Page 67 of Entangled Vows (Destined Diaries #2)

Vikram pulled back slightly, his jaw ticking as he sat straighter, like a man ready to protect his world. His hand splayed over her stomach, and when he looked into her eyes, his voice held a fierce determination.

“I don’t want your apology. I want your promise. You are not going to put yourself in danger again. Ever. I can’t handle it.”

“Is it… because you care about the baby now?”

His brow arched at her question. He was visibly pissed now.

“What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I care about the baby. But I care about the baby’s mother even more, you clueless woman. Can’t you see? I’m thrilled we’re pregnant. This is our baby. We made this life together, and I can’t wait to be a father.”

“Seriously?” she frowned, “I just thought—”

“You thought I’m angry because you’re carrying our child and this marriage is temporary?

” He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.

“Come on, Mahika. Do you really believe any of this has been temporary over the last few months? I don’t think so, darling.

I went mad with fear yesterday… not because of some stupid clause in the will.

Nothing else matters to me. I don’t give a fuck about anything else except spending my entire life with you. ”

“You… you want to spend your life with me?” Mahika asked, stunned.

His voice dropped, becoming a low, rough growl that vibrated in the air.

“Yes, love. Don’t you get it? This undeniable thing between us…

it’s not new. It’s always been there. You are my Momo, and I’m your Grizzly.

This has been years in the making. From the very first night you slept in my bed, our marriage became more than just a formality.

And the moment you blended chilli into my green smoothie and I kissed you, that clause became null and void.

Do you really think I’d wear a lilac tux to a public event for just anyone?

Do you think I’d let just anyone bring a pet into my house?

No, that’s because I’m in love with you, baby.

Even the thought of returning to my old life without you makes me want to erase every memory of it. ”

“Why are you saying things like that?” she whispered in disbelief, her heart racing so fast that the monitor beeped in response.

“Shh. Relax, Momo. I’m saying exactly what you think you’re hearing.

I am in love with you. Your happiness is mine.

And if, for any reason, you don’t want to stay in this marriage, if you want a divorce, then I’ll give it to you.

.. even if it kills me. Because you matter more than anything. Your happiness comes first. Always.”

He reached for her hand and placed it over his heart.

“I’ll still buy you a beach house in every state of Australia if that’s what you want. Even if you walk away from me, I’ll make sure you live the life you’ve always dreamed of. You’ll write, and you’ll become the best damn romance writer in the entire world.”

Mahika was crying freely now, her tears refusing to stop.

“Really?” she whispered.

“Yes, baby. Just say the word. I don’t give a damn about my needs or wishes.

All I care about is you and your happiness.

If you don’t want to be with me… then fine.

But in another lifetime, or even in some other universe, if we never meet again, I swear I’d move heaven and earth to make it happen.

I’d throw the planets into retrograde just to find my way back to you.

In every life. In every version of reality. ”

Mahika let out a breathless sob. “Stop saying things like that.”

“I won’t. Because I’m not scared anymore. I love you. I fucking love you, my baby dragon. Even before yesterday… before I realised how close I came to losing you… I knew this with every piece of my heart that if anything had happened to you, I would’ve died.”

“Don’t say shit like that, Grizz,” she sobbed, leaning her forehead against his. “I don’t want you to die.”

“Then stamp it in that pretty head of yours, sweetheart. You’re carrying our child now. There is no universe where I’ll let anything happen to you. You and this baby are mine. You are my whole world. And I’d do anything to protect you both.”

She stared at him, her eyes shimmering as if she had waited years for this moment. Her voice shook when she finally spoke, soft yet laced with everything she had buried for far too long.

“I didn’t want to love you,” she whispered, clutching his shirt as if she needed him to anchor her. “I tried not to. I told myself I hated you. I convinced myself it was anger, pride, or leftover pain.”

A shaky breath escaped her as tears continued to spill down her cheeks.

“But I lied to myself. Over and over again. Because the truth is, I’ve loved you for years, Vikram. Since the day you stopped me from falling off that scooty. Since you challenged me, infuriated me, and made me feel alive like no one else ever has.”

His gaze locked onto hers, fierce and burning.

“I didn’t stop loving you even when I thought I hated you, Grizz.” She pressed herself closer to him until there was no space left between them. “Even when you snapped at me. Even when you made me feel like I didn’t matter. Because deep down, you were already everything to me.”

“I’m so fucking sorry for ever making you feel like you were less. I was a jealous prick who just wanted your attention, Momo.”

“I know that now. I used to think love had to be soft and easy. But with you… it’s fire and thunder.

It’s knowing I’ll burn and still walking right into the flame.

And I don’t regret a second of it. Not the fights, not the messy feelings, not even the pain.

Because it all brought me here. To you. To us. ”

Vikram kissed her forehead softly and whispered, “You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

Mahika exhaled shakily, brushing her thumb along his jaw. “And you’re the most stubborn man I’ve ever loved.” Her hand pressed over his chest, directly above his heart. “I love you, Vikram Khurana. Stupidly. Fiercely. Completely. And I know I’ll keep loving you until the end of time.”

“I love you too, Momo,” he whispered.

Then Vikram reached into the inner pocket of his blazer and pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was creased at the edges, and the ink was slightly smudged. Mahika frowned.

“What’s that?” she asked.

Vikram looked at the paper, then back at her. His jaw tightened, and his eyes burned with emotion. “It’s the clause. The contract that forced us to marry.”

And without another word, he tore the paper in half.

