Chapter 18
A gust of air blew around them and, under the guise of tucking her hair behind her ear, she snatched her hand back. Viraj held on for a brief second before letting go with a smirk.
He swung the suit jacket over his shoulder, taking a step back as he flexed under the faded pink shirt he wore. His hair was styled with precision, falling just enough over his forehead to soften his face. But no matter how put together he seemed, he couldn’t hide the leech in him.
Her throat tightened painfully as she swallowed against the panic, hyperaware of his every movement in her peripheral vision.
Lavanya rolled her eyes. ‘Really, Swayam? You’re only going to introduce one half of the duo?’
‘What duo?’ Swayam asked, flashing her a cheeky smile.
Lavanya turned to her, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes. ‘Kashvi, I should warn you. These two have been inseparable since we were kids. Everyone used to call them Jay and Viru. They’re always up to something.’
Kashvi’s heart stuttered as she glanced towards Swayam, still unable to believe he could be connected to someone like Viraj.
Swayam rubbed the back of his neck. ‘That’s not fair. I was the one constantly dragged into his mess. He’d start something, and somehow I’d end up taking the blame.’
‘What can I say? You were always easy to fool,’ Viraj said, a veiled barb in his tone. Then he glanced briefly at her. ‘And I’ve always loved causing trouble. It’s second nature to me.’
Swayam let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. ‘You hear that, Lavanya? There’s still time, you know. I’ll even help you pack.’
Lavanya kept her narrowed eyes fixed on Viraj. ‘If he troubles me too much tonight, I’ll take you up on that offer.’
Viraj moved to stand beside his fiancée, draping one arm around her waist. He nuzzled her neck as he said, ‘I wouldn’t let that happen. You’re my babygirl. I’m not letting you go anywhere.’
A faint blush tinted Lavanya’s cheeks, and Kashvi watched it with tight fists. All she could see was a man cheating on his woman and calling her by the same nickname he used for his extorted victims.
Talk about Prince Charming.
Swayam scoffed. ‘Don’t trust him. He’s a smooth liar.’
Lavanya affectionately patted her fiancé’s cheek. ‘I won’t argue with that. You guys should tell Kashvi the infamous story of how Viraj stole your Ben Ten watch.’
Swayam shook his head, a hint of sadness in his tone. ‘Let’s not. It’s a sore topic. It took me five years to forgive him for that.’
Viraj had a menacing glint in his eyes as he discreetly waved his phone to remind her. ‘I can’t help it. I always had the bad habit of setting my eyes on Swayam’s favourite things.’
The devil sticker at the corner of Viraj’s phone case stared back at her. A cluster of curses rose in her throat, but she swallowed them down, pressing her lips together.
She was startled when it hit her that this was why the orchids she had received felt so sinister. The theme for that party had been lavender, and the entire room had been decorated with orchids.
Swayam scoffed, turning to Kashvi with a resigned sigh. ‘You see what I have to deal with?’
‘Mm-hmm,’ was all she could mumble.
He leaned closer, looking at the drop of blood on her lower lip. ‘What happened to your lip? Are you okay?’ he asked in a hushed tone.
‘Yeah, I accidentally bit it,’ she muttered as a question nagged at her.
Did he have the slightest idea what his cousin was doing, hiding behind a camera and anonymous messages?
She needed to talk to Swayam. Alone. Maybe she could make up a call or an excuse to pull him away.
Kashvi could feel Viraj’s unrelenting, invasive gaze lingering on her, and it made her want to claw at his eyes. But she couldn’t expose him just like that.
Short of grabbing his phone and showing her compromising pictures to everyone to prove it, there was nothing she could do at this moment.
Lavanya’s phone rang, and she answered it with a long sigh. ‘Yes, Mummyji. Okay, I’ll be right there, just give me a minute. Haan, coming, coming.’
She pushed the phone back into her jeans pocket and turned to Viraj. ‘Apparently there’s some elder relative I have to meet, and it’s very urgent, obviously. Will you come with me, please?’
He furrowed his brows. ‘Why do you need me?’
She looked away, fidgeting with the edge of her kurti. ‘You know how they make cheap comments about my weight. I just… I thought if someone is there, they might back off.’
The vulnerability in her voice made Kashvi’s chest clench, and she wished she could reach out and comfort her.
Viraj tipped his head back, letting out a frustrated groan. ‘Lavanya, I’ve had a long day, and it’s too crowded there. I feel like I can’t even breathe properly.’
Easy humour drained from his gaze as Swayam lightly admonished, ‘Viru, it’s no big deal. Just go with her for a bit.’
Viraj shrugged, dismissing it. ‘Lavanya will be fine. She’s handled worse.’
