Ch14 Waiting for You
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Rudraksh’s voice cut through the quiet night, sharp and laced with irritation.
“What was the need to hang these fairy lights yourself? Do you think I’ve kept all these servants here just for you to do decoration?”
I sighed, untangling the lights that had somehow wrapped themselves around us both. “Oh come on, just because there are servants doesn’t mean I should sit around doing nothing. I was getting bored waiting for the moon, so I thought I’d do something productive… or at least pass the time.”
He scoffed, a teasing edge to his annoyance.
“If I hadn’t come at the right time, you wouldn’t just be tangled in these lights you’d have fallen flat on the ground by now. The servants exist so that neither you nor anyone else has to risk their neck doing such things. Stop your unnecessary chatter, and for heaven’s sake,
who hangs lights while they’re still on? Are you that careless?”
I narrowed my eyes and snapped back, “I didn’t need you to save me. Everything was going perfectly fine until you showed up. Maybe it’s your glare that brought bad luck and made me slip!”
Rudraksh raised his brows, clearly offended. “Excuse me? Are you saying my evil eye made you fall? Mind your words, Mrs. Vardhan. I save you, and instead of thanking me, you’re accusing me of bad omens?”
I crossed my arms, refusing to back down. “Did I ask you to save me? If something had to happen, it would have simple as that. And for your kind information, I don’t need anyone’s help… not even yours.”
For a moment, silence lingered between us, heavy but charged.
I straightened up, brushing off the fairy lights tangled around my shoulders and adjusting my saree with calm defiance.
Rudraksh stood across from me, his eyes fixed on me dark, unreadable, but intense enough to make my heart skip despite my annoyance.
Ignoring his gaze, I walked toward the small table and picked up the puja thali, trying to steady my breathing. The flicker of the lamp light danced against the gold borders of my saree, while his quiet stare still burned at the back of my neck.
Somewhere between that silence and the moon’s soft glow, I felt something shift as if our argument had left behind more than just irritation. Something unspoken… fragile, yet electric.
Just as Dadi Maa had told me, I began the puja.
I lifted my eyes toward the glowing moon and performed the aarti, letting the silver light bathe my skin in its serenity.
Then, with trembling hands, I offered the kheer I had made myself, praying silently for the man who had become both my storm and my calm.
Finally, I poured water into a silver glass, ready to take the first sip that would end my fast.
But before I could bring it to my lips, Rudraksh stepped forward and took hold of the glass.
I looked up at him in surprise his eyes glowed in the pale moonlight, intense, unreadable.
He said in his deep, commanding voice,
“Dadi Maa called. She gave me her word… her kasam, that I’m the one who should make you break your fast.”
I blinked, stunned. “So you agreed? To help me with this ritual? But… I thought you didn’t believe in any of it?”
He sighed that sharp, arrogant breath of his.
“I still don’t,” he said firmly. “But I can’t go against Dadi Maa’s word. Don’t mistake this for acceptance of your stubborn beliefs, Mrs. Vardhan. I’m only doing this because she asked me to. All this still feels meaningless to me.”
His tone was rough, but there was something softer behind it something he tried to hide.
I looked at him for a long moment, searching his eyes, but stayed quiet. He stepped closer, lifted the glass toward me, and without overthinking, I took the sip.
The cool water soothed my parched throat. Then he picked up a spoon of kheer, his fingers brushing mine for a fleeting second, and held it out to me. I ate silently, my heart thrumming like a secret drum.
When I bent to touch his feet out of tradition, Rudraksh instantly stopped me, his hand gripping my wrist.
“What are you doing?” he said, half angry, half startled.
I replied softly, “Without touching my husband’s feet, the fast isn’t complete. I need your blessing.”
He frowned, his voice turning firm again.
“There’s no need for that. And don’t you dare touch my feet. In this house, women are worshipped as Lakshmi their feet are never bowed.”
I smiled faintly. “If I’m your Lakshmi, then you are my Narayan. And Narayan always gives blessings to his Lakshmi.”
Before he could step back, I quickly bent down and touched his feet. The heat in his gaze could’ve burned the moonlight itself. His anger flared, and he turned to walk away but Vyom appeared just then, stepping between us with a teasing grin.
“Arrey, arrey! The fast isn’t over yet, Rudraksh. Where are you running off to?”
I frowned, confused. “What do you mean? The ritual is done. Your friend already made me break my fast.”
