Chapter 30
“Shauna, I really don’t want to dance at our sangeet,” Akash grumbled over the phone.
Shauna leaned back in the passenger seat as the car moved steadily through traffic, her bodyguard focused on the road ahead. She held the phone to her ear, glancing briefly out the window at the now familiar streets leading to her new house.
“Oh, come on,” Shauna said, a smile creeping into her voice. “I know you can dance.”
“Of course I can. It’s just all those choreographed steps… left, right, spin, smile… it feels like I’m in a school play.”
Shauna laughed softly. “You are in a play. It’s called your own wedding.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious,” she continued. “This isn’t about perfect moves. It’s about the moment. Trust me, once the music starts and everyone’s cheering, you won’t even remember the choreography.”
“I will,” he muttered. “I’ll be the guy counting steps in his head instead of enjoying himself. So no, I will not be dancing at the sangeet.”
“You’re behaving childish, you know,” she said as the car stopped at a signal.
He groaned, his discomfort filtering through the line. “When I asked for the wedding in Goa, I wanted a simple wedding followed by a reception. Not this whole three-day affair you insisted upon. What happened to ‘I want a small wedding’?”
“That was before, when we were having a contract marriage,” she said. “Now that we’re marrying for love, I want the whole jazz.”
The day after Akash and she had admitted their love for each other, she’d insisted they tear up the contracts, and he’d done it without hesitation.
Watching those papers fall apart had filled her with a quiet, fierce joy.
She was marrying for love, just as she’d always wanted, not for a business deal.
Yes, Sehgal Media still mattered to her, but it paled beside him and her love for him.
He clucked his tongue. “You and Janak both, apparently.”
“You gave in because you can never say no to him,” she said as the car merged into traffic once again. “He’s just so damn excited about us getting married.”
“He was the one who proposed our marriage. He got us together,” Akash said. “I’ll forever be grateful to him for that. Of course, I couldn’t say no when he insisted on a grand wedding.”
She chuckled. Her grandfather was really very excited about their wedding.
They hadn’t told anyone yet that they were in love with one another.
For now, they were happy living in a bubble, away from the outside world, spending time either at work or at Akash’s apartment.
The only time they met anyone else was when they got pulled into wedding preparations, and that time they were too surrounded by people for anyone to notice how much in love they really were.
“But,” he added, frustration slipping into his tone, “that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy every part of it.”
“You’re not sounding very happy right now,” she scolded.
“I am happy about the rest of it,” he said. “I’m so excited about marrying you on that beach where I first saw you.”
Joy spread through her. In one week, she would be marrying him at the same place in Goa where they had first met.
“Just a week more,” she said.
“One more week,” he repeated. “So, we’re in agreement then. I won’t perform at the sangeet, but we will have our first dance at the reception as a married couple.”
She sighed. “Let’s table this discussion for later, after you come fetch me,” she said. “I’m just reaching our new home.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come with you,” he said. “But with the marriage and our honeymoon post that, I have a lot of things to wrap up at work.”
“Hey, it’s fine. Just be on time to pick me up,” she said.
“Love you,” he said. “See you soon.”
He disconnected the line.
God, she’d never get tired of hearing him say he loved her.
Some days, she still couldn’t believe that Akash loved her.
That he always had. Just like she had always loved him.
It felt like everything that had happened in the past had led her to this, to the only man she had ever loved.
Three weeks had passed since that night, since they had finally laid everything bare and cleared years of misunderstanding.
And still, her heart hadn’t quite settled.
Two days after that, they had stood before the board and announced their engagement.
To her surprise, every member had welcomed the news warmly and assured them of their support.
Even Suveer Malhotra. Furthermore, there had been no talk of replacing Akash or putting checks in place to rein him in.
The board had shown their complete confidence and trust in them to take the company to even greater heights.
The relief she’d felt after the meeting had been immense.
Even Akash had looked lighter, more at ease than she’d seen him in a long time.
The news of their engagement had spread like wildfire. Every newspaper and magazine was talking about the powerful merging of the Mishra and Sehgal legacies—two empires once built by the late Dhiraj Mishra and Janak Sehgal, now bound together through their grandchildren.
Her smile lingered as the car turned onto the familiar road leading to her new home, her thoughts still wrapped in quiet happiness. As they pulled into the driveway, she spotted Aaliya’s assistant, Tejal, already waiting for her near the entrance.
The house was buzzing with activity as she walked inside, staff moving in and out, the low hum of work filling the space. AC units were being fitted in the living room, while upstairs, curtains were being put up in the bedrooms, and potted plants were being placed in the sunroom.
It was close to nine by the time she wrapped up her meeting with Tejal, and the house was finally quiet now that the staff had all left for the day.
Over the past week, she’d been coming here daily. Sometimes alone, while most of the time with Akash, finalizing details, making decisions, watching it all come together piece by piece. And it had. Beautifully.
She checked the time on her watch. Akash would be reaching any minute now. She walked slowly through the living room, a quiet excitement building within her. After the wedding, he was flying her to the Seychelles for a week-long honeymoon. And when they came back, they’d be moving in here.
A faint sound broke through the silence.
Shauna stilled. Her brows drew together as she turned toward the sunroom at the far end of the house. She hurried toward it and found one of the workers inside. He was holding a spade, looking out toward the lawns.
