Page 126 of The Redemption
“I know I was your first kiss, Siya,” I say. “In our world, a mafia princess’s first kiss, her first surrender, always belongs to her husband. So tell me, how could I let you become someone else’s wife? The night we kissed… you became mine. Our marriage in Cape Town was nothing more than a formality for the world to know whom you belong to. So keep fighting me all you want. Keep hating me. But we both know that one day, you’ll come to me willingly.”
Her eyes widen in shock, but before she can come up with a decent comeback, my phone vibrates inside my pocket. It must be Haider. I’d asked him to meet me in the office cabin to discuss the chaos waiting outside the walls of RK Estate.
I close my eyes briefly, fighting the urge to ignore the call and stay right here above her. But then, I release her wrists and push myself off the bed.
Siya immediately moves backwards away from me. She’s still furious. Still glaring. Still breathtaking.
My wife.
“You’re staying in this bedroom with me,” I say, my voice calm enough to stress the threat beneath it. “Start getting used to your new reality.”
“Never.”
I ignore her and walk towards the door, then stop midway and glance back at her.
“And when I return, I expect to find my wife exactly where she belongs.” Our eyes lock for one brutal second. “On my bed.” Then I walk out, shutting the bedroom door behind me.
As I step downstairs, I find Siya’s mother standing outside her bedroom on the lower floor.
“Where is Siya?”
I exhale harshly, having no patience left today to deal with the mother-daughter duo.
“Inmyroom upstairs.”
Her entire face changes.
“In your room?” she demands angrily. “What is she doing there?”
I hold her gaze without flinching. “Exactly what a wife should be doing after coming home with her husband on the first night of marriage. Figure out the rest yourself.”
The next moment, the slap lands across my face so hard that I don’t see it coming. My head jerks to the side, my jaw tightening from the impact. An eerie silence falls over the villa. Any other person in this world would have signed their own death warrant for raising a hand on me like that. But this is Siya’s mother standing in front of me. And the rage burning in her eyes right now is not fear.It’s pure f*cking fury.
“How dare you?” she shouts, her voice trembling violently. “You may have forced my daughter into this marriage, but you willnotdo anything beyond that because I won’t let you.”
I stare at her silently.
“You had left the mafia world, didn’t you? Siya told me you were redeeming your life here at RK Estate. So, you should be ashamed of yourself, Raghav, for what you did to my daughter. She had come to you for help! She trusted you. And this is what you gave her in return? You dragged her straight into another nightmare, the very one she was trying to escape?”
I clench my jaw.
“Siya stopped me from creating a scene on that jet because she knew I was already disturbed,” she continues furiously. “But now that we are finally here, let me make one thing very clear to you.”
She steps closer, fearlessly, despite knowing exactly who I am.
“The kind of pain you caused my daughter…” Her eyes shine with tears now. “No mother will ever forgive that. And if you think Siya will quietly accept all this and become some obedient wife…” A bitter laugh escapes her. “Then you don’t know my daughter at all.”
My gaze sharpens slightly.
“She will fight you every single day for this. So nowyoufigure out the rest yourself. Because your life is about to change.”
I already know that.
“Because my daughter is not weak,” she adds, lifting her chin proudly despite the tears in her eyes. “And I, Rukmini Vardhaan, dare you to try and hurt Siya again. Just wait and see what happens then.”
The world seems to tilt beneath my feet.
Rukmini?