Swayam tightened his jaw, then glanced at Kashvi. ‘Would you be okay if I go with her?’ he asked apologetically.
‘Of course,’ she said, despite the fear flaring in her gut. ‘I can come along too, if that helps.’
Lavanya shook her head instantly. ‘No, don’t. They’ll just shift their target onto you. Believe me, they can be brutal.’
‘It’s fine, Kash,’ Swayam said, giving her hand a light squeeze. ‘I can’t stand them either, so I promise we’ll be quick.’
Kashvi nodded.
Lavanya exhaled, relief flickering across her face. ‘Thanks a lot.’
‘It’s not a big deal,’ Kashvi replied, managing a faint smile.
Swayam stepped towards the balcony door. ‘Try to be at least a little useful while I’m gone and keep her company,’ he instructed Viraj.
A flicker of rage shadowed Viraj’s face before he smoothed it into a neutral expression. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take very good care of her.’
With a lingering glance at her, he slipped out after Lavanya, leaving her alone with her stalker.
The universe had a wicked sense of humour.
Kashvi felt a shift in the air. In an instant, Viraj slid closer to her, and she took an instinctive step back. His eyes moved over her, dragging from her face to her toes.
‘You might be the birthday girl, but seeing that ass in those jeans is my gift for the night,’ Viraj said, leering at her.
Kashvi turned towards the balcony door, driven by the urge to put distance between them. She barely took two steps before Viraj grabbed her by the elbow in such a crushing grip that it sent a sharp jolt of pain up her arm, making her yelp.
‘Where the fuck are you running off to?’
He dug his fingers into her elbow joint so hard Kashvi was sure it would leave marks. He pushed her back until he had her trapped between him and the cold, hard railing.
Anger flared, bright and unrestrained, as she tried to wrench herself free from his hold. ‘Let me go!’
The earlier amusement in his gaze faded, leaving behind a dangerous glint of possession. In that moment, fear hit her like a slap, and she angled her body away from him.
He lifted his hand to brush back her hair, and Kashvi leaned back over the open space beyond the balcony railing at a painful angle to escape his scalding touch.
Viraj chuckled. ‘You’ll slip off the balcony if you keep doing that.’
‘I’d prefer falling to my death than sharing the same air with you,’ she snapped.
‘So desperate to escape me? I love it,’ he murmured, leaning closer until the sharp, intrusive scent of his cologne choked her senses.
Kashvi struck his hand with enough force to push it away. ‘Get the fuck away from me right now or I’ll scream loud enough to wake up the whole street.’
His laughter rang through the night. ‘Go on. Try it. Scream and call Swayam out here. But remember, everyone else will follow him too.’
She went still.
‘You really want to do this here and now?’ he asked, pointing at the balcony door, from where muted laughter and overlapping conversations filtered through. ‘You want to tell your husband, in front of his friends and family, that his cousin has his wife’s nudes?’
The idea of those images being exposed in a room full of people and their barbed whispers made her realise she was trapped in the worst place and moment possible.
His eyes darkened. ‘And I don’t want to do any of that, because I promised him I’d take care of you. So this is my last warning. I do find your pathetic attempts entertaining, but my patience is not endless. You’re really testing my limits.’
She clenched her jaw and forced herself to stop struggling.
‘That’s it. There’s my good girl.’
Revulsion rose, fast and acidic, because just hours ago Swayam had whispered those same words with affection. ‘What exactly have I done to you? I don’t even know who you are!’
‘You might not know me, but I know everything about you, babygirl.’
‘Of course, because that’s what sleazebags like you do, right? Take pictures of girls without their knowledge, hide behind your phones, and then stalk them like a rabid dog.’
‘Aw, don’t be jealous, babygirl. I’ve done a lot of things with girls, but you’re the only one I’ve wanted to keep for myself. You’re special to me.’
‘Wow, lucky me,’ she scoffed, her tone edged with sarcasm.
He tightened his grip, and she swallowed down a whimper. ‘You are, because you were out of my reach when I found out you got married to my cousin.’
‘How did you know that?’ she breathed, her eyes wide with disbelief.
‘He’s my cousin. You really think I don’t know everything about him?’ he mumbled, sniffing her hair.
Something in Kashvi recoiled at the thought of Swayam sharing pieces of their life with someone like him.
Every nerve in her body tensed at the intimate way he tried to lean closer. But it was the dark hint of rage in his voice that kept her rooted in place.
‘I went out of my mind when I was told about it. I stood outside your apartment door, somehow holding myself back from tearing it down and choking you in bed until you realised no one was coming to help you.’
A shudder of undiluted terror tore through her as she realised how close he had come before, and she had been completely unaware.