happy women's day and mahashivratri ✨

-• you're mine •-

Rudra

I've taken, snatched and destroyed things I had no right over.
What makes you think I would ever give up on what's meant to be mine?

"Prepare for a press conference," The Chairman commands. "This has gotten out of hand. The only way to recover from this is to pull ourselves off the market completely for a while." I nod in response, internally grateful for the extra time I'm getting to execute my plans. Yuvraaj is yet to meet the Chief Minister. The news of murder kind of overshadowed the dinner meeting we had with the general secretary of NLP. "And Niharika," he addresses the woman next to me, "Halt the new contracts, we're not signing with anyone for the next month."

"Yes, sir."

"Right now, we need to focus on recovering the damage this has caused to our reputation. Virendra has confessed the crime, and he's not changing his statement, there's nothing we can do, and there's nothing more I wish to do for that good for nothing son of mine." He mutters disappointedly, eyes distant, sweltering anger floating on the honeyed surfaces. "I'm sorry, Shourya," he regards me seriously, "I'm not a bad father by any means, but I can't sacrifice my legacy for someone who never cared about it."

"No, Dadu," I soften my tone, "I understand. I hate to see Dad so helpless, but I'm also proud that he's willing to go through with his punishment. I'm with whatever you two decide."

The Chairman nods. "We need to be together in this difficult times. We need to show the world something like this isn't breaking the Rajawats." He stands straight, the permanent hunch prominent in his stature. "During the press conference, we'll address the issue, and make it clear we had no idea about it, and as the citizens of this law abiding country, we're going to co-operate with the authorities.

"I can't believe this." He murmurs shakily under his breath. "Fifty years of legacy, fifty years of respect, and this is what I'll be remembered as? A murderer's father?" He swipes an arm across the table, throwing everything to the floor. The vase breaks, and sharp splinters fly in the air. My arm automatically shoots out towards Niharika as I step back, bringing her back with me. "Shourya," he looks up at me, I stand straight, giving him my entire attention. "Bring FIA to India. I don't care how. Make this launch so big, the country remembers nothing but the grandeur of Rajawats. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Dadu."

"In less than a year, I want no news of this murder circulating the media. I want it gone."

"Don't worry about it, Dadu. I'll get it done."

"Bring back the old articles and interviews of charities and donations we did. Shift the focus."

I nod obediently.

"And cut short on public appearances." He says sternly. "That reminds me, where the fuck is your wife?" His wrinkled, worn down eyes narrow in sharp glares at me. "Why is she never home?"

I glance at Niharika who looks nervously between us.

"She's out regarding work-"

"I don't care. She's the daughter-in-law of Rajawats! She has some responsibilities as the woman of the house. This is why I told you to not marry that illegitimate child. What would she know of family reputation?" He grunts incredulously. "Get her home before the morning, Shourya. Or tell her to stay at her maternal house for the rest of her life!" He snarls angrily.

"I'll get her back tonight." I mumble, hiding my trembling fists behind my back.

The double doors behind us open. Secretary Khan walks in along with a maid wheeling the tray. "It's time for your medicines, Sir." The middle aged man says, a very robotic undertone to his voice, rather stiff and uncomfortable.

"Go, I need some rest." The Chairman dismisses us with a wave of his hand.

Niharika and I walk out of the room. It's huge and spacious, but the man makes it unbearable, to the point of suffocation. Niharika releases a deep breath once the doors behind us slam shut. We walk down the hallway together.

"Where's Taranya?" She asks me after we're out of the guard's ear shot.

I shrug. "Working."

Niharika breathes out. "I admire her attitude towards her work, but this time the Chairman was right. She should be here. Your father is convicted for a murder. We never know when she'll be cornered by a mob of reporters trying to make her comment on the ongoing issue."

I rake a hand through my hair. "I know. Do me a favour, go to the office and check the extent of damage this has caused in the stock market. We can't lose the FIA. And I'm not sure they'd like to have any deal with us after what happened. Get in touch with their legal team and sort this out as much as you can. I'll be at the office by midnight."

She stops in front of me. "Are you sure? You look like shit. You need rest."

