Page 172 of One Hellish Love

She met his gaze, feeling stripped bare under his scrutiny. Silent. Vulnerable. The wall she had built during their time apart was crumbling, brick by emotional brick. When his hands cupped her face, they felt like fire against her skin. They were familiar yet foreign - the hands that had both held her and pushed her away.

The soft kiss he placed on her cheek sent shockwaves through her body. Suddenly her heart clenched painfully in her chest. He had left her, hadn’t he? Put her through the torment of separation, of wondering if his love had been real or just another cruel joke of fate. And now here he was, telling her with every breath, every touch, that he had missed her?

As his lips brushed her other cheek, Kashish gripped her dress tightly, her knuckles turning white with the effort to keep from reaching for him. Her body screamed to touch him, to believe this was real, that he was here. But her mind raced with doubts. What about his Haphephobia? Was it truly gone, or was it lurking beneath the surface, ready to tear them apart again?

She felt his breath on her lips now as he inched closer. Just as his lips were about to meet hers, just as she could almost taste him, something inside her snapped.

With trembling hands, she pushed him gently away. Rudra’s expression shifted from desire to confusion to hurt. The pain inhis eyes made her want to take it all back, to throw herself into his arms and forget everything else.

But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

Kashish gasped for breath, trying to steady herself even as her emotions spiralled out of control.

“You left me here… to punish me,” she began.

Rudra visibly flinched, swallowing hard as her rejection cut deeper than he had expected. She could see him struggling to maintain his composure, to find the right words.

“So, now you’re punishing me in return?” he asked, and she could hear the hope in his voice - hope that she would deny it, that she would close the distance between them again.

“You have no idea what I went through, how I survived without you,” she whispered bitterly. “So, yes. This is my way of revenge.”

She turned and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Rudra standing in disappointment. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair before following her out into the living room. She was lifting bags of groceries. Without asking, he reached out to help.

“I can manage,” she muttered, but he ignored her.

“I’m sure you can, but a little help won’t diminish your capabilities,” he said calmly, carrying the bags to the kitchen.

She followed him into the kitchen.

“You’ve traveled a long way,” she said after a pause. “I don’t want you working or stressing yourself. I’ll order us dinner unless… you’d prefer to eat at Raheja Mansion.”

Rudra smiled at her suggestion, his gaze softening.

“I’ll eat with my wife.”

“Half-wife,” she corrected him. “We are yet to marry ritually.”

Rudra couldn’t come back with a response to that. Wife or half-wife, she was his. Without another word, Kashish quicklyordered their meal. She knew his preferences now—his likes and dislikes, down to the smallest details. While waiting for the food to arrive, Rudra helped her store the groceries.

“This isn’t what I imagined us doing when we saw each other again after all this time,” he said, glancing at her as she set the table.

“Not everything goes as planned, Mr. Raheja,” she replied curtly and was about to leave to bring the other stuff when he held her hand and pulled her to him.

“You’ve forgotten how to smile,” he observed.

“I smile,” she countered. “Didn’t your sources tell you that?”

“I meant the real smile,” he corrected, “not the one you force for others.”

His words struck her deeply. Rudra saw right through her, as he always had.

“How could you expect me to smile without you? You left me with no choice. You told me to love you unconditionally, like you loved me. That’s what I’ve been trying to do, every day. But I lost myself in the process. I lost my smile.”

Rudra was overwhelmed. His chest tightened with regret.

“I put too much pressure on you, didn’t I? That was never my intention,” he admitted quietly.

Before either of them could say more, the doorbell rang. Kashish broke away from him to get the food delivery. Rudra watched her, still processing her words, feeling her pain like never before.

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