Dil Ke Karib (Early Acess Ch 12)

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Rain spilled around them — softer now. Not angry. Not violent. Just there, like breath.

Rajeev didn’t move.

Neither did Nandini.

Their bodies lay pressed to the wet earth, the world narrowed to the hush of rain and the thunder of unspoken things. His arms still cradled her from the fall; her hands still rested on his chest. Her soaked saree clung to her curves, and for a moment, wrapped in mist and silence, they shared a calm neither could explain.
Not warmth.
Not desire.
Just... a quiet recognition.

But the moment wasn’t entirely theirs.

From the shadows, someone watched.

Unseen beneath the overhang of the courtyard, a man stood still — eyes sharp, breath low.

His gaze wasn’t tender. It was cold. Ravenous.

Where Rajeev saw a rain-kissed goddess — fragile, radiant — the watcher saw something else. His breath hitched at the shape beneath the wet fabric. Her face was hidden beneath tangled strands, her body mostly veiled behind Rajeev’s form. But what little he saw was enough to ignite something base and primal.

Desire.
Violent.
Wrong.

His jaw tensed as Rajeev leaned forward, brushing damp hair from Nandini’s brow.

“Are you hurt?” Rajeev’s voice barely rose above the rain.

She nodded, then flinched as she tried to sit up. Pain sparked through her ankle. Her saree twisted awkwardly around her legs.

“I think... my foot,” she whispered.

Rajeev didn't hesitate. He swept her into his arms — steady, careful.

“I’ll take you inside.”

She didn’t resist.

As he turned, shielding her with his body, the man in the shadows stepped back — chest heaving. The moment unfolding before him was sacred. Intimate.

And it twisted something inside him.

That body. He wanted it. Wanted to claim it. To possess what was never his.

He didn’t move until they disappeared into the house. Only then did he step into the open — into the rain.

Water struck his skin like needles. He welcomed it. Needed it. Needed it to cool the heat that coiled in his gut, fed by the sight of Nandini — her curves outlined by wet silk, her body pressed against Rajeev like it belonged there.

She didn’t have to show her face. The shape alone — rain-soaked, maddening — rewrote his memory into need.

He wanted to touch that body once.
He wanted to, no matter what.

The way her wet hair spilled across Rajeev’s chest. The way she leaned into him, her hands curled lightly against his heart — it sent a jagged surge of jealousy through him.

Even if she was his bhabhi now.

Even if the world would call it sin.

The pull was stronger than shame. Stronger than memory. It was obsession — raw, coiled in his blood.

*****

Inside, Rajeev laid Nandini gently on the bed. Her body trembled. He hated how small she looked — how breakable. Not like the woman he’d come to know. Not like the Nandini who met fire with fire.

“I’ll get you something dry,” he said softly.

She nodded, eyes averted, lips pale. A shiver ran down her spine.

He ordered buckets of hot water. “Take a warm bath,” he murmured. “It’ll help.”

She nodded again — still silent, still not meeting his eyes.

Later, when the water was ready, Nandini touched the surface and smiled faintly. The heat soaked into her skin. Her bones. Slowly, the cold in her body — and the storm in her mind — began to melt.

Outside, by the well, Rajeev bathed separately — giving her privacy. Respect.

She closed her eyes, letting the steam rise around her, her breath slowing. Safe. For now.

****

Back beyond the courtyard, Vikrant leaned against the rain-slick wall, eyes closed.

She was here.
So close.
Just once — that’s all he needed. A single touch. But he couldn't. Not yet. The time would come, he reassured himself, as he watched her through half-closed lids, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move.

Her curves beckoned to him, magnetic and maddening. Even without her face in view, her presence wrapped around him like breath. Every fiber of his being yearned for her touch.

Now he didn’t want the memory.

He wanted her.

Wanted her body. Her silence. Her surrender.

It wasn’t wrong, not really. Not when she would again, given the right moment.

Who would believe her over him — the ever-charming, ever-trusted Vikrant? The nephew of the village head, a city dweller with influence and power. He smirked to himself, confident in his ability to manipulate the situation to his advantage.

What he didn’t know — what would unravel him slowly, excruciatingly — was that the woman he now craved and the one he once discarded…

…were the same.

Nandini.

He didn’t know. Not yet.
That the body he wanted — the woman he thought forgotten — was now his cousin’s wife.
Nandini.

The girl he once ruined.
The one now watching him from behind her silence.

But shadows don’t stay silent forever.

******

✨ Author’s Note ✨

Thank you so much for reading this chapter of Watching Shadows! 🌧️💫
Your support truly means the world, and it’s an absolute joy to share this story with all of you. 🙏

If you’re loving the twists and turns, I’d be thrilled to hear your thoughts! 💬 Drop a comment below, or feel free to email me — I love connecting with you all! 💖

But trust me, this story is just getting started... 😏
Stay tuned for the next chapter because things are about to get even more intense! 🔥👀

And hey, if you can’t wait to see where this goes, share this chapter with your friends! Let’s keep this wild ride going! 🎢✨

Until next time, Lovelies. 🌙

Shaar Shree. 😉