Please vote and comment! Motivates a lot!

Mythili's POV -

It was as if both sleep and I had given up on each other. I lay there awake with my eyes closed while my only source of comfort was the light from Mr. Rathore's laptop in the otherwise dark room. He was sitting on the very same armchair with his laptop as I let tears silently roll down my cheeks.

I wanted a home, my home. Not the one where I had stayed all my life and not here. I wanted a place I could call my home and in my 21 years, I had not found that place.

I wiped my tears away and pulled the duvet right up till my face as I shivered a little.

What was I going to do? Marry him? Will he let me study any further and maybe work or will I be expected to just bear his children and become a mother? Will my identity only be that of Shivaay Singh Rathore's wife? Could I live with myself for that?

" Please sleep Mythili or you will lose your mind if your mind keeps scaring you like this. Please sleep." I whispered very slowly to myself and turned myself to the right, the duvet still covering my face.

I don't know when finally sleep did take over but I was just glad that it did, temporarily putting me out of the mental agony I was in.

....................................................

The next time my eyes opened was because of the sharp light of beam on my face. I looked around and saw the unfamiliar room I was in and immediately threw myself out of the bed.

This had gone too far. First, I was living as a prisoner at my father's place and now I am supposed to live under the watch of my to-be husband's?

" What is the meaning of this life?" I asked to myself and the similar feelings from last night started to creep within me, once again.

" We are not your captors beta." I turned towards the door to find the source of the voice. It was Mrs. Rathore as she came and stood in front of me and as much as I wanted to tell her that it was exactly how I felt, I bit my lip to stop uttering anything that could offend her or her son.

For a moment, we continued to look at each other before she pulled me for a hug and I for some reason, did not have it in me to not seek the emotional comfort that I was being offered and the moment she stoked my head gently, I could not hold my tears back.

" Shh. It's okay. Come here." She guided me back to the bed as she took a seat right next to me and took hold of my hands.

" Yesterday, what you father did to you, you did not deserve any of it. No one deserves that." Her voice choked a bit towards the end before she composed herself once again and gave me a sad smile. It was not as much a look of pity as it was of understanding my feelings.

I did not know what to say or how to tell her that the slap did not hurt me as much as their silence did when I was being taken away and so, I kept quiet.

" I am sorry I could not be home for you yesterday. I had something very important to take care of and Mythili, remember that I am always here if you need me and when you are ready to talk. In time, you will have to make a decision. Either to marry Shivaay or return back to your father because as much as I would like to have you here, I have no right. But before that, come down to the dining room for the breakfast. I'll send a maid for your help." She told me the harsh reality which I was aware of but didn't want to hear. I gulped in fear and nodded my head slightly.

She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving the room as I continued to sit there, contemplating what to do as if I had an option. My parents would never take me back. I will never have a home with them henceforth and even if they somehow do let me back, I will be married off to someone else as dad had already made it clear.

" I need my things." I spoke to no one in particular but just then, there was a knock on the door.

" Come in." I said, standing up to get into some sort of defensive mode.

" Miss Kapoor, your things have been moved to your bedroom. Mr. Rathore has also asked me to give this to you." One of the maids came in as she handed over a piece of paper to me before walking out.

I am going by your words that yesterday was just a momentary lapse of judgement, Mythili. Don't make me regret it.

- S

This was one single good thing that had happened to me in the past twenty-four hours. Even though I was living in his house, I wasn't forced to be around him in his room.

" Yet Mythili, yet. Remember that you are getting married to him." My conscience snickered at me and for now, I decided to ignore it and focus on the positives instead.

A smile made it's way on my lips unknowingly as I played with Mr. Rathore's note in my hands. Just like everything around him, even this piece of paper which felt smooth with a little gloss on the skin of my fingertips as my eyes fell on the note again. The paper was monogrammed with the initials of RGI which I was assuming is Rathore Group of Industries.

I then looked around the room and all around. The light was coming from the huge windows on the right side of the bed. All the furniture in there was wooden, almost chocolate brown with wooden flooring and there was a huge grey rug in the middle near the bed. There were three doors attached to the room. One must have been the balcony, the second to my left was most definitely a washroom and the third must have been the closet. The nightstands had lamps placed which I could have switched on had I seen them at night and finally, at both corners of the room was an armchair on which Mr. Rathore had been working all night and a couch but what surprised me was that there were no photos in the room at all. It was as if no one occupied it had I not known it was, in fact, Mr. Rathore's.

Shivaay's Bedroom -

I then made his bed which I had used last night and then as my eyes fell on the couch once again, I saw the cushions out of place so I arranged them too before walking out of the room and tried to navigate towards mine which was a bit of a task because there were so many hallways in the house!

" Is something wrong beta?" I walked up to Malini aunty who was standing near the staircase, talking to one of the house helps and she asked me when he eyes fell on me.

