39 ~ Wild and Possessive #2
I caught her hand. "You can rest here if you want."
She shook her head.
"I can't. Mujhe padhna hai. Kuch dino mein meri exams hain. Aur bahut bhook bhi lagi hai."
(I can't. I have to study. My exams are in a few days. And I'm very hungry too.)
"I'll arrange lunch for you." I pushed a strand of her baby hair away from her face.
She shook her head again and rested her forehead against my chest.
"Mujhe ghar jaana hai. Dadi bhi wait kar rahi hongi."
(I want to go home. Grandma must be waiting too.)
"Thodi der aur ruk jao."
(Stay a little longer.)
I lowered my head and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.
She smiled against it before shaking her head. "Kisi aur din."
(Some other day.)
I sighed. "Fine."
She stepped away and began fixing herself, retightening the knot of her shirt around her waist and adjusting her hair. She picked up her bag and looked at me.
I couldn't help myself.
I pulled her into one last tight embrace.
I just didn't wanted her to go.
I pulled her again in a kiss. I was busy kissing her when a knock sounded against the cabin door.
I fixed myself, closed the door of the private room.
I adjusted the collar of her shirt properly before I turned toward the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and some of my business associates came in.
Tanmay walked in with Mayank behind him. Both of them stopped for half a second when they saw us.
Tanmay cleared his throat. "I can come afterwards if you're busy."
I shook my head, straightening my shirt. "No. What is it?"
He walked toward my desk and placed a file in front of me.
"Ye wali file ek baar dekh lo. Agar koi changes karne hain toh bata dena. Model ka bhi issue hai. Samaira Mittal ke saath jo modeling campaign planned tha, woh contracts cancel hone ke baad obviously continue nahi ho sakta.
Abhi humein ek new model finalize karna padega because shooting campaign jaldi start karna hai."
(Look at this file once. If there are any changes to be made, let me know.
There's also an issue with the model. The modeling campaign that was planned with Samaira Mittal obviously can't continue after the contracts were cancelled.
We need to finalize a new model now because the campaign shoot has to start soon.)
Mayank added, "Clothing brand ke saare collections ready hain; ethnic, traditional aur regular lines bhi. Bas campaign ke liye face finalize karna baaki hai."
(All the clothing brand's collections are ready; ethnic, traditional, and regular lines too. We just need to finalize the face for the campaign.)
I nodded, opening the file briefly.
"Fine. I'll speak to the team handling the model selection. Get me the shortlisted profiles first. We don't delay the campaign because of this."
"Sure," he replied.
I closed the file and looked toward Chahat.
She was standing quietly nearby, waiting for me.
I gestured toward her.
"By the way, this is Chahat. My wife."
I looked at the two men.
"Chahat, this is Tanmay, and this is Mayank. They're my business associates. We've been working on the same project for some time."
She gave them a polite smile.
"Hello."
"Hello," they replied.
Tanmay glanced briefly at her and then at me before looking away without saying anything else.
I had worked with both men long enough to know exactly how professional they were. They were efficient, discreet, and understood when business ended and personal matters began.
I picked up the file again.
"I'll review this and get back to you."
They nodded. "Of course."
Once they left, I turned toward Chahat.
She was already reaching for her bag.
"You want to go home?"
She nodded. "Yes. Dadi must be waiting."
I took her bag from her before she could protest. "Come. I'll walk you downstairs."
She smiled softly, and I placed my hand against the small of her back as we walked out of the cabin together.
My hand snaked possessively around her waist pulling her closer.
The moment we stepped onto the executive floor, the atmosphere changed.
People stared, not at me but at us.
I could practically see the disbelief on their faces. They knew me as the man who rarely smiled, rarely tolerated mistakes, and certainly never walked through the office with his wife tucked against his side.
I noticed the way some of the men were looking at her.
My jaw tightened.
She, completely oblivious, was looking around the office with open curiosity, her attention moving from the glass cabins to the city visible through the windows.