“You can leave now,” she said. “Everyone else has already left.”
The man didn’t respond immediately. He turned, and her blood froze as she recognized who it was.
Akash’s father.
Before she could react, she saw the gun in his other hand, and it was pointed straight at her.
“Hello, my to-be daughter-in-law,” he said, his voice calm, almost conversational. “We finally meet.”
Shauna forced herself to breathe.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice steady despite the way her pulse thundered in her ears.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze moved over her slowly, assessing.
“You’re pretty,” he said after a moment. “My son has chosen well. And you’re a Sehgal. Janak Sehgal somehow managed to get both my children married into his family.” Something darker flickered in his eyes. “I wonder what love he has for those two useless brats.”
A surge of anger rose inside her, but Shauna locked it down just as quickly. She gave him a flat look, showing no reaction whatsoever.
“What do you want?” she asked again.
“I read about your engagement to my son in the news. I’ve seen you come here to this house daily. You come every evening after work at seven p.m., isn’t it? So many workers move in and out. It was rather easy for me to impersonate one of them and enter the house.”
She’d figured that out the moment she’d seen him standing in a staff uniform of the AC company.
“If you’ve been watching the house, then you also know that Akash joins me here on most evenings. In fact, I was waiting for him. He could be here any moment,” Shauna said. “So why don’t you put that gun aside and tell me what you want? I haven’t done anything to you, and that gun is scaring me.”
“Good, because this will ensure you do exactly as I say.” He lifted his gun higher. “Call Akash and tell him not to come here. Convince him that you’ve already left.”
Shauna lifted her chin. “No. You’re his father. He deserves to hear what you have to say.”
“He and his sister deserve nothing from me,” he said, his voice turning colder. “Especially not after the way he behaved with me when I met him in his office. He was rude and arrogant. If he were younger… I would’ve beaten that arrogance out of him. Taught him a lesson he’d never forget.”
A wave of horror surged through her as she heard his words, at the cruelty in his tone, at the casual way he spoke about hurting his own son. God, was that what Akash had endured while growing up with him? Thank God he’d escaped that life and grown into the kind, wonderful man she loved
Keval Karia’s gaze narrowed on her, and a cold shiver slithered down her spine.
“Hm,” he murmured, studying her. “I may not be able to lay a hand on him now… but there are other ways to punish him.”
Her breath hitched. Fear coiled inside her, but she refused to let him see it.
Instead, she lifted her chin. “You won’t get away with this… whatever it is you are planning. My bodyguard is right outside. He will come looking for me if I don’t go outside soon.”
“Is he?” Akash’s father let out a sharp laugh.
“I’ve been here a week,” he said. “Smiling at him, greeting him every evening like I was just another harmless staff member going about his job.” His lips curled with satisfaction.
“He trusted me. Never saw it coming. One swing of a rock to the back of his head, and he was out cold. So no… he won’t be coming for you.
He’ll be unconscious for a couple of hours. ”
Shauna gasped, her panic spiking. Fuck. He had thought through every detail, just to get her alone for God only knew what.
“Now call Akash,” he said, “and break up with him. It’s time he learned a lesson.”
“What?” she gasped.
“He won’t believe me,” she said quickly, her voice shaking despite her effort to steady it. “If I just call and say that I want to end things, he won’t believe it. Besides, I told you he’s on his way here.”
“Make him believe you’ve left from here.” Keval stepped closer. Too close. “I’ve been watching you and him. This past week, I’ve worked with one or another of the various teams you hired to complete this house.”
Her blood ran cold at his words. He’d been right here in their house, watching them? God. How fucked up was this man?
“The way he looks at you…” A faint, cruel smile touched his lips. “I’m quite certain you mean the world to him.”
Her heart lurched. The past few times she’d been here with Akash flashed through her mind—them holding hands, laughing, Akash kissing her cheek, her forehead, uncaring if anyone was watching them.
“What better way to punish him,” he continued, his voice almost thoughtful, “than to have the woman he loves tell him, a week before his wedding, that she doesn’t love him at all.”
“He won’t believe it,” she insisted.
He raised the gun, the cold barrel hovering near her face.
“Then make sure he believes it. If you say anything else, if you warn him or try to be clever,” his voice dropped, deadly calm, “and he walks through that door, I will use this. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
Tears burned behind her eyes, but she forced them back.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice breaking despite herself. “What do you want?”
“First,” he said casually, “you break his heart and tell him not to come here. Convince him you’ve already left. The rest… will come later.”
He tilted his head toward her phone.
“Do it, Shauna. Or I hurt him the moment he steps in here. And trust me, I will.”
“He’s your son,” Shauna pleaded. “How can you even think of hurting him?”
“I stopped thinking of those two children the second I left them with their grandfather. So don’t think for one minute that I care about Akash. I don’t. Now make the damn call.”
Her hands trembled as she reached for her phone. There was no choice, no other option. Her chest tightened painfully as she stared at his name on the screen.
Akash. She loved him so much.
A tear slipped down her cheek as she pressed the call button.
He would hate her after this. Hate her for the words she was about to say. But if hurting him was the price of keeping him safe, then she’d do it.
She swallowed hard, her heart breaking. She didn’t know if she was going to get out of this mess with his father. She didn’t know what he wanted. But she would never let him hurt Akash ever again.