मेरी राहें तेरे तक हैं 

तुझपे ही तो मेरा हक़ है 

इश्क़ मेरा तू बेशक़ है 

तुझपे ही तो मेरा हक़ है

Author's POV

"You don't love me," The man concluded with a dramatic sniff, making Shivangi frantically nod her head in a no. She wanted to justify but the ability to form words seemed to have left her head since the moment he started emotionally scolding her. She had been listening to his words looking down at the floor for the last 15 minutes as he went on and on about how she didn't love him at all. This wasn't true in any damn manner.

"Then how do you justify not coming to this place for the last 3 months, 4 days, 10 minutes, and 17 seconds? If you had loved me, you wouldn't have ignored me so cruelly. Is this what I get in the form of my reward for my unlimited love for you? Your ignorance?" the man asked, making Shivangi's eyes go wide as saucers. She sighed and looked at Rudra who was frowning at the love confession. He hated it when people said they loved her because that was only his right to confess. He impatiently tapped his foot, annoyed at the direction of the talk, but he wasn't going to interrupt. It was purely his velvet's fault. She was so busy working herself to the bones that she even forgot to meet the well-grown exaggerative man in front of her. How many times had he reminded her but she kept giving excuses? Now there was no use crying over the spilt milk.

Shivangi opened her mouth to respond to his claim, but he interrupted, "No! I am not hearing anything. I am so damn angry at you"

"Furious is the word," A soft female voice guided, making Shivangi glare at the mischievous intruder.

"Exactly! I'm FURIOUS with you," The man said, making Shivangi look at Rudra in exasperation as his warm eyes looked back at her carelessly. They both remembered the happenings of yesterday as they smiled ignoring the bubbling lava of anger all around.

Time seemed to have stilled for Shivangi as she could hear the sound of every puff of air that her nose inhaled and exhaled rapidly. After hearing the word betrothed that made her belong to him in more ways than she could ever count, she had stopped listening to the argument going to and fro. Neither did she hear the way her mother had defended her stance, nor did she pay attention to what her love said to give rise to a deadly silence once again. Her gaze flickered to each of her loved ones she trusted more than life to know they had hidden a grave decision of her life from her. Silently she gave them space to argue, but her only solace amidst the constant turmoil was his firm hold on her hand. The one that promised her his entire being wordlessly.

"You are asking me why I did it? I was saving my daughter from the traces of heartbreak you planned on leaving behind. You were always as much of my son as Shivangi is my daughter and I don't blame you for choosing some other girl as your fiancé, but don't expect me to let her walk in a fire where her hope of finding love burns. If you love her so much, then where were you for the last 5 years?" Tara Moksh Mittal asked, blinded by rage. His grandmother's every word still rang in her ears as she mocked her for dreaming a happily ever after for her daughter.

"Unki aankhein padhna seekh rahe the. Unki majboori nahi chahat banne ke koshish kar rahe the ki kisi din chunna pade toh vo sir utha kar hamein chun sakein. Aur yeh baat aap bhi ache se jaanti hein, Mumma (I was learning to read her eyes. I don't wish to be her obligation, I wish to be her choice and even you know it Mom)," Rudra answered back angrily. No one had the right to question his love for her. That was the limit people were not allowed to cross no matter how close they were to his heart. Tara sobbed as she heard his words, knowing her attempt to save her daughter from heartbreak had done nothing but crush her little heart. Why? Because the man standing in front of her was a walking proof of her love.

"Would you marry her, Rudra?" Tara asked with so much pain in her voice that he sat on his knees before the sofa she had crouched down upon and held her palms in his.

"Why so much apprehension in your tone mumma? Tell me to marry her right this moment and I am hers to own. I have been hers all my life," Rudra said, making her pull him up and hug him, patting his back.

