Page 47

The next morning I woke up, I was still in his arms.

I blinked slowly, lifting my lashes and inhaling his scent.

His face was inches away, and he was already looking at me.

“You’re awake?”

I murmured.

He hummed his usual throaty response.

“Hmm-hmm,”

A smile tugged at my lips as I closed my eyes again and pressed my face against his chest.

His fingers traced gentle lines along my arm, stroking lightly as the morning light grew brighter.

When he finally began to move, trying to slip away, I held onto his hand.

“It’s a lazy day,” I said.

He smiled. “Is it?”

he asked, leaning down, and kissed my forehead.

“Seems like a hectic one for me,”

he teased.

“Just a little longer,”

I pleaded, and he let out a long breath, sinking back into the bed beside me.

“Okay, little bird,”

I smiled and kissed his chest.

“I love you so much, Ranaji,”

He kissed the top of my head.

“I love you, too, Ranisa.

I am your King.

And if you weren’t my Queen, I would’ve never found the crown,”

I smiled weakly.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,”

He exhaled.

“No, it’s true.

I exist because you came into this world from heaven,”

I chuckled and looked up at him.

“You’re buttering me,”

He grinned.

“Maybe.

But it’s still true.

I’m the Devil that was left behind after you...

to protect you from the world—and from myself,”

I laughed harder.

“If you’re here to protect me, then you’re no devil,”

His smile softened, and suddenly he shifted me under him, hovering over me as he cupped my cheek.

“Every protector has to become a devil first,”

he muttered.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, teasing, “Oh, really?”

He nodded. “Yes,”

He leaned down to kiss me softly, and I giggled. “Rudra…”

He paused and looked at me with a certain stillness in his eyes.

“You know what happens when you call me by my name,” he said.

I blinked, confused. “What?”

His smile vanished, and he turned serious, his gaze softening, and he lazily looked into my eyes.

“When you say my name, it feels like I’m looking into a mirror.

All my life, I’ve heard Bhaisa, Prince...

titles.

But when you say Rudra, it feels like you’re calling out to my soul.

Not the King. Not the warrior. Just me,”

My heart fluttered, and I brought my hand up to his face, the sound of my bangles chiming softly as I traced his lower lip.

“Because I love you for the man you are.

Not for what you represent.

There’s a difference between loving someone and loving the version of them that fits into your expectations,”

He kissed my hand gently.

“Sometimes you talk like someone twice your age, little melon,”

“You never get tired of giving me nicknames, do you?” I whined.

He laughed softly.

“I love you so much that I see you in everything.

If I see a melon, I think, ‘Ah, so cute, like .’ If I see a bird, ‘So beautiful, like .’ If I see a tiger, I think, ‘So fierce, like my .’ You’ve ruined me.

You’ve spoiled me completely, little wife,”

He buried his face in my chest like a baby with a playful groan.

I laughed, though I felt a little awkward.

He was much bigger than I was, yet he acted like a child.

“You know,”

I teased, “if anyone ever saw you like this—behaving like a baby, especially your brothers or Maasimaa, they’d probably die from the shock,”

I said, and suddenly remembered that I hadn’t seen his Maasimaa for a while.

She hadn’t caused any problems in our lives since the push-ups incident.

“By the way, where is your Maasimaa?”

He inhaled sharply and looked at me sadly.

“I don’t know where she went.

She left a letter saying she’s going on a pilgrimage.

I wanted to talk to her about the truth of our parents… I’m still waiting for her to come back,” he said.

Something clicked in my mind.

My brows furrowed.

“She went on a pilgrimage?” I asked.

He nodded.

I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t quite believe it.

A sudden pilgrimage? It felt odd.

Somewhere deep inside, I had a strange feeling that her disappearance might be linked to Surgami Dev Singh being with my brother.

So I asked one thing I wanted to ask.

“Was your uncle with my brother?”

His gaze shifted instantly, from sad to shocked.

But he answered.

