Chapter 8

Sleep was miles away from his eyes, just like Matsyaa. 

Ranvijay spent the entire night tossing and turning and thinking about her full-fledged rejection. He sat up on the bed, unable to sleep and got out on the porch. The night wind grazed his naked chest soothingly as he pored over the garden, supporting his palms on the stone balustrade.

Even the serenity of the night failed to calm down the storm in him. The episode of the day rewinded itself in his mind, echoing and coming to poke the sides of his head like an eagle. The one thing running in his mind was the clear rejection she'd thrown at him, and that didn't please him. 

"How dare you?" His teeth grounded. Did he mistake her as someone else? Who was this proud, ill-mannered girl? What did she think of herself? He'd personally picked those gifts for her. Those were the token of his love and she trampled them under her heels like they mattered nothing. 

Like he mattered nothing! 

His jaw clenched to the point that his molars started to hurt. He'd anticipated her shock, imagined her surprise and even thought of her reluctance but the way she insulted Veer and Arpan out and out, he didn't see that coming. She didn't look like someone who'd be so spoiled. What did they teach her? 

Guilt crept in his chest. He'd asked the guys personally to do this because he didn't have time to see her. He had to go to Maangarh to meet his grandfather. Things were dicey from all around. On the scale, he was the only one bending backward to maintain the balance. But, it was testing his patience and he wasn't a patient man. 

Arpan was his best friend, so he said nothing but Veer's face had given away everything Ranvijay needed to conclude how things didn't work in his favor. He genuinely wanted to apologize for hurting her. Her doe-like eyes had been walking in and out of his dreams. He had thought and erased, and rethought of being with her. 

Love wasn't easy for a man like him, but he had gone out of his way to accept that he might have fallen in love with her at the first sight. He knew the dangers in the path but he was willing to take all of them head-on, only for her and she thought of him like nothing.

‘We don't need him, my king. He's not Prithvi's son. He can never be the one. He killed my son. I don't want him alive. I don't want him!’ 

‘Why are you still coming to Maangarh, Big brother? People hate you, here. They don't want you. Go back and I'll take care of everything ’

‘I have my family, bhai, and I don't think I need anyone else who claims to love me but he can't trust me. Like you said, I'm the culprit. You should stay away from me. I don't need you.’

Ranvijay closed his eyes, curling fingers on the rail as the voices from the past came to haunt him. They didn't want him. She didn't want him. A pang clutched his heart when he recalled the one he loved the most and she left him alone in this world to deal with the monsters. 

A scalding drop of anger drained from his eye, rolling down his locked jaw. Even the air around him stilled, afraid to touch him and explode the bomb ticking inside him. He was going to prove something to everyone, about how irreplaceable he was, about how he couldn't be avoided, about how they'd have no choice but to accept him and about how he was written in their fate. 

Sadly, the first person he chose to prove his undeniable existence was Matsyaa. It all started with her and it would end on her. She dared to reject him because she had no memories of him? He'd give her plenty of them until he was the only thing running on her mind for a lifetime. 

Like a sadistic villain in his own love story, he stood there and stared at the far-off trees, planning the doom of his heroine. The girl who stole his sleep was about to wake up all night, thinking about him, dreaming about him and fearing about him. 

"Wait for me, Matsyaa. Just wait and watch how I'm going to make you regret this. You will be mine. Only mine." He promised to the air, hoping it would blow all the way to her and deliver his message. 

With a kiss!

***

"That girl was way too proud. She acted as if she owned the country. Man! You should've seen the way she was speaking to Arpan," Veer shook his head dramatically as he reiterated everything to his elder brother, sitting on the dining table where they gathered for breakfast. Shekhar had come back to the Haveli straight from his practice and was astonished after knowing the whole thing. 

"I don't think it was her fault. You pissed her off, moron." Arpan scowled at Veer. He didn't want Ranvijay to hear them again. He'd seen how his best friend reacted the previous day. If Matsyaa was a man, she would've gone to meet Lucifer by the evening. Ranvijay had looked murderous and Veer did a great job to fuel his anger by revealing everything verbatim. 

