54

RiR crossed 1M, guys! ✨

-• a date •-

Rudra

Taranya is a lot more calmer than me as she confronts Niharika. Presently, we're in our bedroom, and Niharika has settled herself on the couch next to my working desk. While I had let my rage take charge, my wife is sympathetic and understanding as she listens to Niharika, looks through all the evidence Niharika shows to prove herself worthy of our trust, even goes as far as to show her photos of University from the time she was friends with Atharva, still is. Taranya speaks softly of Atharva, no bitterness in her voice, no resentment in her eyes. She doesn't blame him anymore. It makes me smile. Her outer beauty might have caught my attention first, but it's her kindness that made me fall for her. She's so attentive in the little moments of silence, you'd never go unheard in her presence.

"We were only seventeen." Niharika whispers. "We didn't deserve that." She looks at Tara tearfully.

"You didn't." Tara murmurs, and reaches out to cup Niharika's trembling fists. "And if this makes you feel better, because I know one's sorrow can be another's comfort, I've lost a man very dear to me, so I know how it feels to lose someone before time. You have plans, you've dreams, a to-do list," Tara smiles wistfully as Niharika nods, a mixture of a sob and a chuckle escaping her lips. "And then they're taken away, unfairly, due to someone's selfishness, while you stand there and wonder, is this it? Is this how it ends?" Tears roll down my lovely woman's bright blue eyes and my heart reacts, lurching forward painfully, as if tugging at its own chords to break through and leap out of my chest to wipe her soft cheeks. "Misery is a very familiar place. We all have been there, for different reasons, with the same purpose, to cry and to let go. So while I may not be in your place right now, I've been there once, twice actually. It doesn't get easy. I know it won't until you watch those criminals pay for their sins," Niharika nods eagerly, wiping the back of her hands on her face to get rid of the tears.

"If you feel the need to stay here and help us, you're more than welcome. But I want you to remember one thing, Niharika," Tara squeezes her hands gently, "This is not only about my father, or Vineet. This is about those thousands of orphan kids who were subjected to power abuse, who had to give up on life before they learned how to live. It's a nasty war. And it doesn't end at yours or my revenge. Are you sure you take responsibility for your own security?"

Niharika nods. "I'm not giving up."

"It's okay if you want to. We'll understand." She glances at me with a smile. I nod softly. "But if you find yourself falling weak, just know that it's okay to give up. You've already given seven years of your life to this revenge. I'm sure Vineet knows that and is proud of you. He won't be sad if you back out now."

"No," Niharika denies immediately. "I'm with you." She looks between me and Tara. "And I know my input won't be of much help, but after working as Rajawat Corporation's lawyer for over a year, I've gathered enough evidence that could be useful. I have a list of properties the Chairman has brought under different names, the loss he has shown in annual reports, and the fake companies he has established overseas. Corruption is deep rooted in Rajawat Corporation. I've kept records of every suspicious trade and transactions and I've them all stored in my cloud. I'll send it to you tonight." She looks at me earnestly.

"All that you have is enough to create a small stir in public, but won't cause any effective damage to the company or its reputation."

"Why?" She frowns. "Once the tax department is involved-"

"Niharika," I interrupt her, "My grandfather has spent over fifty years of his life building Rajawat Corporation. Do you think he did that alone?" I shake my head. "From ministers to high profile lawyers to powerful businessmen, he has them all a call away. If Rajawat Corporation is charged with fraud and embezzlement, the case might go to the court but won't reach a decision under the pretext of insufficient evidence, and if it does, they'll have a scapegoat ready."

She sighs tiredly.

"The problem is his power." Tara adds. "He has more than enough money to buy the law. And if we act out impulsively, there's a chance we might lose the war before it even begins. The Chairman needs to lose all his power in order for him to lose his connections. If that somehow happens, getting charged with fraud and embezzlement will be just the beginning of his downfall."

Niharika and I nod.

"You have a plan?" The women look at me curiously.

I hum.

Niharika's eyes fill with hope.

"You're not telling us, are you?" Taranya asks.

I shake my head.

She nods with a sigh. "I understand. It's better if less people know about it. Yuvraaj Bhai is aware, right? I don't want you to take the risk alone." Her tone piques, laced with worry for me.

I smile. "Yeah, he does."

Both the women sigh in relief.

On the desk, my phone starts to vibrate. I read the caller ID and answer the call. "Yes, Mr. Iyyer," I address the marketing team head with his surname.