I close my eyes for a moment. They burn. I haven't caught a wink of sleep for the last three days. Not after that night in the hotel. God, I miss Taranya. Why couldn't she be with me instead of that fucking loser? He has the head of a sixteen year old, I'm sure a little bit of cajoling is enough. Give him a fucking lollipop if the tantrums don't stop.

I was guilty every time I saw him in the coma. But now I prefer him there. At least he was less of a trouble than now.

"Call me if you need me urgently. I'll go and get Taranya." I open my eyes to look down at her.

She blinks, tearing her eyes off me before nodding softly. "Go," she whispers and walks upstairs past me.

I take out my keys from the pocket, call Amir and order him to follow Niharika under the pretext of security. I still can't trust her. I don't think I'll ever.

The valet brings my car around the porch. Thanking him, I get in, slam the door close and drive out of the palace premises. The drive to Jaigarh lasts for about two hours, add another half hour to reach the farmhouse. Cutting off the engine in the driveway, I step out, nod at the guards who greet me and ring the doorbell.

The breath is knocked out of me at the sight of my wife. She stands in front of me wearing a tight button down maxi dress. The dark blue color of the outfit makes her eyes stand out. I have to stop myself from yanking her to me and stripping her bare.

"Let's go home,"

She frowns and looks over her shoulder. "I- I can't. Shourya needs me."

"Shourya is not a fucking baby. Pack up and let's go back home." I walk inside the house, shoving her aside on the shoulder.

Shourya gets up when he sees me. "Why are you here?"

The fucking audacity of this man.

"To take her back home." I reply bluntly.

"I want her to stay the night."

"It's not safe." I argue.

"Not safe?" He scoffs. "I'm her husband, Rudra. If she's safe somewhere, then it's with me."

What the fuck did he just say?

My knuckles curl up tight, and I talk myself out from punching the motherfucker in the face. I'm sleep deprived, wife deprived, sex deprived, and the last thing I need is an amnesiac laying his claim on my wife. I've had enough.

Let's take a deep breath.

"Your father has committed a murder. The suspicion comes on everyone. And everyone is called for an interrogation. Tara can't keep disappearing so frequently, especially when the public's eyes are on us. She needs to be home and follow her regular schedule." I justify shortly. "Pack up, Tara. We're going home."

She moves to obey.

"She's not going anywhere."

She stops.

For some reason, his ability to command my wife sets me off. He has no right.

"Tara, stop wasting time." I pin her with a glare. "Go and get your stuff."

"Careful how you speak to my wife." Shourya grabs her wrist, dragging her next to him.

My blood boils. I keep my eyes on his hand around her wrist, the hold proprietary, his eyes confident as they stare into mine. He has to be a true nut case to even think he stands a chance against me.

"Your wife?" I step closer, towering over the midget. My snarl shifts, transforming into a smirk, and I look down at him demeaningly. "What do you remember about your wife?" I display a shallow, mocking smile.

He frowns.

"You don't know shit about your wife, do you?" I sneer, fury diving through my veins, alive and thriving, wanting an out, a target, something to destroy.

"Rudra-" Taranya shuts up under my warning glare.

"You know why?" I look back at Shourya, my tone condescending.

"Rudra, don't!" Taranya steps between us and tries to push me back. I don't budge. Too far gone in anger.

"Because she's not your wife."

"Rudra!" She snaps.

"She's my wife." There's pride in my tone that swallows the light from Shourya's eyes.

Taranya gasps, her eyes laden with worry, bouncing from Shourya to me. She twists her lips, anger palpable on her face and grunts, turning her back on me, on her merry way to console Shourya. I grab her arm and rip her off his proximity, bringing her to my side. "Rudra!" She twists at my side, giving up when she realises I'm not letting her go. My eyes stay on Shourya. He stares at me aghast.

"That's not true." He simply says.

I scoff out an arrogant chuckle. "If it helps you sleep at night."

"On the internet, in front of the world, she's addressed as Taranya Shourya Singh Rajawat. She's my wife." He avers confidently.

"She married your name, yes, but the man she married has always been me. Her vows are mine, her heart is mine, her soul is mine, her body is mine. She is mine."