Mahika gasped as the sound of paper ripping echoed in the silence of the room.

“I don’t care about this anymore,” he said.

“Or anything that comes with conditions of us being together. We are legally married, and that’s the only reality that matters.

I’m done letting anything come between us.

Not a contract, not our past, not our pride, and definitely not a piece of fucking paper. ”

“But what about your life in Mumbai? I don’t want you to regret anything because of me.”

Vikram sat back slightly, still holding her hand. “I won’t. Mohit will be shouldering the responsibility of the JK Group as he’s the Co-CEO.”

Her brows furrowed. “And you?”

“I’ll work remotely… for all the businesses. JK Group, the Khurana empire, and the one with Arjun. I’ve made the arrangements already,” he said with a small smile. “Because we’re moving to Australia, Momo. To the beach house you’ve always dreamed of. We’ll be living by the sea.”

Her eyes widened. “You’d really do that for me?”

“I’d do anything for you.”

“But the beach house will be mine only after we’ve been married for a year.”

“Now, we’ll be married forever. And the beach house is not going anywhere. We are buying that beach house next week and expanding it into a bigger space,” Vikram explained, and Mahika smiled through her tears.

She brushed her fingers along his jaw, her voice breaking as she whispered, “Grizz… you don’t know what this means to me.

For the first time in my life, someone actually chose me and my happiness over everything else.

Do you know how precious that is? And you’re ready to give it all up and start over…

just for me.” Her breath hitched as she let out a shaky laugh.

“That’s incredible. It shows how much you love me.

And I would have agreed to it without blinking, but the truth is, I love you even more. ”

His eyes softened, as though her words were breaking open something within him he hadn’t even known was there.

“I don’t need to run anymore,” she continued, her voice firmer now as she cupped his face in her hands.

“Not to Australia. Not anywhere. I just needed to escape Dehradun and the memories it had in my life… so I decided that Australia was my answer to everything. But now, those memories are overshadowed by something else… like falling in love with you. You’ve replaced every painful piece of my past with us. And that’s enough for me.”

Vikram went still. “Momo, are you saying you don’t want the beach house?”

“Yes…” She nodded, smiling through her tears.

“I mean, I want the beach house. It’s ours now.

I want it to be our little escape from this busy life we’ll have together.

Right now, I just want to be with you. Wherever you are, that’s home for me.

And if you ask me where I want to live… I’ll say Mumbai.

I want to live with you, with your people, in your world.

I realised that just like you, I’ve started to like your friends too, and I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life surrounded by them. ”

He pulled in a sharp breath, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. “Are you serious?”

Her smile widened. “Dead serious. I love you, Vikram Khurana. I would do anything for you.”

For a moment, Vikram just stared at her, her words cutting through his defences like sunlight through clouds. His jaw flexed, his chest rising and falling as if he was trying to cage the storm inside him. Then he leaned in, his voice rough with emotion he couldn’t hide.

“You have no idea what you’ve just done to me, Momo.

No one has ever said that to me. No one has ever chosen me.

But you… you didn’t just choose me, you’ve captured my heart all over again, the one which is already yours…

” He shook his head, almost in disbelief, caressing her cheek with a reverence that contrasted the blank mask of arrogance she always saw on him.

“Momo, I love you so very much. More than my pride, more than my empire, and even more than my own life. And if you’re dead serious about this, then you’d better know one thing… You’re mine, Mahika. For life. For every damn lifetime after this.”

She nodded her head, chuckling. “Mumbai it is.”

“Yes, baby. It is.”

Before she could respond, his lips crashed against hers, and not gently, but searing with everything he’d been holding back.

The possessiveness, the fear, the desperate love, and the devotion that burned through his veins.

She kissed him back with the same fire, their fingers entwined, their breaths mingling, until the door swung open again.

“Oh, come on,” Mohit groaned from the doorway. “You two… this is a hospital!”

Ishika smirked beside him. “So does this kiss-fest mean all is well in marriage land?”

“You could say it’s more than well in marriage land.” Vikram gave a smug grin. “Right, Momo?”

Mahika laughed, her cheeks flushed. She noticed Suraj standing next to Mohit, both looking a bit awkward but amused.

“Right,” she said, wiping her eyes and opening her arms. “Come here, Mohit.”

Mohit stepped forward and hugged her tightly, muttering something sarcastic as usual. Suraj followed, offering her a quiet, relieved smile.

“We leave you two alone for two minutes, and you can’t keep your hands off each other,” Mohit grumbled.

“Two very important minutes,” Vikram said, slipping his arm around Mahika’s shoulders.

Suraj grinned. “Looks like you’ve finally figured out what we all knew since years. You two were always meant to be.”

“Well, it’s none of your business, Sunny,” Vikram muttered.

“Sure it is. You only married her because I left,” Suraj teased, and the room erupted in laughter.

“Shh. This is a hospital. The nurse will kick us out,” Ishika warned.

“When you’re around, there’s always going to be noise,” Mohit shot back. “You might as well start your own loudspeaker service.”

Ishika punched him in the arm, and they began bickering as usual.

Vikram leaned towards Mahika, his hand caressing her belly. “What do you think about that honeymoon in Tokyo?” he whispered.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” she said, smirking. “As long as you don’t cancel on me this time.”

He smiled before kissing her forehead, and she sighed in contentment. As Mahika glanced around the room, her heart swelled. She was surrounded by love. This was her life now. Messy. Loud. And finally, brimming with the very love she had waited for all along.