& Then They Loved (Ampersand Love #3)

38. Her Villain

38

Her Villain

Vihaan

T he period between ending the interview and being escorted back into the green room was like zooming through a time warp. Vihaan held Vera securely against his chest as they exited the studio, using one hand to shield her face from anyone trying to sneak a picture. His heart was beating so hard, he thought he’d pass out from the shock of what had just occurred.

Someone had taken a picture of a very personal moment between them and posted it on social media, the topic having picked up traction and being shared widely across different platforms. His name, along with Vera’s, was trending for reasons other than their series launch, and he needed to make sure she was okay. He was used to dealing with people talking about him, but Vera wasn’t.

The minute they stepped into the green room and locked the door, Vera spun around to face him. “Did you do this?”

Vihaan stopped short, his gaze snapping to hers in surprise. The simmering hostility in Vera’s low tone perplexed him. “Me?”

“Is this some sort of ridiculous power play?” she spat. “You knew how much this broadcast meant to me.”

Any flicker of hope in him extinguished in the echoes of her hissed accusation.

“Of course I do, damnit!” He ran an agitated hand through his hair, completely destroying any efforts his hairdresser had made that morning. “You can’t honestly believe I would leak our picture to go viral. And when would I have had the time? When I was begging you for forgiveness or when I was on stage, sitting right next to you?”

Her lips tightened, her mistrust a punishment in itself.

“There was press on site. People backstage who could’ve seen us. Anyone could have done this. It wasn’t me. I own the bloody channel. If the project fails, so do I.”

“Yet, you have far less to lose than I do,” Vera declared, angrily poking his chest. “People are probably gossiping about me, spreading rumours about how I seduced you for my career. They believe I was being proposed to. And then you, with your ‘I want a happily-ever-after’ nonsense. What were you thinking?”

When she jabbed him yet again for emphasis, Vihaan’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her to him till their chests collided. For a breathless moment that stretched past its time, the two remained locked in a quiet battle—one angry, one disappointed, both hurt.

Slowly, reluctantly, his grip loosened, determination hardening his features. The cloak of desperation that had shrouded him lifted, as thought he’d come to a decision internally that had made his path forward clear.

“Then let’s silence the rumours,” he finally murmured.

“How?”

“Marry me.”

What?! Her soundless question was louder than words.

“It’ll wash away any negative implications on you if the public perceives this as a real romance. ”

“No!”

“We lost fourteen years together already. I don’t want to lose any more time. Marry me.”

Vihaan tapped gently under her open jaw, an action that had her irritated and swatting him away. She tried to step back, finding herself blocked by the dressing table behind her. “You can’t be serious,” she exclaimed, fists clenching by her sides.

“The only thing I can’t be is away from you.”

“I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on Earth.”

“You can do better than using that clichéd line, Princess.”

Vera’s low growl at his supercilious comment relieved him. He was glad to see that her spirit was intact. If he’d broken that, he could’ve never lived with himself.

“Okay,” Vera snippily replied. “How about ‘you can be the final man in existence across all the seven realms and I would still choose to die alone, you ass-butt!’”

“Well done,” he chuckled. “You finally sound more like the spitfire I plan to marry.”

“You condescending litt—”

Her words died in an embarrassing squeak when Vihaan leaned forward to place his palms on the table, caging her between his chest and the dresser behind. He wished he could peek into her soul and become a part of the person she was so that she would have no choice but to accept what was so clear to him. Dark eyes stared back at him when he bent toward her, the momentary flash of something other than dislike deepening his resolve.

“I may not be the last man on earth, or in the seven realms, sweetheart, but I am the only man who will share a life with you. News about us started to spread before we stepped on that stage.”

“We’ll lay low for a bit,” she slowly suggested, the seriousness of their predicament reflected in her worry. “We can contest the credibility of the news. This will blow over and we can go back to our lives. ”

The sarcastic snort that escaped him had Vera glowering furiously. If she could shoot laser beams out of those gorgeous eyes, he’d be the cartoon version of a roast pig on a spit. When she shoved against his chest in obvious ire, he stepped away. This was going to be hard enough without antagonising her further.

“I’m Vihaan Oberoi. I’m not known for commitment, and I supposedly proposed to you. No matter what we say, there will be plenty of scrutiny.”

Vera grimaced, knowing he was right.

“I really am sorry,” he continued. “I thought we were alone when I. . .”

“Of course you did. You’d never kneel in front of the world.”

Vihaan huffed out a sad laugh. “I don’t give a damn about that. I would’ve kneeled on stage if I didn’t think you’d hate me afterward for that kind of public display. Hurting you is my biggest regret.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself from reaching for Vera, the need to touch her constantly for assurance having spiked with the understanding that she was determined to fight their connection.

