Daksh

(The same day)

The blaring of the alarm sitting on the bedside table broke my sleep, jolting me awake. I caressed the mattress beside me, hoping to find her lying beside me but met with disappointment again. The bed was cold with no trace of her. A sad chuckle left my lips as I sat straight.

"I am dying without you, Jaan! Please come back to me or let me come to you," I begged with teary eyes while she just kept smiling at me through the picture hanging on the wall. I got up from the bed and caressed her face in our wedding portrait. 

"Bhai," I quickly wiped my tears and opened the door for Ronak, who was standing at the door, holding a tray of breakfast. After I came to know what happened in my absence, I cut all the ties with everyone involved in the humiliation of my wife. I stopped having meals with them and now I don't even interact with them at the office. I am still staying at the palace because of their blackmail regarding my wife.

"How dare you? How fucking dare you slap my wife? My Jaan?" I grabbed her neck and pushed her against the wall, cutting off her air supply. Rohan and Ronak along with two more guards pulled me back but I was still shaking in anger. Seeing the person who dared to hurt my Chaitra in front of my eyes is not something I could ever tolerate. If I didn't consider her family once upon a time, I would have shot her by now.

"Have you fucking lost it? What are you doing?" Rohan yelled pushing me away.

"What were you people doing when she raised her hand against my wife?  You all just stood silent seeing her slap my wife?" I uttered in sheer anger, with a tint of disbelief and disappointment towards my family. How can they even let her do it to my wife, My Chaitra?

"It was so sudden and your brothers already took charge before we could settle the matter, and your sister had already slapped her too," Papa said with a guilty expression. But I am not in a state to empathize with him because they hurt My Jaan without any mistake of hers. She would have broken that hand raised against her if she had not been saddened because of what happened. She was devastated and this creature dared to slap her. 

I again took steps to grab her neck but Ronak and others stopped me before I could reach her. "Bhai, Bhabi maa needs you," Ronak whispered in my ear and I heaved a sigh, trying to control my anger. I will deal with these people once I bring her back.

"I am going to get her back. And you, leave this Palace before I come back with our Queen," I emphasized the 'Queen' to let her and everyone else know who is in power here. I saw her gulping and if it was any other time, I would have felt bad for her but right now I am seeing red. I don't care if my words hurt any of them because their actions already broke my Jaan and I don't care about their feelings anymore.

"I will leave this house if she comes back," I heard another culprit of my wife's declaring. My family remained silent, looking down. They are still doing the same. They didn't take a stand for their daughter-in-law and are still silent. It just made my anger worse.

"Then pack your bags and fucking leave! It is my palace and my Queen will be staying here with me. Anyone who's against it can go to hell for all I care," I declared with finality. I regret going on that fucking trip. But My Jaan was so adamant about sending me on that trip and didn't speak to me for a whole day. I had to give in because I couldn't bear her silent treatment. But look what happened when I left her for just 2 days!

"Daksh!" My grandmother looked angry but I could care less. 

"What about Nithi? She's your sister," She asked trying to manipulate me using my sister. I took a glance at Nithi Di who was crying silently, cupping her face. I felt a tug at my heart but then I remembered Jaan's face, the love we shared, and the promise I made to each of her family members. 

"She didn't think about her brother when asking his wife to leave, did she? Then why should I think of her, Dadi? But I am not as cruel as her to ask her husband to leave. She and Rohan can stay here, but no one else and I mean it!" I declared not glancing at my sister and best friend. Best friend? I am not sure about it anymore.

"So, you are going against all of us, your family for her?" I glared at him, hard for even asking such a question.

"She is a part of my family." I declared. "And you people are clearly wrong here. Do you expect me to be on your side instead of going to my wife? The girl to whom I promised a lifetime of togetherness? You should be grateful that I didn't slap that girl and throw you out yet. You better leave respectfully before my guards throw you out," I gritted out. My patience is hanging in a thin thread and they are hell-bent on breaking it.

