Chapter 16

PREVIOUS CHAPTER....

"Risha... kaun hai?"

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AUTHOR'S POV....

Listening to her question, his smile faltered - just slightly, but enough for her to notice. The air between them shifted, the warmth from a moment ago dimming into something heavier.

He didn't dodge the question. Instead, in one swift movement, he scooped her up in his arms, making her gasp and clutch at his shirt in surprise. Her wide eyes met his calm yet unreadable ones.

Before she could say anything, he carried her toward the balcony. The sun kissed her skin, softly, as he sat down on the swing and positioned her sideways on his lap.

One arm stayed around her waist, grounding her close, while the other gently brushed away a strand of hair from her face.

He didn't look away from her as he began, his voice low and steady.

"Risha... is my Bua's daughter."
[She is my aunts daughter]

Shanaya blinked, confused, her fingers unconsciously tightening around his collar.

"She grew up around me," he continued. "Always following me, trying to get my attention.... in ways that weren't right. I thought it was a childish obsession, something that would fade with time. But it didn't. It got darker."

His thumb traced soothing circles on her waist, trying to balance the cold truth with his gentle touch.

"She started... doing things. Crossing limits. When I ignored her, she got angry.......and one day, she accused me of trying to assault her."

Shanaya's breath caught, her eyes wide with disbelief and sadness.

He smiled faintly, but there was no humor in it. "My father didn't believe her. He investigated. Found out the truth. She'd staged everything ...just to ruin me. That day, he cut all ties with them."

He paused, his gaze distant for a second before returning to her. "But my grandparents... they couldn't bear it, they couldn't bear that their daughter being away from them. They loved bua more than anything so when Rrisha staged those things and my father cut ties with them , my grandmother couldn't bear it and got hospitalized. They called them back after a few months thinking she would have changed ...And guess what?" he let out a bitter chuckle. "Nothing changed. Not her. Not her mother. They're still the same. Still trying to force something that never existed."

Shanaya looked down, her throat tightening. "So she... still..."

He cupped her chin gently, making her meet his eyes again. "Yes. She's still obsessed. But you don't need to worry, Shanaya."

His tone softened, protective yet filled with certainty. "Because I see her for what she is. And I see you for what you are...and you are my wife, my soul, my life. I know I can't sustain a day without you being around me... I won't be able to survive a day or an hour without you.... I need you, I....fucking.... need you.. ."

He leaned in, his forehead resting against hers.

"You are my peace. My reality. Whatever storm she brings I'll shield you from it."

Her eyes welled up again, but this time it wasn't from pain. It was from the raw sincerity in his voice, the warmth of his embrace that made her believe every word.

He brushed his thumb over her cheek, catching a tear before it could fall. "No more crying, hmm?" he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I can't stand to see tears on your face. Not when you're mine."

The swing creaked gently as they stayed there ......her head against his chest, his hand tracing lazy patterns on her back, the night wrapping around them like a quiet promise.

Kiaan's voice softened as he finished speaking. "That's the truth, Shanaya. She was never someone I wanted in my life... and I never gave her a reason to think otherwise."

Shanaya stayed quiet, her eyes fixed somewhere far beyond the balcony railing. A cold breeze brushed her cheeks, carrying strands of her hair across her face. Kiaan reached out, tucking them behind her ear ....
his fingers lingering just a little longer than they should have.

"You don't need to fear anyone here," he murmured, his tone lower now, threaded with something deeper. "Not when I'm with you."

She finally looked at him - her eyes glossy but steady. That single look was enough to undo him.

He tilted his head, his thumb brushing over the trail of a dried tear on her cheek. "Don't cry again," he said softly, "I can't stand seeing that."

His words carried both command and care. And when she opened her mouth to speak, he didn't let her - his hand cupped her face, his thumb resting under her lip.

For a long second, neither of them moved. The world went quiet - only the faint sound of wind chimes and her heartbeat against his chest.

Kiaan's gaze dropped to her lips, and when he finally leaned closer, it wasn't rushed. It was deliberate .....as if he was asking for permission without words. Shanaya didn't move away. Instead, her hand clutched his shirt, silently answering him.

His forehead rested against hers, his breath warm and uneven.

