Chapter 12 #2
‘Certainly.’ Mihit inclined his head. Kartik walked away toward the terrace where guests were waiting. Mihit hung back long enough to whisper, ‘Send whiskey for me in five minutes. I’m going to need it.’
Abhay chuckled and nodded. His father then followed Kartik.
‘I don’t understand how a man this blind is allowed to move around without a supervisor holding his hand,’ Swayam commented, looking at Kartik.
Luv interjected. ‘No, you’re missing the point. You should admire his dedication and faith in his delusional world where he is the king and everyone is beneath him, because I do.’
‘Ignore Dad,’ Kashvi offered with a smile. ‘Everything does look really beautiful, Abhay. I’m sure Di will love it.’
Hope blossomed in Abhay’s heart, and he held onto it tight. He’d made sure to arrange her favourites in everything, from decor to the brunch menu. Today was going to be difficult, so he wanted to give her small slices of comfort.
When Dhruv came to stand beside her, Kashvi glared at him. ‘Why are you even here? I thought you don’t attend personal events unless you’re paid for it.’
Dhruv didn’t miss a beat. ‘Relax, Kashvi. I’m not here for our dear sister.
Look around and see the men following our every movement through their camera lens.
I wouldn’t miss a PR stunt this grand. You’ve done well, especially when it’s for a woman who’d throw away anything lesser than flowers made of gold. ’
In one smooth move, Abhay took a step closer and his hand landed on Dhruv’s shoulder. He smiled as he lightly squeezed it and warned, ‘You will not speak about my woman like that.’
It must have looked like good old ribbing from a distance, and Abhay squeezed harder when Dhruv’s eyes went wide with surprise.
‘You are an attention seeker, fine, but beg for it in front of your father. I don’t care what kind of household Kartik ran, but here in this home, dare to speak about Siya only when you can behave. ’
Dhruv tilted his head and mocked, ‘What are you going to do, punch me with your investors and media present?’
His hand curled into a tight fist as Abhay said. ‘What can I say? The thought of punching your smug face is just too tempting to pass up on.’
Abhay meant it. He was seconds away from closing the distance between Dhruv’s face and his fist when he felt a gentle and delicate hand settle on his shoulder. His breath hitched in a way that had nothing to do with anger.
The glide of her soft fingers against his chest sent a shiver right down the centre of his spine. His heart stuttered once, then kicked into a marathon.
Siya stood barely inches from him, close enough that he could smell the vanilla blend of her perfume. He took in a deep breath, committing the scent to his memory, and a knot of tension in his gut came undone.
She met his gaze with a warm, affectionate smile. ‘Sweetheart,’ Siya began, ‘do you really want your name in tomorrow’s headlines beside his instead of mine? That’d make me very jealous.’
Abhay didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his traitorous hands found her waist and he pulled her right against him. For a second, her smile faltered. The carefully arranged loving expression she wore for the world slipped, and in its place he saw something raw and vulnerable.
‘I was about to teach him a lesson,’ he murmured.
Her lips curved into a seductive smile. She practically purred as she said, ‘That would be a massive waste of your time. If you had any sense, you’d have been upstairs with me.’
‘And what would I be doing?’ he asked, throwing the challenge out there.
Her eyes widened as she understood his trick, and despite telling herself not to do it, she replied, ‘You’d be helping me… get ready.’
The effect of those words was instant and devastating.
He moved his palm to the small of her back and pulled her in until the space between them was erased.
She was fine, she was safe, and she was in his arms—that’s all that mattered to him.
‘If I were helping you get ready, we would never come out of the room.’
Siya had intended to only play the part of the happy couple in front of Dhruv, just to prove they hadn’t gotten to her, but the moment Abhay kissed her cheek, the heat became very real.
‘That sounds like an awfully slow way to get me dressed,’ she remarked, and softly gasped when he trailed his lips to her ear.
‘No, I’m saying I’d be on my knees before you even picked out a dress,’ Abhay whispered in her ear, his voice rough with unabashed need.
But then Dhruv’s voice sliced through their moment of playing with fire as he said, ‘I didn’t realise that the fake couple performance included public foreplay.’
Abhay felt her body shift as she reluctantly turned to look at Dhruv. There was an icy edge in her gaze that showed him just how precise she could be in her aim when she wanted to hurt someone. ‘I suppose it would seem fake to someone who’s never had anyone stay long enough to love him back.’
‘I don’t mind. It’s fun seeing all this spectacle, all for you. It must be flattering. There are very high expectations for the new Mrs Agrawal,’ Dhruv taunted her with a snicker.
