Proposal and engagement #4
Reyansh's voice barked through the speaker, sharp with irritation. "Where the hell are you? All the arrangements are done. Guests will arrive any minute. I've already called the VIPs. Your presence is important, Rivan. Get out here now."
Rivan's free hand stayed locked on Devyani's waist, fingers digging in possessively. "Let them wait. I don't care."
Without another word he ended the call and powered the phone off, tossing it aside.
The device clattered somewhere on the floor, forgotten.
Devyani's fingers curled into his shirt, her voice soft and pleading. "Umm ruk jao na... dark marks ayenge." (Umm, stop for a bit... dark marks will appear.)
Rivan's lips curved against her throat.
He brushed a few loose strands of hair from her flushed face, tucking them gently behind her ear.
"So my baby is worried," he murmured, voice thick with amusement and hunger.
Devyani nodded innocently, cheeks burning, eyes wide and trusting.
Rivan smiled, slow and wicked. "Of course I'll stop."
Yet his mouth descended again, sucking another vivid mark just below the first, teeth grazing the tender skin until she gasped.
Devyani's moan broke into a whimper, her body arching into him even as she whispered another weak protest.
Rivan only chuckled darkly, kissing the corner of her mouth before sliding his tongue deep inside again, swallowing every sound she made.
Devyani leaned in closer, her soft lips brushing the column of Rivan's neck with deliberate slowness.
The light contact sent a visible shudder through his frame, muscles tightening beneath her.
He exhaled sharply, fingers flexing against her hips.
She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, a playful spark lighting her gaze.
Rivan's lips parted, but before he could say anything, she dipped forward again.
Her mouth opened against his skin, tongue flicking out to taste him, then sucking gently at first before she increased the pressure.
The wet pull of her lips drew a deep groan from his chest.
She kissed lower, teeth grazing, then soothed the spot with another slow lick that made his cock twitch hard against her.
Rivan's head fell back against the velvet couch, eyes half-lidded, breath coming faster.
Every kiss she placed burned hotter than the last.
Her tongue traced a wet line up to his jaw, then she nipped at his earlobe, sucking it between her lips.
His hands gripped her ass tighter, pulling her down harder onto the thick ridge straining in his pants.
The friction made both of them gasp.
She kept going, kissing along his throat, open-mouthed and hungry, leaving faint wet trails that cooled in the air.
His voice came out rough, strained. "Kitten, if you don't stop I'll never gonna stop."
Devyani's eyes widened at the warning. Heat flooded her cheeks.
She froze for a second, then quickly slid off his lap, standing on shaky legs.
The hem of her gown fell back into place, though the fabric still clung to her damp skin. "Yeah... yeah, let's go back to the villa"
she said, voice breathy, fingers already reaching for his hand to pull him up.
Rivan rose with her, chest still heaving, the front of his pants visibly tented.
He didn't release her hand.
Instead he tugged her close again, pressing one last hard, possessive kiss to her mouth before they moved toward the exit.
Hand in hand, Rivan and Devyani stepped out of the penthouse, wrapped in a comfortable, heavy silence.
The cool evening breeze swept over them, a gentle contrast to the absolute whirlwind of emotions crashing around in their chests.
They didn't speak a single word, because honestly, words felt clumsy right now.
Every few steps, their eyes would lock, and a shared, knowing smile would break across their faces the kind belonging to two people who had just realized their entire lives had permanently shifted for the better.
The diamond ring on Devyani's finger caught the final, bleeding rays of the sunset, fracturing the light into a million dazzling sparks every time she moved her hand.
Rivan watched it gleam, a sudden, fierce wave of pride and warmth tightening in his throat.
An involuntary, goofy smile curved onto his lips.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and tightly intertwined his fingers with hers all over again, anchoring her to him.
The second the grand doors of the villa swung open, however, the fairytale evaporated.
The ambient warmth vanished, replaced by an ominous, bone-chilling dread that immediately made the hair on Rivan's neck stand up.
The usual lively chaos of the house the booming laughter, the clinking of glasses, the endless, messy chatter was completely dead.
In its place was a heavy, suffocating silence that felt thick enough to cut with a knife.
The entire family was assembled in the grand hall like a supreme court jury.
Virendra stood at the center, looking like an absolute thundercloud, flanked by grim-faced elders, highly annoyed father, and even the household staff, who had frozen mid-chore.
Every single pair of eyes pivoted in unison to lock onto the returning couple.
