63. The Unwanted Return #2
"Done checking?" he asked dryly. "Now will you please tell me where you are? Because I am damn sure you're not at home."
"How do you know?" I asked weakly.
"I can hear ice cream bells and some fruit seller's voice, along with kids screaming in the background. You're probably sitting in some park."
A small breath escaped me.
Too smart.
"Yeah..." I admitted quietly. "I'm at a park."
"Why?"
I stayed silent for a few seconds before finally whispering,
"I... I don't want to go back." The words hurt while leaving my mouth.
"I want to come there."
"Rajasthan?"
Silence followed for two seconds before I nodded automatically. Then his voice came again.
"If you're nodding, let me remind you I can't see you through the phone. Use words."
A small laugh escaped me despite everything.
God.
He really knew how to pull me out of panic even during breakdowns.
"Yes," I whispered. "I want to come to Rajasthan."
"And why is that?" his tone sharpened instantly afterward. "Did Yugant do something? Do I need to break his fucking legs and shove them inside his mouth?"
"No!" I answered quickly. "No, he didn't do anything."
"Then what happened?" He sounded pissed.
I looked down at my trembling fingers.
"I just..." My throat tightened again. "I'm scared to go back there. If I do, everyone will ask questions and I'm not ready to answer them because..."
I shut my eyes tightly. "Because once they know everything, they'll look at me differently."
Bhai stayed silent for a few seconds.
"What questions, Dhwani?" he finally asked carefully. "Can you be clear?"
I swallowed hard.
"Actually..." my voice cracked slightly, "I met her today. My mom."
Even now the word felt unfamiliar on my tongue.
"She is the advocate Yugant hired for the Kingsleys case."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
"She recognized me, bhai..."
Tears blurred my vision again.
"And everyone..." I laughed weakly through the tears, "everyone was looking at me like I was some criminal standing in the middle of the hall when she called me her daughter."
Maybe I was one.
Maybe hiding my identity all this time was a betrayal.
Maybe Yugant would look at me differently too once he understood everything completely.
"So you're afraid because you think Yugant will look at you differently?" bhai asked calmly. "Because you're not Rathore and he doesn't know your past... or because you're scared he will look at you differently after knowing it?"
I swallowed hard.
"Maybe both."
A sigh came from the other side. Not irritated. Just tired.
"He already knows you're not Rathore, Dhwani."
"He... what?"
"He knows," bhai repeated patiently. "And he chose not to tell you because he was waiting for you to trust him enough to say it yourself."
I couldn't even breathe properly for a second.
How?
When?
"Has he looked at you differently after marriage?" bhai asked softly.
I shook my head instinctively before realizing he couldn't see me.
"No..." I whispered. "He doesn't."
A small breath left me.
"In fact..." tears burned my eyes again, "we became closer after marriage."
"Exactly." His voice softened further. "That means he fell in love with you, Dhwani. He loves the mad, chaotic girl who destroyed his peace and still became his home somehow."
I pressed my lips together tightly.
Because somewhere deep inside... I understand Yugant wouldn't hate me for my past.
The real fear was different.
I was now scared he would finally see all the broken parts inside me clearly... and realize loving me was harder than he expected. Or maybe a mistake.
"What if he thinks loving me was a mistake?" I whispered, voicing the fear that had been rotting inside me.
"He won't."
His voice carried the same certainty it always did whenever my world started falling apart.
"You're the most important part of my life, Dhwani."
My eyes burned again.
"I got you when I had nothing," he continued quietly. "No proper home. No family. Nothing stable."
I lowered my head, listening silently.
"You were that raw stone I spent years protecting in my palms, hoping the world wouldn't crush you before you discovered your own worth. I tried my best to shape your life with whatever little I had... but Yugant?
He looked at you and recognized the diamond you already were without needing to change anything about you."
I wanted him to talk in a simple way, because I wasn't able to understand anything. But I wasn't able to interrupt either. He would think I was a fool.
"My grip tightened around the phone.
"People don't place the heartbeat of their existence into hands they don't trust. I never once rejected the idea of you marrying Yugant because I knew he was the right man for you."
His voice turned softer afterward.
The only thing echoing inside my mind was his words.
He was the right man.
And the worst part was... I knew it too.
That's why I allowed the walls around my heart to fall for him. I let him come so close when I spent years pushing everyone away.
Why his presence started feeling safer than my own loneliness.
I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath.
"Should I go back?" I whispered.
"That's your decision, Dhwani. I won't force you."
His voice softened slightly afterward.
"I'm disconnecting the call now. Think properly."
My fingers tightened around the phone unconsciously.
"Call me back after five minutes. If you still want to come here, I'll book your tickets immediately."
A pause.
"But if I don't receive your call..."
I could almost picture the faint smile on his face.
"I'll assume you chose to go back to your husband who might've already run halfway across the city by now."
And somehow...The way he said your husband made me smile.
I kept staring at the phone while the seconds passed slowly.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
I looked around and realized the park was almost empty now.
Of course. It was already night.
A cold breeze brushed past me as my fingers hovered over Yugant's name.
Then finally, I clicked on it.
The call connected after a single rings.
And instead of questions, accusations, or panic... his calm voice reached me first.
"I'm waiting near the exit," he said. "Come out."
I froze.
He was waiting outside all this time?
My grip tightened around the phone before I slowly lowered it and exhaled deeply, preparing myself for whatever was about to happen next. Then I stood up and walked toward the park exit.
And there he was.
A white glossy car stood parked near the footpath while Yugant leaned against the bonnet, fingers repeatedly pushing through his hair like stress had been eating him alive for the last hour.
The moment his eyes landed on me, his hand dropped instantly.
My breath caught slightly.
God.
How did this man still look unfairly attractive even while stressed out of his mind?
At this point, he genuinely might become the death of me someday.
I started walking faster toward him.
And the moment I reached close enough, his arm wrapped around me firmly before he lifted me effortlessly.
My feet left the ground as he turned once and sat me down carefully on the bonnet of the car.
With one hand.
Show off.
I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face deeper into his chest.
His cologne filled my senses immediately.
Warm. Dark. Masculine in the most dangerous way possible, like rain over burnt wood and expensive whiskey mixed together.
The kind of scent that made a person feel protected without understanding why.
His hand slowly rubbed the small of my back, fingertips brushing against my bare skin where my dress dipped low. Goosebumps instantly spread across my body.
"Feeling better?" he asked after a few minutes.
His voice had lost the panic now. What remained was relief. Pure relief that he found me safe.
"Yes."
Just one word and he didn't ask anything else.
After a few minutes, I slowly pulled back and looked at him properly.
Honestly, I expected questions. Lots of them.
But none came.
Instead, he leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss near the corner of my mouth.
"Want ice cream?" he asked while lifting a brow.
I blinked and nodded.
A soft smile finally appeared on his face.
"Come on then."
We bought our ice creams from the cart nearby and he settled me back on the bonnet, standing between my legs.
I picked black currant cheesecake because the purple color looked pretty and honestly, I liked dramatic flavors.
Meanwhile Yugant chose simple vanilla almond.
"Seriously?" I looked at his ice cream in disappointment. "Out of all flavors, this?"
He shrugged lazily. "I like it."
Then he unwrapped both our ice creams before adding,
"And I'm damn sure you won't even finish yours."
I rolled my eyes before taking a bite of mine and instantly regretted every life decision that brought me to this moment.
God.
It tasted horrible.
Sweet... sour... weirdly bitter afterward.
How did I even choose this?
My face twisted automatically in disgust before I quickly controlled it and looked toward Yugant.