CHAPTER 25
RAGHAV
By the time I walk back into the villa, the entire place has fallen silent.
Only the dim wall lights remain on. I instinctively glance at the guest room downstairs.
The door remains shut. At least Rukmini Vardhaan is finally getting some rest. After the way she came at me tonight, looking ready to draw blood if necessary, she deserves that much.
I look away and head upstairs instead. Strangely, every step towards my bedroom feels heavier tonight. Probably because, for the first time in years, someone is actually waiting for me behind that door.
Not waiting like some damn docile bride on my bed.
But a woman who is likely ready to claw my face apart for dragging her into this marriage, for threatening her, and for ordering her to stay in my bedroom.
In fact, I’m fully prepared to walk into the room and find Siya gone just to defy me again. Or probably she’s sleeping somewhere else entirely, with that same stubborn anger burning inside her. But the moment I push the bedroom door open, I stop in my tracks.
Because there she is, fast asleep on my bed.
My entire body goes still as I take in the sight of her. Siya lies curled beneath the blanket, one hand tucked near her face, while her hair spills messily across my pillow. She looks exhausted. Completely knocked out after the last twenty-four hours of madness.
As I step further into the room, the door shuts behind me a little louder than intended. But despite that, Siya is fast asleep. A small smirk almost tugs at my lips. She’s such a sound sleeper, the kind who wouldn’t wake up even if the world collapses right beside her.
My wife.
Shaking my head, I mutter a frustrated curse under my breath and head straight for the cold shower. Right now, I need the freezing water to calm the violence still tearing through my head. But as the icy water crashes over me, my thoughts drag me straight back to Cape Town.
Gunfire. Blood. Men dropping dead. The brutal recoil of the gun vibrating through my palm after every shot. I see it all, and none of it feels unfamiliar, even though I haven’t touched a gun in two and a half years.
Because the truth is, the darkness I buried had never really died. But one thing I know for sure is that I’ll never raise a gun against an innocent. However, if anybody comes after my family, after Siya, then I will bury them alive myself. It’s as simple as that.
After finishing my shower, I pull on a pair of grey sweatpants and walk back towards the bed. The moment my gaze lands on Siya again, I go still. F*ck, even asleep, this woman affects me far too much.
I can’t take my eyes off her. I admire her form without permission.
The soft rise and fall of her breasts. Her lips that were arguing with me an hour ago are now slightly parted in deep sleep.
Her long lashes fanning her cheeks. She has no idea that she’s lying in the space I’ve never shared with anyone before.
No idea that she’s the only woman who gets to sleep on my bed, next to me. Forever.
That possessive thought hits me so hard that my chest almost burns with it.
I sit down slowly on my side of the bed without taking my eyes off her.
I watch her sleep, and before I can stop myself, my fingers move.
I reach out and carefully brush a loose strand of hair away from her face, almost as if I’m testing whether she’ll wake up.
Nothing.
Still asleep.
A strange kind of calm settles over me, and before I can rethink the decision, I lean down and press my lips softly against hers.
Just once. The feathery light kiss lasts barely a second before I pull back.
And somehow, that single touch silences the chaos inside my head more effectively than anything else tonight.
My breathing gradually steadies, and even my rage eases slightly.
How? I don’t know.
I simply stare at her, frowning. I have no idea what is happening to me. No one should have this kind of effect on me. And yet she does. Siya is quickly becoming a weakness powerful enough to ruin me.
She shifts slightly in her sleep, but doesn’t wake up. An amused breath escapes me before I finally lie down beside her. Not touching her. Just close enough to feel her presence beside me. And for the first time in years, sleep comes easier than I expected it to.
***************
Few Hours Later
Peace never lasts long for men like me. The nightmare comes just before dawn.
There is blood everywhere. Dead bodies are scattered across the darkness. Men are screaming. Gunshots echo endlessly around me. But I keep walking forward through piles of corpses without stopping. Every face belongs to someone who crossed me once. Every man lying dead deserved it.
I keep moving deeper into the darkness with a gun in hand, until suddenly, someone grabs my wrist… firm enough to stop me.
I look down at the hand stopping me from pulling the trigger again. Slowly, I lift my gaze and freeze. It’s Siya’s mother… Rukmini Vardhaan.
