Page 177 of One Hellish Love

“I ran into your brother. He was complimenting my attire,” she replied nonchalantly.

Rudra’s eyes traveled over her, from head to toe, but instead of the praise she was expecting, he gave her a look that said, “It’s okay, but not perfect.”

“You don’t like it?” she asked, slightly annoyed.

“Something’s missing,” he said, his gaze locking onto her forehead. “Where’s the Sindoor?”

“I don’t remember us getting married,” she stammered, trying to keep her voice steady.

Rudra took a step toward her, his eyes darkening with purpose.

“You don’t?” His voice was dangerously soft, a challenge in every syllable.

She instinctively stepped back as he advanced.

“Do you need me to remind you?”

Kashish’s breath hitched.

“Rudra… we talked about this yesterday. That wasn’t a marriage,” she stammered again, her words barely holding their ground.

Rudra set her coffee mug down.

“I still consider you my wife,” he stated with a finality that made her knees weak.

Before she could respond, he gently touched her lips, stroking them with his thumb. The gesture was intimate, electric. Then, with that same thumb, he touched her forehead, smearing a light mark of lipstick as if it were Sindoor. Kashish closed her eyes.

“There. Now you look like my wife,” he whispered possessively.

Her heart pounded in her chest as this tension between them was too much to handle. When she finally opened her eyes, Rudra was gazing at her with an intensity that made her feel like she was the most precious thing in his world. His hands cupped her face, holding her gently but firmly, his eyes scanning her features as though memorizing every inch of her.

“I could look at you like this for the rest of my life.”

Kashish’s breath hitched again, her body betraying her. He still craved her, that much was clear, and she knew she felt thesame. But there was a storm between them that hadn’t calmed yet. Her eyes fluttered with the surge of emotions she tried to contain.

“If you think I’m just going to let you get your way with me after you abandoned me for Paris, then you’re wrong, Mr. Rudra Raheja,” she shot back. “I have plenty of scores to settle before I even consider that.”

Rudra’s brow lifted in amusement, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he released her.

“I admire your determination,” he mused. “But I promise you, it won’t last long.”

Kashish rolled her eyes, knowing he wasn’t someone you could easily argue with. She cast a glance at her reflection in the glass wall of his office and froze. The lipstick mark on her forehead looked eerily like Sindoor. How had she chosen red lipstick today of all days?

“Rudra, I can’t go out like this,” she exclaimed, panic creeping into her voice. “What if someone notices?”

“I don’t care,” he replied, completely unconcerned.

“Well, I do,” she countered sharply.

His playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a harder edge.

“You don’t want people to know about us?”

Kashish immediately regretted her words and softened her tone, not wanting to wound him.

“It’s not that, Rudra. I just don’t want unnecessary attention, especially about this... Sindoor. We still have two months, right?”

“Two months for Daadi to accept you,” he clarified, his voice gruff. “For the rest of the world, I don’t give a damn!”

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