Shourya shakes his head. "You're lying. I don't believe you." He shifts his attention on Tara. "Tell me the truth. Tell me again. Say that you're my wife. That we got married. That we once had fallen in love, promised each other forever, promised each other loyalty and love. Tell me again. I need to hear you." He begs.

I roll my eyes at his delusionary ass.

Taranya lowers her head in guilt. "I'm sorry."

Shourya steps back, the back of his knee hits the coffee table and he almost stumbles. Taranya lurches forward to help him. My grip doesn't loosen. She hits me on the chest out of frustration.

"Why, Tara?" He whispers, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. She meets his gaze meekly, nibbling on her lower lip. "I never trusted any of them. Not your brothers, not him, but I always blindly trusted you. Why did you lie to me?"

"Because the doctor said you wouldn't be able to handle the truth." I deadpan. "But since you're still standing, I take it you're fine now. Pity, really." I add the last two words under my breath.

"Rudra, please stop!" Taranya wrenches her arm off my hold and walks up to him. He teeters back, holding up his hand to stop her. She comes to an abrupt halt.

I sigh tiredly.

What are they being so fucking melodramatic for?

"So it was him? On the magazine covers, internet, it was all him?"

She nods slowly.

"Where was I when this was all happening?"

"You were in the coma for seven years." I state.

Taranya inhales sharply, shooting me a warning look.

"What? Should I sugar coat it?" I look back at Shourya. "You were sleeping for 2,556 days. Better?"

"Just leave." She says. "I'll come back home."

"I'm not going without you." I declare.

"When did you turn so unempathetic, Rudra?"

I smile lopsided. "Darling, you seem to have mistaken me. I'm not empathetic. I'm not a nice man. I'm selfish and I've zero regards to what happens to this world. I care about nobody but us. And he has been getting on my nerves with his delusions of you being his wife. I've had enough. I'm done playing this game."

"Delusions?" Shourya scoffs out a soft sob. "After lying to me, fooling me, betraying me, you're calling me delusional?" He looks at me with accusing eyes.

"I didn't lie to you. She did. I was forced to play along." I tell him.

His eyes shift to Taranya and he heaves out a troubled breath. "No wonder I felt something was off about your behaviour towards me. And you were really determined to keep this going, weren't you? That evening, I was going to kiss you and you didn't even stop me. Were you that desperate to keep up with this pathetic act?"

Taranya's eyes snap towards me as I stiffen.

"Rudra-"

"What?" I step closer to him. "What did you just say?"

He looks into my eyes fearlessly. "If I hadn't stopped myself that evening, she was allowing me to kiss her. Maybe even let me take her to the bed."

My heart almost stops beating. Tears well up in my eyes as I look at her accusatorially.

"No! What are you saying!" Taranya screeches, glancing between us in panic.

"Am I lying? Why did you close your eyes then?" He asks her cockily.

Taranya's eyes brim with tears. "Rudra, I was going to tell you-"

"When?" I cut her off, my voice low, and it takes me everything from flipping over the entire room. "After he had finally kissed you? How far were you willing to go?" My voice trembles.

She gasps. "No, I would never do that. I- I was scared -"

"Scared of what?" I repeat in disbelief. "Scared of stopping him? Scared of him finding out the truth? Because guess what, Taranya? It was this easy." I wag a finger between us, referring to the current situation. "I've had several instances in the past when I could have chosen someone else, Taranya. Where I let go of opportunities, took a risk of rejecting Niharika, went against the Chairman, and married you. I too, was forced to do a lot of things, and I too, was scared of rejecting them. But you mattered more to me. You always mattered more to me. And this is what I get? You were so desperate to protect the lie that you created that you were willing to kiss a man that's not your husband?"

She shakes her head, and tears stream down her eyes. My heart clenches.