No one smiled no one extended congratulations.
It was just a wall of pure, unadulterated irritation.
Rivan slowly scanned the room, his throat suddenly feeling like sandpaper.
"...Uh-oh," he muttered, the weight of their collective tardiness finally sinking in.
Beside him, Devyani took one look at the grim reception, instantly lowered her head, and braced herself.
Before Rivan could even begin formulating an apology, Reyansh strolled into the hall.
He walked right past them, executing a level of calculated disrespect that deserved an award.
Reyansh didn't stop.
He didn't speak.
Sensing the walls closing in, Rivan slowly turned his head toward her, his eyes silently screaming for a lifeline.
"Kitten..." he hissed from the corner of his mouth, his tough-guy facade completely disintegrating.
She kept her gaze firmly locked on her shoes.
"Kitten, look at me," he pleaded, nudging her arm with an adorably pathetic, desperate urgency.
"You can't pull a disappearing act right now. Help me out here, please. We are a team."
Finally, Devyani tilted her head up. The faux-innocence vanished, replaced by a slow, deeply wicked, mischievous smirk that told Rivan everything he needed to know.
"Hein?" she whispered loudly, her voice dripping with mock confusion.
"Nah..."
With an incredibly dramatic flourish, she took a giant, exaggerated step away from him, completely isolating him in the center of the room.
LNo one is going to scold me," she declared proudly, pointing a thumb at her own chest.
"I am the Thakur family's absolute princess."
Then, turning on him like a seasoned criminal informant, she pointed a finger directly at his face.
"It's alllll on you,mr Thakur. Good luck."
A fountain of giggles escaped her lips. "Hehehe... Mere toh maze hi maze,"
she mocked, thoroughly enjoying his impending public execution.
Rivan stared at her, his jaw dropping in absolute, soul-crushing betrayal. "Traitor," he hissed.
"The biggest one you'll ever meet," she beamed, completely unbothered by the lack of spousal loyalty.
Before Rivan could grab her arm, Devyani skipped away, practically floating over to the terrifying figure of Virendra.
In the span of a single heartbeat, her mischievous grin evaporated.
Her lower lip jutted out into the most devastatingly cute, pathetic pout imaginable, and she blinked up at her father with wide, watery, doe eyes.
"Papa..." she whined softly.
Virendra tried.
He really, truly tried to maintain his stern, disappointed-father scowl, but he stood absolutely no chance against the weapon of mass destruction that was his daughter's puppy eyes.
Within three seconds, his shoulders dropped, and his icy expression melted into pure, indulgent mush.
"Oh, baccha..." Virendra sighed heavily, his heart completely giving out.
He stepped forward and tenderly cupped her face in his hands. "How on earth can I stay angry with you?"
Devyani's face lit up with a brilliant, triumphant smile.
"Then you're not mad?"
"Not with you," Virendra conceded affectionately, tapping her forehead with a gentle finger.
"Now go. Get ready quickly. We are already running dangerously behind schedule."
"Yay!" she cheered, throwing her arms around him for a tight, victorious hug before spinning on her heel and bolting toward the staircase.
"I'll be ready in two minutes!" she yelled, disappearing up the stairs in a flurry of laughter.
Left in the Cold
And just like that, the shield was gone.
The grand hall fell right back into a heavy, suffocating silence.
Very slowly, like a scene out of a horror movie, every single head in the room turned back toward Rivan.
He looked around the circle.
Left.
Right.
Center.
Not a single friendly face.
Rivan forced a weak, incredibly awkward smile, lifting a hand in a sad little wave.
"So..." he began, his voice echoing in the dead silence.
Rivan cleared his throat, the sound cutting through the low murmur of voices around him.
"So I'll get ready in one minute," he said, his tone steady and unreadable.
He turned on his heel and walked away without another word, ignoring every pair of eyes that followed him.
His broad shoulders stayed squared, his steps measured and purposeful as he left the main hall behind.
In the quiet of his own room, Rivan began to prepare.
He stripped off the casual shirt he had been wearing, revealing a torso carved from years of disciplined training broad chest, defined abs, and powerful arms that flexed with every movement.
His skin carried a warm, golden tone, smooth except for the faint scars that traced across his left shoulder and down one side of his ribs.
He stepped into tailored black trousers that hugged his narrow hips and strong thighs, the fabric stretching just enough to hint at the thick outline beneath.
A crisp white shirt came next he buttoned it slowly, the material pulling taut across his chest and shoulders.