"I am so sorry for doubting you but your grandmother called and said I should stop dreaming of getting a dumb pauper married to a king or else I would make my daughter nothing but the other woman of your life when you marry Mahira. I can't let her be humiliated like this. I know she can't speak—"

"My velvet is perfect the way she is. Don't," he interrupted before standing up and promising aloud, "Vachan dete hai ham ke Rudra Pratap Suryavanshi ka naam Shivangi ke ilava kabhi kisi ke saath nahi judgega. Na aaj, na kal, na agle jitne aane wale janam bhagwan ne hamare hisse likhein hai unme (Rudra Pratap Suryavanshi's name will never be attached with anyone except Shivanhi. Neither today or tomorrow nor for whatever lifetimes god has blessed me with. I swear)"

Moksh nodded at his son-in-law, making him nod back, knowing he had solved the worries of a father without him expressing them in words. Tara blessed him while Shivangi looked at them not knowing where did this conversation make her stand. They were hiding things from her for years and that feeling was choking her.

"What the hell is happening?" She asked her father as he sat beside her.

"Shivu, your marriage was fixed with him when you both were a mere 4 years old. You both had just met in a park and were chirpily playing together when your ball fell on the other side of the road. Rudra went to bring it back, but while crossing the road, he failed to notice a car speeding in his direction. You pushed him at the right time, saving his life, but you were severely injured. However, god saved your life but couldn't save your tongue as you faced a near-death situation. The psychological trauma was too much for you to bear as your memory permanently evaded the accident and hence you don't remember much about it. In addition to the chest injury, shock also contributed to the aphonia. Doctors tried their best, but nothing could bring your voice back and as you had forgotten the accident, we told you that you were naturally mute. At that moment, Rudra's parents had vowed to make you his bride. We had accepted the relationship in the fear of your future, knowing how difficult it would be for the world to accept you thereafter. Maybe there was something about the way you kept smiling at him in the park that didn't let me deny the proposal. For him, if a word called wife existed, then it meant he was calling out for you. From the last five years, we have lost touch with his family, and fear was clawing at us that they might no longer be interested in this alliance–"

"Because for the last five years, I have been trying to make my wife look at me the way I look at her. I wanted to give her space as she accepted me without the burden of your vows. Now I know I am not taking away her choice of choosing her life partner as she cries over my name being taken with someone else. I just don't know when my velvet would claim me," Rudra sighed.

Shivangi understood their standpoints as she pondered upon their words. She couldn't help but let the soreness of betrayal seep through her soul, knowing they were keeping the biggest truth of her life from her. This was too much for her to take in. So much was going on and she had bloody no idea. Everyone was making decisions related to her life while she became a subject of their experimentation. Not him. Her heart reminded her. She knew he did everything in his power to make her feel she belonged with him beyond promises of marriage or parental pressure. He did make her fall for him madly, deeply, and irrevocably in love. He let her freely experience the bliss of finding her way to him.

"I hope everything is clear now, and no one disrespects me by imagining a future of my woman with other men," Rudra announced, making Tara and Moksh sigh, knowing he would not let go of this matter easily. While he understood their concerns, they should have contacted him first and not pressured his love for things. They knew she was too sweet to deny them.

"Excuse us," Rudra said, looking at Shivangi as he held out his hand for her. He was asking for permission to whisk her away into his warmth and she wanted nothing less. He lifted her off her feet into his arms and walked out towards the door. Tara was going to stop him but Moksh held her back and said, "They have been silent for long. Let their love silence the stars tonight"

**************

The cool sand caressed their feet as they basked in its solace sitting beside each other on a beach. Rudra had brought her to the place where she could bring tranquillity to her reeling mind as she loved seeing the waves dance under the moonlight. No words were exchanged as they thawed in the tenderness of the moment. She had tons of doubts ready to spill through her lips while he had an enormous amount of love to show. He wanted to tear open his heart to her oblivious self, to let her accept what he felt for her. Instead of starting a conversation, he held out his palm for her. She looked at him as she heard him profess his sentiments through his eyes.

