Page 229 of The Redemption
RAGHAV
Wedding Night
We are back home, and I still haven’t fully wrapped my head around what happened tonight. I married Siya again, but this time it was different. I proposed to her, and I did it the right way. This time, I asked for her consent before claiming her as my wife. This time, I gave her a choice. I stood before the woman I had once dragged into my life against her will, looked her in the eye, and asked her if she would choose me.
And she did.
Men like me don’t grow up dreaming about proposals, wedding rituals, or second chances. We grow up learning how to survive. Love was always something that was meant for other people. Softer people. Good people. Not someone like me.
And yet today, all I wanted was to give my woman the wedding she had once dreamt of. The wedding I had stolen from her the first time. The thought that I would do all this for a woman, that I would willingly move mountains just to see her happy, still feels unreal. But for Siya, I would do it all over again. Every single time.
After returning home, her mother performed our grihapravesh ceremony. I carried Siya across the threshold in my arms, and although every part of me wanted to take herstraight to our bedroom, I had no choice but to put her down in the living room as calls from Trisha, Simran, and the rest of the family started pouring in.
Now, an hour later, after Baba and her mother retires to their respective rooms, I finally head back to the bedroom where I know my wife is waiting.
The moment I step inside, I stop, my gaze fixed on the woman reflected in the dressing mirror.
My wife. My Princess.
She’s standing before the dresser and is slowly removing her bangles one by one. The dupatta still rests over her head, framing her face. Our eyes meet in the mirror before she turns to face me. I remove my jacket and toss it onto the nearby chair, all the while holding her gaze. Neither of us says anything. Then she tilts her head slightly and glances around the room before looking back at me.
“Considering everything you’ve done today,” she says, raising an eyebrow, “I honestly expected you to decorate the bedroom too.”
I exhale slowly. “I actually thought about asking Esha to do that, but she was already busy with the temple arrangements. And honestly… I didn’t want anyone else to do it.”
Siya’s expression softens immediately. She understands that this villa is my sanctuary, and I’m not comfortable with anyone other than my family entering this space.
“That’s okay,” she nods in understanding. “The fact that you even thought about it, wanting to make tonight special for me and giving me the kind of wedding night I had dreamt of… that alone is enough.”
Then she reaches up and lightly brushes the collar of my shirt, a mischievous smile appearing on her face.
“Although I have to admit, the thought of the feared Dark Prince decorating a room with flowers and candles would’ve been fun to watch.”
I narrow my eyes at her, but Siya just bites her lip, clearly trying not to laugh.
“I mean it,” she continues, enjoying herself far too much. “Now that’s something I would’ve loved to see.”
I step closer to her, and she doesn’t back away My gaze first falls on the sindoor in the parting of her hair before dropping to the mangalsutra around her neck. I gently take it between my fingers, unable to stop looking at it.
Siya finally breaks the silence. “What happened?”
I lift my gaze to hers. “The last time we got married, the mangalsutra I tied around your neck wasn’t mine. I’m glad you never wore it again after our marriage.”
My fingers trace the tiny black beads before settling on the pendant… a heart-shaped solitaire diamond shimmering within an infinity symbol.A symbol of forever wrapped around a single promise.
“This one… I chose myself. Exactly the way I thought you’d like it. Simple. Delicate. Not too flashy.”
“Wow… so now you know about my taste in jewellery too?”
I smile. “There’s nothing I don’t know about you, Princess. Except for a few beautiful secrets I plan on discovering tonight…”
“Like?” she asks, slightly confused.
I slide my arm around her waist and pull her closer until there’s barely any space between us.
“Like how you moan when I devour every inch of your body... that throaty sound you make when I’m buried deep inside you... that flushed look on your face when I work you up with my mouth and fingers...” She clutches the front of my shirt, herbreathing turning uneven as my nose brushes lightly against hers.
“Raghav…”
