CHAPTER 4
RAGHAV
Late Afternoon – Stable
Rogan, the dark brown stallion, has been fighting me for twenty minutes now.
I can feel the strain in my palms, the burn in my shoulders, and the sand sticking to the sweat along my spine.
He is young, powerful, recently brought to these hills…
untamed, and definitely not used to fences or commands.
He thinks strength alone will win him his freedom.
If only he knew who he was up against. A man who never gives up when he marks someone or something as his own.
Rogan rears again, his front legs slicing through the air as he tries to throw me again. I tighten my hold on the reins and move with him instead of against him. Force is for amateurs. Controlling a stubborn horse like him requires patience.
The sun is high in the sky, and by now, I should be at the resort, but I’m still here. I have no intention of facing that princess who knows too much about me. Not until I figure out why she is really here.
Sensing my distraction, Rogan unexpectedly twists and catches me off balance. My boots lose their grip for a fraction of a second, and he uses the opportunity to slam me hard to the ground. The impact knocks the breath out of my lungs.
Just then I hear a slow clap from behind. I push myself up, brushing the dust off my shirt, and turn my head. Siya Vardhaan is here, standing outside the stable barricade.
She is dressed for the hills today. High-waisted ivory riding trousers tucked neatly into polished tan leather boots.
A deep wine silk blouse, with the top two buttons left undone, and a camel jacket draped over her shoulders.
Her hair is left open, swaying slightly with the mountain breeze, catching flecks of sunlight.
She’s a kind of beauty that isn’t meant to be touched, only admired from afar.
And she shouldn’t be in this part of the estate.
The stables are private. Guests are only allowed to visit the designated areas: the vineyards, tasting rooms, and manicured lawns. Not here. Yet, she stands at the barricade as if she has always had access.
“I expected more grace from the great RK,” she calls out from across the arena. “Is this how you impress your guests?”
There is mischief in her eyes. I rise fully, rolling my shoulders once to ease the sting in my ribs. Rogan circles me, still agitated.
“This section isn’t open to guests,” I tell her, keeping my voice even. “You took a wrong turn.”
“I followed the noise,” she replies lightly, “and got lucky. Because I didn’t expect to find you losing.”
A faint smirk touches my lips. I never lose.
And she will learn that soon enough. I turn to Rogan the moment he charges again.
This time, I step into his movement instead of away from it.
My hand slides higher on the reins, closer to his jaw, steadying him before he can break away.
Rogan fights. He pulls, every muscle in his body straining beneath my grip.
But I don’t raise my voice. I don’t yank at him either. I just wait… until he realises that fighting me will change nothing.
When he rears up again, I bring him down with the lightest pressure and mount him in one swift motion, swinging up onto his bare back without a saddle.
His body trembles beneath me. Rogan surges once more, then settles, the fight leaving him, and soon we begin to move.
Sand kicks up behind us as I guide him around the arena, all the while feeling her eyes on me.
When I finally bring the stallion to a halt near the barricade, he is breathing hard but no longer defiant. My men step in and take the reins as I dismount, my gaze never leaving Siya. She doesn’t look away either, not even when I walk towards the wooden barrier and stop a few feet away.
“What’s his name?” she asks, her gaze darting briefly to the stallion as he’s led away by my men.
“I said you are not supposed to be here,” I say, my voice firmer now. “This is private property.”
She tilts her head slightly, as if considering whether to take offense or be amused.
“And what will you do about it, RK? Fine me? Throw me out?”
Her choice of tone is deliberate. So is the way she says my name.
I meet her gaze without blinking. “That depends on how often you plan to break the rules on my property. You slipped past my security cameras without leaving a trace and trespassed around my private residence last night. And now you’re in my private arena, as if the word ‘restricted’ doesn’t apply to you. ”
“You have property rules?” she frowns. “I don’t remember agreeing to any of them while checking into your resort,” she adds smoothly.