She didn't know how, but he always knew what she desired with all her heart. It was like he could sense what she couldn't speak. He was right. He had been doing nothing but learning the art of reading her eyes for the last so many years.

Holding his hand with her soft ones, her eyes landed on him yet again. He asked her to start by raising his brow while she nodded. She slowly let her fingers slide over his palm to write her questions, as she hated to speak when she was confused or sad. The peace his touch offered, combined with his effort to let her emotions flow, was overwhelming. As her fingers roamed over his hand he felt as if she was writing her name on his soul with permanent ink. He was ruined for any other woman that took birth in this world.

"Why?" she wrote on his palm while he looked straight into her eyes as he answered, "I didn't want to be your obligation. I had to be your choice"

She nodded, understanding why he hid the past from her. His eyes were brimming with things he wanted to say, but his every expression would come after her urge to be heard to him. How could she not love a man like him who always put her first?

"Why me?" her next question made him engulf her palm in his, making her realize she had asked what he hated the most to answer. Everyone kept asking why not the woman they saw as an epitome of magnificence but no one understood that to his eyes flawlessness came in only one form. In the form of Shivangi Mittal.

"Because you stole my first smile. From then I could never dedicate my smiles to anyone other than you," he answered honestly. He was always the silent kid of his parents and that day at the park, his parents had seen him smile for the first time ever. When he was talking to her. He had given her the right to be his confidant and now no one else could even peek through the closed door of his heart.

Surprised, she looked at him with her doe-shaped eyes. He simply nodded at her, making her smile. Seeing her smile at his words, he smiled back. Moon might have melted right there witnessing their serene love for each other hidden behind the thick quetitude of the moment. Her doubt that maybe his love was a mere repayment towards her for saving his life vanished in thin air. She wasn't a fool to not know the difference between gratitude and being someone's reason to live.

"What if I fell for someone else?" she asked. He sensually caressed her hand as he answered huskily in her ears, making her shiver, "Over my dead body, velvet"

Oh god! The way he said velvet had her entranced. Now he was finally showing his right because she had kept her hand in his and he was never letting her go. Not at the cost of his world.

"But you wanted to give me a choice, na?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Of either loving me with all your heart or loving me with every drop of your existence. You had no third option. Thanks for giving me the second one in return for my patience," he said with a chuckle as he saw her astounded form. She gaped at him as he smoothly wrapped her into the web of his sweetness.

"How do you know I love you?" she asked, pouting, knowing she had hidden those tingling raw passions in forbidden corners of her soul for long.

"I am not heartless like you velvet, who doesn't acknowledge the love of others," he said, making her punch his arm. She huffed while he laughed, pulling her closer to himself by wounding an arm around her shoulder. She looked at him, mesmerized by his elation. Did she make him that happy? She undoubtedly did, his jubilant form answered her every doubt.

"Okay tell me why you came to the office today if you were THAT sad or what was your first thought in the morning," he asked, sobering up. She whined a little before answering to herself, "Rudra Sir will skip his meals if I take an off"

Her eyes widened as she realized more than work she went to the office to ensure he had his meals on time and didn't take the entire workload on himself. What the hell? That thought was absolutely unprofessional. Seeing her lost in realization eyes, he fought a hearty grin.

"What is your last thought of the day before going to bed?" he asked, ignoring her dazed self. Aww, his woman was so damn cute. He could stare at her for all his life. He planned to do just that.

"God please bless Rudra sir with prosperity, luck, and happiness. May he sleep without any worries. He works a lot and it must not affect his health. Oh god! I hope his mother snatches his laptop and gives it back only in the morning. I hope he had his dinner. Oh, fudge what I am thinking. Keep my family blessed," she prayed before sleeping and her thoughts had always wandered to him. Her eyes grew wider as she realized this while biting her lips.