Vera had looked at him with such censure on that stage, every word striking him like a poisonous dart. He’d wanted so badly to believe that his sincerity would rupture her iron will that he hadn’t considered how his actions could be misconstrued. A proposal? Hah, Vera would sooner shave her own head and join a nunnery than marry her worst offender.

Despite this clarity, Vihaan wasn’t self-sacrificing enough to let her off on a technicality. Knowing her stubbornness, she would thrust them both into a lifetime of loneliness and misery simply out of spite. He couldn’t let that happen. Not when he’d just found her again. Not when he knew in his bones that they were endgame. He’d been gifted this opportunity and he fully intended to take advantage of it .

“Keep being angry,” he said softly, acknowledging that her timeline for forgiving him would not match his. “Keep hating me. Ruin my peace if you need to find yours. Just do it as my wife.”

“You’re being completely irrational.”

“We’ve already established that I am not a good man. You’re right. I am selfish. I can be rash, unreasonable, even downright horrible. But if being bad means that I get to keep you, I’ll be the worst villain in the world.”

“Why?!” she snapped.

“Because I love you.”

Vera startled, as if he’d smacked her. “I don’t love you.”

He shrugged, his facade of nonchalance hiding his hurt. “I know. I’ll wait until you change your mind.”

“I. Don’t. Want. You,” she enunciated, each word tearing through him with the force of a dozen swords upon soft flesh. The contempt in her voice sharpened the ache in his chest, his throat closing in an anguish he knew he deserved.

“Whatever you’re feeling,” he choked out, reeling back his inclination to cling to her and beg again, “these emotions you’ve suppressed, the suffocation you’ve felt, your anger—let it out. I’ll take it all. Because eventually, you’ll run out of hate. My love for you will survive this test you’re putting me through.”

“I’m not testing you at all. I simply don’t have a reason to want to marry you.”

“Not even to save your reputation?”

A strong knock on their door stopped Vera from responding. She stomped to the door, her aggravation clear with each heavy step, and threw it wide open, ready to unload her fury on whoever had dared to interrupt them. Vihaan saw her body stilling when the aged face of Ambernath Talwar came into view. Shit, he’d forgotten that Nanaji was in the audience.

Ambernath glanced past Vera, his smile growing when Vihaan approached them. “I’m glad you’re here, Nanaji,” Vihaan said, bending low to touch the older gentleman’s feet for his blessings. “It’s nice to finally see you.”

“I’m s-so h-happy,” Ambernath croaked, his eyes rapidly filling as he drew his granddaughter to him, clutching her hand in his. “W-when L-little Master c-called me, m-making arrangements to b-bring me here t-today to s-surprise you, I s-should’ve g-guessed it was f-for something s-special.”

The nurse standing behind his wheelchair laughed in acknowledgement, but Vihaan’s attention was on the young woman who’d been seconds away from giving him a black eye. He was hard-pressed to tell if the look Vera shot at him was because she was surprised, or because she thought he’d laid a trap. Truth was, he’d bribed every official at Shaanti Care Centre to ensure Nanaji’s attendance at this milestone event in Vera’s career. Given the conversation they’d been having, he knew it was pointless to explain this to Vera. She was at that stage in her anger where everything he did was wrong. Unfortunately for him, the recent revelation of his past transgressions meant that her rage against him would not abate any time soon.

Vera bent on one knee, looking discomfited as she spoke with her grandfather. “Nanu, I—”

“I’m so h-happy you’re g-getting m-married,” Ambernath sniffed once more, cupping Vera’s cheeks with frail hands that couldn’t hide their tremor. “I’ve been w-waiting for this f-for so l-long.”

Vera allowed her grandfather to embrace her as he kept belabouring his gladness.

“Nanu, hold on, I . . .”

“I t-thought I would d-die.” Ambernath’s eyes were teary when they shifted from Vera to Vihaan and back. “I w-was s-so afraid I w-wouldn’t be alive t-to s-see you get m-married. That I-I would l-leave you all alone i-in this w-world.”

Nanu’s emotional admission had him feeling the burden of fulfilling his wishes. He could only imagine that Vera felt the same, because if she didn’t, there wasn’t a single hope left for him to convince her that marrying him would be the right course of action.

“You’re happy, Nanu?” Vera finally asked, her voice choked.

“S-so very m-much.”

“Then that’s all that matters to me,” she smiled somberly.

Their eyes met, and in that instant, Vihaan understood that she’d come to a decision she’d mourn but he’d celebrate. Whether or not Vera was ready, she’d agreed to marry the one man she’d promised to always hate.

Him.