Then one of my clients approached us.
"Mr. Singhaniya, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's an urgent matter regarding..."
He began explaining the situation, but I barely heard him.
His eyes kept drifting toward Chahat.
Once, twice...
He wasn't looking at her face.
His gaze dragged over her curves like he was already undressing her.
His gaze lingering on the swell of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the knotted shirt still showing that strip of soft waist and the mole I was obsessed with.
I can see how he was ogling at the way the jeans hugged her hips.
The kind of look that made my blood turn black.
My expression hardened.
He continued speaking as though he hadn't noticed me noticing him.
I finally looked directly into his eyes.
"Give me five minutes."
He immediately stopped. "Of course, sir."
We reached the car.
I opened the door for her. "Call me when you reach."
"I will." She smiled. "Bye."
Before getting inside, she leaned toward me and pressed a quick kiss against my lips.
Then she disappeared into the car.
I watched until the door closed.
The car began moving. I remained standing there.
My expression slowly changed.
The warmth I'd felt only moments ago disappeared, replaced by something colder.
My hand curled into a fist. That man's gaze replayed in my mind.
Again and again.
I had spent years teaching myself restraint. I had built an empire by learning when to control my temper and when to unleash it.
But there were certain things I had never learned to tolerate and Chahat was one of them.
I turned toward the building.
The client was still there, gathering his papers, looking far too pleased with himself.
I didn't give him a chance to speak. My hand shot out, fisted in the collar of his shirt, and I hauled him forward so hard the chair scraped across the floor.
"You asshole..." The first punch landed square on his jaw. The bone cracked under my knuckles, blood sprayed.
He staggered, but I held him upright by the collar.
"Meri wife ki taraf aankh utha ke dekhne ki bhi himmat kaise hui teri?" I snarled, voice low and lethal, staring into his already swelling face.
(How dare you even raise your eyes to look at my wife?)
He tried to speak...some pathetic excuse but I punched him again, harder. His head snapped back.
"How dare you...!"
Employees gathered around me but I didn't care.
I slammed his head against the nearest wall. Twice. The sound was wet and ugly. Blood smeared across the cream paint.
He was making broken, gurgling noises now, but I didn't stop. The image of his eyes on my wife's body kept replaying, feeling the rage.
"She's mine. She's my wife. How dare you even think of looking at her like that..."
I dragged him across the office and smashed his face down onto the nearest wooden desk. Files scattered. Blood droplets stained the papers red. I kept slamming until his nose was a mess and he went limp, unconscious, sliding to the floor in a heap.
Only then did Ayaan's arms lock around my chest from behind, pulling me back with everything he had.
I struggled against his grip, my eyes never leaving the man on the floor. The bastard had looked at Chahat with a kind of hunger that made something inside me snap.
I shoved Ayaan away.
Before I could reach him again, Tanmay and Mayank stepped directly in front of me, blocking my path and forcing me back.
"Kartik, please calm down."
I glared at them. "Nobody will ask me to calm down."
My voice was low, but the fury behind it made the entire floor fall silent.
I looked past them at the man who had dared to look at my wife that way.
"That bastard deserves every bit of it."
Everyone was staring.
Employees stood frozen at their desks. A few had stepped back entirely. Even the people who had worked with me for years were looking at me differently.
They had seen my anger before but not this.
Because this wasn't about a business deal. This wasn't about someone challenging my authority.
This was Chahat. My wife.
And the moment someone crossed that line, the civilized version of me disappeared.
"Listen carefully," I said, scanning every single pair of eyes. "If anyone dares to look at my wife the way that piece of shit just did... I'll make sure he's not able to see anyone else ever again. Cross that line and I'll break more than your jaw."
I wiped the blood from my knuckles on a discarded tissue, already thinking of her waiting at home...oblivious, soft, completely mine and the monster in me settled, just a little, knowing I had protected what no other man was allowed to even look at.