"You don't need to tell me you love me if you look at me like I am your world. The man whom you pray for day and night," he said softly, caressing her while she couldn't help but let her soft frame envelop him, hugging him with all her heart. With him, she didn't even need to be verbal as her eyes spoke to him in a million ways. Not being able to express the overflowing love she had stored inside her heart for him, she let her petal-like lips meet his scruff jaw. His breath hitched at the warm contact, as he couldn't help the water gathering in his eyes. He tightened his hold in response as she ardently let her essence linger over his cheeks. She wanted to step away, but her heart didn't seem to be in her control as she sucked his skin, smooching him. Satisfied, she leaned back to look into his eyes as he said, "I love you more"

He replied to her passionate confession that reached straight through his heart with words because she had censored his will to show rather than speak. He could do nothing above what she did to respond to her brave act. He knew her aversion to touch as her senses remained on high alert after losing her voice. If she initiated a cozy moment of passion, then it must be his lucky day on earth, or else how can anyone explain this blessing that had grazed his body?

Keeping her head on his chest, she snuggled into him, saving herself from the cool wind. Now she knew more than the swiftness of sweet air around her. She loved his embrace, shielding her from her every woe. Lost in the world of ecstasy, he finally asked what the water had been asking the shore with its every dash against its surface, "Why did you not believe in my devotion towards you?"

"I think I believed in your love since day 1, but I was too scared to believe in a miraculous happiness like you. To me, if the biggest favor god could bestow upon me was something then it was to have your endearment. Whenever I imagined walking as your equal, I imagined the voices of people mocking you for loving me. I couldn't have your raw emotions being insulted like that. I chose to remain clueless than accept that I would bring along doom for you–"

"If being with you is an insult, I am fucking ready to be humiliated day & night to gain it. I'd be honored to be insulted in that way. You are worse than a kid because if all this runs in your brain you better not use it at all. You must know you can be anything but my doom. You are the fucking value of my breath, my reason to open my eyes every morning, and my crown that adorns me to become my worth. I am forgiving you for the last bloody time for thinking you are anything less than my pride. Try leaving me again or hiding a resignation letter that has been long gone and you would have trouble walking without screaming my name," he said angrily. Innocently widening her eyes at his word, she hid her face more into his chest to stop herself from blushing. Even his threats were so bloody enticing. God! What had gotten into her sanskaari man? She knew she wouldn't survive another day even thinking about leaving him, so she dropped a kiss over his chest, telling him that she would always be with him.

"Someone's still not promising. You were very happy leaving me, right?" he teased her, smiling to his fullest. His smile drastically melted into bafflement as he felt his shirt getting wet by her tears. She sobbed into his chest, making him caress her hair and softly guide her to look at him.

"Shh...Shh.. Why is my baby crying? What happened? I was just teasing you," he cajoled. Rubbing her eyes cutely, she mumbled, "I feel like crying"

Suddenly, the realization hit him as he wiped her eyes tenderly. He pulled out his phone from his pocket while still caressing her hair as he ordered his men in hushed tones. After five minutes, a basket full of different flavors of ice cream was presented in front of him by two men who left immediately, giving them the privacy they desired.

"Okay, see what we have here? Your favorite ice cream," he said, making her look at him with her tear-filled eyes. He smiled, wiping her face as he saw her expression change. Fresh enthusiasm graced her face as she looked at the basket in his hands. Moving away from him, she shuffled through the box. She looked at him, surprised, as every damn flavor of ice cream that existed in the city was fit into that ice box.

"When you are on your monthly, your favorites change, so I bought all flavors available in the market" he shrugged, reading the question in her eyes. Jumping from the sand with glee, she pecked straight on his lips before diving in. He sat there in a trance, unable to believe the actions of his little minx.

"Wait! How do you react when my bodyguards give you ice cream every month?" he asked, getting angry all of a sudden as he pulled her into his lap. The imagination was making him gurgle with rage. She wasn't supposed to give this special treatment or even offer them a little innocent touch of hers in return. It was only for him to cherish.

