Chapter 40
The kiss endedโbut the tension didn't.
If anything, it thickened.
Her breath was warm against my lips, but her eyes... God, those eyesโhalf-lidded, dark, unsure whether to push me away or pull me closer again.
I stepped back slightly, just enough to look at her face.
Maya was flushed, her lips parted, hair slightly disheveled from my fingers brushing against her cheek.
"You're trouble," I murmured, voice rough with restraint.
Her eyes narrowed, but her smile played at the corners of her lips. "And you like trouble."
"I like you," I said, not missing a beat, not blinking, not giving her a second to deflect.
She swallowed, visibly. "Rudra..."
"Hmm?" I tilted my head, watching her so intently that she actually looked away.
"I'm already nervous enough with the wedding chaos and now you're kissing me like..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
"Like what?" I asked, stepping closer againโjust enough for our noses to brush.
She whispered, "Like you mean it."
I paused. No teasing now. Just silence that said everything.
"I do," I said quietly. "Every time."
And there it was againโthat moment of chaos between us that no one else could ever touch. A war of glances, breaths, unsaid words and the pounding of two hearts beating completely out of sync and yet perfectly together.
"I should go," she whispered. "My cousins are already searching for me."
I nodded. "Go, before Veer starts roasting us in front of the entire family."
She turned to leave but stopped.
Slowly, she turned back around, grabbed the front of my kurta, and tugged me down just a littleโenough to press a fleeting, feather-light kiss to my cheek this time.
Then she whispered against my skin, "Let's see who steals more kisses at the Sangeet."
And with thatโshe walked away.
Leaving me standing there, like some love-struck idiot with a goofy smile on my face and a war going on inside me.
God help me...
Because I really plan on winning that game.
A few days later โ Haldi Ceremony
I should've known the chaos was coming.
But no amount of mental preparation could've saved me from the complete disaster that was my haldi ceremony.
The Singhania mansion had transformed into a riot of yellow. Marigolds hung from every arch, haldi bowls sat in every corner, and my relatives had suddenly developed an obsession with smearing me in turmeric as if I were a sacrificial goat.
"Veer, don't evenโ"
Before I could finish, my traitor of a brother lunged forward with a handful of haldi and smeared it all over my face.
"Bhaaiii," he said with a wicked grin, "this is for all the times you scolded me for sneaking out at night."
"You still sneak out!" I growled.
"Exactly."
Before I could murder him on the spot, a chorus of aunties descended on me like hawks, each armed with more haldi, giggling like schoolgirls. I tried to escapeโdignity intactโbut it was a lost cause.
And then... the chaos paused.
Because she arrived.
Maya.
Dressed in a bright yellow lehenga with floral jewelry tangled in her hair and wrists, walking in like the sunshine I didn't know I'd been craving my whole damn life.
And me? Looking like a mashed banana.
She stopped at the entrance, blinked onceโ
Then burst into laughter.
"Oh no," she said between gasps, "this is what I'm marrying?"
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "Come here and say that."
"I'm good right here," she teased.
But her smile softened as she looked at me. That familiar mischief twinkling in her eyesโbut this time, it was laced with something gentler. Something warmer.
I took a step forward, ignoring the howling crowd. "Maya..."
"Don't you dare, Mr. Khadoos. I have a beautiful outfit onโ"
Too late. I dipped my fingers in the haldi and reached her in one long stride.
"You wouldn'tโ"
I gently swiped a streak across her cheek. "I would."
She gasped.
The crowd around us whistled and cheered, but for that one momentโit was just her and me.
She stared at me like I hung the stars, and I... couldn't stop smiling.
Maya dipped her fingers into her own bowl and lunged forward with revenge in her eyes.
I took off running.
"RUDRAAA!" she shouted, chasing me through the crowd, turmeric on her hands and fury in her voice.
"You're glowing!" I yelled back. "You should thank me!"
"You're dead!"
And just like thatโamidst the chaos, colors, laughter, and haldiโ
I realized something.
This wasn't just a wedding.
This was our madness.
Our kind of love story.
A little wild. A little messy.
And completely, stupidly perfect.
I caught him.
Cornered near the swing, Rudra stood like a criminal caught red-handedโhaldi still on his fingertips, smirking like he'd just won a battle.
"You think you're so smart, huh?" I narrowed my eyes.
"I'm a professor. Comes with the territory."
Without wasting another second, I grabbed a handful of haldi and smeared it right across his jaw. "There. Now we're even."
His smirk deepened. "Now we match."
My heart thudded a little too fast for my liking.
The crowd had started to disperse, music picking up again, people dancing, laughingโbut in that little corner of chaos, it was just the two of us.
He reached out, gently wiping some haldi off my cheek with the softest touch, and whispered, "You're glowing, Mrs. Khadoos."
I bit my lip to keep from smiling like an idiot. "It's the turmeric."
"No," he said, eyes not leaving mine. "It's you."
My breath caught for a momentโjust a secondโbut enough to know I'd never get used to the way this man looked at me. Like I was something soft in his otherwise sharp world.
He leaned in, just enough to let his forehead brush mine, not caring if anyone saw.
And then I ruined it. "I swear if you mess up my hair before the weddingโ"
He chuckled, stepping back with both hands raised. "Alright, alright. I'll behave... for now."
Later that evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden glow across the Singhania mansion, the chaos of the haldi function finally calmed.
Maya stood in front of her mirror, her hair being braided by Diya, laughter still echoing from the courtyard below. Her skin still glowed faintly with the turmeric, but her eyes? They sparkled with something deeper.
Butterflies. Anticipation.
Love.
On the other side of the mansion, Rudra adjusted the collar of his sherwani.
He looked at his reflectionโstoic, serious, every bit the Khadoos Professor.
But there was a softness in his eyes no one else would notice.
Except maybe Veer, who walked by his room and said, "Bhai, you're smiling like a man in love. Gross."
Rudra didn't deny it. He was.
And he didn't care who knew.
Because tomorrow...
She would be his.
Officially.
Mrs. Khadoos.
Mrs.Singhania
And the chaos they called love?
It was just getting started.
*Target vote 70+
(Hey sweeties!!! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THEIR WEDDING!!!!!!! ARE YOU EXCITED??????)