"The FIA is considering our request. But they want us to get the legal approval first." The happiness of their new achievement reflects in his tone.

"Good job." I compliment. "Leave the rest on me. I'll get it done." I tell him.

"Okay, sir, thank you." He whispers, his voice heavy.

Guilt gnaws at my chest. If the plan works, we'll be giving justice to hundreds of kids and the innocent lives that were snatched away unfairly, but I'll be also uprooting thousands of stable families and their futures.

When it comes to right and wrong, even the right has its own wrongs, and the wrong has its own rights.

Hanging up, I toss the phone back on the desk and meet the ladies' eyes. "The plan is in motion."

They beam like rays of warm sunshine.

Niharika leaves shortly after, apologising to Taranya and I one last time for the discomfort, troubles and misunderstandings she put us through. I can't bring it in myself to forgive her, but Taranya does enough for both of us as she hugs and says words of affirmation to the woman.

A relieved sigh leaves my wife's mouth as she shuts the door closed and looks me in the eyes, smiling so huge I might just get diabetes from all the sweetness. "I trust her. Do you?"

I shake my head. "I'll be tapping her phones and social media accounts. Yara will let me know if she acts suspicious. I've also posted a guard to follow her. She'll be under my eye constantly. If she's lying, she'll have to go." Forever. To dear God, or his hell.

Taranya nods.

"By the ways," she smiles teasingly, "Not so sure about you attracting women with low self esteem anymore, but you sure attract the problematic ones."

I raise a brow, offended. Though I know, somewhere, quiet strangely, that's true. "And you'd know?"

"Of course, I was the first." She shrugs proudly. "The first one to get attracted, and the first one to stay."

I lean forward and grab her wrist, bringing her into my arms as they lock around her waist. "And you'll be the last." I smile, pressing my lips over hers for a tender, slow kiss. She moans softly into my mouth, snaking her hands around my nape and threading her fingers into the ends of my hair, pulling me closer until there's no space left between us.

It doesn't take us long to grow frenzied and desperate for each other's touches. She fights off my blazer down my arms. I throw it on the floor before bending over to scoop her up. She wraps her legs around my waist, grabbing a fistful of my hair as she kisses me deeper, sucking my lower lip into her mouth, nibbling and licking it. As I carry her to the bed, she pulls away to discard her top, releasing an oomph when I throw her on the bed and climb on top of her. Her hands cup my face and she yanks me for another kiss. I close my eyes, groaning in the back of my throat as our lower bodies rut together, hips rolling to crash.

Then she does the unthinkable. Her hand slaps me over the forehead and pushes me back. I stare down at her befuddled. "What?"

She licks the smudged lipstick and opens her mouth to reply, but not a word comes out. I frown.

"If there's nothing to say, shut up." I grumble and slam our mouths together.

She presses her lips close.

"Tara?" I groan out in frustration as I glare down at her. "What's wrong? Are you not in the mood?"

"I- I am-"

"Then?" I ask incredulously. "If you're playing hard to get, please don't. Because I'm fucking hard right now and I need to get it." I palm my erection, showing her. Her eyes grow wide and color fills her cheeks. "Do I have your permission?" She blinks up at me innocently, as if she has no idea what I'm talking about. "Tara!" I tap her cheek gently. "If you don't want it right now, just say it. Don't keep me hanging. I've work to do. We can have sex later when you're in the mood."

She pushes me aside on my shoulders. I fall next to her before sitting up straighter, fixing my trousers so the seam doesn't poke me in the dick. "What's wrong? Did I manhandle you too rough?" I ask, now concerned. She has never rejected my advances before, in fact, for the most times we had gotten intimate, she was the one to initiate them. "Are you hurt?"

"No." She answers.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just go do your work." She lies on my side of the bed, facing the wall. I frown at her.

"I need to know what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong."

"Yeah, you wouldn't be acting like this if nothing was wrong. What is it?" I grab her arm and lay her flat. She keeps her eyes on the ceiling. Irked by the unnatural silence, I release a tense breath. "Tara, I'm not going anywhere. You gotta speak up. You're an adult, I'm sure you were taught how to communicate."

She eyes me in annoyance.

"Tell me," I soften my tone.

"We've never been to dates." She finally starts speaking, only that I hadn't expected the most absurd thing to come out of her mouth.

Dates?

We're married. Why would we go on dates when we live together, eat together, sleep together?

