20

"I apologise for leaving so abruptly. Meet Chandini Sehgal, the soon-to-be Mrs. Rudra Kapoor."

I narrowed my eyes as he smirked and said, 'Soon to be Mrs. Rudra Kapoor' as if he were taunting him. When one of the men spoke, I turned to face him.

"My name is Nakul, and I work as Mr. Singh's assistant," said the brown-haired man.

He extended his hand for me to shake, and I did so politely. The black-haired man smirked at me and extended his hand to introduce himself.

"Aditya Singh, you must know who I am," he says, still self-absorbed.

I cast a glance at his hand. My palms were becoming clammy, and my heart was racing furiously.

"You are fine; I am here," the man beside me said softly, his breath brushing against my neck and gently pulling me to his side. I raised my alarmed eyes to meet his reassuring ones. He nodded his head towards them.

I looked at Aditya, faking a smile, with my heart beating insanely, but I joined my hands instead of shaking.

"Namaste, Mr. Singh, and no, I am not familiar with you; am I supposed to be?" I feigned confusion by furrowing my brow.

His smirk faded, and he drew his hand back, pretending to adjust his suit. He clenched his fist and stared at Rudra.

"The meeting is over; my assistant will inform you of our decision," Rudra said, his voice firm and commanding.

"I will see you soon," Aditya said, nodding to Rudra and winking at me as he walked away with his assistant close behind.

My lips twisted in disgust. Rudra took a step forward, but I quickly stopped him and pulled him into the room.

"Asshole, he winked at you and was staring at your legs. I should have punched him in the eye. He will think twice about doing it again," he said as he yanked my hand away from him.

"Han, Han, worry about punching him later; I might join you." I shrugged as he raised his brows at my remark.

"We have got more important things to talk about," I said, pushing him to his chair and forcing him to sit. I sat on the edge of his desk, one knee crossed over the other. His gaze swept over my bare legs.

I cleared my throat, and he fixed his burning gaze on me. I raised an eyebrow, and he gulped heavily. His ears were turning bright red.

He messed up his hair by running his hand through it. He looked even better and more appealing with some hair strands falling onto his forehead. Now he arched his brow, and I averted my gaze.

What is the matter with me? I told him I hated him just a few days ago, and now I find him attractive. I am going crazy, just like him.

These stupid hormones!

"You have me waiting here, darling. What was your important matter?" His voice brought me back to the present.

"Oh, about that! I-uh...I forgot," I mumbled as I rubbed my neck. My cheeks turned red from embarrassment.

He stared at me with his mouth open and his face contorted in disbelief. I laughed awkwardly and folded my arms. He abruptly grabbed my hands and looked at me, frequently blinking and tapping his shoes, as if nervous. "You can let me know when you remember. I am always here to listen, no matter what it may be. You are not in a rush, are you?"

I pull my hands away from him, clasp them around my knees, and shake my head. His eyes brightened immediately, and he nodded. I look away as a lump forms in my throat because he is staring at me with bright eyes—I have never seen anyone look at me like that before.

Or I am just getting insane? I don't know.

It has been a few minutes; we have both been quiet, and he continues to do his work while I am still sitting at his desk. Then I remembered why I was here—I clapped my hands, which seemed to startle him because he flinched and threw his pen into the air.

"I-I know why I came here!" I said, trying not to laugh at his expression.

He clears his throat and smooths his sleeve. "Oh, what was it?"

"I want you to talk to Aunty about keeping the wedding small," I said as I looked at him.

He sighed and walked up to pick up his pen before returning to his seat. "I told you to talk to Mom about it."

"You speak with your mother; you want to marry me, so you do it," I said, pointing my finger at him.

He raised his head and looked at my finger before raising his brows at me. I quickly drew my finger back and smiled sheepishly at him, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"All right, I will talk to Mom, or kya chahti hai aap?" He gave a nod. 
(And tell me what else you want?)

How did he agree so easily?

"The wedding venue is too large for just family and friends. Can I ask Muktha to change it and find somewhere smaller and cosier?" I asked with a big smile on my face. He nodded, rubbing his tired hand across his face. When did he get so easy to deal with?

I smiled at him, and his lips moved upwards, but he stopped, looked down, and went back to work.

"How is your back?" I questioned.

"Better, now leave. I have got work to do." he said dismissively.

"You should try smiling; maybe you will look younger," I said as I already started walking towards the door. His head snapped up in my direction with wide eyes.

