunned disbelief.
“Once she becomes my wife, the Dark Prince’s wife, this ends forever. Because anyone who dares to touch her after that… their entire bloodline will disappear.”
A stunned silence crashes across the entire lawn.
Beside me, Siya goes completely rigid. I can feel her shock instantly as her body stills against mine. But I don’t look at her. I turn to Samarjeet instead, who is again struggling to free himself, knowing exactly what I’m about to do next.
“From this moment onwards, you’ll have no right over her, Samarjeet. Because I’m marrying her. Right here. Right now. In the presence of the entire underworld.”
Siya stumbles slightly beside me in shock. Pure disbelief floods her face as her fingers instinctively try to pull free from my grip.
Not happening. My arm tightens harder around her waist before she can even think of stepping away.
“Raghav…” she whispers harshly, staring at me as if I’ve finally gone insane. Maybe I have. But this has become terrifyingly personal now. And the only thing my mind understands is one terrifying truth… nobody takes her away from me. Nobody.
I take one slow step towards Samarjeet, still holding Siya by my side. “You know where RK Estate is. So come for her,” I challenge. “Walk into my territory and try taking my wife back.”
My fingers tighten possessively around her waist.
“Then watch what happens to every man foolish enough to stand beside you.” I tilt the gun slightly towards him. “Because the next person who comes for her again will not live long enough to repeat the mistake.”
For a moment, nobody says a word. Not even Siya, who still seems in shock. Then, I look towards the mandap, still decorated for a marriage that was never meant to happen. Without waiting for permission from a single soul present here, I turn and start walking towards it, taking Siya with me.
The priest is still standing there at gunpoint, trembling violently when my eyes lock with his.
“Begin our marriage rituals,” I say, and chaos erupts behind us instantly.
SIYA
What the hell is Raghav doing? The priest looks terrified.
Everyone around us is shocked. Even Samarjeet and Parag are shouting threats from somewhere behind us, but their voices barely register anymore.
Their authority ended the second Raghav’s men surrounded this mandap. Everything is under his control.
For a second, I think I must have heard him wrong, or that this is some twisted nightmare where someone as ruthless as a Dark Prince is staking a claim on my life and my future.
But when Raghav forces me to sit down beside him in front of the sacred fire, I return to my senses.
I immediately try to yank my hand free from his grip, but his hold around my wrist is too strong. He doesn’t even look at me.
“I said begin the rituals,” he almost barks at the priest, who sits down and lights the sacred fire.
My heartbeat crashes violently against my ribs.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening.
“Have you completely lost your mind?” I snap, turning towards him. “You cannot force me, RK. I’m not marrying you.”
His eyes darken at my words.
“You are,” he says as if he has already decided.
For a second, I can only stare at him. Then my voice rises in defiance.
“I won’t.” I shake my head instantly. “This is not what we agreed to.”
The sacred fire crackles between us, its light flickering across his face and making him look even more dangerous than he already does.
“I only asked your help to get me out of this mafia world,” I shoot back furiously, still not giving up. “To stop my marriage to Parag. Not to trap me into another forced alliance, that too with a mafia prince like you.”
His jaw flexes hard, but he still doesn’t say a word. The priest nervously asks him to extend his right hand to begin the ritual. Raghav complies, which only makes me panic more.
“Get back to your senses, RK,” I shout. “And if you can’t… if this is your idea of helping me, then I don’t need your help anymore. Just get the hell out of here.”
I try pulling my hand away again, but this time he yanks me right back towards him. I have to grab the front of his shirt to stop myself from colliding straight into his chest.
“Shut the f*ck up, Siya,” he mutters darkly. “This marriage is happening. And if you refuse, then I swear to you… you will never see your mother again.”
My breath stops.
“You don’t want that, do you?”
For the first time since this nightmare began, real fear creeps into me. Mom?
“What?” My eyes search his face wildly. “What did you just say?”
Raghav keeps looking at me with that same cold, unreadable expression. A horrible feeling rises in my stomach.
“Where is my mom, RK?” My voice comes out all shaky as I grip his shirt tightly. “Is she with you? Is she okay? Tell me.”
He doesn’t reply. And somehow that silence terrifies me even more. Now I realise why Trisha couldn’t find Mom. She wasn’t missing because of Samarjeet or Parag, but because of him. Raghav has her, and I don’t even know where she is or what state she is in.