CHAPTER 43 #4
He doesn’t care. He simply closes the distance between us and kisses me properly. I kiss him back just as eagerly. What begins as a single kiss quickly deepens into something more. His hands glide over my curves before stopping at my waist.
“Being married is such a good feeling,” he murmurs against my neck before pressing an open-mouthed kiss there. My fingers instinctively brush through his hair, tugging at the strands as he nibbles along the curve of my shoulder.
“It is…”
“I’m trying very hard to behave, Siya. But one look at you, and my control slips.”
I know. I open my mouth to respond when Baba’s voice booms from the dining room.
“Siya? Are we getting those chutneys today or not?”
I immediately pull back. Raghav closes his eyes and exhales in frustration. Trying not to laugh, I quickly smooth my hair and reach for the chutney bowls.
“Now come out and pretend you were helping me,” I say, pushing a bowl of chutney into his hands before walking out of the kitchen.
A few seconds later, Raghav follows behind me as though nothing happened.
Unfortunately for me, no matter how hard I try to hide my blush, his smug expression gives everything away.
The moment we return to the dining table, Mom and Baba take one look at us and immediately realise that Raghav had been doing anything but helping me in the kitchen.
Baba chuckles under his breath. “You know,” he says casually, looking at Raghav, “you should take Siya somewhere for a honeymoon.”
Mom immediately nods in agreement. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Both of you need this break. You’ve barely had any time to yourselves after everything that’s happened.”
Then she looks at me.
“And don’t worry about me. I can always go to Mumbai and stay with Meher until you both come back. Her due date is getting closer anyway, and I was already planning to spend time with her.”
For a moment, silence settles over the table.
I look at Raghav, and the moment our eyes meet, I already know his answer.
His expression hardens almost imperceptibly, not because he dislikes the idea, but because he’s considering the risks and dangers if we were to leave.
Before he can say anything, I give him a small nod, silently letting him know that I understand.
He looks at me before turning to Baba. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he says calmly.
Baba’s smile fades slightly.
“We aren’t going anywhere until the matters related to Cape Town are sorted.”
The table falls quiet. Baba nods in understanding while Mom lets out a small sigh, finally agreeing as well.
The conversation gradually moves on, and beneath the table, Raghav’s fingers find mine and give them a reassuring squeeze…
just enough to tell me that he knows what he’s denying me, and that somewhere, he wishes things were different too.
I squeeze his hand back, completely okay with his decision.
Because the truth is, a honeymoon isn’t what makes us newly married.
I already have everything I could ever want.
I have him. And no delayed honeymoon or unfinished battle waiting for us in Cape Town will stop us from enjoying this new chapter of our lives.
Whatever storm is waiting ahead, we’ll face it when the time comes. Together.
******************
Two Days Later
Haider has some news, so I ask him to meet me in my office cabin.
His tone over the phone was enough to tell me this was urgent.
The last two days have been absurdly peaceful, but my intuition warns me that something is about to go wrong.
Which is why, the moment Haider walks into my office, his tense expression immediately puts me on alert.
“What happened?”
Haider quickly walks further inside.
“We received new intel that’s going to blow your mind, Raghav.”
That sounds serious.
“You remember you had asked the men to look into Shamsher Vardhaan’s death?”
Of course I remember. Finding out who killed Shamsher Vardhaan stopped being about mafia politics a long time ago. It became personal because of Siya. Whoever murdered her father could someday become a threat to her, and I have no intention of allowing any danger to surround my wife.
“Did we find anything?” I ask.
Haider nods. “We found who planned the assassination.”
The muscles in my shoulders go rigid. “Who?”
Haider looks directly at me.
“Samarjeet Vardhaan.”
For a second, I genuinely think I heard him wrong. Then I rise from my chair abruptly. “What?”
“Yes.” He nods. “Samarjeet planned his father’s assassination.”
I stare at him in disbelief. Shamsher’s own son. The heir he had raised and trusted? But why? Then my mind instantly begins piecing together his motives.
Power.
Succession.
Control over the Vardhaan empire.
Every piece fits together disturbingly well. But before I can fully process it, Haider hesitates, looking even more uncomfortable than before, as if the real bombshell is still waiting to be dropped.
“What?” I demand.
“And the second intel is that…” He swallows hard before saying it. “Siya isn’t Shamsher Vardhaan’s daughter.”
“What? What the f*ck does that even mean?”
Everything stops. Suddenly, the first revelation about Samarjeet murdering his father becomes irrelevant. The second one has all my attention.
Siya isn’t a Vardhaan?
I stare at Haider, whose expression doesn’t change.
“We verified it. We ran the reports twice.”
I take a step towards him.
“Who gave you this information?”
“The same source that confirmed Samarjeet’s involvement.”
My fist clenches. Not because the information is unbelievable, but because it involves Siya. My first instinct is to protect her from it.
Does she know? Maybe she herself has no idea.
“She already knows,” Haider quietly adds, as if reading my thoughts.
Siya knows? Then why the f*ck didn’t she tell me?
Before I can process everything, a movement catches my eye.
I turn my head towards the doorway and freeze at the sight of Siya standing there, looking as though the ground beneath her feet has vanished without warning.
She looks shaken, not because her true identity has been exposed, but because of the other revelation. The one she never saw coming.
She has just heard the name of the man responsible for her father’s murder. The very man who, no matter how ruthless or flawed he may have been, was still the brother she grew up with. That same man who now sits at the head of the Vardhaan empire.
Samarjeet Vardhaan.