The Charade

51| 𝕽𝖊𝖞𝖆𝖆𝖓 𝕬𝖉𝖍𝖎𝖐𝖗𝖎𝖙 𝕬𝖌𝖓𝖎𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖗𝖎

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AUTHOR'S POV

"Reyaan is our son. Kashi." Adhikrit whispered.

"Mine and yours."

She froze, her gaze locking onto him. But Adhikrit couldn't look back. His head hung low, his forest-green eyes hidden beneath lashes heavy with guilt. He couldn't bear to meet her gaze. What if the warmth and care in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by cold detachment?

The reality was too much for him and he was a coward to admit it.

But then, he felt it—a delicate touch. Her fingers, soft and steady, tipped his chin upward, forcing him to look at her. The vulnerability in his eyes clashed with the calm in hers. And to his surprise, it was all still there—her trust, her love. It hadn't gone anywhere.

"He is our son, Mr. Agnihotri," she said, her voice a soothing melody. Leaning down, she placed the gentlest kiss on his lips. She pulled back, her eyes never leaving his.

"What did you do, Mr Agnihotri?" she asked, her voice as calm as always.

His breath caught. Pushing her hand aside, he tugged her into his arms with a quiet desperation, pulling her so close she could feel the uneven rhythm of his heartbeat. Her back rested against his chest as she relaxed into his hold, her tension dissolving with every exhale.

"I love you, Kashi, bohot pyaar karte hain aapse, itna ki kisi bhi haad tak jaa sakte hain hum," he confessed, his voice breaking.

(I can cross every limit for you, Kashi. I love so damn much.)

Resting his head against the bench's back, he stared at the dark expanse of the night sky, his grip tightening protectively around her waist.

Kashi leaned back, half laying over him.

"But if I see you in pain, I lose myself." His voice cracked.

"I told everyone I loved you, but they didn't believe me. I begged them to take care of you, yet that night, they shattered all the respect I had for them. I swore to never look at you as your lover again and planned to move out permanently, operating from headquarters instead. Living under the same roof as you would have pushed me to do things I shouldn't.

But that night changed everything. If anything had happened to you, I swear, I wouldn't have stayed behind. If only I hadn't acted like the man who let you go for your own good, and instead been the man I am now—'she is mine and only mine'—you wouldn't have had to endure all that pain.

You were so badly hurt, Kashi. The doctors said it would take time for you to recover. I couldn't bear the thought of you waking up to that pain. So, I asked the doctors to keep you on sedatives for a whole month, letting your body heal as much as possible. The emotional wounds... those would take longer. I wanted to spare you, even just a little, from the agony.

Your parents came to see you. Your mother fainted, crying so much. And I blamed them. I yelled at them, told them what terrible parents they were. I shouldn't have done that, sweetheart. I promise I'll never shout at our parents again. But at the time, they had no words, nothing to say. They simply did as I asked.

For everyone else, that month passed dealing with Dhir's death, but my nights were spent entirely with you. Watching you. You were so broken, so fragile, so vulnerable. Yet in that moment, something changed. My love for you found another chance."