Siya stills against me, the fight draining out of her as she processes my words.
“It’s the only memory I have of her,” I continue, my voice coming out rougher than I intend. “It’s my lifeline, Siya. The only thing that keeps my heart beating.”
Her eyes do not leave mine, even as silence follows. For the first time since she walked into my world, the defiance in her gaze softens into something like understanding. She looks at me like she finally sees why I lost control last night. Why I did not wait to get it back. Why I would never wait when it comes to that pendant.
But what shocks me even more is the fact that I told her what that pendant means to me. It’s something I’ve never said out loud to anyone else. And yet, I said it toher.
The only person who knows is Ayaan because some things run too deep to be hidden from my twin.
I was barely four when I first understood what it meant to not have a mother. I felt it in that restless, aching way a child keeps looking for someone who is never going to walk into the room. I remember asking for her again and again, refusing to accept silence as an answer.
That was when my father, Tej Khurana, gave it to me.
A thin gold chain with a small pendant, the letter ‘R’ carved into it. He told me it belonged to my mother,Rukmini. I didn’t understand much back then, except that this was all I was ever going to have of her.
So I held on to it.
I have worn it around my neck ever since. Through years, through bloodshed, through everything I became and everything I lost. I never took it off. It stayed with me like a blessing I could never see, but always felt. As though she was still here… watching over me, protecting me from the dark world and from everyone out there who wanted me dead.
And I just handed that truth to Siya without thinking?How could I?
My grip on her loosens as I pull back abruptly, more annoyed at myself than at her. Without sparing her a glance, I focus back on fixing the pendant onto the chain around my neck. But before I can try to hook it again, Siya steps closer and touches the pendant. For a heartbeat, my instinct tells me to pull it away. To not let anyone else touch what has always been mine.But I do not.
Not even when she takes the pendant from my hand, as if it’s the most precious thing in the world. My hand stills as my gaze lifts to her, but she doesn’t look back at me. Her entire focus is on the chain and the tiny hook I’ve been struggling to secure since last night. Her fingers instinctively move to my neck, reaching for the chain, as she patiently tries to fix it for me.
She’s only trying to help, and yet I can’t stop watching her. I’m mesmerised by the way her brows draw together in concentration, the way her lashes lower as she studies the clasp, and the way her fingers move close to my chest, brushing against my skin unintentionally, oblivious to what that simple contact does to me.
All this while, I just stand there, letting her close that distance between us. Siya tries once. Then again. But when the clasp still refuses to catch, she leans in closer without warning. This time, her hair brushes softly against my face, carrying a faint floral fragrance that envelops my senses before I can react. My eyes close for a fraction of a second.
I inhale deeply, and in that moment, she’s all I breathe. Yet Siya remains completely unaware of the effect she’s having on me. When I open my eyes again, she’s still focused on the chain.
Just as she thinks she’s got it, the pendant nearly slips from the hook once more. But this time, she doesn’t give up. Her lips part slightly as she studies the stubborn clasp, and before I can register what she’s about to do, she moves closer, lifting the pendant and brings it near her mouth.
And then she uses her teeth.
F*ck!
My mind wants this torture to end, but my body wants it to continue forever. My throat is dry, and I go completely still as her plump lips graze the skin of my chest, right at the open V of my shirt.
It shouldn’t matter. I’ve been around women long enough to know the difference between intention and accident. But today, I’m only seconds away from grabbing her waist and pulling her closer, wanting to feel her against me and never let her go.
My lower body, which was quiet a minute ago, now hardens to the point of aching. It’s not supposed to react this way, yet it does, and it’s embarrassing. I hate how aware I am of my semi-a*oused state. Hate that my body reacts toherlike this, without my permission. I know I shouldn’t have such thoughts about her, yet all I do is stand there, watching her as she finally secures the hook of the pendant into place, fastening it firmly onto the chain.
The moment the pendant settles back against my chest, where it belongs, she finally pulls away, satisfied. The distance between us returns just as suddenly as it had disappeared.
For a brief second, her eyes meet mine. Mine holds hers.
There are no words. Even Siya feels that shift and looks surprised herself. She quickly looks away before walking off without another word.
As my gaze follows her, my fingers instinctively lift to the pendant now resting securely against my chest.
She fixed it.I don’t understand how she managed what I couldn’t since last night. And for a strange, fleeting second, a thought crosses my mind. Maybe it needed her touch. Maybe, in some quiet way, even my mother has approved of this. Ofher. Of the way Siya’s touch has stirred something in me that I have guarded my entire life.
No! I push that thought away and walk back to the resort, forcing my mind to focus on matters that need my attention. Now that Ayaan and Meher have seen me with Siya and drawn their own conclusions about what might have happened between us last night, they wouldn’t stop digging until they piece together who Siya is, what she’s doing here at RK Estate, and most important, why she’s anywhere nearme.
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Day 5 @ RK Estate
