by MV Kasi
“Sabitha!”
She heard Dev’s voice calling out to her. She heard it again, this time being called in a frantic way.
Was that my imagination? she wondered.
But she heard the voice calling her name over and over again.
It was Dev.
That meant Anika must have been rescued and safe. She knew Dev and his brother would make sure of that.
Immediately, keeping her body still, she moved her hand back towards the pillow and felt underneath it. Her fingers met with her handle of her knife.
She opened her eyes and turned her head and looked up at the man above her. Revanth Senani was touching himself with frustration. It was obvious that whatever chemicals he kept injecting into his body had another major side effect.
She was glad.
He was so lost in frustration that he wasn’t focusing on anything else.
Sabitha’s eyes fell on his throat where the pulse beat rapidly, carrying the life-giving blood. Slowly she removed the knife from its sheath under the pillow where she had hidden it before. Then without a pause, she brought it out and slashed it across his throat, severing the jugular.
She turned her head sideways as the warm blood sprayed on her. Then shoving away the gasping man from her, she got off the bed.
She picked up her torn shirt and wiped her face and upper body of the blood.
That’s how Dev Singham and his men found her.
The other men left immediately, but Dev stood frozen for a few moments at the sight of her naked and covered in blood.
Sabitha numbly noticed that Dev held a bloody axe in one hand which he probably used to kill someone outside and also to break down the locked door.
They just stared at each other for a few split seconds while noises of the struggle outside, and the sick, gurgling sounds being emitted by the man lying on the ground, continued.
Dev broke the trance as he moved towards her in long strides. As soon as he reached her, he unbuttoned and shrugged off his shirt and put it around her body. While she buttoned, he moved towards the man lying on the ground.
She heard the grunts from Dev as he kicked the man. It was followed by the hacking noises as he used the axe.
She went around the bed and saw what Dev Singham had done to the man who for a brief while had been her husband.
Sabitha didn’t flinch at the sight.
It was definitely going to be hard for the Senanis to perform the last rites of Revanth Senani.
Dev continued with the hacking.
“Dev,” she whispered softly. He stopped midway as he raised the axe for another strike. “He’s gone, Dev.”
Dev’s nostrils flared and he gave one last hack and left the axe embedded in the body, or whatever was remaining of it.
He came towards her, his eyes still wild and filled with bloodlust. But when he reached her, he held her face gently with both his hands. He kissed her softly on her forehead, and her eyes, and the tip of her nose, and then on her lips. He took a shuddering breath. “Let’s go, baby. Let’s set fire and burn this whole damn place.”
Sabitha nodded. She grabbed her knife to strap it around her leg and took the gun he handed to her.
***
Sabitha watched the flames consume the building, taking with it some of the memories of the last few hours. She felt Dev’s hand taking hers in his and squeezing it in a reassuring manner. He then brought it up to his lips and kissed it.
“Let’s go home, baby,” he said, gently pulling her towards the waiting cars.
Sabitha saw Anika waiting in one of the cars. Anika gave her a weak smile, looking close to exhaustion. Abhay was right behind them. He slid into the car and held his wife close.
Dev led Sabitha into another car and sat next to her. He held her close as well.
The drive was quiet and Sabitha felt exhausted. She didn’t allow any thoughts or emotions to process at that point. She was fine with feeling numb.
Dev seemed to understand and stayed silent. He didn’t let go of her hand and held her close to him against his chest, kissing her hair over and over as though to make sure she was real and with him.
CHAPTER 47
They reached the Singham Mansion during the early hours.
Dev was just done soaping Sabitha and then himself. He was washing away the blood from their bodies.
Sabitha looked at him as he focused on her completely as he gently reapplied the soap on her where there were probably still traces of blood and cuts. When he touched the corner of her eye where it was still tender, she involuntarily flinched slightly.
His eyes looked haunted. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t around or couldn’t come sooner,” he said.
“Dev, you were almost at the other end of the country. You came much sooner than I could ever expect.”
He shook his head. “I should have stayed closer and not left your side when things were that tense.”
“But they weren’t tense at that time, Dev,” she told him quietly. “It’s not your fault. Revanth Senani was only after me, it had nothing to do with you not forming an alliance with his sister.”
He ran a shaky hand on her face. “But I should have considered that possibility, too. That man was obsessed with you. I should have let the investigators or Abhay handle searching for Rana—”
“Dev,” she gently interrupted. “You know that I’m not helpless or that I need saving. You can’t be next to me all the time. In fact—”
“In fact, what?” Dev asked when she broke off abruptly.
She took in a painful breath before she could say the next words. “In fact, you are not obligated to be with me at all,” she said softly.
He froze. “What?”
She took in another deep breath. “Your men saw me, Dev. They think I was raped.”
He took at her with slightly widened eyes. It was obvious he had thought the same.
“I wasn’t raped, Dev,” she clarified softly. “I slit his throat before he could get to me. But I want you to know that I understand. I know Singhams are true believers of purity and bloodlines. Me being partly from a lower-class was already pushing it. But if your people think I was—”
“Stop,” he said quietly.
