Page 134 of One Hellish Love

CHAPTER 45

Rudra took her hand gently and raised it to his lips. Her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation, her breath catching as the warmth of his kiss lingered on the back of her hand. This was a monumental step, one that crossed an invisible line in their relationship. He had always been integral to her life, even when she hated him, but tonight was different—tonight, she opened her heart to him. It felt like the beginning of something irrevocable, something that would transform everything they knew.

“Say yes,” he murmured, his lips brushing against her wrist with a featherlight touch. Her eyes stayed shut, her pulse thundering beneath his fingertips. His breath hitched, barely concealing the storm of desire that raged within him. With a trembling hand, he cupped her face, guiding her to meet his gaze. Slowly, her eyes opened, locking onto his with a mix of uncertainty and yearning.

“Say yes,” he whispered again with deeper urgency.

Her lips parted instinctively, betraying the fragile resistance she clung to. Her body leaned toward him, surrendering to the pull of his words. But just as she teetered on the edge of giving in, her phone rang, shattering the charged silence. The spell broke, and she blinked, retreating from the emotions that had so completely ensnared her. The desire to stay in that moment still burned in her eyes, but the sharp intrusion had snapped the tension.

Rudra exhaled a low, frustrated groan, clearly seething at the unwelcome disruption.

She slipped off the bed, her heart pounding in her chest as she answered the call, her voice trembling as she stepped out of the room.

“Hello?” Her voice barely escaped her lips, still entangled in the intensity of what had just transpired.

“Kashish? Are you alright?” Shekhar’s concerned voice crackled through the line, obliterating any lingering trace of the moment with Rudra.

Kashish’s heart raced with a new anxiety. How could he know she was far from okay? She cleared her throat, struggling to mask the tremor in her voice.

“Yes, Shekhar. I’m fine. Why are you calling so late?” she asked, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was flushed, her body still buzzing with the intensity of Rudra’s touch.

“If it wasn’t urgent, I wouldn’t have called at this hour,” Shekhar said, pausing.

Kashish stepped into her bedroom and locked the door behind her.

“Urgent? What’s happened?”

“Daadi found a note in your closet,” Shekhar revealed. “Your father’s suicide note.”

It felt like the ground beneath her had just crumbled. How had Daadi found that note?

“Kashish, what’s going on? What is that note and why didn’t you tell me? Daadi thinks you’ve known all along that your father’s death wasn’t an accident and that you hid it from us. She believes you’ve been keeping this secret for your own gain.”

That had been her father’s intent—to leave her with a comfortable life after he was gone. But how could she convincethem that she hadn’t been part of his plan? That she hadn’t known until recently?

“I don’t care what Daadi thinks, Shekhar,” she replied, “But do you trust me? Does Anju trust me?”

“We do,” Shekhar said immediately. “If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be calling you to warn you about what’s coming.”

Her chest tightened with gratitude.

“Daadi is coming to Jaipur. She’s booked a flight for tomorrow morning. She’s coming to confront you, Kashish. She warned us not to tell you, but we couldn’t keep this from you,” Shekhar explained.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She had dreaded this moment, but she was thankful Shekhar had given her a heads-up.

“Thank you, Shekhar. For everything.”

“Kashish, I’m worried. If Rudra finds out, he’ll—”

“He already knows,” she interrupted, tears spilling over.

Shekhar was stunned.

“He… he knows? Since when? Why didn’t either of you tell us?”

“I wanted to, but Rudra was afraid of how Daadi would react. This trip to Jaipur—it was his idea, to keep me away from her, to avoid telling her the truth,” Kashish explained.

Shekhar sighed deeply.

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