His to Love.

Chapter- 29

"He can't even control his woman," he declared, his words ringing out loud and clear. I felt Shivaay's fingers tighten around mine, yet he remained as unyielding as a mountain.

"He doesn't want to control me. He doesn't own me. My heart, yes, but Shivaay doesn't possess me. Besides, what kind of a man are you?" I shot him a withering, disgusted glance, and he responded with a contemptuous sneer.

" Mythili, is it? I...." He began to speak, taking a measured step closer to me. I stood my ground, unwavering. However, in that moment, Shivaay's deep, nearly menacing voice reverberated through the silence.

" Try getting any closer to my wife and you are going to have a real problem Mr. Malhotra. I have long since shed the skin of that eight-year-old boy who couldn't shield his mother. If you so much as think about harming a single strand of Mythili's hair, you will not live long enough to watch the next sunrise." He thundered, coming to stand right by my side. His hand remained intertwined with mine, and the fire of his anger blazed once more in his eyes.

Upon hearing Shivaay's words, his father instinctively recoiled, retreating several paces away from us.

" This does not end here, my boy. I am going back to Mumbai and as long as I am breathing, I will not let my daughter marry another woman. I will not let her commit a sin." He warned before sitting in his car and drove off abruptly.

" We have to get back Shivaay." Were the first set of words that left my mouth as I turned to face him and in his eyes, I detected a gathering storm.

He didn't say a word as we walked back to the apartment. It was quiet, uncomfortably quiet. Shivaay, Maa and probably Anamika too were abused by the man who was supposed to protect them with everything he had and yet had proven to be anything but.

My family was broken, just like me and yet, never once did they let their trauma overburden mine. Hell, they never let me come close to it and Shivaay?  He has been my salvation, my guardian, and now, my very existence. He had to endure this ordeal, a man as selfless and affectionate as he is, it was utterly unjust. He didn't deserve any of it.

" Mythili." His voice broke me out of my thoughts and I found myself looking at him as we stood in the middle of the living room.

I mustered the courage to lift my hands and caress both his cheeks, my thumb tracing the lines of his cheekbone. Leaning in, I brushed two kisses on his eyes, then his forehead, and finally, placed a soft peck on his lips.

" I am so, so sorry." I heard myself say as I joined his forehead with mine, my hands still cradling his cheeks and felt his arms gently encircling around my waist as he lifted me off my feet in a tight embrace.

He needed this and I did too.

We stood like that. It could have been a few hours or a few seconds. Time was a foreign concept to me when I was with him because he consumed my entire existence.

" I am sorry you had to see that, talk to that man. When he...." Shivaay started to apologise but I kept my hand on his lips, stopping him from saying anything further.

"Shhh. You've always been my protector, Shivaay. Moreover, I understand a thing or two about the pain of realising someone you've placed your deepest trust in becomes your tormentor, be it physically or emotionally." I whispered to him as we settled down together on the floor. He wiped away tears that had streamed from my eyes, tears I hadn't even realised were flowing before he looked away from me.

" We should fly back home immediately. I don't want Maa, Anamika and Nupur to face that man. They need you." I said once again when he refused to meet my eye and I changed the topic. He would tell me whatever he wishes to let me when he wants to. If he needs space, he'd get it from me.