"Trust me, all I wanted was to keep things smooth for you. I didn't want you to worry about stupid things. I was afraid that if Shourya found out the truth, it'll be another mess for you to fix. You are so focused on the revenge and I-"

"What the fuck?" I snap. She flinches. "Nothing else matters to me when it comes to you, Taranya! Not this revenge, not my plans, not a fucking thing! If you think I'd sit back and let a man kiss my wife so things can go smoothly for me then you still don't know me!" Her shoulders shake. She lowers her head, crying softly. I walk up to her and jerk her chin up, so her eyes meet mine. "I've been through hell and back, Esther. I've created myself from pieces, from the shards that have pierced my own hands, left scars in their wake but that still didn't stop me. I'm capable enough to not need a woman use her body to make things easy for me. I don't play cheap tricks. And I sure can't stand another man touching what's mine, do you understand?" She nods twice. "You're mine, Taranya. You're Mrs. Rudra Rana Singh Rawal. It's that simple."

"I'm sorry," clutching my shirt in her fists, she buries her face in my chest and without willing to, my arms surround her petite frame, holding her as she sobs softly.

My eyes move to the man in front of me. He watches us with a pained, sardonic smile, as if realising there was never a place for him in our lives, in her life.

Holding her fragile shoulders, I pull her away and dip my face to kiss her mouth. She sighs in relief. Shourya storms past us, up the stairs, and slams the door close. I smirk, tilting her chin to the side, kissing her deeper, longer, more passionate, almost possesive.

She whimpers when I release her lips. Her shaky hands curl around my neck and she pulls me back in, a sort of eagerness in her kiss, desperate to keep me close, as if she's scared I'll walk out on her for what she did.

Even if I want to, I can't.

This woman owns me.

I don't think I'll ever be able to give up on her.

If she puts a knife through my chest, I'd be happy to have her become my end.

Breathless, I rest my forehead on hers and trace her jaw with the pad of my thumb. "You mean the world to me, baby. Giving up on you means giving up on myself. So that's out of the options, yeah?" I assure her. She nods, grabbing my shirt more, keeping us close. "Wait for me in the car. I'll join you in fifteen." Pulling away, she releases my shirt and looks up at me, her eyes red rimmed and I sigh, leaning in to kiss her eye lids. She sighs in content. "I love you, Esther. Always remember that."

She hums.

"And you're not meeting him again. This ends here." I command.

She nods again.

"Go,"

Grabbing her things from the couch, she heads out of the living room and I hear the front door shut. Turning around, I make my way upstairs.

Fortunately, he has left the door unlocked. I push it open and walk in, only to find him stuffing his things in a suitcase. Let's treat him like an adult now, despite him not showing any signs of being one.

"Sit down."

"You don't tell me what to do." He growls, pointing his finger at me.

"Except that I can."

"With what right?"

"I'm older than you."

He scoffs. "I can't believe this. You're playing the older brother card right now?" He eyes me in disbelief.

"Yes, because I've been keeping you safe for so long. If you hadn't made the mistake of assuming my wife to be yours, you wouldn't be finding the truth this way. Your fault."

"Stop gaslighting me." He snarls.

"Oh, you know big words? Smart boy."

His tears up almost instantly and turns around, sitting down on the bed with a thud before burying his face in his hands, crying unrestrained. "I hate you. God, I hate you so much! You ruined my life."

Something tugs at the chord in my heart.

"You never loved Taranya, stop acting so dramatic."

"But I wanted to!" He screams, getting up to face me. "She was the only one who treated me normal! I wanted to love her. I wanted her to be my wife. She was the only normal, the only stable in the mess I've woken up in! And it's your fault! What did you do to me, you selfish bastard!?" He growls.

"The man you consider your father is the reason you're here."

He stops, stunned to silence.

"We look alike. I'm sure you know that already. And he wanted me to replace you."

"Why?" He whispers.

"It's a long story."

"Well, guess what, I've all fucking time. Tell me!" He demands.

"Sit down." I order him. He doesn't move. "If you want me to tell you the truth, sit down." I repeat sternly.

He comes around the bed and settles down in front of me. I close the door, and take a seat on the couch across from him.

"You better have a proof to verify your story. I'm not going to trust your words after what happened tonight."

"I do have proof."

"Then, go on. Tell me."

Taranya is mine. I'd freeze hells, bend the heavens, and burn down the world if I'm ever forced to give up on her.

Rudra is such an asshole sometimes lol

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Makes my day.