Page 127 of Entangled Vows

“You were still in touch with Dad? Why didn’t you say anything?” Suraj asked, a little surprised.

“I was,” Devika said gently. “There was nothing to say. We mostly spoke about you kids. Separation changes manythings, but never the love we had for the children we raised together.”

She placed the frame gently beside the brass diya and the fresh lilies, then turned to Vikram. “I just hope someday I will have earned your love and trust again.”

Vikram gave a small nod. It wasn’t a promise, but something softened in the space between them.

Sometimes, healing begins with nothing more than a quiet willingness to try.

41

Spending the day with Vikram and his family had been… a lot.

Mahika had never seen him so tightly wound. Vikram was usually composed, but today, she could sense his anxiety. Being around his mom was definitely not a cakewalk for him. His shoulders were tense, and his eyes were distant. She knew all he wanted to do was to go back to the safety of his study.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t lift his spirits. The reunion with his mother had dredged up emotions he couldn’t put into words, emotions that made him extremely uncomfortable. She saw how hard he was trying to balance his pain and forgiveness. She wanted to make it better for him, to take it all away. Yet, she understood he needed to deal with this on his own.

Parental wounds didn’t heal overnight. Sometimes they never did. And yet, he had tried to give his mother a chance. For his brother. For the family that had both wounded and moulded him.

After Suraj and Devika had returned to Ishika’s place, Vikram had barely said a word. He changed and went to his gym, but she didn’t follow him. Instead, she poured herself a glass of wine and ran a warm bath, letting the silence envelop her. With the scent of her bath salts permeating through the air and quiet music playing from her phone, Mahika reclined against theporcelain tub, her mind consumed by her husband’s thoughts. By the pain flashing in his eyes. By the fact that, even after everything, he had let her be there for him. That mattered. And it fucking scared her how much it mattered.

She didn’t even realise she had drifted off until a sound jolted her awake. Her eyes flew open, and her heart raced. And then she saw him, standing there, slick with sweat, as he peeled off his workout shirt, his face unreadable.

“Vikram?” Mahika whispered. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer. He just stepped into the tub after flinging his clothes into the laundry basket. The water rose and spilled lightly over the edge. She sat up, startled, but before she could say anything, he was already reaching for her, pulling her into his lap.

“I needed to see you,” he said, his voice raw and vulnerable. “I need you.”

She cupped his face, but he didn’t give her time to speak. He closed the space between them and kissed her urgently. God, the kiss was unguarded and full of everything neither of them knew how to say. She held him tightly, her fingers threading through his damp hair, grounding him. He angled her just where he wanted, and lined them up. She didn’t hesitate. She was ready for him. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she adjusted herself, gasping softly when he entered her in a slow, deliberate thrust.

“Fuck, baby,” Vikram groaned as he moved inside her.

“Yes…” she gasped, her breath catching.

His grip on her tightened, his breath stuttering as he moved again, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

“Momo,” he breathed, his voice cracking with emotion. “You being there with me today meant everything to me. I knowI didn’t say it then, but I felt it. I needed you, and you were there for me.”

Her eyes burned, her chest aching with the gravity of everything he was not saying.

“You don’t have to say anything,” she whispered softly. “I saw you, Grizz.”

They moved together slowly, wrapped in the warmth and intimacy of the moment. Vikram pressed his forehead to hers, holding her as though she was the only thing keeping him afloat.

“You make it bearable,” he whispered. “You make me feel like I’m not alone in this… this fucking world.”

“You’re not,” she promised, placing her hand over his heart. “Not anymore.”

“Thank you, baby,” he murmured, his voice catching like there was a lump lodged in his throat.

She nodded, letting the moment stretch between them as they moved. Their rhythm was slow and sensual, overwhelming them in a way that made her chest tighten and her eyes sting with the threat of tears. She fought the emotion, fought the way it crept up and tried to freefall through her.

She shouldn’t be feeling this way. Not for this man.

Yes, he was everything she had always thought. He was arrogant, controlling, difficult, and impossible at times. But he was also more. So much more. And the layers he never showed the world were slowly unfolding before her, and with each glimpse, she was drawn deeper into his orbit, completely undone by him.

Silence wrapped around them, broken only by the soft slosh of water and their uneven breaths. The air between them pulsed with passion and unspoken truths too fragile to voice, yet deeply felt.