“No, I didn’t meet him… but yes, I heard that he and Abhinandan were spotted together,”

A chill crawled down my spine when I came to realise Chandramukhi wasn’t there, and Surgami Dev Singh had met Abhi.

And then Rudra suddenly insisted that I return home.

“What happened, little bird?”

he asked softly, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I glanced at him and plastered a smile on my face.

“Nothing,”

He narrowed his eyes slightly. “Really?”

I nodded again.

“Yes.

For sure,”

“Okay,”

he murmured, kissing my cheek before getting off the bed.

But I held his hand, and he paused, looking back at me.

“What is it?”

I straightened up, and he sat down on the bed again, facing me.

“I want to ask you for something,” I said.

“Of course.

Everything is yours, love,”

I took a deep breath.

“I want you to come meet me every night… and if you ever can’t, I want you to promise me you’ll write to me,”

He furrowed his brows.

“What? But…”

He chuckled.

“, you should be spending this time with your family.

Can’t you live without me for even a few days?”

His words stung more than I expected.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t live without him—of course I could.

But why should I, if I didn’t have to?

“Yes, I can,”

I said gently.

“But I want to see you, too.

You’re my family as well,”

He sighed.

“, you should spend this time with them, not tangled in my thoughts.

It’s just a few days.

I have a lot of work to do too… I won’t be able to come,”

he said, and I knew this was it.

That was it.

I understood.

Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

Maybe between him and my brother.

But what was it?

What did they think of me? What were they not telling me?

***

The next few days passed quietly.

He cared for me deeply, and I felt blessed, but I couldn’t shake the heaviness of my heart.

You know that moment… when the whole world opposes you and advises you on things, yet you put everything on the line just to listen to your heart.

Because you understand your heart, you know your courage, you’re aware of your strengths, and you know that there will come a moment when you’ll see it all back and feel, ‘Yes, I did the right thing.’

That’s how I felt when I saw him feeding me, taking care of me, doing all those small, intimate things I never imagined a husband would do for his wife.

It had been almost a week since the incident with Abhinandan.

At that time, Rudra had signed the peace treaty with Mahabaleshgarh and gained the trust of other princely states.

Talks were progressing fast.

The dates for Ranvijay and Aishwarya’s wedding had also been fixed, after six months, as per the priest’s suggestion.

I was thrilled for Ranvijay, though I kept nudging him to at least see her portrait.

He refused every time, saying: “The moment I said ‘yes’ to this marriage, she became my wife.

What else do I need to see?”

I didn’t know why, but I liked that answer.

Rudra and I had also decided that I would leave for Mahabaleshgarh the next day.

An informer had told us that Abhinandan had just arrived there.

I was excited and nervous.

It had been so long.

But somewhere deep in my heart, a worry kept blooming. Something wasn’t right.

Like, there was something between these two men that I didn’t know.

“,”

His voice startled me.

I lowered my gaze from the stars above and saw him walking toward me.

“Is it finished?”

I asked, referring to the meeting that had gone past midnight again.

“Yes,”

he said, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

I rested the back of my head against his chest, finding calm in his warmth.

My lashes fluttered closed.

“How did it go?” I asked.

He placed his chin gently on my head and intertwined our fingers.

“Smooth.

I’ll have to visit a few states soon to check their progress,”

I smiled.

“It’s a good thing I’m going home for a few days.

Otherwise, I would’ve been miserable without you,”

He chuckled.

“I’ll miss you everywhere, my love,”

he murmured, turning me to face him.

“Really?”

I asked, and he nodded.

“Of course.

You’re my half—half soul, half breath, half everything.

I’m not whole without you,”

I smiled.

“The feelings are mutual, Ranaji,”

He furrowed his brows.

“It sounds strange when you call me that in private.

You do remember, you don’t have to, little wife,”

I blushed a little and laughed softly.

“But I like calling you Ranaji when we’re alone.

It makes my stomach flutter,”

He smiled and cupped my cheeks gently, bringing my face close to his.

