Ch22RudraniThe Shield of Rudraksh #3
Rivanya raced upstairs, reaching the upper hall where long curtains hung in layers. She slipped between them, laughing as she ran. Rudraksh followed closely, and now even he was enjoying the chase.
This time, I will catch her, he decided.
Suddenly, Rivanya vanished.
Rudraksh stopped abruptly.
"Where did she go?" he wondered.
Then
A faint sound.
A soft, familiar chime.
Her anklet.
Rudraksh closed his eyes, shutting out everything else. He focused entirely on the sound, tracking it with sharp precision. Taking a few steps forward, he suddenly reached out without looking and caught Rivanya's wrist from behind the wall where she was hiding.
With a single pull, she crashed straight into his chest.
Her breath hitched.
His arm wrapped instinctively around her waist to steady her.
A heartbeat passed. Then another.
Rudraksh smirked and looked straight into her eyes.
"See? I found you, Sugarplum."
Rivanya lowered her gaze, her cheeks warm.
"How did you know I was hiding there?"
Rudraksh tightened his hold on her waist slightly. With his other hand, he gently lifted her chin so she had no choice but to look at him.
"Just like your eyes," he murmured, "your anklets talk too much. They testified to your presence."
Rivanya whispered shyly,
"So my anklets betrayed me..."
Rudraksh smiled softly.
"No. Your anklets were simply loyal to me."
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Laughing, Rivanya pushed him lightly and ran away again, her laughter trailing behind her.
Rudraksh stayed where he was, watching her disappear
a quiet smile lingering on his lips,
and something far deeper awakening in his heart.
Suddenly, something stirred inside Rudraksh.
A quiet, unsettling realization crept into his chest heavy and unfamiliar.
Without delaying it any further, he went downstairs and called the head maid of the house.
She was nearly seventy years old, her back slightly bent with age, yet her eyes still held years of truth and loyalty to the Vardhan household.
"When I was outside the house yesterday," Rudraksh asked calmly, though his jaw was tight, "what did Rivanya do after... everything that happened?"
The old woman hesitated for a moment before speaking.
She told him that it was Rivanya who had angrily thrown him out of the house. But once the anger faded, Rivanya hadn't returned to her bed either. She had sat in the hall, silent and broken, blaming herself.
From that moment onward, Rivanya hadn't eaten a single thing.
Because Rudraksh hadn't eaten that night.
She stayed awake till nearly three in the morning, exhausted, drained both physically and emotionally.
She had returned from Kashi only hours earlier, carrying the fatigue of long travel, yet she never once asked for rest.
Today, too, she remained occupied from morning till evening fulfilling responsibilities, hosting Gurumaa and Guruji, standing strong without complaint.
Only after repeated requests from the maid did Rivanya finally go into the room late at night.
Before entering, she had intentionally kept the main door open.
She had even sent a guard to look for Rudraksh, hoping he would come back. But the guard couldn't find him because by then Rudraksh had already entered the room through the window.
Listening to all of this, something cracked inside Rudraksh.
Anger rushed through him but not at Rivanya.
At himself.
What kind of woman are you? he thought bitterly.
You threw me out in anger... yet you were the one who punished yourself for it.
How can someone be this kind? This considerate? This painfully good?
His chest tightened.
He instructed the maid to bring food to the room immediately and then headed upstairs without another word.
When Rudraksh entered the room, Rivanya stood near the mirror, carefully removing her jewellery. One by one, she placed each piece aside, as though order was the only thing keeping her steady.
As she reached for the necklace around her neck, it got tangled in her hair at the back. She tried to free it once. Then again.
It wouldn't budge.
"Do you need help?"
His voice came from behind her low, restrained.
Rivanya paused.
She didn't want his help. Her pride protested. Her heart resisted.
But she had no other choice.
She nodded slowly.
Rudraksh stepped closer and bent toward her neck. His face was now dangerously close to her skin. The warmth of his breath brushed against her collarbone, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.
Her eyes lowered instinctively.
His fingers worked carefully, freeing the chain from her hair. The air between them grew heavy, thick with everything they hadn't said.
After a brief struggle, the necklace finally came loose.
"Done," Rudraksh said quietly.
"Thank you," Rivanya replied, barely audible.
She turned away immediately and continued removing the rest of her jewellery, as if nothing had happened.
Rudraksh sat down on the edge of the bed.
And watched her.
He didn't even realize when his gaze softened, when irritation gave way to concern. Rivanya could feel his eyes on her steady, intense but she chose to ignore them. She wiped away her makeup slowly and then walked into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, she came out fresh, changed, her face bare, her hair loose and falling naturally around her shoulders.
She stopped.
A small table stood in front of her, food neatly arranged upon it simple, warm, clearly prepared with care.
Rudraksh sat beside it.
Waiting.
Rivanya looked at him, confused.
She didn't understand him anymore.
Sometimes he treated her like a stranger cold, distant, harsh. And sometimes... like this-silent care, stubborn concern, the kind that didn't ask for explanations.
Like a man who didn't know how to express affection, yet felt it deeply.
"Sit," Rudraksh said softly.
She hesitated.
"You haven't eaten," he added, his voice firm but gentle.
She wanted to ask why he cared now. Wanted to remind him of her anger, of his silence.
But something in his eyes stopped her.
Slowly, she sat down.
Rudraksh pushed the plate toward her, his fingers brushing hers for a brief moment.
"Eat."
They didn't speak after that.
But the silence between them was no longer empty.
It was filled with regret, restraint, unspoken emotions
and the beginning of something neither of them was ready to name yet.
Rivanya sat down quietly.
As she reached forward to lift the plate, Rudraksh suddenly caught her wrist.
His grip wasn't rough but it was firm enough to make her look up in surprise.
"What happened to your hands?" he asked sharply.
Only then did Rivanya realize what he had seen. The skin on her palms and fingers was scraped reddened, slightly swollen, small cuts still visible.
"Oh... this?" she said casually, trying to pull her hand back.
"It's nothing. I just slipped and fell. My hand got scraped a little. It's really nothing."
Rudraksh's jaw tightened.
"Nothing?" His voice rose despite himself.
"Rivanya, when you walk, where are your eyes? Why don't you ever take care of yourself?"
He held her hand up again, inspecting it closely. "You call this a small scratch? Both your hands are badly scraped."
She opened her mouth to say something but before she could, Rudraksh had already stood up.
Within seconds, he returned with the first-aid box.
Without asking for permission, he sat down in front of her, gently taking her hands into his. His movements were controlled, careful nothing like the sharpness in his voice a moment ago.
Rivanya just watched him.
He cleaned the wounds silently, his brows drawn together in concentration. When she flinched slightly, his grip loosened immediately.
"Does it hurt?" he asked, his tone softer now.
She shook her head. "No... it's fine."