"We've never watched a movie together. We've never cooked together. We've never had pillow fights." Her lower lip puckers out as she slowly sits up. "It's been over a month since we sat down and talked, about our day, about the silly, stupid, normal stuff." She inhales a deep, shaky breath. "I love the sex, but I hate it when I wake up alone on the bed and see you working at your desk. I love the sex, but I hate it that if we're not having sex, you'd rather work than spend time with me. I love the sex, Rudra," her eyes meet mine, "But I love us more. Together. Doing the stupidest stuff. Like faking an argument," she chuckles, an inevitable smile grows on my lips. "Or you calling me dumb even though I'm not and then stuffing a note of hundred in my purse, or you rushing home to save my troubled ass because I managed to lock myself in the cupboard." I poke the inside of my cheek in amusement. "And I miss the old times. Remember when I started my part time job in the cafe? You came to wish me luck. And remember how you used to join Atharva and I uninvited every time we needed to go somewhere? So annoying." She chuckles. "The walk we had that night at the camp site?" I nod softly. "And the next morning when you showed me the sunrise? And how can I forget you flying thousands of miles on my graduation day because you wanted to take me on a fake date. Then our honeymoon at that farmhouse." Her tone softens.

"You asked me if I'd at least pick you off the shelf if you were a book," I hum. "I have, Rudra, so why don't you let me read you?"

I look down at my lap as the realisation weighs on me.

"I know you're busy. I know this revenge is your focus. I know taking down Abhimanyu Singh Rajawat is your only goal. I know and I understand." She leans over to take my hand in hers. "But don't forget me, Rudra. I'm not asking you to sit at my bedside all night. But give me some of your time. I don't like it when you walk out on me after sex. I don't know if it's weird, but for a while, I get detached from the world. And all I can focus on is you. You become the centre of my existence. You're all I want." My heart thuds so loud in my chest I hear the echoes of it in my ears. "You love me, don't you?"

I nod.

"Why do you think you love me?"

"I don't know." I shrug. "I don't have an accurate answer to that. I think I fell for you gradually. It started with lust, and as I discovered new parts of you, I found parts of me falling for those parts of you."

"Then why aren't you letting me see those parts of you? They already love me. And I haven't even met them. Sounds unfair, don't you think?" She smiles ruefully.

I suck in a deep breath. "They're dark and ugly."

"A moon, in all its phases, always remains a moon, my love." She cups my face. "Your darkness doesn't make you any less of a man that you've become, it doesn't change who you are. If you want me to fall for you, Rudra, I need to see you in all your phases, because I want to love you the same in each of them."

"And what if you run away?"

She shakes her head. "I won't. And even if I do, I know you won't let me get that far."

I chuckle. "That's true."

"Let's go on a date," she tugs at my fingers.

"Now?"

She hums.

"It's five in the evening," I glance at my wrist watch.

"You don't want to?" She tilts her head to the side.

I shake my head frantically. "No, of course, I do. Let's go!" I get off the bed, not releasing her hand as I lead her out. "Where should we go?"

"Dinner?" She suggests.

"Now?" I raise a confused brow.

"How about we go on a long drive and then stop at some high end fine dining restaurant?"

I nod. "Sounds like a plan."

"We're taking your convertible!" She tells me as we head inside the closet. I don't get a chance to answer as she opens her side of wardrobe and asks me to choose an outfit for her. "I'll choose for you in return."

"Okay," I whisper, watching her with a smile as she rejuvenates in the new found excitement. Looking through the options, I draw out a navy blue polka dotted wrap around dress with a plunging deep neckline and elbow length sleeves. Taranya gives me an okay gesture before looking through my clothes. In the end, she settles on ripped jeans, black sweatshirt and blue denim jacket.

"You change here. I'll change in the bathroom."

"You can change here." I smirk as she goes to pick up her outfit.

She squints her eyes at me. "No, if I try to get changed here, you might think of it as a strip tease and we'll never make it to the dinner."

"We'll make it to the dessert first though."

She hits me with her hanger and I laugh watching her saunter out of the closet.

Taranya looks every inch delectable in the dress. And the fact that I chose it for her makes her even more irresistible. I just know she's going to catch attention like a fresh bloom in the garden. The men can look, they can ogle, and they can dream, but they'll never have her. She's mine. All mine.

We go for the long drive as per her plans, and we take my convertible along. Not mine, if I'm being technical, but the old Shourya's. I don't buy convertibles since they're all show no go kind of cars. But seeing Taranya retract the roof, climb the seat and spread her arms to welcome the air hitting her face, I know I've to buy one soon.

