Page 128 of The Redemption
I would walk into that wedding again.
I would burn the entire Vardhaan Mansion down again.
I would marry Siya again in front of the whole underworld if I had to.
The consequences? I’ll handle them. Every single one of them. Because after all the chaos and bloodshed, Siya is finally here. Safe. Inside my home. Exactly where she was always meant to be. With me. Forever.
That’s all that matters.
“Everything will be taken care of,” Haider says at last, exhaling slowly. “But right now, you should get some rest too. You hardly slept on the flight.”
Rest?The word almost sounds laughable.
Too many things are moving already. Too many enemies will wake up tomorrow after hearing that the Dark Prince is back. Too many people will come looking for my blood now.
Yet despite all this, getting some rest doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Because when I return to the villa, Siya will be sleeping in my bedroom... on my bed...as my wife.
CHAPTER 25
RAGHAV
By the time I walk back into the villa, the entire place has fallen silent. Only the dim wall lights remain on. I instinctively glance at the guest room downstairs. The door remains shut. At least Rukmini Vardhaan is finally getting some rest. After the way she came at me tonight, looking ready to draw blood if necessary, she deserves that much.
I look away and head upstairs instead. Strangely, every step towards my bedroom feels heavier tonight. Probably because, for the first time in years, someone is actually waiting for me behind that door.
Not waiting like some damn docile bride on my bed.
But a woman who is likely ready to claw my face apart for dragging her into this marriage, for threatening her, and for ordering her to stay in my bedroom.
In fact, I’m fully prepared to walk into the room and find Siya gone just to defy me again. Or probably she’s sleeping somewhere else entirely, with that same stubborn anger burning inside her. But the moment I push the bedroom door open, I stop in my tracks.
Because there she is, fast asleep onmybed.
My entire body goes still as I take in the sight of her. Siya lies curled beneath the blanket, one hand tucked near her face, while her hair spills messily across my pillow. She looks exhausted.Completely knocked out after the last twenty-four hours of madness.
As I step further into the room, the door shuts behind me a little louder than intended. But despite that, Siya is fast asleep. A small smirk almost tugs at my lips. She’s such a sound sleeper, the kind who wouldn’t wake up even if the world collapses right beside her.
My wife.
Shaking my head, I mutter a frustrated curse under my breath and head straight for the cold shower. Right now, I need the freezing water to calm the violence still tearing through my head. But as the icy water crashes over me, my thoughts drag me straight back to Cape Town.
Gunfire. Blood. Men dropping dead. The brutal recoil of the gun vibrating through my palm after every shot.I see it all, and none of it feels unfamiliar, even though I haven’t touched a gun in two and a half years.
Because the truth is, the darkness I buried had never really died. But one thing I know for sure is that I’ll never raise a gun against an innocent. However, if anybody comes after my family,after Siya, then I will bury them alive myself.It’s as simple as that.
After finishing my shower, I pull on a pair of grey sweatpants and walk back towards the bed. The moment my gaze lands on Siya again, I go still.F*ck,even asleep, this woman affects me far too much.
I can’t take my eyes off her. I admire her form without permission. The soft rise and fall of her breasts. Her lips that were arguing with me an hour ago are now slightly parted in deep sleep. Her long lashes fanning her cheeks. She has no idea that she’s lying in the space I’ve never shared with anyone before. No idea that she’s the only woman who gets to sleep on my bed, next to me.Forever.
That possessive thought hits me so hard that my chest almost burns with it. I sit down slowly on my side of the bed without taking my eyes off her. I watch her sleep, and before I can stop myself, my fingers move. I reach out and carefully brush a loose strand of hair away from her face, almost as if I’m testing whether she’ll wake up.
Nothing.
Still asleep.
A strange kind of calm settles over me, and before I can rethink the decision, I lean down and press my lips softly against hers.Just once.The feathery light kiss lasts barely a second before I pull back. And somehow, that single touch silences the chaos inside my head more effectively than anything else tonight. My breathing gradually steadies, and even my rage eases slightly.
How?I don’t know.
