Chapter 27
Akash stirred, his eyes fluttering open.
He looked to the side, but she wasn’t there.
Only the faint dent in the pillow where she had slept.
He inhaled slowly, her warm scent still lingering on the sheets, wrapping around him, grounding him in a way nothing else could.
He sat up, thinking about the previous day.
Yesterday had been… a lot.
Facing his father had taken more out of him than he’d believed. He’d expected to face a restless night, with his mind running in circles. Instead, he had slept deeply.
His lips curved slightly. It was all because of her. Shauna.
Once again, she had steadied him and quieted the chaos in his head. His heart rumbled in his chest. He’d known for a long while what he felt for her, but he was still scared to say the words out loud, even to himself.
He’d walked away from her once. Believed it had been the right thing to do. But now she was going to be his, and a part of him wondered if this happiness, this bliss, would last. Because what if she didn’t feel the way he did?
His bedroom door opened, and his heart sped up on seeing Shauna enter. She walked in, carrying a mug in her hand, her hair slightly tousled. Her eyes met his, and her face lit up.
“You’re awake,” she said, a smile breaking across her lips.
He didn’t reply immediately. Because for a moment, all he could do was look at her. She was wearing his shirt from the night before, the fabric falling loosely over her frame, the sleeves folded haphazardly, the hem brushing against her thighs.
A sudden rush of happiness burst through him.
“Come here,” he said.
He took the mug from her and set it on the nightstand before pulling her onto his lap, holding her close.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked, shifting to push his hair from his forehead.
“You know I did,” he said. “Looks like you’re the cure for my decades-old sleeping problem. If only I’d known earlier…”
She laughed, and then tipped her head to the mug she’d got him. He took it from the nightstand and took a sip of the hot brew.
Shauna made a face. “I tried your tea. I swear it’s awful. How do you drink it?”
He shrugged. “When my mother was alive, there were days when we didn’t have money for milk or sugar.
She’d make this hot black tea for Keya and me.
Keya hated it, but I developed a taste for it.
Even now, drinking it makes me feel closer to my mother.
It reminds me of days spent sitting with her in the evenings, sipping hot tea and listening to her tell us stories about her life or just promising us that one day Keya and I would have everything our hearts desired.
” He cupped Shauna’s cheek. “She was right. We do have everything we ever wanted now.”
“She sounds amazing,” Shauna said.
He smiled. “She was. She would have loved you and Kabier, and Keya’s kids. We really lost her too soon.”
“Why did your mother never get in touch with her father? I mean he was so loving toward you and Keya. Don’t you think he would have helped her?”
Sadness filled his heart as he spoke, “It’s sad she never did.
My grandfather loved her deeply. It broke him when she chose my father despite all his warnings.
He saw through him from the start… knew he was only after her money.
” He paused. “He thought that if he cut her off, it might force my father to step up. Become better. He was wrong.”
Akash looked away for a moment, his jaw tightening.
“My mother realized it soon enough… what kind of man she’d married.
I think she kept hoping he’d change. That things would get better.
That having Keya and me might make a difference.
But it never did. And I guess… she never found the strength to walk away.
To go back. Perhaps it was guilt that never allowed her to return and face her father.
I wish she had. Then she may have been alive and with us today. ”
Even now, he couldn’t fully comprehend the pain his mother must have lived through. The silence she must have endured. The guilt that kept her tied to that awful man.
“Hey, all of that is in the past, yeah?” Shauna kissed his cheek. “This is the present. You’re here, and you made it despite all that she faced, all that you faced.”
Shauna traced his ink. “Aham Ahamsi Yodha. I looked it up after that night in Singapore. It means ‘I am a warrior,’ doesn’t it?”
He nodded.
“You faced such troubled times while growing up,” Shauna said. “You are a warrior. You’ve built yourself despite your past. You are warm, kind, wonderful, and so bloody brave. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Thank you for saying that. For seeing who I am.”
“It took me a while, but I do see you, Akash. I see every part of you.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled at her. It touched him to know that she understood his reasons behind getting that ink even without him needing to explain it.
Her brow furrowed. “So, what happened yesterday? You said you had a rough day.”
Sighing, he told her about his encounter with his father. Shauna listened as he spoke, her expression growing more serious with every word, her fingers curling around his. Silence settled between them when he was done.
“Do you think he really wants to make amends?” she asked quietly.
Akash shook his head. “No.”
“I know how you feel about him, Akash,” she said gently, “but… what if he was genuine? Prison does change people.”
He let out a short breath. “Not him. I know him. He’s the worst kind of man.”
She studied his face for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay. Then the only thing I can think of is… he wants something.” Her brows drew together. “What do you think that could be?”
“Money,” Akash said with a shrug. “That’s all he’s ever cared about. And now he knows Keya and I have it.”
Shauna’s gaze drifted, her expression thoughtful and distant.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like it’s only about money.
If it was, then why not ask you outright for it?
” She shook her head. “I remember the camera footage from our house. He looked angry when he was throwing things around. It felt like he was searching for something in our house.”
Akash stilled at her words.
Our house.
A warm, quiet, and deeply satisfying emotion rolled through his chest at the way she’d claimed the house as theirs. He liked it. A lot.
He focused back to listen to what she was saying.
“I don’t know… that also doesn’t make sense,” Shauna said, gazing into the distance. “What would he want from a house he’s never lived in, especially one that hasn’t been occupied for years?”
“Exactly,” Akash agreed.
Shauna chewed on her lip. “VJ said he murdered someone. Can we find out why? I mean… your father told you it was self-defense, but what actually happened between him and the man he killed. Maybe if we understand that, we might get a clearer sense of how he thinks… what he’s capable of.”
Akash nodded. “I’ll ask VJ. But to be honest, I’m hoping that after yesterday, my father’s understands that he’s getting nothing from Keya and me. That we want nothing to do with him and that he stays away.”
“I hope so,” Shauna said, though she still looked unconvinced. Worried.
He tugged her closer and kissed her forehead.
She smiled. “I was thinking of getting in touch with Aaliya and starting work on finalizing our home. Is that okay?”
He grinned. “It is your home. Do whatever you want with it.”
“In that case, I’m going to make sure I drop by every evening after work to check on the progress.”
His chest warmed. He tugged on a strand of her hair. “So, you stayed the night again. Now what will your family think?”
She made a face. “I’m going to face an inquisition when I get home, and all because I’m unable to resist you.”
He laughed. “I can come help you explain why that is.”
She shook her head, aghast. “Absolutely not.”
She started to get off his lap, but he held her to him.
“I have to go home,” she protested. “We have that dinner tonight at Suveer Malhotra’s house, then the board meeting on Monday, plus all this wedding planning. So much needs to be done.”
He flipped her onto the bed and climbed on top of her.
“Later,” he murmured.
He shifted the shirt off her shoulder and nipped at her skin. She shuddered his name, giving in to him without hesitation. The world faded into a blur as he claimed this one woman he prayed would always be his.