Veer shrugged, slicing his parathas. "I don't like her. My brother sent something for her and she acted pricey. I don't like those types of girls. She's worse than Vijayata. Just because Bhai showed his interest in her, she behaved as if she was indeed a princess. If only she knew who he really is, she'd crawl to him…"

Shekhar kicked his leg under the table to shut him up when he saw Ranvijay coming over to them. Veer cleared his throat and resumed eating, but Ranvijay judged the atmosphere without failing. He covered a smirk under a pretense of coughing. He was a businessman for a reason. 

But he didn't want to waste their efforts of showing nonchalance, therefore he acted as if he didn't really know what was happening. Taking his seat, he waited for Rao ma to serve him and flashed his eyebrows at Veer. "You have a flight in two hours, right?"

Veer nodded. 

"Great. I need you to make a detour and go after meeting Vikram. He's in Bihar at the moment. I don't know why that man has to travel again when he's just been attacked. Go and talk sense to him. He doesn't even listen to me these days."

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows. Shekhar cleared his throat, "Is he still mad at you?"

"He's being an idiot." Ranvijay muttered. Of course, Vikram was angry. He'd been avoiding Ranvijay since their family dinner like a plague. Ranvijay wanted to sort out their differences but his brother took things to his heart a little heavily. He thought Ranvijay was doubting him. 

Which he was, but not because he didn't trust Vikram. The only reason was that he wanted to know whether Raghvendra was behind the attack at Kumud Mehal, and he was right. Raghu had manipulated Vikram and easily fooled him. Ranvijay was worried how to keep his brother safe when he stayed in the middle of enemies whom he considered as family. 

Maangarh could never be the home to them, but Vikram refused to accept it. He was right in his place. He grew up in Maangarh among people who pretended to love him. He didn't see the ruthlessness and cruelty of the palace and its residents like Ranvijay did. For him, Maangarh was just a place where his brother lived, that's all. 

Nothing more. Nothing less. 

"You were wrong this time." Veer mumbled, breaking his trance and Ranvijay frowned at him in confusion. "What?"

The younger man sighed, taking sides of his favorite cousin. "Vikram is sensitive and you shouldn't have asked Bhushan to call him. It hurt him. I talked to him the other day. He was really sad. He feels you don't trust him. He thinks you blame me for the attack. Just because you saw the men with him, doesn't mean he was involved. You should've gone to talk to him, Bhai. Vikram isn't an easy nut to crack and he definitely doesn't react well to commands."

"I know that. I wanted to talk about this only, but that brat doesn't even want to listen to me. He has made up his mind. He trusts Raghuvendra over me. Over his blood brother." Ranvijay stabbed a finger at his chest, annoyed. Arpan interrupted him with a shake of his head, "No. He doesn't trust Raghuvendra. He just listens to him as well. I think here's the problem. You conclude things a little too quickly, Ranvijay. Vikram isn't like that. He takes his time but I don't remember in history when he made a wrong decision."

Ranvijay sighed, covering his face. "I just want him to be safe. None of you know the Queen. She can brainwash anyone. She did the same to Raghuvendra. I don't want to take the risk with Vikram."

"We understand, bhai, but Vikram isn't Raghavendra. He's your brother. Your own blood. Dad says Vikram thinks and works exactly like your mother. Bua was the same. She was the calmest and most intelligent woman. She never made wrong decisions." Shekhar said with a smile, remembering the lady he adored the most. 

Ranvijay dug his nails in his fist. He didn't want to talk about his mother. He didn't want to go down that lane. She didn't live a happy life. She made wrong decisions but he just didn't want to think of her. One thing led to another and he could feel his blood boiling when the familiar face flashed in front of his eyes. 

Rage lashed in his veins and he felt himself trembling with unreleased anger. If he could go back in the past, he'd take his sweet time in redoing the crime more ruthlessly. He was a child back then, but he was a full grown man and he was amazed how his hatred was still so fresh for that person. He hated him with every drop of his blood. 

The same blood which was flowing in his veins because of that person!

"Alright, guys. Let's leave this topic. I have news!" Arpan said, bringing all the attention to him and Ranvijay thanked him in his mind. He allowed himself to be carried away and picked up the cutlery, dismissing Rao ma. "What is it?" 