She saw the hurt look on his face. “Do you think so less of me that you think I’d give you up for the sake of some foolish prejudiced people?” he asked.
She was quiet.
“I love you,” he said with so much emotion that it shook her. “I’ll keep on loving you, no matter what. Even if the whole fucking world burns down if we are together, then so be it. I belong to you and you belong with me. Do you understand?” he demanded.
Sabitha knew it wasn’t going to be easy. She knew there would be violence and bloodshed involved if Dev ever announced that he was going to marry her. People at the Singham province will not allow a lower-class woman who they think was tainted by their enemy to ever enter the Singham Mansion as a bride.
He held her face to meet his eyes. “Tell me how can I make you understand that I love you unconditionally, you stubborn woman!” he said in anguish.
Then he took deep breaths as though he just realized he was shouting at her. “I’m sorry,” he said gently. “You’ve been through a lot already. Let’s just not talk about how other people won’t accept our union.”
She nodded.
He turned off the shower and dried them. Wearing one of his clean and warm shirts, she let him guide her towards his bed. He tucked her into the crook of his arm as they lay on the bed.
“Singham men do not believe in bullshit like purity or bloodlines, Sabitha. At least not the men in my family,” he said softly.
She remained quiet.
“My mother was raped before she got married,” he added softly.
“What?” Sabitha was shocked. She didn’t know or even hear about such a thing happening with Arundhati Singham.
“It was right after my father broke off his engagement with Neelambari Prajapati.”
> “Who did it?” Sabitha asked.
“Three men from the Prajapati province,” he replied. “They were pissed about the fact that my father was breaking a long-held tradition to marry a woman of his choice. They had attacked her when she was alone and almost left her to die. They thought Vijay Singham wouldn’t accept a woman who wasn’t pure and was violated in that way where she could possibly be carrying someone else’s child.”
He looked at her with an intent look. “The men were wrong. It just made the love my father had for my mother even stronger. Until then, my grandparents weren’t too convinced about breaking the tradition, but seeing my parents love for each other, they relented. Especially my grandmother. She was proud of my father.”
Sabitha felt moved as Dev narrated the gut-wrenching tale of his parents. She also recalled hearing hushed whispers about how Vijay Singham had hacked down four Prajapatis with an axe before he broke the tradition and had gotten married. Apparently, it had been the first and last act of violence. Now she knew those rumors were not only true but also the reason for that violent act.
“Don’t you feel any lingering hatred towards me because I’m a Prajapati and we did all this to your parents and family?” she asked.
“No,” he answered. “Not anymore. I used to be stupid and immature earlier. My grandmother had been right when she kept teaching Abhay and me that each and every person should be held responsible for their own actions. Since I began falling in love with you, I realized the same.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Maybe we cannot change our people’s mentality or their beliefs overnight, but I refuse to compromise on our future or our love because of them. I guess I take after my father when it comes to that,” he said with a smile. “When a Singham man falls in love, it continues to burn bright until he takes his last breath.”
Her own breath stopped when she heard him say those words.
“It’s not going to be easy,” she said softly.
“I know. I never even expected it to be.”
She turned to see him, but she could see with only one eye. The other eye was completely shut close. She felt self-conscious when his eyes ran over her face.
He cupped her face with one of his hands. “You could be covered in blood or you could be badly bruised like now. But do you know what I see whenever I look at you?” he asked.
“What?” she asked softly.
“When I look at you, I don’t just see your face. I see my entire future. I see our marriage. I see our children. I see us fighting. I see us making up. I see us growing old together. In my version of the future, we are quite lucky, because I even see us dying together. I see my forever in you.”
She watched him as her vision blurred due to tears. “I want all those things in my future, too. I want my forever with you,” she said in a wobbly voice.
He smiled and kissed her gently. “We’ll make it happen, baby.”
She believed him. Because Dev Singham was not going to allow anyone to come between their happiness. She knew that for her, he’d pick up his axe and cut down anyone who opposed their union or would speak against her.
Although that fact would horrify most women, it warmed Sabitha’s heart.
And so, even though she felt sore and knew he was probably sore too, she kissed him deeply with all her pent-up desire and love.
When their lips parted, she saw that his eyes were heated with a familiar look. The next instant, he rolled them until he was on top. She wrapped her legs around him, running her hands all over him, greedily taking in the feel of him.
Holding her face within his hands and kissing her, he slid in slowly, joining their bodies and also their souls together.
Tears streamed from her eyes and rolled down the sides of her face. Then everything grew hazy and dreamlike except for the man above her who moved inside her with slow yet powerful strokes.
When she came, she felt the sharp, blinding pleasure that made her feel like she had burst into flames and burned to ashes, only to be reborn again.
She felt cleansed of the ugly memories as they held each other.
***
Dev watched as Sabitha slept next to him. He couldn’t fall asleep. His mind was on overdrive.
