Page 189 of Rudra Nandani: The Saga of Control And Seduction

Somewhere deep inside, I had a strange feeling that her disappearance might be linked to Surgami Dev Singh being with my brother.

So I asked one thing I wanted to ask.“Was your uncle with my brother?”

His gaze shifted instantly, from sad to shocked. But he answered.“No, I didn’t meet him… but yes, I heard that he and Abhinandan were spotted together,”

A chill crawled down my spine when I came to realise Chandramukhi wasn’t there, and Surgami Dev Singh had met Abhi.

And then Rudra suddenly insisted that I return home.

“What happened, little bird?” he asked softly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced at him and plastered a smile on my face.

“Nothing,”

He narrowed his eyes slightly.“Really?”

I nodded again.“Yes. For sure,”

“Okay,” he murmured, kissing my cheek before getting off the bed. But I held his hand, and he paused, looking back at me.

“What is it?”

I straightened up, and he sat down on the bed again, facing me.“I want to ask you for something,” I said.

“Of course. Everything is yours, love,”

I took a deep breath.“I want you to come meet me every night… and if you ever can’t, I want you to promise me you’ll write to me,”

He furrowed his brows.“What? But…”

He chuckled.

“Nandani, you should be spending this time with your family. Can’t you live without me for even a few days?”

His words stung more than I expected. It wasn’t that I couldn’t live without him—of course I could. But why should I, if I didn’t have to?

“Yes, I can,” I said gently.“But I want to see you, too. You’re my family as well,”

He sighed.“Nandani, you should spend this time with them, not tangled in my thoughts. It’s just a few days. I have a lot of work to do too… I won’t be able to come,” he said, and I knew this was it.

That was it.

I understood. Something was wrong—terribly wrong. Maybe between him and my brother. But what was it?

What did they think of me? What were they not telling me?

?? ? ? ?

The next few days passed quietly. He cared for me deeply, and I felt blessed, but I couldn’t shake the heaviness of my heart.

You know that moment… when the whole world opposes you and advises you on things, yet you put everything on the line just to listen to your heart. Because you understand your heart, you know your courage, you’re aware of your strengths, and you know that there will come a moment when you’ll see it all back and feel,‘Yes, I did the right thing.’

That’s how I felt when I saw him feeding me, taking care of me, doing all those small, intimate things I never imagined a husband would do for his wife.

It had been almost a week since the incident with Abhinandan. At that time, Rudra had signed the peace treaty with Mahabaleshgarh and gained the trust of other princely states. Talks were progressing fast.

The dates for Ranvijay and Aishwarya’s wedding had also been fixed, after six months, as per the priest’s suggestion. I was thrilled for Ranvijay, though I kept nudging him to at least see her portrait. He refused every time, saying:“The moment I said‘yes’to this marriage, she became my wife. What else do I need to see?”

I didn’t know why, but I liked that answer.

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