The air between us thickens. I hold her gaze longer than necessary, not to intimidate her, but to figure her out. First at my villa last night and now here at the stable. She is everywhere she’s not supposed to be. This isn’t just a coincidence.
“How did you find me?” I ask.
She shrugs carelessly. “I just told you. I heard the horse and—”
I step closer to the barricade.
“How did you find me here?” I repeat, slower this time.
And by ‘here,’ I mean in Shivtara Valley.
Her pupils darken slightly as understanding dawns.
She knows exactly what I’m asking now. But just as she parts her lips to respond, footsteps approach behind her, and her guard, Michael, steps into view.
His gaze moves from her to me, pausing a fraction too long, the disapproval evident at finding her speaking with me.
“What are you doing here?” he asks roughly. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Siya doesn’t turn to him immediately. She keeps her gaze on me for a second longer, as if finishing a conversation he has no right to interrupt. Only then does she glance sideways at him.
“I’m free to walk wherever I please, Michael,” she replies. “Your job is to sniff around and follow.” Her eyes flick over him briefly, dismissively. “And do it quietly. I don’t need your shadow announcing itself every time I take a step around here.”
The irritation in her voice feels personal. Siya Vardhaan doesn’t mind being guarded. She just hates being controlled.
Michael shifts slightly, positioning himself closer to her side. “Boss has been trying to reach you,” he adds. “He wants to speak to you.”
Siya exhales, clearly annoyed. “Tell Samarjeet I’m occupied.”
The mention of that name, Samarjeet Vardhaan, her brother and my former rival, sours my expressions. Siya was watching me when she said it. To see if the name provoked a reaction. It did. But just not in the way she expects.
Michael steps further into her path, just enough to block her this time. I don’t like that, and I definitely don’t like the way he speaks to her. This man will die in my hands if he does that again.
“I think you’re forgetting the condition under which you were sent here,” he says, his tone carrying a note of warning. “If you ignore Boss’s calls and messages, this vacation ends.”
I thought so. Siya Vardhaan is here under watch, bound by her brother’s terms, not entirely free.
Her eyes turn cold, the hint of playfulness in them gone in an instant. “I don’t need a bloody reminder, Michael. Now move out of my way.”
He hesitates for a second before obeying as Siya turns to leave.
“Rogan,” I shout as she walks past him without another glance.
Siya stops and turns around to meet my eyes again.
For a brief second, even Michael looks confused, as if he cannot understand why a single word from me was enough to make her pause.
I don’t spare him a glance, though and keep my gaze fixed on this Cinderella.
She might look like something meant to be protected, but there’s nothing helpless about her.
She commands her wolves with confidence and without fear.
“His name is Rogan,” I add.
She simply smirks in response, before turning away again and walking out of the arena.
SIYA
I enter my suite and close the door behind me.
Rogan.
God, I love that name. But it wasn’t the horse that held my gaze. It was the man taming him. I have grown up around horses. So I can understand Rogan was not an easy stallion. Taming a creature like that requires more than just strength. It takes patience, instinct, and an unshakable will.
I hadn’t meant to walk into the restricted section of the estate. I was simply exploring the place. But then I saw him and forgot everything else. I don’t get impressed by men easily, and I certainly don’t stand there and admire them up close. That is not who I am. Yet, today, I did just that.
“Not him, Siya. Not him,” I mutter under my breath as I reach for my phone which I had forgotten in my cottage. The screen lights up with missed calls from Samarjeet. I let out an annoyed sigh and dial him back.
He answers on the second ring.
“Nine missed calls, Samarjeet?” I say coldly, not even bothering to soften the sarcasm in my voice. “Who is holding a knife to your throat that you suddenly need my help to save you?”
I can already imagine him grinding his teeth.
“And tell Michael to stay within his limits if he wants to keep his jaw intact. I’m tired of that man hovering around me like an overfed guard dog, reporting my every move to you every five minutes.”