With a surprised yelp, she landed on him and giggled softly, seeing his possessiveness. She shrugged teasingly, not answering his question. She forgot to breathe as his hand passed through the layer of her saree to torment her bare waist. As his thumb slowly started playing with her navel, the mischief in her mind turned into sheer romantic yearning as she couldn't think about anything except his touch. Slowly, his skilled fingers started moving towards her midriff as he whispered into her ears, "Answer me velvet"

With great difficulty, she extended her fingers and thumb towards her chin making the sign of 'Thank you' telling him that she simply thanked them in her language and nothing else while her other hand rested on his sinfully torturing hand laying on her naked waist. Dropping a kiss near her mouth, he whispered, "My good girl"

Pushing him away, she focused on her ice cream, making him laugh at her attempt to save herself from his unbearable hands doing things to her sensibility. She chose pista ice cream and asked him, "Do you like sharing ice cream?"

"No" he replied. She was going to get back to savoring the delicacy after a light humm when he said, "But I like sharing everything your tongue touches"

Caging her in his arms from both sides, he brought his mouth closer to her neck and gulped a bite of the ice cream that she had just licked. He just knew how to leave her breathless without even touching her. She patted his chest harshly for teasing her so much while he ignored her, focusing on the way she enjoyed her treat. After eating to her heart's extent, she asked him, "Will you grant me a wish?"

"If it does not involve devoiding me of a minute of basking in your beauty, then my world is yours to demand," he said, kissing her forehead.

"Will you take me to a nearby temple?" she asked while he immediately stood up with her in his arms. "Put me down," she signed.

"I am in no mood to let go of you. So, NO," he answered sweetly, making her mutter angrily "Thor can never change his ways"

********

"Thank you, god, for taking away my tongue instead of Rudra Ji's life. If this is the cost of his breaths, then I am ready to happily pay it every time you ask for it. I am glad I have never asked you to return my voice to me because you have already done me a huge favor by saving him. Thanks for keeping him safe for my sake. I cannot imagine a moment of his absence in my life. Just like he saves a share of blessings for me, you save a share of happiness from my quota for him. I am here today only to express my gratitude for giving him to me. I feel like the luckiest woman alive on this planet to have a man like him as my husband," she prayed, standing in front of the idol in the temple. She was glad she never demanded her voice back from god because if the choice was to be made between her voice or his life, she would always choose him.

She prayed, looking at her god while his eyes stayed on her. For him, his god existed in her presence. "I have nothing to ask for except entanglement of her in my life in a way that we both can never step away from each other. Bless her with every drop of positivity you have planned for me and give her worries to me," he prayed just like every other morning. She opened her eyes and looked at him before giving him a heartwarming smile.

"Happy birthday, Husband" she wished as they stepped out of the premises of the temple and the clock struck 12. Tiptoing on her toes she matched his height and softly attached her forehead to his transferring the Tilak from her forehead that she got after the Puja she got done in his name while he was busy doing the circumbulations in her name to his forehead. A serene smile came over his lips as his heart melted at her gesture. Bringing his face down to her, he let her mouth devour hers in a hungry exchange as they forgot about the entire world around them. The only feeling that was left behind was their cosmic love for each other. If union with her was his birthday gift, then he wanted to grow a year old every day. He would die as a very very very happy man. She bit on his lips, understanding his unsaid thoughts punishing him for thinking about death, making him smile into their kiss.

"Happy Shivangi X Rudra day" he wished in response, making her look at him in confusion.

"This was the day you became mine. You gave me a new life. Yeh din humara kaise ho sakta hai jab hamari puri zindagi aapke vajood ki mohtaj hai. Yeh din hamare liye pichle 24 saalo se aapki hamari saanson mein maujudgi ka prateek hai, hamari dhadkan pe aapka naam likhe hone ka saboot hai aur aapko thoda aur pyaar karne ka ek vaada hai. I celebrate it because this day gave me you or else this birth is meaningless (This day cannot be only mind as my entire lifetime is devoted to your existence. For the last 24 years it has been a means to celebrate your presence in my every breath, my heartbeat, and is a way to promise you a bit more of my love)." He would have died if she wouldn't have been breathing alongside him. She was his savior.