"Look how he is insulting us! We will leave," I was not interested in the drama unfolding. I want to bring my wife back. I don't even know what she was going through. The only relief is my brothers and Naksh being with her. I am sure they will take care of her until I reach her.

"No one is going anywhere. And Daksh you are not going to bring her back. If you try to bring her back or meet her, I will tell her the truth behind what happened with her family!" Dadi warned or more like blackmailed me. I looked at her with blood-red eyes, fisting my hands but she looked away not meeting my eyes. Can she handle the truth? My Jaan is too sensitive to learn all these things now.

"You will do no such thing," I pleaded. My family can't be so heartless to break my Jaan completely, can they?

"I will, if you try to meet her," Her voice was a mere whisper but it was enough to break me completely. My own family is standing against me and My Jaan in our tough times. She already lost her family and these people are trying to snatch me from her. But I won't let them succeed. 

"Fine. I will not meet her or contact her. But that will be until a few days. When I feel she is better, I will let her know everything myself and bring her back to this palace like the queen she is. But, whatever relation I have with you people ends here, this moment. You people are no longer my family. My family only includes my wife, my three brothers, two sisters, and my best friend Naksh and his wife. Only them, no one else."

"And remember, the day I bring my wife back will be the last day of your family here. I will make sure to do it," I stomped out of the palace saying so with Ronak running behind me, pleading with me to stop. 

"Thank you," I took the tray from him and closed the door. I never allowed anyone to enter our chamber after she left. What my family doesn't know is I did contact her that day. I pleaded with her to come back but she declined, saying she needs some time away from all of them. I couldn't go away from my family due to the blackmail, so I agreed to let her stay at her place for a while. I will tell her the entire truth once she becomes better. 

This chamber is the only place that makes me feel closer to her and I can't tolerate other's presence in our personal space. I didn't talk to her after that day as Abhi informed me about her phone being tapped. From that day, I always stayed informed about her through my brothers. She knows about it and now we both communicate through them. She asks Ronak about me and I ask Rakshith or Abhi about her. Abhi and Ronak send me her pictures often. I even noticed Ronak clicking my pictures secretly but didn't address it not wanting to expose him as I know for whom he was doing it. 

I placed the tray on the table and moved to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and walked into the closet. Her neatly arranged sarees grabbed my attention and I picked the black saree she wore on one of our dates. That date was so random and unplanned. 

"Aksh, get up!" Her melodious voice fell into my ears making me smile. I smiled into the pillow and turned my head in the other direction. I felt her climbing onto my back as she placed her legs on both sides of my torso and rested her head on the back of my neck. 

"Aksh, please get up na!" She whined, with her hair strands caressing the side of my face. I held her wrist and pulled her down onto the bed before turning to the side, resting my weight on my elbow. She looked at me with her eyes wide but a beautiful smile stretched on her lips as the initial shock disappeared.

"You are looking gorgeous," I whispered, caressing her cheeks with the back of my palm, my eyes fixed on her face as I admired her. I can do that the whole day. Everything she does feels beautiful to me. She wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me closer to her.

She craned her face a little and placed her lips on my forehead. She then set my hair back and traced her finger on my face, caressing the contours, like she was remembering them. I bit on her finger lightly when it was near my lips making her glare at me.

"Why did you bite me?" She questioned with a glare but I felt that glare so cute. My cute little kitten. Ready to attack.

"Because I find you sweet," I replied hitting my forehead with hers. She twisted her lips into a pout and pushed me away making me fall beside her. 

"Go and take a bath. It's already 9 and everyone already left for Lucknow. They didn't want to disturb you as you came late last night," She informed handing me a towel. One of our cousins is getting married and our entire family left for there, of course except me and my Biwi Jaan. I have an important meeting on the same day of the wedding and my Jaan didn't want to leave me alone.