Samarjeet exhales harshly on the other end. “Will you shut up and listen for once?”
The urgency in his voice makes me straighten instinctively.
“Is Mom alright?” I ask at once.
“Yes, the old woman is fine. I did not call you about her.”
I close my eyes briefly. “That ‘old woman’ is your mother too. Stop disrespecting her. You know I don’t like it.”
“And I don’t like it when you forget who runs the Vardhaan syndicate now,” he snaps. “It’s me. Not you. And if I’m tolerating your tone, it’s only because you’re my entry ticket to the Southern mafia in India.”
I roll my eyes, even though he can’t see me. “Spare me the strategy lecture. Just tell me why you called.”
There is a pause, then he delivers it plainly.
“Your wedding date is fixed. Twenty-fifth of next month.”
“What?”
For a second, I’m too stunned to speak. Then the outrage kicks in.
“How could you fix the date on your own?” I demand. “And so soon? The wedding was supposed to be in four months. That was the timeline you gave me.”
“It’s not that I gave you my word, Siya. And I had no choice. The Singhals are applying pressure. They want to get their daughter married to Parag. They’re offering the Reddys expansion in the western corridor if the alliance happens. This strengthens their hold… and weakens ours.”
Damn the Singhals!
“So you just preponed my wedding date?” I snap.
“Only to secure our position before they can negotiate,” he replies, unbothered. “I don’t trust the Reddys either. What if they receive a better offer from the Singhals and decide to reconsider? I am not giving them that window, Siya. Once your marriage is formalised, the alliance is sealed.”
Of course. So that’s what I am. A seal.
I begin pacing the length of my suite. “I’m not a shipment that needs to be dispatched before a rival bidder steps in, Samarjeet. I am not marrying so soon. This is my life. Four months was already a compromise. One month is nothing less than an ambush.”
Samarjeet laughs, and the sound grates on my nerves.
“You are forgetting again, Siya,” he says angrily the moment the laughter fades. “After Dad, I’m the one who decides who you marry and when.”
My fingers tighten around the phone.
“You better start accepting the reality,” he adds.
“I’ve already spoken to the Reddys. They are completely fine with the new date.
Everything is set in motion. As soon as Parag wraps up his current operations, he’ll come to get you.
And when he does, you’ll return with him to begin the wedding preparations here in Cape Town. ”
The casual way he says it makes something inside me snap. “Return with him? I just got here.”
“It’s not a request, Siya. Your trip ends when Parag returns… or it ends now. The choice is yours.”
I feel the heat rising up my spine. If only he were here in front of me, I would have definitely broken his jaw for sure.
Before I can argue further, the line goes dead.
The audacity of him preponing the wedding I don’t even want annoys me.
I want to hurl the phone against the wall and watch it shatter the way he just tried to shatter my plan and timeline.
But I don’t do that.
Breaking objects has never solved strategic problems. I need a backup plan. I sit down on the edge of the bed. Four months had given me space to find a crack in this arrangement. But one month?
This isn’t a deadline. It’s a f*cking countdown.
“Think, Siya. Think.”
If the Singhals are pushing this hard, it means there is a vulnerability somewhere. And… vulnerability can be exploited. A slow grin spreads across my face as the pieces begin to arrange themselves in my mind. Well, I guess I know what I have to do.
The Singhals.
If played correctly, they could become the solution to my problem for now.
I know it’s a risk. A dangerous one. Reaching out to another mafia family without Samarjeet’s knowledge could easily backfire in ways that would make my current problem look minor in comparison.
But when have I ever been afraid of taking risks?
I flew halfway across the world from Cape Town to this quiet valley in Himachal, walked straight into RK Estate, and planted myself right under the nose of a man who once ruled the underworld as the Dark Prince.
If I can do that, I can certainly handle these smaller complications that stand between me and my freedom.
One way or another, I will find a way to get this marriage sword off my neck.