"It feels like a dream," she mumbled against his lips as his words made her heart beat faster. Reading the movement of her lips, he answered, "If this is a dream, we both are going to live in it for whatever breaths god has granted us"

They both smiled before joining their hearts through their lips once again. The stars shyly hid under the sheet of the dark sky, unable to handle the amount of adoration they held for each other, not before blessing the couple to live like that for eternity.

******************

"Earlier you didn't visit me and now I am suddenly invisible to my dearest daughter. Shivangi Mittal, get back from your dreamworld right away," her father-in-law chided her bringing her back from the memories of the previous day. Sighing at his behavior yet again, she held both her ears, apologizing for not visiting him for so long. The last she went there was when she had to give a file to her dear Rudra Sir and she had skipped their past every weekend family lunch, making the old man so damn angry. Sorry, furious was the word.

He softly pulled her hands down and hugged his daughter to his chest. He missed her so much. Only the heart of a father knows how it bears the distance from his children.

"Stop being so dramatic" Karam Suryavanshi's wife, Mrs. Avantika Karam Pratap Suryavanshi finally said extremely jealous of the way her daughter's first hug after so many days was wasted on her old man.

Pulling Shivangi away from Karam, she engulfed her in a hug and kissed her forehead. Shivangi smiled at the couple, who treated her like their own daughter.

"This is anyway the last time you are staying away from your home because from next week we'll get to keep you here forever," Avantika said cheekily, making Shivangi whine. None of them were any less. All the members of the family were so damn possessive about her, as she saw Rudra frown when his father said he loved her. They were indeed crazy, but she was blissfully happy to have them in her life.

"Leave my bhabhi. Now it's my turn" Deeksha tried to pull her away when Shivangi cutely glared at her. She mouthed a sorry but Shivangi turned her face to the other side. Her cheeky little sister-in-law had supported Karam when he was scolding her and was putting words into his mouth. What had she said? Furious is the word. Shivangi turned to her and said, "I am furious with you."

Going all awe over the feminine cuteness of her bhabhi sa she gushed pulling her cheeks, "Aw! You are so cute bhabhi Sa. I would have fallen for you if I was a boy"

This made her blush as she forgave her sister-in-law and hugged her. Merrily twirling her around, Deeksha asked her parents, "When is the wedding?"

They had gathered in the mansion to finalize the wedding date, and the engagement had already been fixed on the same evening as Rudra's demand. After all, it was Shivangi X Rudra day for him and he wasn't going to waste this opportunity to put a ring on her finger.

"Never. This wedding is never gonna happen," The voice of an old lady said, turning the jolly atmosphere into something darker. Something full of anger and anguish. 

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

Yeah! Tell me I have gone crazy to have deleted 1000 words, and re-written the entire thing to my satisfaction, and yet I managed to mess things up. I wasn't absolutely thinking straight. I agree.

I don't know what I did extra the cream or cheese but I really hope with crossed fingers that you liked it. 

Missed me?

So.....how was it?

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Who is the old lady trying to meddle in between?

Describe the couple in a sentence.

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Their love turned a tab bit more verbal right as they had a heart-to-heart conversation.

The couple is blind in love. How are the readers?

My exams are still going on so I am going missing yet again. Thank you so much for your support and waiting for this update. I know I must be studying but couldn't help writing this one seeing your eagerness so now do fulfill my share of the reward by giving me loads of inline comments and votes. My curious self won't really focus on anything else until I know I haven't messed it up badly *sigh*. Byeeee I am returning to my world of textbooks as exams are looming upon my head. 

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Random question: Shivangi's kisses vs Rudra's words

With love

Ms. Bhatia