Chapter 48
Forty-Eight
RAASHI
She held Harsh’s father’s ferocious stare for far longer than she would have thought she was capable of. Anant had taken the best of her will and spine and moulded it to suit him and his needs. Raashi had spent the last few years clawing her way back to a semblance of her own self. But it had been Harsh…Harsh and his annoying yet gentle friendship that had given her a safe space to land.
And land, she had. She would use that landing patch to fire herself into space if she needed to, to defend this man. He was the best of them and if everyone here couldn’t see it, she was going to physically peel their eyelids back until they could.
“Is this the upbringing you’ve given your daughter, Gadde Garu,” her father-in-law finally said. She wasn’t sure but she thought she saw grudging if irritated respect in his eyes.
“It would seem it is,” her father replied. He paused a beat before adding, “Looks like I did a damn good job.”
Her eyes shot to her father who smiled at her. Raashi rolled her eyes. Trust him to take credit for something he had no part of. Ram laughed, a muffled snort that broke the tension around the table.
Until, Harsh pushed back from it with a screech of his chair. He was about to leave the room when Ram stopped him.
“Harsh? Stay. My father and I need to discuss something with the entire family.”
Raashi’s blood chilled at the words. She looked over at Harsh who was still standing, his entire body locked down, face closed off, a statue with a beating heart. She searched his face for a clue to what he was thinking or feeling but there was nothing. The Harsh she knew wasn’t available in that moment.
And yet, he stayed. He didn’t storm off.
“We’ll go to the study,” her father-in-law said. “For privacy.”
With unspoken agreement, the entire bunch finished breakfast in silence. Everyone but Harsh who only stared blankly at his repulsively green smoothie. She followed the horde down to the massive study on the ground floor of the house. If Agastya Anna’s workspace was impressive but functional, this one was a shrine to the Chief Minister’s seat.
Holy shit! She’d been mouthing off to the Chief Minister of her state! Raashi was still sweating lightly and marvelling at everything that had played out when her father said, “Kodela Garu, about this Madhavan boy…”
“I know.” Mamagaru waved a hand in the air. “Agastya told me. How big of a problem is he?”
Her father’s jaw clenched, a muscle ticking in it. “Clearly a bigger one than I had earlier judged him to be.”
“Don’t worry,” Harsh’s father smirked. “You’re only a news man after all. This isn’t your forte. Leave it to us. We will sort that little rat out in a minute.”
Raashi’s father looked torn between offense and laughter. “I have years of dirt that a ‘simple news man’ put together. We could use that.”
“I have more,” Agastya said from his spot in the corner. “I have exactly what we need to bury him and keep him there.”
Harsh still hadn’t spoken. Not one word. His face stayed blank and impassive. A cold kernel of fear unfurled in the pit of Raashi’s belly. What was happening? What was going on in his head?
“Is it a secret?” Ram asked sarcastically, when Agastya didn’t say anything more. Agastya held one finger up in the air as he checked something on his phone.
“One second,” he murmured as he walked over to say something to the security outside the door. A moment later Virat Jha walked in, a folder under his arm.
Raashi stiffened at the sight of him. The man was almost violently good looking, his entire appearance an assault on your senses. And Raashi said this as someone who was married to The Harsh Kodela. But more importantly, Virat Jha was known, in the right circles, as the man who could do anything. He was the mastermind who sat in the middle of an intricate spider web of information, threats, contacts, and more.
He didn’t bother with smiling or greeting anyone. He handed the folder to Agastya and stepped back, no indication on his face that what was in it was going to either detonate their lives or rebuild it. He leaned against the wall, his muscled arms folded over his chest. When he caught Raashi’s eye, he gave her a small smile and wink, reminding her of the Virat she’d met on the terrace during that disastrous games night.
Someone cleared their throat and Raashi looked away from Virat, her eyes snagging on Harsh’s stormy ones. The first flash of reaction she’d seen from him since the dining table. She swallowed hard, raising an eyebrow at him. Did the Stoneman have something to say?
“What are we looking at?” She heard her father ask, his voice sounding like it was coming from very far away. She couldn’t look away from Harsh. There was something there in his eyes, something she couldn’t put her finger on, but it was something that made her heart ache.
“That’s information on Anant Madhavan’s most recent activities,” Virat answered. “He keeps his professional life squeaky clean. There was nothing to fault him with there and I dug several layers deep. I’m assuming the ammunition you gathered and threw at him during the split taught him a lesson.”
Chaitanya Gadde smirked. “I’m good at teaching lessons.”
“Yes,” Raashi’s father-in-law retorted. “We saw!”
Raashi tipped her chin up, a silent question that Harsh left unanswered, his eyes staring right through her and into her very soul. What was going on? What had she said? What had she done?
“So, we have nothing on him?” Veda asked, her disappointment obvious.
“I didn’t say that.” Virat smiled, the shark inside him baring its teeth. “Anant Madhavan is dating again.”
Harsh’s eyes flared seeming to search hers for an answer she didn’t know she had. Raashi frowned. Did he think she still had feelings for Anant? Did it matter to him? Did he also-
“She’s seventeen years old.”
Raashi’s head snapped around, her focus lasering onto Virat’s grim face. “What?” she shrieked.
And for the first time since her tirade at the dining table, Harsh spoke.
“That fucking bastard.”