Marriage battle
Rivan simply stared at her.
He wasn't blinking.
He wasn't breathing.
His mind had become terrifyingly empty.
The only thing echoing inside his head was the question she had just asked.
"...Mere pati ji banenge aap?"
His heartbeat became painfully loud.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
For two years...
He had imagined this moment in thousands of different ways.
Sometimes he imagined himself kneeling before her with a ring.
Sometimes he imagined writing her a letter.
Sometimes he imagined earning her forgiveness after years of trying.
Sometimes...
He imagined she would never forgive him.
Never even look at him again.
But nowhere...
Not in a single dream...
Had he imagined that Devyani herself would stand in front of him and ask him to become her husband again.
His lips parted.
Closed.
Opened again.
Nothing came out.
Reyansh sighed dramatically.
"Oh, for God's sake..."
"He actually stopped working."
Payal slapped her forehead.
"Bhai..."
"Say something."
"Anything."
Aradhya folded her hands dramatically.
"Please reboot him."
"I think system hang ho gaya."
Even Virendra chuckled softly.
Yashodha wiped another tear while smiling through it.
"My son..."
"He has forgotten how to speak."
The servants standing nearby exchanged amused smiles.
For the first time...
The mighty Rivan Thakur looked like the most helpless man alive.
Devyani couldn't help smiling through her own tears.
She had never seen him like this.
The man who always had an answer...
Always had control...
Always knew exactly what to say...
Was completely defeated.
By one question.
She folded her arms.
"So?"
Still nothing.
She raised one eyebrow.
"Mr. Thakur."
Silence.
She waved one hand in front of his face.
"Hello?"
No response.
Only blinking.
Reyansh walked over.
Stopped beside Rivan.
Then snapped his fingers right in front of his face.
"Oye."
"Earth to idiot."
Still nothing.
Finally...
Reyansh smacked him lightly behind the head.
The sound echoed through the garden.
"THAK!"
Rivan blinked.
"Ouch!"
He rubbed the back of his head before glaring at Reyansh.
"What the hell?"
Reyansh folded his arms.
"She proposed."
"You froze."
"Now answer."
"Oh..."
Rivan looked back toward Devyani.
Then back at Reyansh.
Then back at Devyani.
His breathing became uneven all over again.
"...She..."
"...actually proposed?"
Payal groaned loudly.
"I can't."
"I seriously can't."
"This man runs an empire?"
Rudraksh nodded solemnly.
"I want my taxes back."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Even Devyani laughed through her tears.
Seeing her laugh...
Rivan's entire world softened.
There it was.
That smile.
God...
How long had he waited to see it without pain behind it?
He took one hesitant step toward her.
Then another.
Stopping just inches away.
His eyes searched hers carefully.
Almost fearfully.
"Kitten..."
His voice had become impossibly gentle.
"...are you sure?"
She looked at him without hesitation.
"No."
His face fell instantly.
Before he could react
She smiled.
"I'm absolutely sure."
Another tear escaped his eye.
He laughed softly through it.
"You..."
"You really want to marry me again?"
She nodded.
"But..."
she added quietly,
"...this time we don't repeat our mistakes."
His smile slowly disappeared.
He nodded immediately.
"Never."
"I promise."
She looked into his eyes.
"No hiding things."
"I won't."
"No pushing me away."
"I won't."
"No making decisions for me."
"I won't."
"If life becomes difficult..."
She stepped even closer.
"...we face it together."
His eyes glistened.
"Together."
A helpless smile escaped him.
That earned another laugh from everyone.
Devyani reached forward.
Her fingers slowly intertwined with his.
"I don't want the powerful Rivan Thakur."
His brows knitted together.
"I don't?"
She shook her head.
"I want the man who apologizes while kissing my feet."
The entire family collectively looked toward Rivan.
Payal's mouth dropped open.
"He did what?"
Aradhya screamed.
"I KNEW HE WAS A SIMP!"
Rudraksh almost choked laughing.
Virendra immediately looked away, pretending to admire the flowers.
Yashodha hid her smile behind her saree pallu.
Rivan looked genuinely embarrassed.
"...Kitten."
"Please."
She smiled innocently.
"What?"
"I only told the truth."
He covered his face with one hand.
"I have an image."
Reyansh snorted.
"Not anymore."
Everyone laughed again.
The tension that had haunted the family for years slowly dissolved into warmth.
Rivan looked back at Devyani.
His smile faded into something more serious.
He gently squeezed her hand.
She slowly raised her free hand.
