Chapter 14
Suhaag Raat – The Night of Truth
The room glowed softly with marigold garlands and flickering diyas. The air was thick with the fragrance of roses and sandalwood, heavy with expectation.
Kairi sat on the bed, her bridal veil cascading like a curtain around her face. Her fingers twisted nervously in her lap, her heart thudding so loud she was sure he could hear it even before he entered.
Then—footsteps. Firm. Sure. The door clicked shut.
Her breath caught. She dared to lift her eyes, and there he was—Yug. His sherwani slightly undone, his chest rising and falling as if he had run a race, but his gaze steady, burning into her through the veil.
For a moment, neither moved. The silence between them trembled, more charged than any words.
Yug finally crossed the room, each step slow, deliberate. He stopped before her, his hands lifting—hesitant for the first time. With reverence, he brushed the veil back, revealing her face.
Kairi’s lashes fluttered, her breath hitching as their eyes locked. She was trembling, but not from fear—from the storm of anticipation coursing through her.
Without a word, Yug reached for her jewelry. One by one, with painstaking tenderness, he removed each piece—the heavy earrings, the necklace, the bangles that jingled faintly as he slid them from her wrists. Each ornament fell away like the barriers that had stood between them.
Kairi shivered under his touch, her skin alive to every brush of his fingers. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as he leaned closer, his breath warm against her cheek.
When the last jewel was gone, his hands moved to the ties of her bridal attire. Slowly, carefully, he undid each knot, each clasp, until the fabric slipped away, leaving her bare before him. Kairi’s cheeks flushed crimson, her arms instinctively moving to shield herself, but Yug caught her hands gently.
“Don’t hide from me,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “Not tonight.”
Her lips parted in a trembling breath as he stripped away his own clothing, until nothing separated them. He lifted her effortlessly, her body shivering in his arms, and laid her back against the soft bed strewn with petals.
Hovering above her, his forehead pressed against hers, his breath ragged. “You are mine, Kairi. Always. Nothing will ever come between us again.”
She nodded, tears glistening in her eyes, her arms wrapping tightly around him. “I am yours,” she whispered. “Always.”
And then—he entered her. Slowly at first, her body arching, a gasp escaping her lips as he filled her completely. Their bodies melded together as if they had been waiting their whole lives for this one moment.
Every heartbeat, every shiver, every tremor became a conversation of trust, love, and need. Yug held her with fierce protectiveness, and Kairi clung to him with equal intensity, her hands tracing the contours of his shoulders and back as they shared the heat and surrender.
The world outside ceased to exist. There was no past, no future—only this moment, this union, this fierce claiming of love denied for too long.
When at last they collapsed into each other, breathless and trembling, their hearts beat as one—two souls finally unshackled, bound forever in fire and devotion.
Aftermath – The Night’s Quiet
The room breathed with silence, broken only by the faint crackle of the last candle and the whisper of the night air through the open window.
Kairi lay on her side, her back pressed against Yug’s chest, cocooned by the strength of his arms wrapped firmly around her. His breath was warm against the crook of her neck, sending little shivers down her spine even in the afterglow.
She reached down, her fingers lacing through his, tugging his hand to rest over the steady rise and fall of her stomach. “Do you feel it?” she whispered, voice fragile with wonder.
Yug tightened his hold, his lips grazing her shoulder. “I feel you. All of you. You’re mine, Kairi.” His words were raw, almost broken, as though he still couldn’t believe she was here—bare, unguarded, his.
Kairi turned her head slightly, catching the edge of his jaw with her lips in a feather-light kiss. “For the first time in my life,” she murmured, “I don’t want to run. I don’t want to fight. I just want… this.”
He shifted, pulling her fully into him, their bodies fitting like two halves finally made whole. His forehead pressed to her temple, his breath mingling with hers. “Then this is what you’ll have. For tonight, tomorrow, forever.”
A soft sigh escaped her, not of fatigue but of contentment. Her body, still aching, melted deeper into his. Her fingers curled tighter around his, as if she were afraid letting go would wake her from a dream.
Yug stayed awake long after her breathing steadied, his gaze fixed on the curve of her face in the candlelight. He pressed one last kiss to the crown of her head, a silent vow etched in the softness of the night.
The world outside might still hold battles, storms, and shadows.
But here, in the quiet aftermath, there was only them—two souls finally at peace, bound in a truth no one could tear apart.
Time Skip – Months Later
The vow he made that night carried through the months that followed.
Kairi, once fragile in his arms, now carried new life within her. Her body blossomed with the weight of their love, the curve of her belly growing with each passing week until the whispers in the mohalla turned to gasps of awe—quadruplets.
Yug stood by her at every turn, his once restless nights now spent learning to soothe her morning sickness, massaging her swollen feet, or simply holding her hair back when the waves of nausea hit. His protective fire had found a new purpose: guarding her and the four tiny heartbeats within her.
Kairi, radiant even in her weariness, often teased him for fussing too much. “You were never this patient with anyone, Yug,” she’d murmur with a smile.
He would only reply by tucking her hair behind her ear, kissing her temple softly. “I was never yours before.”
And so, through swollen ankles, late-night cravings, and whispered laughter in the dark, they waited together.
Until, one fine evening, the first sharp pangs of labor seized Kairi’s body—and everything they had long prepared for began.
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To be continued.
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