Chapter 40
Druve still hadn't let go of Riya's hand.
Even after Aadhira had checked her again and assured everyone that her pulse had settled, his fingers remained around hers. The panic that had torn through him earlier was no longer visible, but every now and then his thumb moved over her fingers, as though the warmth beneath his touch mattered more than anything Aadhira or the monitor could tell him.
Riya noticed. The ring on his finger caught the light when his hand moved, and her gaze lingered on it before dropping to the one on her own. Her fingers brushed unconsciously against the gold chain resting around her neck.
Married.
She was married to Druve.
There had been a time when the thought alone would have filled her with uncomplicated happiness. Now that it had actually happened, the happiness was still there—deep enough to hurt—but it existed inside a life far more complicated than the girl she had once been could ever have imagined.
Druve turned her hand slightly, his gaze falling on the ring he had placed there. Without saying anything, he lifted her fingers and pressed a small kiss against the one wearing it.
Riya's breath caught, and her eyes lifted to his face.
Her Druve.
After everything, somehow, he was sitting beside her. His ring was on her finger. Hers was on his.
Her fingers closed around his.
Druve caught the way she was looking at him and raised a brow. A small smile appeared on her face.
"Don't start."
The corner of his mouth curved, but he said nothing.
For one brief moment, seven years seemed impossibly far away. Sitting beside him, their hands joined as though they had always belonged that way, Riya could almost forget how much life stood between the girl who had loved him and the woman holding his hand now.
Almost.
Across the room, Aadhira finished checking the monitor and finally stepped back. "Everything looks fine."
"Are you sure?" Rana asked.
Aadhira turned towards him. "Yes, Uncle."
Rana still looked unconvinced.
Riya sighed. "Dad, you've asked her that three times."
"I asked once."
"Three."
"Twice," Vikram corrected.
Rana looked at him.
Vikram reconsidered immediately. "Could've been three."
Riya laughed, and something that had been sitting heavily over the room finally loosened. Sharada smiled.
Nobody had asked about the nightmare. Not one of them had asked why she had collapsed, what she had seen or why she had woken holding Druve and crying as though something inside her had finally broken open. The questions were there; Riya could see them in the occasional silence that fell over Rana, in the way Sharada watched her and in Vikram's unusual restraint.
Druve had questions too, probably more than anyone. But none of them wanted their answers badly enough to drag her back towards whatever had almost taken her from them.
Riya was grateful for that in ways they would never understand.
Vikram came closer and looked at her carefully. "You're actually okay?"
She stared at him. "No. I've been pretending this entire time specifically to fool you."
"Very funny."
"You asked."
"I was checking."
"Aadhira checked."
"She's a doctor. I'm your brother."
Riya's brows rose. "Which makes you more qualified?"
"Which means I know you."
For a second, her teasing softened. Then she smiled. "And yet you still haven't figured out when to stop annoying me."
"There. She's fine."
"See?" Riya looked towards Aadhira. "He's diagnosing me now."
Aadhira shook her head. "She's fine, Viki. Stop hovering."
"I wasn't hovering."
Riya laughed. "Of course not."
Vikram turned towards her. "You stay out of this."
The warning only widened her smile. Vikram knew that expression well enough for his eyes to narrow immediately, but Riya said nothing. She didn't have to.
Aadhira had always been the easiest way to unsettle him. Vikram still seemed to believe the feelings he had carried since childhood were some carefully guarded secret known only to his sister. He had no idea that practically everyone around him had figured it out long ago and simply found it more entertaining to let him continue believing otherwise.
Aadhira, however, had never looked at Vikram the way he looked at her. Not until recently.
The kiss had changed something she still hadn't named. He was still Viki—the boy she had grown up with, fought with, laughed with and known for so long that his presence had become ordinary. Yet now there were moments when that familiarity shifted beneath her feet. Things that had never required thought suddenly did.
Vikram glanced towards her and caught her looking at him.
Their eyes held.
Aadhira was the first to look away.
"Oooo..."
Vikram's head snapped towards his sister.
Riya was grinning.
"Riya."