After Taranya said she hates it when I walk out on her after sex, I was hurt. I didn't do it unintentionally. I simply cannot stand the thought of wasting time. If I'm not asleep, I need to be constantly doing something. I need to be busy. I need to be productive all the time. That's how I keep the nightmares and unwanted memories away. But if she needs me to cuddle her all night, I'll do it. The nightmares could be damned.

The wrap around dress has a slit, and it opens to reveal her soft thighs. Unable to hold myself, I wrap a hand around the inside of her supple flesh. She squeaks, looking down at me and laughing as she playfully tries to throw away my hand. I grip her thigh tighter, squeezing and rubbing the smooth skin.

It takes me by surprise when she sits down and leans over the console to cup me over the jeans. I hiss a breathe through my lips. "Don't," I warn her.

She leaves me with a long, dragged squeeze. I'm fully hard by the time she's done. My hand stays locked around her thigh as I drive us around Rajgarh. We stop at popular locations, but only get out where there's not much public. She clicks pictures and selfies of us, doing weird hand and face gestures that I'm commanded to copy. We stop at the sunset point and watch it from the edge of the cliff, legs hanging on the end as we enjoy kulfis in each other's company.

Then we go to the restaurant she made us a reservation at and have a full fledged three course meal in the privacy of our own cabin. She's a lot more playful and sexual during the time we eat dessert and I have to take multiple deep breaths to calm the growing bulge in my pants.

As I toss a spoonful of saunf in my mouth, Taranya leaves her seat to slide over my lap. I lean back, spreading my arms on the headrest to stare at her in amusement. She smiles bashfully, tickling her fingers over my jawline. "Why do you look so hot doing something as basic as eating a mouth freshner?" I chuckle, sliding my tongue along the outsides of my gums and chewing slowly. "Fuck, I want you inside me so bad," her mouth sinks on mine with a startling pressure. Inhaling deeply, I sneak my hands beneath her plump ass and drag her closer, bringing one of my hands to curl around the back of her nape as I tilt her head to the side and kiss her deeper.

"We should hurry back home," she pulls back, clutching my jacket in her hands tightly.

I nod.

"Let's go," she pulls away and grabs my hand, trying to lift me along. I let her.

The drive back home should have been quicker since I'm driving 90 miles per hour but it lasts longer than usual. Or maybe it's just our patience on the brink of falling apart. Parking the car haphazardly on the porch, I step out and she meets me in front of the bonnet before we walk inside the palace holding each other's hands.

"Boss!" Amir stops us in the hallway.

I frown. "What's wrong?"

Taranya steps closer to me to hear better.

"Virendra Pratap is home." He answers. "And he has brought a guest along."

My frown deepens. "Alright, I'll check who it is." I pat him on the back. "Good work tonight." He nods and walks away.

"Who is it?" Taranya asks me as we continue inside.

I shrug. "Must be one of his gambling friends."

She nods, holding my hand tighter as we enter the living room. Two men occupy the long couch. Similar age. Hence, definitely friends. Ignoring the two, I lead Taranya towards the staircase.

"Shourya," Virendra calls out, "Won't you stop to say hi? I also have an old friend along."

I turn around, facing them. The stranger stands at the same height as my uncle slash fake father. He's a large man with a protruding belly and grey hair. It's his smile that disgusts me. Even if he's wearing the most expensive, branded fabric of all time, it's his smile that obliterates all the shiny materialism he carries. It's huge, crude and horridly wicked.

"This is Manohar Jadega." Virendra introduces us. "Do you remember him?" A smirk crawls over his face.

I look between the men in growing confusion.

"How would he, Virendra?" Monohar's smile, if possible, grows. "He was a child back then. Only eight or nine years old. And he was always fast asleep whenever I stopped by to meet him."

My blood turns cold. I drop Taranya's hand.

"Shourya?" She calls out timidly.

Manohar grins, salacious, obscene, and provoking. "But I remember you all too well, little boy. All too well."

It's him. The monster with fangs.

I hear Taranya gasp as she reaches out to brush off the tear that rolls down my cheek.

Are you a victim or an accomplice?

Is it fear holding you hostage, or is it you finding a home in it?

When do the blurred lines finally clear up?

Apparently, when the monsters of your past catch up with you again.

The upcoming chapters are going to be heavy, and will have trigger warnings of sexual abuse, child abuse and violence. The details won't be graphic, but I still wanted to warn you guys.

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