Vyom chuckled mischievously. “Bhabhi, this idiot won’t say it himself his ego’s bigger than Mount Everest but he’s been fasting too. All day. For you.”
I froze. My heart stopped for a moment. “What… what did you just say?”
Before Vyom could explain, Rudraksh turned to leave again, but Vyom grabbed his arm. Rudraksh’s temper was clearly at its edge.
My voice trembled as I asked, “You… you also kept the fast?”
Rudraksh glared at Vyom, then looked back at me, trying to mask his emotions.
“Yes, I did. But not for you,” he said coldly, as if trying to convince himself.
My throat tightened, eyes stinging. “Then… is there someone else in your life?”
He looked at me, shocked his voice hurried, almost desperate.
“Are you insane, Rivanya? There’s no one else. You’re the only one crazy enough to fast for me and I don’t like owing anyone anything. So I… I fasted too. That’s all.”
I whispered, “You’re telling the truth, right?”
He took a breath, his voice rough but honest this time.
“I swear on my Bholenath… there’s no one else. I did it for you, damn it.”
The truth slipped out of him in the fire of his frustration. His words struck me like a blessing and a confession both.
Vyom laughed lightly. “Bas, bas, you two will start another fight at this rate. Bhabhi, apart from you, no one can handle this khadoos man. He may act tough, but he’ll never betray you.”
Rudraksh turned to him sharply. “Are you complimenting me or insulting me, Vyom?”
Vyom smirked. “A little bit of both, bhai. Now stop glaring and let your wife open your fast too.”
I looked at Rudraksh his jaw tight, eyes softening against his will.
And for the first time, under the moonlit sky, surrounded by the scent of jasmine and devotion,
I saw not the arrogant Rudraksh Vardhan the world feared
but the man whose silence still found a way to say I care.
Rudraksh kept a fast for me.
That single thought made my chest tighten not with disbelief, but with a kind of trembling happiness I had never felt before.
He, the man who mocked traditions, who called all rituals foolish… had quietly done something so sacred for me.
A small smile curved on my lips as my heart whispered, Maybe, just maybe… I matter to him.
I looked at him shyly and said, “You should break your fast too… please.”
But before he could even answer, my phone buzzed.
The sharp sound sliced through the soft night air. I turned around, picked it up and froze.
The screen flashed Dhara.
Twenty-five missed calls.
My fingers went cold.
Something inside me knew this wasn’t just a call it was a storm waiting to hit.
I picked up instantly. “Hello, Dhara, I’m so sor..”
But before I could finish, her frantic voice exploded in my ear, trembling with panic.
“Rivanya, listen to me! Papa and Dadaji… they’re on their way to Mumbai with people. Everyone knows about your marriage now they saw the news! Papa’s furious, Rivanya, the whole house is in chaos. Please, they must be there by now. Take care, please ”
The line went silent.
And then the phone slipped from my hands and fell to the floor.
My breath caught. My body went numb.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Dhara’s words kept echoing in my mind over and over like a broken prayer.
Tears welled up and blurred my vision.
All I could think was it’s over.
Everything was over.
My knees began to shake. The world started spinning
and before I could fall, two strong arms caught me.
Rudraksh.
His touch was steady, grounding me in a way nothing else could. His eyes always cold, always unreadable now flickered with raw concern.
“What happened, Rivanya?” he asked, his voice deep, urgent.
“Who was it? Why do you look so pale?”
I couldn’t speak. My voice broke between sobs.
“It’s… it’s over, Rudraksh. Everything is over.”
His grip tightened around me. “What do you mean it’s over? Tell me. What happened?”
Before I could answer, a gunshot cracked through the night.
The sound ripped through the palace walls.
I gasped and clutched onto him instinctively.
Rudraksh’s entire body went rigid his eyes darkened with fury, his jaw clenched so tight that I could almost hear his teeth grind.
His voice dropped low, dangerous.
“Who dares to fire a gun in my territory?”
In that moment, I saw the man everyone whispered about Rudraksh Vardhan.
Not the husband who just saved me, but the storm that ruled the Vardhan dynasty. His anger wasn’t loud it was terrifyingly silent.
Vyom rushed in, his usual playful smile gone. His expression was grave as he said,
“Rudraksh… there are men outside. They say they’re from Bhabhi’s family. From Kashi.”
My heart stopped.
For a moment, everything the wind, the flickering lamps, even the sound of my heartbeat went still.