Placed it gently against his cheek.
He closed his eyes.
A tear rolled silently down his face.
"I hated myself every single day."
"I know."
"I wanted to call you."
"I know."
"I picked up my phone a thousand times."
"I know."
"I never stopped loving you."
The confession came out broken.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
"I never loved anyone else."
"Not for one second."
"My heart..."
He placed a trembling hand over his chest.
"...never learned how."
Devyani's own tears began falling again.
She rested her forehead against his.
Neither cared that everyone was watching.
Neither cared about the world anymore.
She whispered,
"You idiot."
A tiny smile appeared on his lips.
"I know."
"You should've come to me."
"You should've trusted me."
"You should've let me love you."
His eyes closed tightly.
She gently wiped another tear from his face.
"So..."
she whispered.
"...let me do it now."
His entire body trembled.
For the first time in years...
Rivan Thakur allowed himself to cry without hiding it.
Not out of weakness.
Not out of regret.
But because, after believing he had lost the love of his life forever...
She had walked back into his arms...
Taken his broken heart into her hands...
And instead of asking why it had shattered...
She had simply said
"Let me love you again."
At that moment, no empire, no victory, no power, and no wealth in the world could compare to the peace Rivan felt standing in front of the woman who had chosen him...
Once again.
Rivan's arms locked around Devyani with a force that came from two years of aching absence.
He pressed his face into the curve of her neck, breathing her in like he had been starved of air.
Tears slid hot and silent down his cheeks, soaking the soft skin beneath her ear.
He didn't loosen his hold even when he felt every pair of eyes in the room fixed on them.
His shoulders shook once, twice, the weight of all the anger, the distance, the nights spent hating and missing her at the same time finally cracking open inside his chest.
Devyani's hands rose slowly and settled on his back.
Her palms moved in small, steady circles, grounding him while her own breath hitched.
She inhaled deeply, letting the scent of him fill her lungs after so long. The struggle, the separation, the sharp words that had cut both of them raw all of it dissolved in the simple act of standing together again. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt as if to make sure he was real.
Across the garden Virendra leaned closer to Yashodha, his voice low and rough with emotion.
"Shayad maine aisi junk jiti jiski umeed kabhi nahi ki thi," he whispered.
Yashodha's eyes glistened as she answered, "Finally, Virendra... humein hamara beta wapas mil gaya. Aur usko uski mohabbat bhi. Is it HAPPY ENDING?"
Before Virendra could reply, the siblings broke the quiet with excited voices. "Nahi, yeh happy ending abhi baaki hai!" one of them called out.
"Bhaiyya aur bhabhi ki remarriage toh abhi baaki hai!" Laughter rippled through the gathering, warm and relieved, wrapping around the couple like another embrace.
Rivan still hadn't let go.
His grip tightened again, as though the sound of their family's joy only made him hold Devyani closer.
Rivan turned his head ever so slightly until his lips brushed the shell of her ear.
The simple touch sent a shiver down her spine.
His eyes closed.
"Kitten..."
The nickname escaped like a prayerfragile, cracked, carrying the weight of two years of silence.
"I'm sorry..."
His voice broke.
"I'm sorry for every cruel word."
His arms tightened around her just a little.
"For every night I pushed you away."
Another pause.
Long.
Painful.
"I thought I was protecting you."
He let out a humorless laugh.
"I didn't realize I was destroying both of us."
His forehead rested against her temple.
"I was lost without you."
"I kept convincing myself you would be happier if I disappeared."
"I kept telling myself you deserved someone better."
His breathing turned uneven.
"But every single morning..."
"...I looked for you."
"In every crowd."
"In every city."
"In every dream."
"And every night..."
"I failed to sleep because the only place my heart ever wanted to return to..."
His fingers gently intertwined with hers.
"...was you."
Devyani's tears refused to stop.
She buried her face deeper against his shoulder.
"I was lost too, Mr. Thakur."
Her voice trembled with every word.
"There wasn't a single day I didn't think about you."
She smiled sadly through her tears.
"I tried to hate you."
"I really did."
"I told myself I would never forgive you."
"I called you selfish."
"I called you heartless."
She let out a tiny laugh.
She shook her head helplessly.
"I didn't even understand why."
Her fingers slowly curled around the back of his shirt.
"I carried so much anger..."
"...because beneath that anger..."
"...I never stopped loving you either."
Rivan's breath caught.
His eyes closed tighter.
The guilt inside him twisted harder.
She gently lifted her face.
Without saying another word...
She leaned forward.