He brushed his lips softly against mine.

“Let’s have dinner, love,”

I nodded, and he held my hand as we both walked back into the bedroom.

The attendants had placed the food platter on the table for us, and the aroma of freshly cooked food filled the air, making my mouth water.

We both washed our hands and sat together on the couch to eat.

My gaze kept drifting to him; he looked incredibly handsome in the pure white kurta.

“Aap humein aise kyun dekh rahin hain?”

(Why are you looking at me like that?) He asked with a teasing smile, and I looked down at my plate, cheeks flushing.

“You look sinfully….

delicious today,”

I said timidly.

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulled me closer. “Really?”

he asked, and I nodded shyly.

I tore a bite of food and held it out to him.

He held my wrist gently, his fingers brushing against my bangles, and leaned in to take the bite.

His lips skimmed over my fingers ever so slightly, sending a soft shiver down my spine.

He looked into my eyes, chewing slowly, and I found myself blushing for no reason I could explain.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and suddenly, I remembered the night we spent together just a week ago, making my heart race at a relatively quick pace.

He leaned in toward me, pressing a warm kiss to the side of my neck.

I gasped softly and pulled away a little to look at him.

A soft smile tugged at my lips.

“I’m hungry,”

I tried to say.

“So am I, little bird,”

he said with a teasing smirk.

I tried focusing on the food, but couldn’t stop smiling like a fool.

We ate in silence, though our eyes constantly searched for each other, glances that lingered, looks that melted between bites.

Once we finished, I excused myself to wash my hands, and heard him rise too.

Soon, he was beside me again.

It was just so hard to keep the smile at bay.

“Why are you blushing so much?”

He asked, drying his hands with a towel.

“What?”

I tried to play it cool.

“You’re blushing a lot today,”

I shook my head nervously.

“No, umm… I think Suman added something new to my bathing oil...”

He chuckled.

“Oil? She added something to your bathing oil? Not water?

I stared at him dumbly, unsure how to respond.

Suddenly, he held my hand again.

“Come here,” he said.

The bells of my anklets chimed as he guided me toward the bed.

He kissed the back of my hand, pulling me closer, and I lowered my gaze, the memory of the night we spent together kept haunting me gently.

And I knew our second time wouldn’t be the same as our first time.

He placed a finger under my chin, making me look up.

“What happened?”

I shook my head, too shy to answer.

His other hand slid around my waist, drawing me in until we were almost touching.

My breath hitched, my fingers trembled, and I didn't know what I was feeling so.

He was the man I loved, my husband, so why did I feel so nervous and jittery?

He kissed me, a gentle, lingering touch, and pulled back with a smile.

“You have a very dirty mind, I must say,”

he whispered, locking my gaze with his.

I went stiff.

Completely silent.

My cheeks burned, and I turned my lashes south.

But then he cupped my face again, his thumb brushing my cheek.

“And I love my dirty-minded little wife,”

he added with a wink.

I let out a soft laugh.

“Are we...

I mean...

are we...?”

I stammered, pointing nervously toward the bed.

But before I could finish, he gently ran his finger beneath my ear, and I felt like he was grazing my soul.

My lashes fluttered shut, and I nearly lost my balance, feeling my entire body melt at his luscious torture.

He pulled back, and I opened my eyes, staring at him, startled.

“How did you do that?”

He raised his brows. “What?”

I pointed to my neck.

“This...

feeling...

it was so—”

“Sensational?”

I nodded quickly.

“Yes, exactly,”

His hand moved to my dupatta, slowly sliding it off my head.

I exhaled slowly, calming my unevenly beating heart.

“Aap humein lene kab aayenge?”

(When will you come to take me back?) I asked softly as he let the fabric slide off my shoulder.

He paused, meeting my gaze with a deep breath.

“Abhi toh aap gayi bhi nahi hain, aur aapko wapas aana hai?”

(You haven’t even left yet, and you already want to come back?) He teased, making me chuckle.

