Chapter 22
Shauna focused on the road ahead as she pulled the car out of Janak’s building. Beside her, Akash shifted in his seat.
“I could have driven,” he grumbled.
She shot him a sideways glare. “You’ve had two drinks.”
“Only two. I’m perfectly capable of driving.” He exhaled sharply, clearly annoyed. “I would have managed.”
She pressed the accelerator, speeding up the car. “It’s not just the drinks. You’re stressed and distracted. I wasn’t going to let you drive in that condition.”
He turned his head toward her. “I’m fine, Shauna.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re not.”
For a moment, he looked like he might argue again. Then he slumped back into the seat, shutting his eyes. Silence settled between them, broken only by the low hum of traffic. In the soft glow of the passing streetlights, she studied him. He looked exhausted.
Her chest tightened unexpectedly. It confused her that she cared so much. But tonight, something had shifted between them. Hearing him speak about his father and watching him hold himself together for Keya… all of it had affected her more than she wanted to admit.
And later, as the night had continued, he’d grown quieter, speaking only when someone addressed him. She’d watched him closely. Akash looked as though something heavy had settled on his shoulders, and it stirred a protectiveness in her she hadn’t expected. She hated seeing him like that.
Even now, she was itching to reach across the console and smooth her fingers through his hair. To tell him that he didn’t always have to be the one in control. That he could lean on someone. On her.
The thought startled her.
She turned her attention back to the road, trying to steady the unfamiliar pull inside her. This was supposed to be a marriage of convenience. Yes, they had agreed to make it real over time, but it was already beginning to feel far too real.
Ignoring her churning thoughts, she focused on Akash.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, his eyes still shut.
“What happens to you when you’re stressed?”
His eyes opened slowly, and he turned his head toward her. “What do you mean?”
“Keya mentioned that she worries about you when you’re stressed. That something happens to you. You didn’t let her finish.”
He straightened in his seat. “You noticed that?”
“Of course.” She paused. “I heard that Keya gets nightmares when she’s anxious. Will you tell me what happens to you?”
He was quiet for a moment before answering.
“I don’t sleep very well on some nights,” he said finally.
“Like tonight?”
He nodded. “It’s a childhood thing. Our father was heavily into drinking and gambling.
Every time he lost a lot of money, he’d come home angry and take it out on my mother.
And if Keya or I intervened, then one of us would become a target too.
Soon after, he’d shift us to a new place to escape his creditors.
Sometimes without warning. We kept changing houses, neighborhoods, and schools.
I got used to never really settling and always staying awake, wondering if tonight would be the night he’d come and hurt our mother or one of us again.
Even now, when I’m anxious or stressed, or when I travel, I don’t sleep properly. And when I come back home after a trip, it takes me a few days before I can sleep through the night.”
Shauna felt her grip on the steering wheel tighten.
He’d spoken of his past so calmly, as if he were describing someone else’s life.
A deep ache spread through her chest. She felt sorrow for the boy he had been and compassion for the man who had learned to function despite his trauma.
And she felt something else too. Something warmer and more frightening… something she didn’t yet dare to name.
Akash had built himself into someone strong, controlled, and successful. But parts of him were still bracing for doors to slam. For anger to walk through them. The thought made her want to reach for him again. Instead, she drove on in silence, her heart heavier and fuller than it had been before.
“Where are we going?” Akash suddenly asked a few minutes later. “This is not the way to your house.”
“It is the way to yours,” Shauna said. “I’ll drop you first and then call a cab for myself.”
He sat up straight. “Absolutely not. It’s almost midnight. I’m not letting you cab it alone.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You are not taking a cab home. That is final. Turn the car around.”
“We’ve already discussed this. I am not allowing you to drive home alone tonight, and that is final.”
“Shauna.”
“Akash.”
“Look, your apartment is just around the corner,” Shauna said. “How about I drop you home and drive your car back to mine?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking sullen. “Fine. Whatever. You never listen to me anyway. You’re just so damn bossy always.”
She chuckled. He shot her an irate look. Akash looked so cute, all riled up.