"I told you before," he whispered, his voice husky, "you're mine. And I don't share what's mine."

Her lips parted slightly .... a tremor of air escaping, not words.

He tilted her chin up again, his mouth brushing her temple, her cheek, tracing a slow line down to her jaw. She shivered, her breath catching with every feather-light touch.

Kiaan's hand slid to her waist, feeling the soft fabric of her saree between his fingers. "You have no idea," he murmured against her skin, "what you do to me."

Shanaya closed her eyes, her heart racing. She could feel his warmth surrounding her, his touch both protective and dangerous a perfect contradiction.

Her trembling fingers rested over his, and that small act made him still. He looked at her again .... his expression softer now, as if reminding himself to go slow.

He kissed her forehead, lingering there for a heartbeat before pulling her closer into his chest.

"Enough for now," he said quietly, his tone shifting back to that calm control of his. "You've had too many tears for one day."

Shanaya buried her face against him, his scent and warmth grounding her. And for the first time since the morning, she let herself breathe - safe, comforted, and yet... quietly burning inside.

They both sat in silence for some moment ,while kiaan was playing with her waist chain that he had gifted while kissing her hairs from time to time.....while she rested her head on his chest, trying to calm herself from the events that took place.

Now they were quiet ..... the only sound was the faint jingling of the delicate waist chain he was absentmindedly playing with. Shanaya's head rested against his chest, her fingers tracing small patterns on his shirt, as if trying to calm the storm within her.

For a while, neither spoke. But somewhere between his steady heartbeat and the warmth of his arms, words slipped out of her lips without warning.

"She was my mother's best friend's daughter," Shanaya whispered, her voice low and uneven. "Risha."

Kiaan's fingers stilled on her waist chain, his attention snapping entirely to her. She didn't look up. She kept speaking, staring at nothing ......as if every word was pulled straight from a wound she'd buried deep.

"Everyone loved her," she continued. "Pretty face, perfect smile, perfect grades... and I was always the mistake standing beside her. My mother used to compare us ..... every time." Her voice cracked slightly, and she swallowed hard before going on.

"If I wore something, she'd say Risha would look better. If I cooked something, she'd say Risha could do it perfectly. And when I tried to speak... she'd tell me to stay quiet because Risha was the one people wanted to listen to."

Her hand clenched around his shirt unconsciously, the fabric wrinkling under her grip. "I started to believe her," she said softly, brokenly. "That maybe I was nothing more than someone who would always be... less."

Kiaan didn't say a word. He just tightened his hold around her, one hand sliding to her back, his thumb moving in slow, reassuring circles.

"She-she used to humiliate me in front of everyone," Shanaya whispered again, her breath shaking. "And when my mother laughed along, it stopped hurting after a while. I just... got used to it."

The tremor in her voice hit him harder than he expected. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her hair, his hand moving from her waist to her chin, lifting her face to meet his eyes.

"You don't ever say that again," he said quietly but firmly. "You're not less than anyone. Especially not her."

Her lashes fluttered, and for a moment, she saw it ..... the raw anger in his eyes, not for her, but for everyone who made her feel small.

He pulled her closer again, her face against his chest, his palm resting protectively on her back. "If I could," he murmured against her hair, "I'd make you see what I see every time I look at you .... the woman who makes everything else fade away."

Shanaya's breath caught, her heart heavy but somehow lighter than before. For the first time, her silence didn't feel empty .... it felt understood.

Her eyes glistened, and she nodded slightly, leaning back into his chest as if his heartbeat could erase her pain.

He kissed the top of her head, but behind that tenderness, his mind was already spinning - calculating.

Her family. Risha.

The very people who made her doubt her worth, who turned her laughter into silence ..... they had no idea what storm was now coming for them.

His hand stilled on her waist chain, gripping lightly, almost possessively.

"They'll learn what it means to humiliate you," he murmured under his breath, his voice dark and low. "And Risha... she'll learn not to play with what's mine."

The sunlight shimmered against the metal of the waist chain as Shanaya closed her eyes again, unaware of the promise that had just been born in his mind.

And as the calm afternoon breeze filled the room, Kiaan's thoughts were anything but calm.

They were sharp. Cold.

And for the first time - deadly.

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