She bit her lip, trying to hold back her laughter. Aadhira suddenly found the monitor extremely interesting, while Vikram gave his sister a look that promised they would deal with this later.
Riya smiled even wider.
Druve watched her from beside the bed. There was colour back in her face. Her eyes were bright. She was tormenting Vikram exactly as she always did, and her fingers remained warm inside his.
Still, something bothered him.
He couldn't place it. There was nothing obviously different about her. She spoke the same way, smiled the same way and reacted to him with the same natural familiarity she always had. Whatever was bothering him was too small to catch while a much larger fear still occupied most of his mind.
She was awake. She was breathing normally. For now, that was enough.
Druve's gaze had lingered long enough for Riya to notice. She gave him a questioning look, but instead of answering it, he lifted the hand he was already holding and pressed another small kiss against her ring finger.
Riya stared at him.
Vikram saw that too. His mouth opened, but one look from his sister made him reconsider.
Sharada laughed softly.
For a little while, the room felt almost normal, and nobody tried to disturb that.
Aadhira checked Riya one final time before stepping away. "Everything is stable. You need proper rest now."
"I will."
The reassurance that Riya was stable finally allowed the tension in the room to ease properly. Sharada looked around at everyone and made the decision for them.
"We should leave."
Something in Riya sank a little at the words. Her eyes moved around the unfamiliar room, taking it in properly for the first time.
Whether she thought of herself as Riya or Sruthi, she had never been here before today. It was Druve's place, somewhere she had entered unconscious and woken to discover she was suddenly his wife. She hadn't yet had enough time to understand what that meant for the simplest parts of her life.
Still, if everyone was leaving, naturally she was going with them.
Riya started to move.
Sharada looked at her. "Where are you going?"
"Home."
Sharada stared at her for a moment. "You're married, Riya. This is your home."
Riya's lips had barely parted when two voices answered together.
"So what if she's married?"
Rana and Vikram looked at each other before turning back to Sharada.
"Our house is still her home," Rana said.
"Exactly," Vikram added. "Why would that change because she got married?"
Before Sharada could deal with either of them, Druve calmly joined in.
"If Riya wants to stay at home, I'll move in."
Everyone turned towards him.
Riya stared.
Druve looked completely serious.
Rajveer's mouth curved into a small smile. His son had become a man almost impossible to move once he decided something, yet when it came to Sruthi, apparently even where he lived was negotiable. If she wanted to go home, Druve's solution was simply to go with her.
The love-struck fool didn't even seem to realise how obvious he was.
Riya's cheeks warmed.
Sharada looked from Rana to Vikram and finally to Druve. She shook her head and reached for her husband.
Rana realised what she was doing a second too late.
"Ow—Sharada!"
She had him by the ear.
"Come."
"Why are you pulling my ear?"
"Because apparently that's the only way to make you move."
"I'm coming! Leave my ear."
"You were not coming."
Vikram laughed.
Sharada turned towards him, and his laughter died immediately.
"You too."
His face fell. "What did I do?"
"Both father and son are standing here like fools between newlyweds. At least have enough sense to know when you're being third wheels."
"Mom!"
Riya's face went bright red.
Vikram looked personally offended. "How am I the third wheel?"
"You're still standing here, aren't you?"
Rana tried to free his ear. "And why am I included in this?"
Sharada pulled him towards the door. "That's exactly the problem."
Even Druve laughed.
Riya wanted to disappear beneath the blanket.
Sharada finally released Rana long enough to turn back towards her daughter, the teasing leaving her face just enough for the mother in her to return.
"You stay where you are. No walking around unnecessarily, no deciding you're perfectly fine and doing whatever you want. Rest."
Riya nodded. "Okay, Mom."
Sharada pointed towards her once, making it clear she meant it, before turning towards Aadhira.
"Aadhira, drive Vikram back home."
Vikram stared. "Why is she driving me?"
"Because I said so."
Aadhira's lips twitched.
Riya's eyes moved immediately between the two of them, amusement threatening again. Vikram caught it and glared at her before she could make another sound.
Rajveer straightened. "I'll leave too."
Druve looked towards them. "I'll send everyone off."