"I'm chosen by the party to stand for the elections." Arpan announced with a wink and the trio rolled their eyes, focusing back on their plates. Arpan frowned at their reactions, "What? Aren't you guys gonna say anything?" 

"Why are you making a big fuss of it? We already knew you were going to get selected. Who else can beat the trust Sengars have earned all these years? The party was going to choose you anyway!" Veer commented and Arpan grinned, patting his back. "Wow. You have so much confidence in me!" 

"Dinakar came to meet Nani maa a couple of days back. He told us about this. About your selection!" Ranvijay revealed naughtily and Arpan thumped the same palm on Veer's back he'd used to pat his back. Shekhar chuckled at them, "I thought you were going to get married." 

"Please. Mom is on my head these days. Aditi just got married, so they've found me to pester. I'm thinking of shifting here for the meantime," Arpan groaned internally and Ranvijay made a disapproving sound, stopping him. "You can't. I'm going to have someone over here soon, so you can't shift here."

"Who?" Arpan raised his eyebrow, asking casually but the answer left three of them with their jaw hanging down and eyes wide open. Ranvijay pushed his plate aside and wiped his mouth before looking at them and announcing the name, "Matsyaa Rathore! I've decided that I'm going to marry her." 

The silence upon the table was pregnant with so many questions. None spoke as if they lost their speech. They also felt like they misheard him, but his serious face denied the assumption. Veer was the first one to recover and cleared his throat many times before speaking, "Matsyaa Rathore?"

"Yes!" 

"The girl you sent those gifts?" Shekhar enquired next and Ranvijay nodded again, "Yes!" 

"Are you freaking insane?" Arpan sputtered, eyeing him in disbelief. Ranvijay scowled at him, "Why? Is it a crime to marry someone these days?"

"No, but… why her?" Arpan was genuinely stumped and Shekhar agreed, "I thought you didn't want to marry. You were always pissed off at the subject. What changed so quickly?"

"I changed." Ranvijay faced his cousin with a straight face, "Look, I thought about it. I'm going to be the King. I'll have to have kids, so it's good if I marry the girl I choose. I choose Matsyaa," He shrugged, satisfied with the reasoning he gave to himself as well.

"What about Vijayata then?" Veer raised an eyebrow. A scowl covered Ranvijay's face, "What about her?"

"She's almost your fiance. The elders from both families want you to get married to her. How will you manage your grandpa? And Vijayata's dad will also…"

"I don't care about them." Ranvijay said in a voice that brook no room for argument, his fists curling up. Whenever and wherever Matsyaa was concerned, he was always at the edge of his seat, ready to lose temper and start a rampage. "I don't care about what anyone else wants. I want Matsyaa. And that means I'll have her. By crook or by hook, but she will be mine." 

"Have you fallen for her?" Veer furrowed his eyebrows. Ranvijay didn't reply to him and swirled the water in his glass before downing it. Veer smacked the table in thrill, "I could feel it that day. You apologized to her thrice. It was a never before scenario."

"Shut up!" Ranvijay groaned and nodded his chin, "She doesn't fancy sparkling things, right? I want Leo's designer apparels shut down. I'm sure it must be his designs that failed to impress her. How can a girl who's born to live in glitter don't like it? I'll make sure she'll wear what I select for her this time."

"This is wrong, Ranvijay." Arpan sighed, "If you're serious about her, you're definitely doing this wrong. Look, she wasn't at fault yesterday. She hardly knows you. How could she accept those gifts and your brother here didn't leave a stone unturned to not piss her off. She was rude? Yes. But we were wrong too. I don't understand how I didn't stop you from doing that." 

"Consider your conscience clear, Arpan. You're stopping me now, but…" Ranvijay left his chair and smirked, wiping his mouth with the napkin before setting it down beside his empty plate, "It's not gonna change my mind. I'll be unstoppable. Get done with breakfast everyone, we have a long day ahead!" 

He turned on his heels and left the room. All three men behind gawked at his back, slowly listening to the faint footsteps of the storm which was going to create havoc in their lives very soon. 

Especially in Matsyaa's life!