Vaishali's POV -

I couldn't hold it in anymore.

The fear.
The messages.
The secret choking me alive.

So when Aishu arrived for the wedding festivities...
I broke.

We were alone in my room.

The haldi preparations had started downstairs.

Music echoed faintly.

Laughter floated through the halls.

But I was sitting on the bed shaking.

And Aishu was staring at me in stunned silence after reading every message.

Her face had gone pale.

"That psycho is back?" she whispered.

Tears slipped from my eyes.

"I'm scared, Aishu..."

She grabbed my shoulders.

"No. Don't even think of doing what I know you're thinking."

I blinked.

"What?"

Then she held my face and said firmly....

"No. You are not calling off this wedding."

I stared at her.

"What if he doesn't trust me?" I whispered.

"What if he thinks I hid another man from him... what if he thinks I cheated on him?"

Aishu looked almost offended.

"Vaishali."

Her voice softened.

"That man doesn't look at you with suspicion."

She smiled faintly.

"He looks at you like war and worship together."

My throat tightened.

"What if he thinks..."

"No."

She shook her head.

"He is way beyond jealousy."

A pause.

"It's not obsession."

Her smile deepened.

"It's something much more dangerous than that."

I blinked.

"What?"

She leaned in and whispered...

"Devotion."

My eyes burned.

She squeezed my hand.

"Tell him when you're ready."

"And until then..."

She smiled.

"Let yourself be happy after all these years."

Something inside me eased.

A little.

Maybe enough.

Because downstairs...wedding festivities had begun.

Haldi

The Rathore mansion had turned golden.

Marigolds everywhere.

Yellow drapes swaying.

Laughter.
Music.
Chaos.
Life.

And for once...

I was in the center of it.

Dressed in yellow.

Jasmine in my hair.

Nervous beyond reason.

Rhea leaned in dramatically.

"Today bhabhi officially becomes ours."

Everyone cheered.

And then....he arrived.

My breath caught.

Rudraksh.

Ivory silk kurta.
Gold-threaded jacket.
Sleeves folded slightly.
Strong forearms visible.

Hair pushed back.
Sharp.Royal.
Terrifyingly beautiful.
He looked less like a man...more like a promise women ruin themselves for.

And he was looking only at me.

My pulse lost control.

Rhea shoved the haldi bowl toward him.

"Bhai first!"

He walked to me.

Slow.Dangerous.

The world faded.

He crouched slightly.

Close enough for me to feel his breath.

His fingers dipped into haldi.

Then touched my cheek.

Warm.Slow.Lingering.
Too long.

"You're trembling," he murmured.

I whispered,

"Everyone is watching."

His mouth tilted.

"Let them."

My heart stumbled.

Then near my ear....

"You look prettier scared."

Heat rushed into me.

I forgot how breathing worked.

He leaned back.Eyes dark.
Possessive.

Like he knew exactly what he was doing.

And then....

He put a streak of haldi on my neck.

Too intimate.
Too deliberate.

I gasped softly.

Rhea screamed.

"OH GOD THEY ARE FLIRTING."

Everyone burst laughing.

I wanted to disappear.

But he only looked amused.

As if ruining me in public entertained him.

Later....

Rhea insisted we click pictures.

Dozens.

Laughing.

Messy haldi everywhere.

One candid got posted.

I barely thought about it.

Until....

Buzz.

My phone vibrated.

I glanced down.

And froze.

Comment from an unknown account.

Enjoy while you can, little lotus. I'll be around.

Blood turned ice.

No....No...

The world blurred.

The phone almost slipped.

"Vaishali?"

Rudraksh's voice.

I jerked.

He had noticed.

Of course.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

Too fast.

Lie.

I locked the screen instantly.

But before I lowered it...

His eyes caught something.

Just one line.

I'll be around.

Something shifted in his expression.

Cold.
Sharp.
Dangerous.

But Arjun pulled him away.

And I escaped.

Barely breathing.

Rudraksh's POV -

The noise faded the moment I saw her.

Everything else disappeared.

Family.
Music.
Voices.

Nothing existed.

Only her.

In yellow.

God.

She looked like sunlight draped in silk.

Fresh jasmine woven through her hair.

Bare face glowing.

Nervous fingers twisting in her lap.

An angel trying too hard to look human.

And something inside me...snapped.

Not violently.
Worse.
Softly.
Dangerously.
Mine.

The word rose in my head before I could stop it.

My pulse did something unfamiliar.

Too fast.

Too heavy.

I walked toward her.

Aware of every eye watching.

Yet all I saw...

was her trying not to look at me.

Failed.

Her eyes lifted.

And for one second...

she forgot everyone else too.

Good.

Rhea shoved the haldi bowl into my hand.

"Bhai first!"

I barely heard her.

I crouched in front of Vaishali.

Close enough to feel the quickness of her breath.

She was trembling.

Because of the crowd.

Or because of me.

I wasn't sure.

Didn't care.

My fingers dipped into haldi.

Warm paste against skin.

Then I touched her cheek.

Soft.

Warmer than I imagined.

And that simple touch...

felt too intimate for something so innocent.

She shivered.

I noticed.

Of course I noticed.

"You're trembling," I murmured.

She whispered...

"Everyone is watching."

I leaned near her ear.

"Let them."

Her breath caught.

And something darkly satisfied moved inside me.

Then I saw it...

fear mixed with blush.

That combination was lethal.

"You look prettier scared."

Her lips parted.

No reply.

Only that pulse fluttering in her throat.

I almost lost control then.

Instead...

I dragged haldi slowly along her neck.

Too low.
Too intimate.
Intentional.

She gasped.

Perfect.