It had been that way since Abhay received a message with location coordinates from an unknown number, which like Abhay had guessed, was Anika who had sent it.
As soon as they reached the guesthouse, Abhay went in search for Anika while Dev shouted Sabitha’s name over and over. It didn’t even register in his mind when he cut down the men who tried to stop from finding her. He was driven purely by instincts.
And then, he found her. When he saw her, relief hit him hard, immediately followed by sickness. He had felt sick. Horribly sick when he saw Sabitha, bloody and naked with a swollen, bruised face.
Someone had hurt the woman he loved. The red haze that had descended on him before he entered the Senani guesthouse became even darker. He had picked up his axe and gone at the sadistic bastard.
He didn’t stop. Even when he heard a soft voice calling his name, he didn’t stop. He only listened to the voice in his head that asked him to destroy the person who hurt his woman.
He had kept hacking and hacking. Over and over and over again. Even when he finally registered Sabitha telling him that the animal had died, he still hacked one last time.
Dev took a shuddering breath, not wanting to think about what could have happened to her. He almost lost her.
He watched her face and ran a finger over her bruised cheek. Even with a swollen black eye and heavily bruised and reddened face, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
He was not going to allow anyone—including Sabitha—to come between their union. He will convince her until she accepts the fact they belong together.
He wasn’t naive to think that the people at Singham province would easily accept his decision of making Sabitha a Singham bride. He knew there would be violence. And he knew there was a possibility of the people never accepting her.
But for the woman lying in his arms, he was willing to take those risks.
CHAPTER 48
Over the next few days, Dev stayed by Sabitha’s side even though she knew he was anxious about the search for his younger brother.
“Dev, I’m okay. You should go. I was caught unaware before, but now I’m taking the necessary measures. The bodyguard who betrayed me was the only one who had turned rogue,” she said.
The man was from the Prajapati province. He had worked for her as a bodyguard for nearly two years, but he had some inflated opinions about whom he thought Sabitha should marry. According to his last words, he had wanted her to be a Senani bride rather than be Dev Singham’s whore.
“I know, baby. But Abhay and our team are handling it quite well. And I’m not here just for your safety. You have been feeling unwell lately. I can’t focus when I know you need me.”
“I’m fine—”
“You are not,” he said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting in a hospital.”
Sabitha wanted to argue that he had dragged her even though she didn’t want to. But she stopped when the door to the hospital waiting room opened. Anika came in. Sabitha felt a sliver of alarm cross within her when she saw Abhay Singham joining his wife.
But Anika was smiling, easing Sabitha’s alarm.
“What is it?” Dev asked. “Is she alright?”
“More than just alright,” Anika replied excitedly. “Sabitha is twelve weeks pregnant!”
There was utter silence.
Sabitha’s mouth fell open in shock. Pregnant! And twelve weeks? That meant… she had gotten pregnant when Dev and she had started meeting at their cottage.
“Yup, I know that look,” Anika’s amused tone cut through the silence.
“But…. but… how?” Sabitha asked, still in shock. “I’ve always used… and even he used…” She was at loss of words due to the news.
“The Singhams,” Anika chuckled. “T
hey are damn good swimmers.”
“But…” Sabitha looked at Dev for answers.
Dev had a wide and an extremely satisfied, proud grin.
Sabitha tried to glare at him, but his grin and the joy on his face was infectious. She got over her shock quickly and let happiness take over.
Dev closed the distance between them and swept her up in his arms and kissed her noisily on her mouth. Sabitha kissed him back with equal vigor.
“Aww… I miss living through the moment when we found out about our baby. I want that again soon!” said Anika.
“I think we should first let our child be born before I can help you relive such moments again,” said Abhay Singham in an amused tone.
Sabitha had forgotten the fact that there were other people in the room.
Dev had forgotten, too. He looked towards the barely visible bump. “Our forever has already started, baby,” he told Sabitha before sealing his promise with another deep kiss.
CHAPTER 49
Dev and Sabitha were at the Singham Lakehouse.
“Seriously, how many cottages have you Singhams built?” Sabitha asked in amusement. She has been to three of them including the Lakehouse.
Dev laughed. “Probably five or six. We’ll visit the rest in coming months,” he teased.
The Singham Lakehouse had a breathtaking view on the outside. Especially with the setting sun. “Why the Lakehouse? Why not our cottage?” she asked.
“Family tradition,” he answered huskily. He didn’t elaborate. Neither did she ask him to. Because she was distracted by the look on his face as he watched her.
Her heart began to thud as he closed the distance between them.
“I love you, you know that, right?” he asked, cupping her breast and then moving his palm lower to settle his palm over her heart.
“You’ve repeated that thousands of times, Singham,” she said softly.
“It’s good that you remember, Mrs. Singham,” said Dev, stressing the Mrs.
That morning, they had gotten married in a small, low-key ceremony at the Prajapati Mansion. Her people had wanted a bigger celebration, but out of respect for her grandfather’s death and also due to the increasing tensions with the Senanis, they held off on a big celebration.