‘And you think you can help her with that? You really have a knack for embarrassing yourself, don’t you, Dhruv? It’s a little tragic, I must say,’ Abhay taunted.
‘You might think you’re untouchable because you’re the Agrawal heir and getting married to a Kashyap daughter, but you’re not,’ Dhruv shot back.
‘No. I know I’m untouchable because I belong to Siya, and just like that, I ferociously protect what’s mine.’
Siya turned back to Abhay and flashed him a flirtatious grin. She met his gaze with such a burning display of desire that he could swear that time slowed down. ‘Let him bark. I’m tired of humouring him. Shall we begin our celebration?’
‘Of course, baby,’ he agreed.
‘Enjoy your little moment. You won’t be able to hide behind each other forever,’ Dhruv announced, and muttering something under his breath, he stalked away through the thinning crowd.
‘Woah, that was so satisfying to watch,’ Kashvi said as soon as he was out of earshot.
‘Siya is taking after me. I’ve never been prouder,’ Swayam praised, wiping off fake tears from his eyes. Abhay felt the same way.
He turned to tell her that and he felt the change in her behaviour the second she looked up at him.
The affectionate, besotted smile she had worn so convincingly in front of Dhruv had vanished.
There was a hint of anger in the depth of her brown irises and it was then that Abhay noticed what he’d missed earlier.
Siya wore a pastel-hued, lavender jumpsuit with a string of pearls draped over her shoulders in thin straps. The satin fabric clung to her upper body like a second skin, then flared out in folds until her knees.
She’d left her hair open in soft, wavy curls falling till her lower back. The little sapphires in the earrings glittered when they caught the light.
And while she looked every bit as breathtaking as always, Siya wasn’t wearing the dress he’d chosen for her.
Since the moment he’d seen the blue dress hanging on her door, he’d been dying to see her in the same colour she’d worn the night they had met.
The memory of that night when she’d looked divine in that icy blue saree, laughing at his silly jokes under the starry sky, lived in his mind like a cherished photograph.
But she wasn’t wearing it, and that knowledge cracked a piece of his heart beyond repair.
Still, he managed a small smile and said, ‘You look beautiful today.’
Siya averted her gaze and her tone was laced with disbelief.
‘You don’t have to say that, and you don’t have to play the hero just because we’re putting on a show.
You also shouldn’t waste your time picking out dresses for me.
Don’t forget that… whatever this is between us, it has an expiration date of one year. ’
His voice dropped into a whisper meant only for her. ‘I’m not saying it for the cameras. I said it because I meant it. Also, I picked that dress because I remember how you shone in that colour, and because I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night.’
For a moment, it looked like Siya might believe him but whatever flickered behind her eyes didn’t last before it shifted back to feigned indifference.
Abhay was tempted to kiss that indifference right off her face.
He wanted to brush his knuckles along her jaw, and whisper reckless things in her ear to make her blush.
He was burning up with the need to pull her into his arms and tell her she wasn’t going anywhere, even if she didn’t want to hear it.
Meera interrupted his thoughts with a scolding look. ‘Okay, you two need to either get a room or wait until the cameras stop rolling. I’m going to go blind with those flashes.’
Luv leaned in from behind Kashvi, grinning far too broadly. ‘Actually, don’t behave. Have you seen that #Abhiya is trending literally everywhere? This is exactly what the public wants.’
‘I’m having more fun watching the guest reactions. It goes from awe to judgement. I wish I had popcorn.’
‘Do you think these fancy chefs will make us some? Now that you mentioned it, I want it too,’ Kashvi said, poking her elbow into Swayam’s torso, who oofed.
Siya groaned, dragging a hand down her face. ‘I hate all of you.’
Abhay bit back a smile. He didn’t say it aloud, but a part of him cherished the sound of their names being spoken together in the same breath, even if the world believed the lie and Siya refused to.
Before he could linger in the thought, a sharp clink rang through the room. It was enough to bring the crowd to a hush. Abhay turned around to see his father next to Kartik on the elevated platform.
His gaze flicked to Abhay, signalling them to join.
Luv lightly bumped his shoulder and whispered, ‘Hey lovebirds. Now would be the perfect time to hold hands, don’t you think?’
Siya shot him a glare, but Luv simply gestured toward the raised cameras and DSLR flashes.
Their eyes met and Abhay could see panic beneath her practised calm exterior. He reached out and threaded his fingers with hers, snugly tucking their hands away as he began walking toward their fathers.
He couldn’t say anything around the close proximity of the mics so he squeezed her hand once in silent assurance, and whether she understood it or not, she didn’t let go.