CHAPTER 26
RAGHAV
An hour later – Office Cabin
As soon as I step into my office cabin, I slam the door shut behind me with enough force to rattle the glass walls.
I couldn’t stay in that villa any longer.
Not after everything that just happened.
It’s been an hour since that scene at the villa, but my pulse is still racing.
I’m still furious, still unable to sit down.
My body is still wound tight, as if I could punch through concrete if someone provokes me one more time today.
That’s when the cabin door opens quietly, and Baba walks in. The only man in this world who can walk into my rage without permission.
“You’re still angry?” he asks calmly.
A bitter laugh almost escapes me.
Angry? That word feels too small for whatever the hell is burning inside me right now. Baba reads my silence and walks further in.
“I won’t ask if this is the right time to talk,” he says eventually. “Because I do need to talk to you, Raghav.”
I don’t want to, but I still nod once. His eyes move across my face briefly, probably noticing the scratch on my forehead again. Then he sighs heavily.
“Look, I’m not here to blame you, and I’m not here to fight with you either. I just…” He pauses and meets my eyes again. “I want to understand why.”
I look away instantly because I already know where this conversation is heading.
“I know Ayaan’s decision to take Siya away pushed you over the edge,” he continues carefully.
“I understand you were angry. I understand emotions were running high. But this…” His voice lowers slightly.
“Forcefully marrying Siya like that? In the middle of everything? Knowing who she is and what she wanted? That was not the right way to handle the situation, Raghav.”
My jaw tightens.
“There were other ways,” he continues. “You could have stopped her from flying elsewhere. You could have brought her back here and protected her if that’s what you wanted. But marriage?” He shakes his head slowly. “You crossed a line there, son.”
Something dark twists inside me.
“You’re not this person,” he says. “I know you, Raghav. You can’t tell me you did all of this merely to keep her safe, just because her brother threatened to hunt her down and drag her back into the mafia world.
No. That’s not what I saw in Cape Town. You didn’t react like a protector there.
You reacted like a man who couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. ”
My eyes finally snap towards him. “I can’t believe you’re telling me this.”
Baba looks confused by my reaction.
“Weren’t you the one who told me that Siya was perfect for me?” I ask.
A faint frown appears on Baba’s face.
“You said it yourself,” I reply sharply. “That you saw something between us. You said we were compatible in some strange way. You practically planted the idea in my head.”
“I did,” he admits without hesitation. “Because I saw it. I saw the way you looked at her. I saw the way she challenged you without fearing you, and I saw how different you became whenever she was around. So yes, I wanted you both together. But not like this.”
His gaze turns serious.
“I wanted you to choose each other, Raghav,” he says quietly. “Not for you to force her into something this destructive.”
My jaw clenches dangerously again, but before I can respond, Ayaan’s furious voice cuts through the cabin.
“So that was your idea.”
Both Baba and I turn towards the entrance. Ayaan stands near the half-open door, still bearing the bruises from our earlier fight. The split near his lip is darker now. His white shirt sleeves are carelessly rolled up, and the rage burns openly in his eyes. It looks like he followed Baba here.
“So you fed this madness into his head,” he says bitterly, marching inside, his attention fixed on Baba. “Unbelievable. How could you keep telling him she is right for him? She’s a mafia—”
He suddenly looks at me and stops midway. I know exactly what word he was about to use. Mafia princess. Good, he stopped. At least someone remembered my warning from earlier.
Ayaan exhales sharply.
“Yes, I did,” Baba replies unapologetically.
“Because I saw something between them. I’m not blind.
I could see the way they interacted around each other…
the tension, the connection. Even Meher and you noticed it during that video call with Raghav, didn’t you?
That’s the reason I’d come here in the first place. ”
Ayaan’s eyes briefly flicker towards me.
“And yes,” Baba admits calmly. “I didn’t know who Siya was when I first arrived. But despite that, I still feel they are perfect for each other.”
Ayaan lets out a disbelieving laugh.
“Great,” he mutters sarcastically. “Wonderful observation.”
The words hang in the air for a moment before he looks at Baba again.
“You should have thought twice before putting ideas like that into his head,” he says angrily.
“You know what he’s like when someone gets under his skin.
The moment a person starts to matter to him, nothing else matters.
Not the rules. Not the consequences. Not even himself.
