Chapter 46 #2
I chewed my bottom lip unsure if I was ready to meet the son of the man who kidnapped my brother. “Are they mafia?”
That stunned my uncle into a coughing fit. When he finally stopped, he cleared his throat, poured himself a glass of water and downed it. “What makes you say that?” He uttered what sounded like a nervous laugh.
“A feeling.” One mafia man was already enough to contend with; another would just make me lose my mind completely. Of course, there was still Remo’s response to deal with when he found out my threat to marry another was real or that I ran.
“Come, I’ll take you to meet him.” He ushered me toward the door.
Forty-five minutes later, we drove through tall gates and stopped outside a large mansion.
I stepped down from the vehicle, observing the patrolling guards armed with rifles and stiff expressions.
Silently, I followed my uncle through the wide oak doors, down marble passages until we stopped outside a large heavy door.
“Ajay’s expecting you. Do you have any questions for me?” he asked. I shook my head. “Nothing about him or his family?” He seemed shocked.
I shrugged. “I can ask him, can’t I?”
He smiled. “Sure. I’ll be here when you’re done.”
“Okay.” I replied and stepped through the door he held open.
The room was nothing like I expected. No darkness, no armed guards, no ominous shadows.
Just a sunlit living space with warm wooden floors, glass walls and a single man standing at the far end, pouring tea into two porcelain cups like we were about discuss books or the weather.
Not the fact that his father took my brother or I was being forced into a marriage I didn’t want.
He turned then and I froze.
After the arrogant, demanding likes of Remo and the forced nuptials, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
An ogre perhaps. The man looking at me though, was handsome, strikingly so.
A quiet kind of beauty, refined jawline, neatly combed dark hair, gold-rimmed glasses, white shirt and pants.
He didn’t look like a criminal, more like someone who apologized to strangers when they bumped into him.
“Miss Sharma,” he greeted, voice smooth, warm, polite.
I nodded, unsure how to react.
“I’m Ajay,” he offered, smile wide, welcoming. “No titles necessary.”
I expected cruelty, arrogance, the sick smirk of a man who knew he held something precious over me. Instead, he gestured to the sofa.
“Please sit. I hope you like Jasmine.”
“Um–” I hesitated, not because of the tea, but a tiny niggle that warned something wasn’t quite right. Outwardly he appeared perfect, yet it was the composed kindness that got to me, it almost seemed too practice, like he was scripted on what to say.
He handed me a cup, his expression a serene calm that unnerved me. Was I reading too much into this. Perhaps it was my obscure relationship with a man like Remo that made normal men seem abnormal. I took the cup with a small smile.
“Raif seems quite taken with you.” Cup in hand, he took a seat opposite me.
I frowned. “Raif?”
“Your brother?” At my surprised look, he chuckled. “You must’ve known him by another name?” I nodded. “You made an impression.”
A jolt of warmth shot through me. “Thank you for allowing me to meet him.”
He tilted his head, dark eyes studying me, the look more admiration than lewd. “I can see why though, you possess a gentle beauty about you, anything or anyone would be attracted to you, friend and foe alike.”
I sipped the scented tea.
“You don’t owe me any thanks,” he continued when I said nothing. “I’d like you both to have a chance to reconnect. It’s the least I can do.”
The least he can do?
For what? A crime he didn’t commit. Or one he was pretending not to openly acknowledge.
I sipped the tea to avoid lashing out. I was in a foreign country, in a stranger’s house with no access to any form of help if I needed.
I hadn’t even mentioned my visit to Remo, that was an oversight I suddenly regretted.
“You don’t speak much, do you?” His tone was way too gracious for my liking. “You must be overwhelmed, learning about Raif. Processing so much at once.”
I stiffened. “How do you know what I’ve processed?”
His smile was soft, almost sly if I had to be blunt. “Your uncle mentioned you’re an extremely private person. I assumed you wouldn’t share your feelings easily.”
I felt the tiny shift in his tone, almost like he was pushing for an answer while trying to remain within the script.
“Perhaps that will change in time, considering we’re to marry?” His eyes remained warm but something sharp flickered beneath the surface, a glint I almost missed. More a deep analysis than malice.
Know thy enemy?
“I want to make this process as painless as possible,” The gentleness was back. “Your brother means a great deal to me. I grew up with him. He’s family.”
Family. The word lodged in my throat. “He’s my family,” I softly corrected.
Ajay’s mask slipped, barely but enough for me to see it. “Of course,” he replied, lowering his gaze to his cup. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”
But he did and he knew it, that small hitch to the side of his mouth suggested as much. Dealing with a man like Remo taught me to pick up on the smallest of nuances.
I set the cup down on the side table. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Why help me meet him? Why now?”
He didn’t blink, didn’t hesitate. “Because you deserve to know he’s alive,” he replied. “Because he deserves the truth and because I don’t want the sins of my father to ruin more lives.”
It was a good answer, almost perfect if it didn’t come with a condition. “And the marriage?”
He shrugged. “It’s a tradition my father insisted I keep and…” he trailed off, studying his cup again.
“And?” I pushed.
He looked up. “Honestly, I was against an arranged marriage too but meeting you now, I think we’ll be happy together.”
I swallowed to hold back my laugh, lest I insult him. Besides, I had my brother to worry about and the only reason I was tolerating this facade. “Can I see my brother again?”
“You will.”
I calmed my raging heart, reminding myself what was at stake. “When?”
“Soon.”
Cool fingers of distrust traced a path down my spine. “Soon,” I repeated, studying him, looking for that crack in his polite demeanor. “Meaning?”
He smiled again, perfectly polite, practiced.
“I just need time to,” he paused, glancing at his phone he withdrew from his pants pocket.
“Arrange things.” He stood abruptly, setting the cup down on the coffee table.
There it was the first real flaw. “In the meantime, I hope we can get to know each other.”
My heartbeat stumbled and I rose. “What if I’m not ready for marriage?”
He stepped closer, not invading my space, just near enough that I could smell the faint scent of cedar and citrus on him. “Our families are connected, Ishika.” His voice lowered. “Whether we like it or not, this marriage will go ahead, it was decided long before you and I could understand life.”
My pulse spiked, hatred returning with a fervor I was trying hard to restrain. “So, I don’t have a choice?”
“We don’t have to rush anything. Not if it makes you uncomfortable.”
Discomfort wasn’t the word to describe what I felt. Something was wrong. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I had the feeling they were hiding something from me, that there was more to this marriage than tradition. Why else would they use Kai as leverage?
“Shall we start over?” Ajay offered me a hand. I didn’t take it. Although his smile didn’t falter, something cold flickered in those dark eyes before he quickly hid it. “We’ll try again next time.” He chuckled. “I’m a patient man.”
“So am I,” I lied, my insides on fire, desperate to scorch this entire home to the ground.
As I left the room, I glanced back. Ajay was still standing where I left him, hands in his pants pockets, watching me with that calm, cultured countenance.
Suddenly I understood why my skin crawled the moment I stepped into the room.
Not because he was cruel or angry or seemed sinister but because he looked safe.
And safety when extended by the wrong hands was the most dangerous threat of all.