His hand finally slipped from Riya's. His eyes remained on her for a second, silently checking that she was all right before he followed the others.
Riya smiled reassuringly.
Druve had barely reached the hallway when Sharada's voice floated back from ahead.
"Honestly, Rana, how bright do you have to be? Your daughter got married today and you're standing there refusing to leave."
"She nearly collapsed today."
"I know that."
"Then why are you calling me a third wheel?"
"Because worrying about her doesn't require you and your son to stand between the newlyweds all night."
Vikram's offended voice followed. "Why am I getting dragged into this?"
"Because you're exactly like your father."
"I'm nothing like Dad."
Rana turned towards him. "What's wrong with being like me?"
"Nothing. That's not the point."
Druve walked behind them, shaking his head as the argument continued towards the entrance.
Inside, Riya's smile remained until their voices disappeared.
Then it vanished.
The silence around her suddenly felt heavier. She closed her eyes and rested back against the pillow as the exhaustion she had hidden beneath every laugh, every teasing remark and every reassuring smile settled over her.
None of those smiles had been false. That was what made everything inside her so complicated. Rana and Sharada were her parents. Vikram was her brother. Aadhira belonged to a life she remembered and loved. Those memories were hers now as completely as Sruthi's were.
And beneath all of that were seven years she could never allow them to see.
Druve's frightened face returned to her—the terror in his eyes, his trembling hands, the way his voice had broken while begging her to breathe.
Her closed eyes tightened.
A single tear escaped and travelled silently down her cheek.
For one brief moment, there was nobody there to hide it from.
Outside, Rana still hadn't left. He waited until they reached the entrance before turning towards Druve.
"Druve."
Druve stopped.
Rana hesitated, not because he doubted the man standing before him, but because some things still needed to be said by a father.
"I know I don't need to tell you this. I know you won't let anything happen to her."
Druve's expression softened.
Sharada stood beside Rana, her earlier irritation gone. "We know how much she means to you. We know you'll take care of her. But she's our daughter."
Rana nodded. "So let me say it anyway. Take good care of her, Druve."
Druve held his gaze.
"I will."
Nothing more was necessary.
Rana and Sharada left together. Aadhira and Vikram went in another car, and Rajveer remained behind for a moment longer.
His gaze moved towards the house before returning to his son. The faint amusement from earlier was still there.
"Good night, son."
"Good night, Dad."
Rajveer placed a hand briefly on Druve's shoulder before getting into his car.
Druve remained outside until the last car disappeared.
Hidden beyond the reach of the house lights, someone else watched the cars leave one after another.
The house was emptying exactly as they had been waiting for it to.
Kaal's warning had been clear: never touch Riya while she was under Druve's protection. The warning hadn't been forgotten or misunderstood. It was simply going to be ignored.
Druve closed the door.
Inside the room, Riya heard it. Her eyes opened, and she wiped the tear from her cheek. The pain didn't disappear; it simply went back where she had decided it belonged.
By the time Druve's footsteps approached, her smile was back.
He walked into the room and found Riya waiting for him as though nothing had happened.
"Finally," he said, coming towards her.
Riya smiled. "That bad?"
"Your mom was still scolding your dad when they got into the car."
She laughed. "Dad deserved it."
"I'm staying out of that."
"Smart."
Druve sat beside her, and his hand returned to hers almost immediately.
For the first time since she had opened her eyes, they were completely alone.
Riya's gaze fell to his hand and the ring on his finger. Druve noticed and deliberately turned his hand, bringing it more clearly into her view.
"You're showing it off."
"Of course I am."
Riya laughed. "At least you admit it."
"My wife put it there. Why wouldn't I?"
The word wife caught somewhere inside her.
Her smile softened as her eyes returned to their joined hands. She had once imagined becoming Druve's wife with all the uncomplicated dreams of a girl who had no idea what waited for her.
She had become his wife anyway.
Just not as that girl.
The happiness was real, almost painfully so. But so was the bitterness of knowing how broken the road towards that happiness had left her.
Druve's fingers tightened gently around hers. Riya shifted a little closer until she rested against him, and his arm settled naturally around her.