He’ll walk through fire for them if he has to. How could you knowingly do that?”
Baba looks offended now.
“Oh, come on, Ayaan,” Baba says with a weary sigh. “Raghav isn’t stupid. He doesn’t blindly follow whatever I tell him. If he went this far, then there are obviously feelings involved.”
“Feelings?” Ayaan scoffs. “Does he even realise what those feelings are? Because, as far as I can see, he doesn’t seem to have the slightest idea of what he really wants from Siya.”
“Enough.” My voice cuts through them instantly, and the cabin falls silent. I look between them with growing irritation.
“Let me remind you that you are both discussing my personal life and passing judgement on it while I’m standing right here.”
Neither of them responds.
“It’s my life, my marriage, and my decisions,” I continue. “I married Siya because I wanted to. It’s as simple as that.”
I give no excuses, no explanations, no lies. Just the truth.
Ayaan stares at me. So does Baba.
“There’s nothing more to discuss after this,” I say flatly. “No more why. No more how. The marriage has happened, and Siya is my wife now. So, I expect everyone in this family to just deal with it.”
The anger inside me still hasn’t calmed down. If anything, it feels worse now. I turn and head towards the door, then stop midway and look back at them again.
“And for God’s sake,” I say tiredly, “stop following me everywhere.” My grip tightens around the door handle. “Because I’m not in the mood to explain myself anymore.”
With that, I walk out without waiting for either of them.
SIYA
Raghav’s Villa
It’s been barely two hours since Kailash Uncle, Ayaan, and Meher arrived at RK Estate.
Mom and I are inside her bedroom, discussing where to keep the idols and framed photographs of the gods she brought all the way from Vardhaan Mansion.
Although she’d arranged them on the bedside table earlier this morning before her prayers, she’s still not convinced it’s the right direction to place the idols.
She keeps adjusting the small Krishna idol in her hands, looking confused.
“These idols should never be placed randomly in a house,” Mom murmurs thoughtfully. “According to Vastu, the north-east corner is considered the most auspicious place for these idols.”
I watch her silently. After all that happened, this is the first thing that seems to have brought even a hint of normalcy back into her life. She seems a little more at peace now. All she wants is a permanent place to keep the idols. She keeps looking around the room, searching for a suitable spot.
“I don’t know where to keep them here,” she murmurs.
For a change, she’s focused on something other than the chaos surrounding us.
A soft knock sounds at the door. Both Mom and I turn to find Kailash Uncle standing there. Ever since arriving here this morning, he looks less like the powerful Shergill patriarch and more like a father who is emotionally exhausted.
“I’m sorry,” he says gently. “I accidentally overheard you both talking about the mandir placement.”
His eyes shift towards the idols in Mom’s hands. “I thought maybe… I could help.”
Mom immediately glances at me, unsure. I know she doesn’t want to disrespect him after everything that has happened, and honestly, neither do I. So I simply nod.
A few minutes later, the three of us walk through the corridor of the villa until Kailash Uncle stops in front of a carved wooden door.
He opens it, and we both freeze. Behind the door is a beautiful temple room.
The place is simple yet tastefully designed with an earthy warmth.
The entire vibe here is calm and serene.
Bright golden diyas flicker before intricately carved marble idols, while trails of incense smoke curl slowly through the air.
The entire room smells faintly of chandan and jasmine flowers.
For one second, it doesn’t even feel like this mandir belongs inside Raghav’s home. Does he even pray? I doubt it. Then who maintains this place? Mom looks as stunned as I am.
“You have a mandir here?” she asks softly.
Kailash Uncle’s expression softens a little. “When Raghav built this villa, he made sure to include a temple room too. Because his mother…”
He pauses briefly before looking at Mom.
“Rukmini,” he says quietly. “Her name was Rukmini too.”
Mom and I stare at him in surprise. I can’t believe it. Raghav’s mother’s name was also Rukmini? Mom’s fingers tighten around the small brass idol in her hands. Even she looks stunned by that coincidence. Kailash Uncle gives a faint smile, though it never fully reaches his eyes.
“She was a very religious woman,” he continues softly.
“And the missing piece of Raghav’s life.
When he learned about her devotion to God, he wanted to have a mandir in his home for her.
He may not sit here performing long pujas or rituals himself, but he still spends some time in this temple room every morning. ”