Rhea screamed something.

People laughed.

But I wasn't listening.

Because all I could think...was how fragile she looked beneath my hands.

And how ruinously beautiful.

I wanted to mark her.
Claim her.
Do things I definitely couldn't do in front of family.
Dangerous thoughts.
I stepped back.

Before they showed.

Later

Pictures.
Chaos.
Her laughter.

God, her laughter.

I stood across the courtyard watching her smile.

Head thrown back.

Eyes bright.

Alive.

And something in my chest tightened.

Because she looked happy.

Because I did that.

Because no one had the right to take that from her.

Then...

It changed.

Instantly.

Her body froze.
Smile gone.
Color drained.

Phone in hand.

Eyes full of sudden terror.

My blood ran cold.

I moved before thinking.

"Vaishali?"

She jerked.

Like dragged back from somewhere dark.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

Lie.

Too quick.

Too panicked.

She switched off the phone.

But before the screen died...I saw it.

One line.

I'll be around.

Silence.

Then...

Rage.
Cold.
Precise.

Murderously calm.
Who.The.Fucking.Hell.

My jaw locked.

My hands curled.

Someone had reached into my space.

Toward her.

Toward what was mine.

And for a second...

I wanted blood.

She hid the phone.

Wouldn't meet my eyes.

And I knew...she was afraid.

Not nervous.

Afraid.

Arjun called me away.

I moved.

But my mind stayed with one sentence.

I'll be around.

Good.

Come around.

I'll be waiting.

Because whoever sent that...just made the worst mistake of his life.

And he didn't know it yet.

Vaishali's POV -

Moonlight spilled across the balcony.

I stood alone trying to calm myself.

Then...

His voice.

"Running from your own celebration?"

I turned.

Rudraksh.

Again.

Always him.

He came closer.

Too close.

His eyes scanned me.

Reading me.

"You've been somewhere else all evening."

I said nothing.

He stepped in.

Hand on my waist.

Bare skin burned beneath his touch.

I sucked in breath.

"Rudraksh..."

He leaned closer.

"What scared you?"

I looked away.

He caught my chin.

"No."

Soft.

Firm.

"Look at me."

I did.

And almost forgot every lie.

Then he said quietly..."Whoever is trying to scare you..."

His forehead touched mine.

"...let them watch."

I stilled.

His voice dropped darker.

"They'll learn what touching what's mine costs."

My heartbeat went wild.

His thumb brushed my lower lip.

Slowly.

Almost sinful.

Then....

He didn't kiss my mouth.

His lips trailed to my jaw.

Warm.Unhurried.

My breath shattered.

"Rudra..."

It came out barely a whisper.

His hand tightened at my waist.

Pulling me impossibly closer.

Then his mouth reached the sensitive place below my ear.

And I froze.

His lips lingered there.

Soft at first.

Then not soft at all.

A slow kiss.

Another.Deeper.

My fingers gripped his kurta.

Hard.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

I could feel his smirk against my skin.

"Still afraid?" he murmured against my neck.

I couldn't even answer.

Because the moment his mouth closed over that spot...

A gasp escaped me.

My knees nearly gave out.

He held me upright.

Like he expected it.

His lips moved there again.

Lingering.Claiming.

And then...

A sharp pull of breath as he sucked gently against my skin.

My head fell back before I could stop it.

"Rudra....aaah"

His name sounded ruined.

Broken.

He only tightened his arm around me.

Possessive.

Unapologetic.

When he finally lifted his mouth...

His thumb brushed the mark he left.

A darkening bloom on my neck.

My breath caught.

I stared at him.

Wide-eyed.

"You..."

He looked almost pleased.

"Now they know."

"What?"

His eyes darkened.

"That you're mine."

Fire rushed through me so fast I could barely think.

I could hardly stand.

He noticed.

Of course.

A faint smirk.

"Careful."

Breathless, I whispered...

"With what?"

He leaned near my ear.

Voice rough.

"With looking at me like that."

I had no reply.

Only trembling.

His lips brushed my temple.

Then another kiss at that same sensitive spot...

Making me shiver again.

Then he whispered...

"In a week..."

His hand pressed at my waist.

"You'll be my wife."

My pulse went wild.

"You sound too sure."

"I am."

His fingers tilted my chin up.

"Say you trust me."

I looked into those impossible dark eyes.

And whispered..."I do."

Something changed in his face.

Like those words meant everything.

He looked at the mark on my neck once more.

Satisfied.

Almost territorial.

Then murmured...

"Good."

Because for a terrifying second...

with his mouth still burning on my skin...

I forgot fear existed.

Rudraksh's POV

Later...

She slept.

I stood in the dark.

Thinking of that comment.

I'll be around.

Who?
Someone watching?
Someone bold enough to reach toward her?

No one touches what is mine.

No one.

I pulled out my phone.

One message to Raghav.

Trace an account. Immediately.

Reply came.

Done, sir.

But something in me already knew...

This wasn't random.

And I hated unknown threats.

Especially near her.

Especially now.

Author's POV

Across the city...

A cracked phone screen glowed.

Her picture.

Covered in haldi.

Laughing.

Being kissed.

His jaw hardened.

Fingers clenched.

A whisper in the dark...

"So he touched you."

Silence.

Then a smile.
Wrong.
Disturbing.
Possessive.

Message sent.

Saw him kiss you.

Another.

Enjoy him while you can.

Pause.

Final message.

I'll be at your wedding too.

Sent.
Delivered.
Seen.

And somewhere in the mansion...

Vaishali's breath stopped.

Because this was no longer shadows.

He was coming closer.

And love...

was about to become a battlefield.

To be continued...