"We will have breakfast outside then," I placed a chaste kiss on her cheek and bit it before running into the bathroom. My Jaan would have killed me if I wasn't quick enough. 

"Aksh!" I heard her shriek from the bedroom and chuckled. I did my chores and took a bath. I changed my clothes in the closet and stepped into the bedroom after throwing the towel in the laundry. 

My feet remained glued to the spot and my breath stuck in my throat on seeing the sight in front of me. My wife was looking breathtakingly beautiful in a black saree, sitting on the bed with her legs folded to her chest and her head resting on her knees, with her hair falling to the side, giving me a clear view of her neck, and back. 

She turned to me and smiled a little. Trust me, my soul left my body for a second seeing that beautiful smile. It was not just her lips that were smiling, her eyes were smiling too. That spark in her is something I can sell my life for. I can kill or die for that happiness in her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked sitting straight, her hands still wrapped around her folded legs. I took steps to her and sat on the ground in front of her. I placed my head on her knees where her head was and she wrapped her hands around my neck giggling. 

"I can happily die for this smile of yours, Jaan," I professed, kissing her hand. She giggled and kissed my forehead, cupping my face.

"You being with me is the reason for my smile. I will lose this smile the moment you are not around me," Her words made me feel more protective towards her.  I should take care of myself for her. I should stay alive to protect her and fulfill all her wishes. My hand slipped to her feet and I caressed her anklets before kissing her feet, with an unspoken promise to be with her in every step of life.

"I am hungry, Aksh. The rats in my stomach are killing me," she replied with a pout making me chuckle. I kissed her pout and got up from my place before forwarding my hand to her. She stepped down from the bed and we both moved out after I adorned her hairline with sindoor and she wore her footwear.

"Where to, Mrs. Chauhan?" I asked once we both settled in the car. 

"Wherever the road takes us, Mr. Chauhan. Today we are ditching the royal protocol and security too," She announced as she reversed the car from the garage. Yes, guys, my wife stole the keys from me. She loves driving and comes up with new ideas to steal keys from time and again. A top secret she doesn't know is that I love it when she drives me places. I feel pampered. 

"Aren't you scared, Mrs. Chauhan? We have enemies waiting for chances," I teased her. She still doesn't know about the actual enemies but she does know there are a few people who are trying to bring down our company and she is more angry at them than me.

"Why should I be scared when you are around, Mr. Chauhan?" she questioned back and with that, we started our drive. I knew our guards were following us discretely and I felt relaxed. I can take care of her alone but I don't want to take any risks in the current situation. She drove for another hour before finally parking the car near a small dhaba. We had our breakfast there, feeding each other as we talked about anything and everything. 

We couldn't spend much alone time in the past few days due to office worries but we both made sure not to let those problems tamper our time together. We don't speak about office matters once we are inside our room and when we are out to spend some time and that helped us a lot to have special moments like this.

I hugged the saree close to my heart as a few tears slipped from my eyes. Her smell was gone but I can still feel her warmth and her smile. I placed the saree back and picked an outfit for myself. I wiped my tears and slipped into my outfit. I put on my blazer and gulped my breakfast quickly before walking out of my room.

I drove to my office and my head security officer opened the gate for me. I walked in nodding at the people who wished me morning. I saw Rohan walking to me with a file but I walked to my personal elevator ignoring him. I still haven't forgotten how he stayed quiet when people blamed my wife. I left her on his belief but he stayed silent when his wife and father blamed my wife without any mistake of hers. I am not going to forgive any of them. 

"Sir, Rohan sir is calling you," My PA informed me but a single glare from me made him shut his mouth and he stepped back muttering sorry sir. I may look childish for ignoring my best friend but what about my wife who lost everything in a span of 15 days? She lost her family, my family blamed her for something she could never do, and my best friend stayed silent on that. The same best friend who once warned me that he would even stand against me if I hurt her. Now I am doing the same, fighting everyone who made her cry, including my family and my best friend. 

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