When he got up from his chair, I ran out of his cabin, laughing. When I met Muktha, she was still talking. She saw me and said goodbye to her friends before we left the office.

We were walking to her car when the hair on the back of my neck stood up in alarm. I looked around to see if there was anyone else there, but we were the only ones.

Is someone following me?

On the way to my house, I told her to change the location to somewhere small and cosy for just family and friends. She seemed confused but still agreed to it.

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(a day before the wedding)

I was still in the office, going through documents when my phone began to ring. I looked up from my work and saw Papa calling.

I put the phone on speaker and said, "Han ji papa, kahiye."
(Yes, Papa, tell me.)

"Beta, where are you? You did not come home last night," said Papa, and he sighed heavily.

So, he noticed my absence—that is something new.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was 11 p.m. I looked down at my pending work before looking outside and seeing the office was dark and empty.

"Papa, I have been busy in the office, working on something new. I'll be home shortly. Don't worry," I responded, rubbing my face.

"And Papa, can you do something for me?" I asked a little hesitantly.

Papa was quick to respond. "Han, beta, anything! What is it?"

"Actually, it's a request from Chandini. Could you please talk to Mom about keeping the wedding small? She doesn't want a lot of people. Our family and friends are fine," I said tiredly, staring at the ceiling, and my body hurt.

Papa agreed to speak with Mom and told me not to be concerned about it. I leaned back in my chair, ran my fingers through my hair, and closed my eyes as I massaged his temples.

I immersed myself in the work after Chandini left, and I'd been working nonstop to distract myself from thinking about Chandini's words—they were haunting me with my other nightmares.

I have not been able to sleep properly since I dropped her off, and it has been almost two days. I had been thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days—how I was constantly hurting her, and yet she was concerned about me.

Chandini had a panic attack, and her words are in my head all the time. And now there is Aditya Singh, her ex and my rival. I knew she had a boyfriend because it was mentioned in Rahul's file on her, but there was no mention of Aditya's name.

Why did Chandini have a panic attack just by looking at his picture? She was terrified when she saw Aditya in the office the other day. What is the reason? Rahul could not find any information about their relationship other than a photo Sumit sent of the two of them.

What are you hiding, Chandini?

All of these thoughts had been racing through my head, and they had taken their toll on me. It had gotten so bad that I had to take sleeping pills just to get a few hours of sleep and for him to stop thinking about everything.

After some time, I returned home, took a shower, and ate dinner alone in the dark while everyone else slept soundly. A vision of my mother flashed through my mind, where I would arrive late from work or business events. She would always have dinner ready for me.

(About 6 years ago)

"Beta, when are you going to come home? Rudra, you have seen the time; it is midnight." I heard my mother's voice, sweet and gentle.

"Mumma I just left the office and am now walking towards the parking lot. "I will be home before you know it," I said as I approached my car.

I got in the car and began driving with my phone on speaker.

"You know I always wait for you whenever you are late, yet you don't understand me," she grumbled.

I laughed out loud because I knew she would be sitting in the dining room with everything ready for me to eat.

"Mumma, "I have told you a million times not to wait for me and to get your beauty sleep," I teased, smiling, thinking she would too.

"Shut up, Rudra, and do not make fun of my beauty sleep." "Now how many times have I told you that I can't let my child eat dinner alone in the dark when his mother is still alive?" she said, and my heart just melted.

I got out of the car as soon as I arrived home. I went inside.

"Hmmm..." I hummed.

Quietly making my way to the dining area. She was sitting with the phone in her ear, just as I had thought. I ended the call and saw her looking at the phone in confusion and shaking it. A chuckle left my lips at her cuteness.

She looked at me, and when I approached her, she drew me into her arms. It was like being in heaven. Her warmth gives me comfort; all of my tiredness fades away when I am in her arms.

I always say that when I die, I want to die in my mother's arms.

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Present time

The spoon shattered on the ground, and the sound echoed in the silence of the night. The sound jolted me out of my thoughts, and I noticed dampness on my cheek. I touched my face and realised I was crying.

I quickly wiped my cheeks and looked around the dining room to see if anyone had noticed. I had forgotten I was the only one here and was relieved when I realised. I went back to my room and climbed into bed.

I fell back into my thoughts as I stared at the ceiling, and it hit me like a tonne of bricks when I realised the wedding was in less than twenty-four hours. I shook my head to clear my mind before taking a sleeping pill and falling asleep.

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What do you guys think about this chapter?

We got a glimpse into rudra's past.

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