Ch27Marked by Her Fury #3
“Stop your nonsense, Rivanya, or I’ll drop you right here.”
That’s when Rivanya realized she was still in his arms. She quickly stepped down and freed herself from the garland, then said,
“Do you even have a little bit of sense?”
Rudraksh tossed the garland aside and replied,
“What did I even do now?”
Rivanya muttered under her breath,
“You never do anything anyway…”
Rudraksh frowned,
“What did you say? Speak properly. I can’t hear whispers like an ant’s voice.”
Rivanya quickly changed the topic
And said,
“Nothing. I was just saying you called everyone home, yet you’re the one coming late?”
Rudraksh replied indifferently,
“You like crowds, don’t you? That’s why I called everyone. I prefer being alone.”
Rivanya looked at him and said softly but firmly,
“Even if you want to, you won’t be alone anymore… I’m here now. I’m never going to leave you. I’ll always stay here and keep troubling you.”
She had said it casually… but her words touched a hidden corner of Rudraksh’s heart a corner that had always been wounded, always lonely, always craving someone’s presence.
Seeing him silent, Rivanya spoke again,
“Alright, leave all this. Come inside first, meet everyone, then you can freshen up. Dinner is ready.”
Rudraksh was about to say something, but she cut him off playfully,
“I know you don’t eat after 8 PM, so I’ve prepared soup for you. Don’t worry I won’t force you to eat junk. I won’t turn Rudraksh into Rudralaal.”
Rudraksh looked confused.
“Rudralaal? What is that?”
Rivanya giggled,
“When you’re fit, you’re Rudraksh Vardhan… but if you gain weight, you’ll become Rudralaal.”
Rudraksh’s face turned red with anger, and before he could say anything, Rivanya ran inside laughing.
Rudraksh stood there for a moment, trying to calm himself… before finally walking inside after her.
Rudraksh walked inside and greeted Rivanya’s entire family with great respect and composure.
His demeanor was calm yet dignified, and the way he spoke to everyone left a strong impression.
Seeing Rudraksh and Rivanya together, everyone felt a sense of happiness and relief, as if something they had been hoping for was finally beginning to take shape.
The atmosphere grew warm with conversations, soft smiles, and silent satisfaction reflecting on every face present there.
Amidst all this, Rivanya slowly walked towards Rudraksh and stood beside him. Leaning slightly closer, she whispered softly,
“I need to talk to you about something. I’m going to the room first… you come after two minutes, okay?”
When Rudraksh didn’t respond, Rivanya frowned slightly and said again, this time with a hint of irritation,
“Is that okay or not?”
Rudraksh glanced at her and replied in his usual tone,
“Do I even have another option? No, right? Of course I’ll come. You go.”
Hearing this, Rivanya made a quick excuse and left for the room.
As she walked in, her mind was already occupied with thoughts.
To pass the time until Rudraksh arrived, she decided to take out some of her jewelry.
But the moment she opened the wardrobe, something unexpected happened a white dupatta slipped out from Rudraksh’s bag and fell onto the floor.
Rivanya froze for a moment.
She bent down, picked it up, and the very first glance was enough for her to recognize it. Her eyes widened slightly as memories began to rush back.
“This… this is my dupatta,” she thought. “The same one that day in Kashi… at the Shiv temple… it had fallen on that terrifying-looking man, and I couldn’t get it back. But how is it here… in Rudraksh’s bag?”
She stood there, holding the dupatta, her thoughts racing as she tried to connect the dots. And then, slowly, realization dawned upon her.
That man… the one covered in bhasma, the one who had cleared the temple and was performing the rituals… the same man she had unknowingly taunted… that man was Rudraksh.
Her breath hitched slightly as everything started falling into place, one memory after another aligning perfectly.
“So… our first meeting wasn’t in the mandap… it was in the temple,” she whispered to herself internally.
A soft smile appeared on her lips as her heart filled with a strange warmth.
“Gauri Maiya… you truly fulfilled my wish.”
Like every girl, Rivanya too had once shared her deepest wish with Maa Gauri.
But her wish was not like the others it was different, pure, and filled with devotion.
She had prayed that she would meet the Shiv of her life, her destined partner, not anywhere in the world but in a temple…
in the sacred presence of Shiv and Shakti themselves.
And today, when she finally realized that even this heartfelt wish of hers had been heard and fulfilled by Gauri Maiya, her happiness knew no bounds.
It wasn’t just a moment of realization it felt like destiny itself had gently unfolded a truth she had been unknowingly living all along.
