CHAPTER 26 #3
“I’m serious,” she insists. “I can tolerate a lot of things. But forced control? No chance.”
Then, suddenly, she pauses before muttering under her breath, “Although, technically, Ayaan didn’t exactly marry me like some saint either.”
I look at her. “What do you mean?”
Meher lets out another dramatic sigh. “He didn’t blackmail me. But he did blackmail my father.”
I blink. “What?”
“Oh yes,” she replies proudly. “Just imagine it. The Director of GLEN himself threatened my father’s political career so badly that my dad practically pushed me into marriage, despite being frenemies with Kailash Paapa.”
I stare at her in disbelief. “You’re joking.”
“I wish I were.”
For a couple of seconds, we simply stare at each other before I blurt out, connecting the dots.
“These brothers seriously can’t get married without blackmailing somebody, can they?” I mutter.
Meher bursts out laughing.
“I swear! Emotional manipulation clearly comes pre-installed in both of them.”
This time, both of us laugh together. For the first time since this disaster marriage, some of the heaviness inside my chest loosens slightly.
“Keep smiling like that,” she says, looking at me. “Trisha once told me your real smile is very rare, but when it does appear, it changes your entire face.”
I go still as she continues, “You look beautiful when you smile from your heart, Siya,” she adds softly. “So don’t let this situation take that away from you.”
Now the smile fades from my lips.
“I don’t think your brother-in-law has left me with many reasons to smile,” I say dryly.
“I know.” Meher sighs, and for a second, even she looks conflicted. “What Raghav did was wrong. But there’s one thing about him. Whoever he considers his own, he becomes fiercely protective about them. Sometimes a bit too much.”
I stay silent.
“He’s not caging you because he wants to destroy you,” she continues carefully. “He genuinely believes he’s protecting you. His methods are just…” She exhales softly. “Completely insane sometimes.”
That makes me snort again.
“And honestly?” she says quietly. “A man who promised his family he would never touch a gun again, only to pick one up and walk back into that world for you…” Her eyes meet mine meaningfully now. “That has to mean something, Siya.”
My chest tightens unwillingly. So Raghav had stopped touching guns altogether? Since when? And why?
Suddenly, too many questions collide in my mind at once.
I recall that night in the forest near RK Estate when the wolf attacked us.
The gun had been right there within Raghav’s reach.
I remember screaming at him to use it, to shoot the wolf.
But he hadn’t. He had fought that wild animal with his bare-hands instead.
At that time, I thought it was just arrogance.
A reckless obsession to prove his strength.
But now, I’m not so sure anymore. And if he had promised his family that he would never choose violence again, then why had he picked up a gun for me?
“He didn’t just pick up a gun,” Meher continues as though she can read my thoughts. “He exposed the identity he had kept buried for years. He sacrificed the peaceful life he fought so hard to build after leaving the mafia world behind. And men like Raghav don’t do that without a reason.”
I stare at her, trying to make sense of what she’s saying.
“I don’t know what you or others in this family feel,” Meher says honestly. “Maybe Paapa sees it differently. Maybe Ayaan does too. But as a woman…” She pauses briefly before meeting my eyes again. “I know there’s something much deeper here.”
“A forced marriage can never become a healthy relationship,” I say flatly.
“I know.” She nods instantly. “And nobody here is going to force you emotionally either. You take your own time. Hate him if you want. Give him hell too.” A small grin appears on her lips now. “Honestly, he deserves some suffering after the nightmare he created for all of us.”
That finally pulls another reluctant smile from me.
“You cannot imagine how desperately this family wanted Raghav to get married,” she mutters dramatically.
“At one point, I practically took it upon myself to find women for him. But that man?” She scoffs slightly.
“He never showed the slightest interest in any alliance. And now, suddenly, he brings home a wife overnight after threatening half the underworld.”
I have the same question. What was so important about me that Raghav Kundra willingly destroyed years of peace for it? Why did I matter enough for him to risk becoming the Dark Prince again? I shove the thought aside before my mind starts wandering somewhere I don’t want it to.
“Well… I actually came here to make tea for Mom,” I say, clearing my throat instead. “Do you want some too?”
Meher lets out a sigh. “At this point, all sugary treats and my entire happiness have disappeared from this kitchen.” She places a hand over her heart. “So yes, tea is my only option.”
I smile again and turn towards the kitchen island and pause. I have absolutely no idea where anything is kept. This is the first time I’ve stepped inside Raghav’s kitchen.
Meher immediately notices my expression and chuckles softly. “Let me help.” She points towards the upper cabinets. “Tea powder is up there. Sugar is in the second cabinet near the coffee machine, the milk is inside the left fridge compartment, and the cups are in the drawer beside you.”
I follow her instructions silently while she continues to guide me from the counter stool, like a queen overseeing her kingdom. Despite myself, a small smile pulls at my lips. Strangely enough, for the first time since I arrived here, this villa doesn’t feel so unfamiliar anymore.