Chapter 7 #2
His heart broke for her. As a single child, he’d always wanted a sibling, but his parents did their best to fill the void. But could he have taken up the responsibility of a younger brother if it’d come to that? He knew he wasn’t cut out for that, and his respect for her rose tenfold.
‘Dad would call once in a while and send money. Sometimes, he showed up during holidays with gifts and left within hours. But to be honest, he only showed up when Kashyap Luxe needed family-centric festival photos for ad campaigns.’
His childhood was filled with memories of father-son trips, hosting events with his mother, and adventures with his friends. He couldn’t imagine living through the kind of childhood Siya was describing.
She leaned back in her chair, finally meeting his gaze.
‘Kashu has been my kiddo since the day she was born. I saw her through school. I told her bedtime stories and held her through the illnesses. She’s the only true family I have left.
So no, Abhay, don’t tell me no reason is big enough because as long as the reason is Kashvi, I would stop at nothing to protect her. ’
A slow simmer of rage rushed through his bloodstream as he understood her implication. ‘Your father is using her?’ He asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
She didn’t answer, but her silence confirmed his worst fears. Kartik had trapped her in a corner with her sister as collateral. Abhay spat out venomous words. ‘That’s no father. He is a Machiavellian man who accidentally had kids. No real parent can stomach doing this to their child.’
Siya scoffed. ‘Our father didn’t raise us. He raised Kashyap Luxe. That is his real child, and he will go to any lengths to protect its legacy.’
‘Then let’s get both of you out of this some other way. You’re one of the most highly acclaimed civil lawyers in the country. I’m sure you’ll find a way for you and Kashvi to walk away from this family. I’ll help you in any way I can.’
Hesitantly, Siya shook her head and looked away. ‘I can’t walk away,’ she whispered.
‘Why not?’ he asked carefully. He had to go against every instinct in his body screaming at him to hide her away in his arms.
She rubbed the back of her neck as she said, ‘When I turned twenty-five, I inherited a trust fund my mother left me. Nothing too massive, just enough to give me independence. The company was on the brink of bankruptcy due to Dad’s bad investments, and he had his eyes on our inheritance.’
Abhay frowned but held back the questions he had. Kartik had a reputation for making impulsive decisions, and his father had often wondered how he kept the business afloat despite multiple losses. He finally had the answer to it.
‘I signed it over to him, foolishly believing that it made me useful, and that he’d finally see me as someone of value. But I did so on one condition—he wouldn’t touch Kashu’s inheritance, no matter what. She will inherit it when she turns twenty-five, which is next year.’
He saw it now. Siya was trapped in a gilded cage due to the choices she had made years ago, manipulated into it by her father, who had taken her every penny in the name of family. She’d made sacrifices out of devotion to him, and it was tragically unfair that they had come back to haunt her.
Abhay wanted to find Kartik, break every bone in his body, before ripping him apart into pieces for what he had forced Siya to carry since such a young age.
Shrugging, she said, ‘So this is the only move I have. I say yes to marrying you, he gets what he wants, and he leaves her alone.’
Abhay stood up and walked over to her. He lowered himself to his knees and gently took her hands in his. Her fingers were trembling as he entangled them with his. She gave him a small smile, but he could see the colossal pain she was trying to hide.
She looked startled by his proximity, but Abhay needed to be close to her. He could only deny himself so much. ‘I understand your reason for doing this, and your love for Kashvi, and I admire it more than you know.’
Abhay guessed Siya wasn’t aware that she leaned into his touch, but that small gesture gave him courage.
‘I will marry you, but you need to know that it won’t be for life.
We stay together until Kashvi turns twenty-five and inherits all the money.
And then, if you want to walk away, we’ll dissolve the marriage. ’
Her lips trembled, and finally, the tears broke through her restraint. ‘You’d do that for me?’
‘There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, meri jaan.
You were the only thing in my life that ever felt right, and I ruined us over a stupid mistake.
It kills me that I can’t go back in time and change that.
If losing you all over again is my repentance, so be it.
But there is one thing you should know before you agree to this marriage. ’
Her lips parted slightly, and a hint of concern crept into her voice as she asked, ‘What is it?’
Suddenly, Abhay tugged at her hand and pulled her toward him.
She gasped as she stumbled forward and braced her hands on his shoulders.
They were so close that he could feel the erratic rise and fall of her breath against his chest. Her eyes went wide with confusion, but he could see the sparks of fire in their depths.
‘Make no mistake, jaan. I intend to win you over and make you mine in that one year,’ he grunted in a raw voice.
Her breath hitched, and she tightened her grip on him.
He continued, ‘I will not let you walk into this marriage thinking you can stay behind your walls, pretending like I don’t exist. I will not let you spend a year of our marriage in a cold, detached way, pretending you don’t feel what I’m feeling right now. ’
Her eyes glistened with tears, so he brought one hand up to wipe them away. His touch was so achingly gentle that it made her flinch. He brushed his thumb across her collarbone, trailing down to her neck, where her pulse jumped.
When his hand slid to the nape of her neck and into the curly strands of her hair, she gasped and her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. His fingers slipped just slightly under the hem of her hoodie. Well, technically his hoodie.
‘Siya,’ he breathed, barely able to speak past the desire that had him in a chokehold.
He couldn’t think straight because he burned with the need to taste her again.
‘I need you to know that I never lied to you about anything except my name. That night… it changed everything for me. I didn’t even realise how deep I was in until you were already gone. ’
Abhay brushed her hair back from her cheek.
When the back of his fingertips trailed along her jaw, she shivered.
It felt like the fabric of space between them was shrinking, bringing them closer.
He traced his nose up her slender neck, and then they were so close that every muscle in his body was screaming to close the distance and taste her again.
Lost in the moment, she tilted her head back.
Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against her cheek, and her body arched into his arms. ‘So this is my condition. Let me try. Let me show what you mean to me. And if at the end of the year you still can’t forgive me… I’ll let you go. But at least I’ll know I gave it my all.’
When he hovered too close, she pushed him away, making him stumble back. ‘You fucking lied to me!’ she yelled. ‘You broke my heart once. Now you have the audacity to ask me to let you in without a fight?’
‘I am asking you to fight. Fight me, curse me, reject me, I deserve it all, but don’t shut me out. You don’t owe me anything, but give me a chance to earn your trust.’
Her nails dug into her palm, and her pounding heartbeat echoed in her chest. She snapped, ‘Why are you making this harder than it has to be?’
His eyes blazed with anguish, and he pulled her flush against him. ‘Because no matter how hard you push me away, I’ll still be right here, my jaan, until you stop running and see that my arms are the one place where you’re safe from this horrid, terrible world.’
He kept her engulfed in his arms, trying to break her resolve with his striking words. ‘Let me give you a reason to believe again. Let me bleed for the agony I caused you.’
‘No! I know this marriage has to happen, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever let you back into my life.’
‘One year, Siya. I just want a chance to make up for my sins and show you what you truly mean to me. Please’
She could feel her defences splintering within her, and desperately tried to keep it together. ‘Do whatever you want, but it won’t work. I will not fall for your tricks again,’ she said resolutely.
Ignoring her jab, Abhay focused on the fact that she had agreed. A delicate thread of hope wrapped around his heart. He had to make her believe in them, and if she did, he would make sure she never had a reason to doubt again, not for a second of their lifetime.