Her heart overflowed with emotions, her eyes shining with a silent joy, as if every unanswered prayer of hers had finally found its meaning.
Rivanya stood there, still holding the dupatta, her thoughts slowly drifting into a completely different direction.
“Whatever it is… my Hippopotamus actually looks quite hot.”
The moment that thought crossed her mind, both her cheeks turned deep red. Realizing what she had just thought, she immediately scolded herself, lightly hitting her forehead.
“Chi, Rivanya! You shouldn’t think like this about your husband.”
Then she paused… and within seconds, her expression changed again.
“But if I won’t think about my own husband… then who will I think about? I have full rights, okay?”
She folded her arms, nodding to herself as if she had just won an argument.
Then suddenly, another thought hit her.
“Am I turning into one of those college-going teenage girls? No, no… this is too much.”
She shook her head quickly, trying to regain control over herself.
But then… her lips curved slightly, and she muttered softly,
“But when your own husband looks like the living form of Kamdev… how can I not think like this?”
For a moment, everything around her faded.
The teasing… the anger… the confusion…
Everything turned into something softer… something more real.
Her chest felt heavy.
Rivanya wanted to cry out loud, to let everything out the confusion, the growing feelings, the helplessness of not understanding her own heart…
But strangely…
Not a single tear fell from her eyes.
It was as if her emotions had gone too deep… beyond even tears.
Rivanya was still lost in her own thoughts, blushing uncontrollably, when suddenly the door opened and Rudraksh walked in. He stopped for a moment, looking at her with slight confusion, and then said,
Rudraksh:
“Rivanya… you’ve actually gone mad, haven’t you? I knew it.”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Rivanya quickly composed herself and replied,
Rivanya:
“What nonsense are you talking? And don’t you have any manners? Who enters a room without knocking?”
Rudraksh stepped closer to her, his gaze locking with hers, and said in a calm yet dominating tone,
Rudraksh:
“This room is mine. This house is mine. I don’t need anyone’s permission to enter.”
Rivanya wasn’t someone to back down. She lifted her chin slightly and replied sharply,
Rivanya:
“This house and this room are not just yours… they are mine too. So yes, you do need my permission.”
Rudraksh narrowed his eyes at her and said,
Rudraksh:
“Oh really… is that so, Mrs. Tomato?”
Rivanya glared right back at him without hesitation.
Rivanya:
“Yes, that’s exactly how it is, Mr. Hippopotamus.”
Rudraksh smirked faintly and started stepping closer to her slowly, deliberately. With every step he took forward, Rivanya instinctively stepped back. Her confidence began slipping under the intensity of his gaze.
Step by step, she moved back… until her back suddenly hit the wall behind her.
She had nowhere else to go.
She was forced to stop.
Rudraksh stood right in front of her now, his eyes fixed on hers with such intensity that it felt like her entire body was burning under his gaze. There was something in his eyes something deep, unreadable, yet powerful enough to make Rivanya lose all her words.
Rudraksh knew exactly what he was doing.
He knew how to silence her.
Trying to escape the overwhelming moment, Rivanya turned slightly, attempting to slip away from the side but before she could, Rudraksh placed both his hands on the wall, trapping her completely between his arms.
He leaned in closer… so close that his face was just inches away from hers.
In a low, husky voice, he said,
Rudraksh:
“Why are you in such a hurry to run away, Mrs. Vardhan? Stay with me for a while too…”
That was it.
Rivanya’s condition completely crumbled under the weight of the moment. Her fear, her emotions, her unspoken feelings all of it rushed through her at once.
Her eyes refused to lift up to meet his.
Her cheeks were burning red.
A thin layer of sweat covered her skin.
Her breaths had turned fast and uneven.
This… this was what happened to Rivanya whenever she was this close to Rudraksh.
There was something about him his presence, his closeness that made her lose control over herself completely.
Rudraksh slowly lifted one of his hands and gently touched Rivanya’s cheek.
The moment his fingers brushed against her skin, a sudden shiver ran through her body, as if an electric current had passed through her.
Her breath hitched, and she immediately lowered her gaze even more, unable to meet his eyes.
In a trembling voice, she stuttered,
“Ru… Rudr… Rudra… what… what are you doing…? Someone might come… please let me go…”
Rudraksh, completely unaffected by her nervousness, slowly moved his thumb across the corner of her lips, tracing it softly. His voice dropped into a calm, confident whisper as he said,
“No one has the courage to enter my room without permission… and definitely not to interrupt me. Everyone is scared of your husband, Rivanya…”
Rivanya’s condition was beyond control now.