Cute? God. What was wrong with her? In the past, they’d had several disagreements. She’d never found him cute then. And now she was finding him cute? Ugh. He wasn’t cute. He was annoying and difficult.
She pulled into his building’s driveway and parked the car in the designated spot, as directed by him. Switching off the engine, she stepped out.
He frowned and got out as well. “Now what? Are you going to drop me home too?”
“Yes.”
“Stop treating me like a child.”
She arched a brow. “Then stop acting like one.”
Before he could respond, she turned and walked toward the lobby.
He followed without a word. They entered the elevator together, the doors sliding shut with a soft click.
Akash glared at her throughout the short ride to his floor.
Once there, he unlocked the door of his apartment, and without waiting for him, she stepped inside and shut the door behind him.
He threw his hands up. “Now what? Are you planning on spending the night here?”
“Maybe.”
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Then he shook his head. “I’m going for a shower. It’s late. You should go.” He walked toward his room, then paused. “Text me when you reach home. And for God’s sake, please take care of my car.”
She rolled her eyes. Of course, he was worried about his damn car.
Such a boy. She really ought to leave, but for some unexplainable reason her feet refused to move.
For a moment, she stood in the middle of the living room, unsure why she had insisted on coming up at all.
Or why she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. She clucked her tongue. This was silly.
Sighing, she turned to leave, and her eyes caught on the large photograph above the sofa on the wall opposite her. It was a sweet picture of Akash and Keya. They both looked younger. He was standing behind her, holding her waist, both of them smiling.
She remembered this one from before, when she used to visit Keya while she lived here, before she married Kabier.
Without thinking, she walked toward the chest of drawers to her right, where several photo frames were arranged neatly.
Once upon a time, this place held Keya’s photos.
She knew that all those were now in Keya’s home with Kabier.
She’d seen them there. The photos here now were all of Akash.
There were pictures of Akash with Kabier, Keya, and their kids. Another with Keya, Raashi, Sheena, and Jiya. One showed him holding Keya’s children, Kiana and Kush, balanced on each arm, both clinging to him. She smiled at that.
There were more: one with Kabier, another with Janak, one with Dheer, Armaan, Rohan, Nirvaan, and Vir, and another with Dheer, Vir, and Amara. The last photo was of him with Vir, standing arm in arm in front of the Eiffel Tower.
She looked through the pictures again and realized how first Keya and now Akash had filled their home with photos of the people who mattered to them.
It struck her that now, with Keya married and living in her own home, Akash was…
alone. And lonely. He had no one to come home to, no one to share the burdens of his day with.
But she was here now, and she would be there for him.
She moved without thinking and entered his bedroom. Akash was standing near the bed, rubbing a towel through his hair. Droplets of water clung to his bare shoulders, sliding down his chest. Loose pajama bottoms rested low on his hips.
He looked up, and his eyes met hers. His shoulders flexed as he lowered his hand.
Her gaze moved before she could stop it.
Her eyes traced the length of him, taking in the solid breadth of his shoulders, the defined lines of his chest, the tight planes of his abdomen tapering into the low waistband of his pajama bottoms.
Fuck. He was gorgeous.
An ache unfurled inside her. The need to trace his gorgeous body with her mouth and hands pulsed through her like an overwhelming need.
“Why are you still here?” Akash asked, his voice rough.
“I…” She swallowed, forcing air into lungs that felt too tight. Then, against all common sense, she stepped closer. “You’ve been through so much tonight. I couldn’t just walk away without knowing you’re okay.”
His jaw clenched. “Shauna, you need to leave.”
“No.” She took another step closer.
His eyes darkened.
“My control is hanging by a thread,” he admitted, his voice low and strained. “And if you keep standing there looking at me like that… I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
Her pulse slammed against her ribs. Yet she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his bare torso, pressing herself against him and holding him tight.
For a second, he went completely rigid. Every muscle in his body locked beneath her touch. But he didn’t make a move to touch her.
“Shauna,” his voice was low, edged with warning.
But she didn’t let go. She rested her cheek against his chest, right over the rapid thud of his heart. Her grip tightened.
“You’re not alone,” she murmured softly. “You have me. Let me take care of you.”