Air rushed out of her lungs. ‘You cannot be serious, Dad.’
‘We have a plan to distract people from this too. Soon after we announce your wedding, we’ll share how we’ll launch a maiden merger between Kashyap Luxe and Agrawal Jewels with both you and Abhay as co-chairs.’
‘You underestimate the public. You really think they’ll be so charmed by a new jewellery line that they won’t catch such an obvious lie?’ Siya asked.
Kartik didn’t hide the sarcasm when he said, ‘You always had a flair for theatrics.’ He turned to Mihit, and bitterness crept into his words as he continued, ‘This situation calls for a grown-up decision that might actually serve her family, but she’s being too stupid and spoiled to see it.’
Siya’s eyes stung, but she didn’t let it show on her face. She refused to give him the satisfaction. Her hand tightened around the stem of her glass as she said, ‘You don’t need to talk about me like I’m a child.’
Her father didn’t even look at her as he threw a casual, ‘Then start behaving like an adult whose opinions are worth listening to.’
Abhay had had enough. He fixed his gaze on her father and said, ‘Everything she’s said makes sense. And if you’d just listen to her, you might—’
‘She’s impulsive and stubborn. Too much of an emotional fool,’ Kartik countered as he refilled his glass.
‘You mean she’s smart enough to call out things at their face value,’ Abhay snapped.
Siya looked at him then, really looked at him. His face was composed, but his jaw had the faintest tic, and she could see the vein in his forehead throbbing rapidly. Her stomach flipped unexpectedly when he turned to meet her eyes. The anger reflected back in them made her nervous. She couldn’t guess how Kartik would react to being openly challenged, and she didn’t want to find out.
Kartik narrowed his eyes at Abhay, trying to figure him out. ‘I see. You’re suddenly quite invested in her.’
‘What I’m invested in is fairness. No one should get railroaded because she’s the only one in the room with common sense,’ Abhay threw back at him, holding his own. He was walking a tight line, not giving away much about their shared past, but playing as her back up was bound to raise questions.
Her heart thudded against her chest. Abhay was furious forherand she didn’t know what to do with that knowledge.
‘I’m only twenty-eight. I’m not ready to get married, and certainly not this way,’ Siya said. If Abhay could speak up in her defence, she certainly could too.
‘You’re not here to be ready. You’re here to be useful!’ Kartik retorted in anger, and slammed his whiskey glass hard on the table, making it crack.
‘I’ve been stepping up my entire life, Dad, but I didn’t realise I was steppingintoa cage,’ Siya said quietly.
Kartik said with a touch of warning in his tone, ‘Siya, you’re overreacting.’ She heard the words he didn’t say,don’t challenge me.
Abhay clenched his hands under the table, doing his best to ignore the drunken babbling of Kartik as he turned to speak to his father. ‘Don’t ask me to become the kind of man who would trample over a woman’s consent, because I will never do something like that.’
Kartik scoffed. ‘You kids are too naïve for the business world.’
Siya was done here. She’d dedicated her life to the business and family, but she refused to give in to this outrageous demand.
‘I respect our business legacy. I really do, Dad, but a forced marriage is not the price I’m paying for it.’
Siya then turned to Mihit and said, ‘I’m sorry, Uncle, but I refuse to be a pawn in this game.’
She looked once at Abhay, and a mixture of gratitude and longing flickered between them before she walked out with her head high but her heart heavy.
Behind her, the door shut with a gentle whoosh. The night air was cool, but she burned with anger. She broke into a run down the stairs, and out the lobby, until she reached her car.
She quickly pulled out of the hotel, driving back to her apartment. Her head was swirling with questions. What the hell happened back there? Had her father lost the last shred of humanity?
He was practically trading her off in exchange for a better sales quarter, and to whom? Abhay Agrawal. The man who shattered her faith in love.
He’d once made her feel alive, then left behind an ocean of pain in her heart.
Chapter 4
Four Years Ago, New Year’s Eve
The scent of salt hung in the air as they walked up to the edge of the beach, but it was his cologne wafting off his hoodie that made her feel giddy. She scolded herself for inhaling it over and over, even as she did it again. She snuggled into the hoodie, its fabric still holding the fading warmth of his skin.