My eyes snap open, and the nightmare shatters instantly. I jerk upright in bed, breathing heavily as sweat clings to my skin. The room is still bathed in the darkness of early morning, and for a second, I just stare ahead trying to get my breathing under control.
Then I look at Siya beside me. She’s fast asleep, oblivious to the war raging inside my head. I drag a rough hand down my face and exhale slowly.
Why the hell did I see Rukmini Vardhaan’s face?
Maybe it’s because no woman has ever looked at me with that kind of fury and slapped me like she had every right to. Or maybe it’s because, when she had hit me last night, for a second, it felt like being scolded by the mother I never had.
Then another thought hits me.
Maybe… it’s because I was beginning to see Siya’s mother as my own.
No!
I push that thought away before it can settle any deeper and swing my legs off the bed. There’s no point letting it get under my skin, so I head straight for the shower and think about my day ahead.
Rukmini Vardhaan is Siya’s mother. Not mine.
SIYA
Two hours later
I wake up feeling strangely rested. For a few seconds, I don’t even remember where I am before reality crashes back in. I’m in RK Estate. In Raghav’s bedroom. On his bed. As his wife. The thought instantly sours my mood.
Thankfully, he isn’t in the room. The other side of the bed is empty, but the slight creases on the sheets tell me he must have come back at some point during the night and slept beside me.
How the hell did I sleep so peacefully then?
And how did my body relax enough to fall asleep beside a man like him? A man who forcefully married me and dragged me into his world without my permission.
Last night, after Raghav warned me to stay in his bedroom, the urge to defy him had been right there in my head, strong enough to make me walk out just to piss him off.
But I didn’t. I knew that defying him on impulse would only make him angry for a few minutes.
He expects rebellion from me, and he’s going to get plenty of it.
Because last night, I had silently promised myself that I would make him regret this marriage, not through reckless arguments or childish acts of defiance, but slowly and patiently.
I would start changing things in his life one by one until he finally realised that forcing me into his world had been the biggest mistake of his life.
That still doesn’t mean I’m ready to share a bed with him. Absolutely not.
Usually, a master bedroom this size has a sitting area with a couch and a coffee table. Then why the hell is this room so empty? I frown. Fine. I’ll ask someone to bring a couch up today itself. Once it’s here, Raghav can sleep on that while I take the bed.
Yes. That would be the first change in the long list of things I’m about to change in Raghav Kundra’s life.
Satisfied with my plan, I toss the blanket aside and head straight towards the bathroom.
An hour later, I step out of the villa dressed in fitted blue jeans and an oversized cream sweatshirt that slips slightly off one shoulder.
My damp hair falls over my back, still half-wet after the hasty shower I took.
As soon as I step outside, I breathe in the crisp mountain air.
For the first time since arriving here, I feel like I can actually breathe.
Because inside that villa, especially in his bedroom, I felt suffocated.
Every wall in that house reminded me of my new identity…
that I’m now Raghav’s wife, even if I choose not to wear the mangalsutra and sindoor.
When I came downstairs earlier, Mom was already awake. She had carefully arranged the small idols of her gods on the bedside table and was sitting in front of them with her hands folded, softly whispering her morning prayers.
I didn’t want to disturb her, knowing that as soon as she sees me, she’ll have questions.
Questions to which I don’t even have answers myself.
Are you okay?
What happened last night?
Right now, I don’t want sympathy. I don’t want comfort. I just want fresh air. So I walk aimlessly, following the pathways that lead to the vineyard. I have no idea where Raghav is right now. And honestly, I don’t care.
I hardly realise when I step into the lobby area of the main resort building instead. I barely take two steps inside before a familiar voice gasps in surprise.
“Siya Ma’am?”
I look up to find Esha hurrying towards me from the reception desk, her entire face lighting up on seeing me.
“Oh my God, when did you come back?” she asks excitedly. “Did you check in last night? But nobody informed me. I didn’t even know you were here!”
I open my mouth to respond, but she keeps going without giving me a chance.
“And I hope you got the Princess Cottage again. Or wait, do you want me to upgrade your stay this time? We renovated two more Royal Suites recently and—”
“Esha—”
“No, seriously, tell me if you need anything while you’re here,” she insists happily. “Which cottage are you staying in? I’ll personally make sure—”