" I cannot find the guest room aunty." I almost complained but all she did was chuckle a bit.

" Come on, I'll show you your room." She said and I followed her without saying a word. We stopped before a door, which was the third one from the stairs as she opened in and allowed me to step inside first.

" All your clothes, books and other things have been sent over by your parents and beta, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me or Shivaay." She said with that very warmth in her eyes that I have been seeing within her except for that one time in the party.

" Thank you aunty, for everything." I said as emotions, once again started to overwhelm me and I did everything in my control to stay composed.

" I'll leave you to freshen up and then we will have our lunch together. Anyway, it'll be too late for breakfast." She said, that smile never leaving her as she left me to myself.

I immediately took my brush and walked inside the washroom. As I was taking a hot shower, I could feel the small knots of stress in my body loosening up as I leaned into the wall for support and just like that, I couldn't hold my tears back, letting myself sob and try till there were no tears left. I felt so hollow from within as if someone had pulled my heart out of my body. The only sense I could feel was the one of abandonment.

" Stop Mythili. You have to stop crying." I scolded myself, pulling back on my feet as I stood up. I had never cried as much as I had in the past few hours. I had never felt so miserable.

I wrapped a towel around my body and my head as I walked out of the shower to the bedroom, locking the door and what I found was that my clothes were neatly arranged in the closet. I pulled out a maroon kurti with blue jeans and put it on after drying my hair before walking out of the room towards the dining room.

Mythili's Look -

As I descended down the stairs, a maid pointed towards the hall and I made way there to find Malini aunty standing, facing towards me and by the looks of it, it was surely Mr. Rathore who had his back towards me, talking to his mother. She hadn't seen me and they looked like they were talking about something serious so I decided to retrace my steps back so as to not intrude and give them privacy.

I must have taken a few steps back when Malini aunty finally saw me and stopped me from walking away.

" What happened Mythili? Is something wrong?" She asked as I turned to face her. Mr. Rathore too was looking at me.

" Umm....I just felt that you were in the middle of something important and decided to come back later." I told her honestly as I continued to look at her and not towards her son who I knew was looking at me, obviously like her.

" It's nothing. Come on, have a seat." She waived her hand and I took a few steps near the closest chairs, hesitantly.

" You have been crying." Mr. Rathore's voice rang in my ears, finally forcing me to look at him.

" No." Was my only reply before I withdrew my gaze away from his and looked at my feet.

" And yet your eyes give me a different narrative. Stop feeling sad for yourself. Pity is something you should not take from yourself if you don't want to find it in the eyes of others for you, Mythili" He spoke in a tone so soft that I found myself doubting if he actually had said anything or just my mind playing tricks. I looked at Malini aunty for some reason but found her talking to a maid once again, unaware of what her son had just said but one look towards Mr. Rathore and the sincerity on his face only meant his suggestion to be genuine. I was unaware that this cold man was capable of emotional intelligence.

But as much as I knew about the truth in his words, I couldn't answer back so I decided to not look at him again.

Before I could pull the chair to sit, it was pulled for me and I looked up to see Mr. Rathore who had done it, once again, as he demanded my attention without intending to.

" Thank you." I said as he gave me a nod in acknowledgment before I sat down and he pulled a chair for his mother too before walked up to sit at the head of the table's place, as expected.

Malini aunty, who was sitting beside me asked the maids to serve.

There was dal, chapattis, mix veg, mushroom and rice along with salad and suddenly, lunch did not seem a very good idea. It was almost painful to eat but somehow, I managed to finish the contents on my plate.

" Miss Kapoor I suggest you start studying if you plan on doing well in your exams. All your books have been sent up to your room and if you need anything, this is my credit card. A driver will always be here for you in case you need to step out. All I expect of you is to let mom or myself know about your whereabouts." Shivaay's deep voice broke me out of my trance while I was standing near a window, letting the drizzle which had just started fall on my face. I turned around quickly after hearing him as I found him standing behind me, a card in his hands extended towards me.

I looked from his hand to his face back and forth before shaking my head in disagreement.

" I cannot Mr. Rathore. Your mother and you have been generous enough to let me stay here. I cannot be anymore burden on the two of you." I opposed to his words, taking a few steps away from him and then looked away in embarrassment because it was true, I was only a burden.

" You are under my roof Mythili and you are to be my wife. You are entitled to what you are being given." He announced, holding my left hand's wrist as his touch gave me jitters all over but froze me to my spot. I looked at his face to find the exact poker expression he always has as he slipped his credit card on my palm before walking away, not giving me a chance to speak any further.

But I was determined too, I will not use it. I will manage in whatever I have. I will not be a burden anymore than I can avoid.

Hey guys! This is the next chapter. I hope you all like it. To unlock the next one, at least 550 Votes and 100 comments are required on this one.

Please vote and comment! Motivates a lot!

I love you all. Until next time. Byee!!❤❤