“Come,”

he said, setting the dupatta aside on the bed.

He climbed into bed, resting his head on the pillows.

I lifted my lehenga slightly and followed, lying beside him with my head against his chest, facing the ceiling.

He held my hand.

“Hum aapko tab tak lene nahi aa sakte jab tak Abhinandan nahi chaahenge,”

(I can’t come to bring you back until Abhinandan wants it.) he said, and I felt a knot form in my throat.

“Why?”

I whispered.

His other hand touched my hair and cheek gently.

“Because he’s your brother.

He’s the prince and the next in line.

He’s also my friend.

I don’t want him to feel sidelined or less important in our lives,”

he replied.

I turned to face him as he softly held the end of my braid.

“And I’m the Princess of Mahableshgarh and the Queen of Suryagarh, Rudra.

Doesn’t my choice matter?”

I asked, trying not to choke on my emotions.

He feathered my cheek with his fingers.

“Of course it does, love.

Your choice means everything to me.

But I know the girl who gave up her wealth to rebuild a shelter won’t mind staying away from her husband for a little while, for the sake of her brother,”

I stared into his eyes.

“Will he ever forgive me?”

He stroked my head, pulling me closer until I lay beside him, my head resting on his biceps.

“He’s probably just as conflicted as you are.

But instead of running from it, let’s face it together.

He’ll understand, my love,”

I lowered my gaze, pressing my cheek against his chest.

“I don’t know.

I’m just afraid.

That he’ll be angry.

That he’ll hate me for marrying you when I knew he’d never approve,”

He kept stroking my head gently.

“Don’t worry, little bird.

Everything will be fine,”

“Hmm,”

I mumbled, eyes growing heavy with sleep.

He kissed my forehead.

“I’ll miss you so much,”

he whispered.

I smiled a little, eyes still closed.

“No, I don’t think you will,”

I said softly.

“Why?”

he asked, pulling the comforter up over both of us.

I opened my eyes and craned my head to look at him.

“You don't need me for anything,”

I said.

“You've trained yourself to control your feelings all your life.

You’ll do just fine without me.

But think about me… Ever since my parents started talking about my marriage, I imagined a life where I wouldn’t spend even a single day away from you.

And now, when that dream is breaking, it hurts,”

I uttered softly, my voice almost trembling.

He pursed his mouth and pulled me closer, pressing his lips to the crook of my neck.

“Yes, I don’t need you for anything… except to stay alive,”

he murmured.

I just stared at him blankly, my chest tight with emotion.

I didn’t know why, but I felt so low in that moment, so fragile.

The idea of leaving him, even for a little while, without knowing how long it would be, felt unbearable.

“Don't say things like that,”

I whispered.

“Why?”

he asked.

“Are you afraid to hear the truth?”

I couldn’t answer.

I just looked at him, eyes full of unspoken feelings.

"I love you so much, and I don’t think you truly understand what 'so much' means," I said, my voice barely audible.

Immediately, he hovered over me and cupped my cheeks, locking his eyes with mine.

“I do, .

I know.

I’m not leaving you, love.

I want you to go home for a little while.

It’s just a vacation,”

he said gently.

“A vacation… right after our marriage, right after we…,”

I hesitated, “…a week after we consummated our bond.

And you won’t even tell me how long I’ll be gone,”

He smiled at me softly.

“I’ll come to see you whenever you want me.

I promise.

Just send me a letter through someone you trust,”

“Promise?”

I asked, finally managing a small smile.

He nodded.

“Yes, my little baby,”

He leaned closer, kissing the side of my neck, sucking softly and slowly.

“Ahh, don’t mark me,”

I said, almost giggling.

“Hnnn,”

he hummed against my skin, continuing to kiss me.

I inhaled unevenly, shivering as his lips traced over me.

“I just want to breathe you in,”

he whispered.

That night, we stayed up talking, teasing, playing with each other’s fingers, lips, and laughter, until sleep gently stole us away.

***