For Druve, closeness with her had never needed explanation.
For Sruthi, it felt like coming home.
Riya remained against him for a while before looking around the room.
"Which room is next to this one?"
Druve glanced down at her. "Why?"
"I'm taking it."
"For?"
"Me."
That earned the faintest curve from his mouth.
"I need my own room, Druve."
He studied her for a moment before nodding towards the door. "Come. I'll show you."
Riya slipped her hand into his and followed him out. Druve showed her the rooms nearby, but she didn't take long to decide. The one beside his—their—room caught her attention almost immediately.
She stepped inside and looked around.
"This one."
Druve looked inside. "You like it?"
"Yes."
"Then it's yours."
Riya turned towards him, surprised by how easily he agreed. "I thought you'd argue."
"About you wanting a room?"
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're being suspiciously reasonable."
"I can change my mind."
"No." Her fingers tightened around his. "It's mine now."
Druve smiled. "It's yours."
Satisfied, Riya looked around once more before her eyes moved towards the bed.
"I'll sleep here."
The smile disappeared from Druve's face.
Riya noticed immediately.
"Druve..." She turned towards him properly. "Everything happened too suddenly. I went to sleep and woke up married to you. Now I'm in your house—"
"Our house."
She gave him a look. "That's not the point."
"It sounded important."
The corner of her mouth threatened to move, but she held it back. "I just need some time to adjust. Everything is moving too fast."
That much was true. She had woken to a marriage she hadn't known had happened, in a house she had never seen, carrying two lives inside one mind. Anyone would need time.
But it wasn't the reason she wanted to sleep alone.
The real reason was the same reason Druve would refuse to let her.
The nightmare.
Awake, Riya could control what he saw. She could smile, tease him, speak normally and keep seven years locked somewhere he couldn't reach. Asleep, she had no control over what her memories might drag from her. Another nightmare could make her say something she could never take back, and Druve needed only one thread before he began pulling at everything she was desperate to keep buried.
Druve listened to her explanation without interrupting. When she finished, he shook his head.
Riya stared at him. "No?"
"No."
"You just gave me the room."
"The room is yours."
"Then I'm sleeping here."
"No."
She blinked at the absolute calmness with which he said it. "Druve."
He waited.
"I said I need time."
"And you have it."
"Apparently not, because you're deciding where I sleep."
The faintest amusement touched his face. "You're trying to pick a fight."
"Maybe I am."
"You'll have to do better."
Riya folded her arms. "I'm serious."
"So am I."
She tried holding his gaze, but Druve remained completely unaffected. There was no irritation in his face and no attempt to deny her the space she had asked for. He had given her the room without a second thought.
He simply wasn't moving on this.
And Riya knew exactly why.
The same reason that made her afraid to sleep beside him made Druve afraid to let her sleep away from him.
She remembered the fear on his face when she had struggled to breathe, the panic in his voice and the trembling of his hands while the monitor sounded faster beside them. Only hours ago she had gone to sleep perfectly fine and ended up cold and unresponsive in his arms. He had nearly lost her without understanding why.
There was no chance he was willingly putting a wall between them while she slept.
Understanding him, however, didn't mean she intended to surrender that easily.
"It's literally the next room."
"I can see that."
"You'll hear me if I call."
The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she had chosen the worst possible argument.
Druve looked at her.
Nothing needed to be said.
What if she couldn't call?
Riya immediately abandoned that direction. "You're impossible."
"I've heard."
"Stubborn."
"So are you."
Riya frowned harder and folded her arms more tightly.
Druve waited.
She turned her face away with a huff, putting enough effort into the performance to make her displeasure unmistakable.
Nothing.
After a few seconds, she glanced sideways.
He was still standing there.
Completely unmoved.
Worse, there was the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes.
Riya's glare sharpened.
Even fake anger wasn't working.
She could continue arguing, but the problem was that she understood him too well to be genuinely angry. The very fear making her want another room was the fear that had left Druve unwilling to let her out of his reach.
Riya sighed. "Fine. I'll sleep with you today."
The tension left his face so quickly that her eyes narrowed.
"Don't look so happy. I'm talking about sleeping."
