My breath catches in shock.
“What the f*ck are you doing!” I struggle violently against him, hitting his biceps and shoulder hard. “Raghav, put me down right now.”
He doesn’t react at all.
I keep struggling against him the entire way up the aircraft stairs, slamming my fists repeatedly against his chest and shoulder while he carries me effortlessly in his arms as though I weigh nothing.
“Are you insane?” I snap furiously. “You can’t force me into every single thing, RK. Put me down, or else…”
The moment the threat leaves my mouth, he suddenly stops walking. We are already inside the jet by then.
“Or else what?” he challenges.
I glare right back at him, my fists still twisted tightly in the front of his black shirt from struggling against him moments ago. But before I can throw another furious response at him, I hear Mom’s voice.
“Siya…”
My entire body goes still in his arms. I jerk my head towards the inside of the aircraft so fast that my heartbeat nearly falters. And there she is. Mom… alive and safe.
She rises from her seat so quickly that the blanket resting over her lap slips to the floor. Her eyes are swollen and red, as if she has been crying for who knows how long. Raghav finally puts me down, and I rush straight into my mom’s arms.
“Mom…” I whisper shakily while hugging her tight. “Are you okay? Where were you? I was so worried.”
“I’m fine,” Mom replies quickly, still holding my face between her hands as if she needs to physically reassure herself that I’m okay. Then, her gaze suddenly drops to my bridal lehenga, the mangalsutra around my neck, and the sindoor in my hairline. The expression on her face changes instantly. A fresh wave of rage flashes across her tear-filled eyes.
“Raghav…” My throat tightens painfully. “He… he married me, Mom.”
The words taste bitter on my tongue. Mom’s gaze lifts past me towards Raghav, who is still standing near the entrance ofthe jet, watching us. This is the first time she is seeing him face-to-face. Raghav, too, looks at her with blood still smeared near the cuff of his sleeve from tonight’s massacre. His expression remains unreadable as his eyes lock with Mom’s. There’s no apology or regret in them.
Mom’s breathing visibly hardens.
“I know,” she says bitterly, still looking at him. “I saw everything.”
For one second, my heartbeat actually stumbles.She saw it?How?
Before I can ask her, Mom steps away from me and marches straight towards Raghav.
“How dare you do that to my daughter—”
“Mom.” I catch her wrist quickly before she can reach him. “Not now.”
Her chest rises and falls with barely restrained anger as she looks between Raghav and me again. Like she wants answers and she isn’t going to let go until she gets them.
But Raghav barely reacts to her fury. He glances at me for a brief second before calmly walking past us, deeper into the aircraft towards the rear section where Haider and the others are seated.
The aircraft door finally begins to close behind us. Outside, armed guards continue moving across the runway, securing the perimeter while the jet engines grow louder. We are actually leaving. Before either of us can speak again, the stewardess approaches with a polite smile.
“Ma’am, we’ll be taking off in five minutes,” she says calmly. “Please take your seats.”
Mom glares at her furiously, but I gently guide her towards the nearest seats before things can escalate further. The last thing I need right now is another confrontation, especially inside a flying prison controlled entirely by Raghav Kundra.
We settle into our seats just as the aircraft begins taxiing across the runway. Outside the window, the lights of Cape Town blurs with every passing second, and my chest tightens as reality finally starts to sink in.
I’m married to Raghav, and every escape plan I had spent months building has just turned to ashes tonight.
***************
An hour later – In flight