Druve's mouth curved. "So am I."
Heat immediately touched her cheeks.
She pointed towards the room around them. "This is still mine, and I'll move in tomorrow."
"Completely yours."
Riya studied him suspiciously, but there was nothing in his expression she could challenge.
Druve held out his hand.
Riya placed hers in it and let him lead her back towards their room, still unaware that although Druve had sincerely agreed to give her every bit of privacy she wanted, he had made absolutely no promise about letting her spend her nights alone.
Back in their room, the argument seemed to disappear as naturally as it had begun. Riya settled onto the bed, and Druve stayed close without hovering over her. The exhaustion she had been hiding all evening was finally begin.
When she lay down, Druve settled beside her, giving her enough space to be comfortable while remaining close.
His hand found hers over the blanket. Riya looked at their fingers but didn't tease him this time. She simply curled hers around his.
The fear of sleep remained. So did the fear of what another nightmare might drag out of her.
But Druve was beside her.
For seven years she had survived with nothing except the memory of him. Tonight his hand was warm around hers.
That was enough. Riya closed her eyes, and eventually her breathing slowed.
------
Druve didn't sleep. He waited until her fingers had relaxed inside his and her breathing had settled completely before allowing himself to think about everything he had pushed aside.
The nightmare came first, followed by Dev, her collapse, the terrifying coldness of her body and finally the way she had opened her eyes and thrown herself into his arms. But it was her crying that stayed with him the most.
A nightmare could frighten someone, even badly. What had happened to Sruthi had nearly shut her body down. Whatever she had experienced wasn't something he could dismiss as a frightening dream.
Something was missing.
Then another detail surfaced, one so obvious that Druve wondered how he hadn't noticed it sooner.
From the moment she had opened her eyes, he had called her Sruthi. He had called her that while she cried, while he begged her to breathe, after she calmed down and throughout the evening.
Not once had she questioned him.
There had been no confusion when the name left his mouth, no hesitation before she responded and no attempt to correct him. She had simply answered to Sruthi as naturally as she answered to Riya.
Druve became still as the pieces settled into place.
She remembered.
The realization should have brought nothing but happiness. His Sruthi remembered him.
Instead, one question immediately followed.
Why hadn't she told him?
His thoughts returned to Dev, the nightmare and the desperation with which she had held him after waking. Whatever had returned with her memories, Sruthi didn't want him anywhere near it.
Druve watched her sleeping face for a long moment. He could wake her and ask her directly, but he knew her too well for that. If Sruthi had deliberately chosen to hide something from him, forcing her to speak would only make her protect it harder.
So he wouldn't ask.
If she wanted him to believe she remembered nothing, he would let her believe he hadn't figured it out.
And he would find the truth himself.
Carefully, Druve released her hand and reached for his phone. He moved far enough away that his voice wouldn't disturb her before calling Arjun.
"Arjun, I want you to look into Dev. Start again from the beginning. I don't care what we already know—I want everything checked again. Find out what happened to him, who was involved and everything we might have missed."
He listened briefly, his gaze returning to Sruthi sleeping on the bed.
"And keep it between us."
Druve ended the call. For a moment, the hard focus remained on his face, but when he looked back at her, it disappeared.
He walked to the bed and bent towards her, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead. Whatever she was trying so desperately to protect him from, he would find it without forcing her to place it in his hands before she was ready.
Druve straightened and moved towards the window.
Outside, the night had gone quiet, but the house wasn't as unwatched as it appeared. Beyond the reach of its lights, someone had remained hidden long enough to watch Riya arrive and the family leave one car at a time.
The house had emptied exactly as they had been waiting for it to.
Kaal's warning remained clear: never touch Riya while she was under Druve's protection. The warning hadn't been misunderstood or forgotten. It was simply going to be ignored.
The watcher remained hidden in the darkness, waiting for the right opportunity to move now that everyone except Druve had left.
Inside, Druve reached the window and caught the edge of the curtain between his fingers. He slowly drew it aside, his gaze travelling across the darkness beyond the glass before settling on one particular point outside.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then a slow smirk appeared on his face.