She looked back at him, and as if acting on instinct, she shook her head. He almost regretted saying that, but couldn’t fight the truth anymore. ‘I know I hurt you, and if you do hate me, you have every right to be. Someday, I might make my peace with it. But what I can’t live with is the knowledge that you are trapped in a forced marriage with someone you can’t stand.’
A faint muscle twitched in her jaw, but her eyes were unreadable. Abhay felt emotions choking him, and cleared his throat. He pinched the bridge of his nose when tears sprang to his eyes. Her hatred was a difficult pill to swallow.
‘I’ll talk to Dad,’ he added quickly, driven by the need to fix this for her. ‘I’ll make sure this arrangement is off the tablecompletely. I won’t let your father back you into a corner like this.’
It wasn’t until he finished speaking that Siya set the cup down with a soft clink. She let out a long exhale and said, ‘I was four when Kashu was born. Dad was in Hong Kong or Seoul or somewhere, charming some investors. I remember Maa was in labour for over a day, and I was outside her hospital room with my babysitter. Despite her bribes, she couldn’t take me back home.’
A ghost of a smile flickered across her features, but it faded quickly. He was surprised that she was opening up to him, and he soaked in her vulnerable side.
‘When the nurse placed Kashu in my arms, I giggled because she had a tiny nose. Maa hugged both of us and cried, and I cried with her. Six years later, Maa passed away in a car accident, and Kashu became the centre of my universe. She followed me everywhere like a shadow, scared of losing me too. How could I explain the concept of grief and death to a six-year-old baby girl?’
His heart broke for her. As a single child, he’d always wanted a sibling, but his parents did their best to fill the void. But could he have taken up the responsibility of a younger brother if it’d come to that? He knew he wasn’t cut out for that, and his respect for her rose tenfold.
‘Dad would call once in a while and send money. Sometimes, he showed up during holidays with gifts and left within hours. But to be honest, he only showed up when Kashyap Luxe needed family-centric festival photos for ad campaigns.’
His childhood was filled with memories of father-son trips, hosting events with his mother, and adventures with his friends. He couldn’t imagine living through the kind of childhood Siya was describing.
She leaned back in her chair, finally meeting his gaze. ‘Kashu has been my kiddo since the day she was born. I saw her through school. I told her bedtime stories and held her through the illnesses. She’s the only true family I have left. So no, Abhay, don’t tell me no reason is big enough because as long as the reason is Kashvi, I would stop at nothing to protect her.’
A slow simmer of rage rushed through his bloodstream as he understood her implication. ‘Your father is using her?’ He asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
She didn’t answer, but her silence confirmed his worst fears. Kartik had trapped her in a corner with her sister as collateral. Abhay spat out venomous words. ‘That’s no father. He is a Machiavellian man who accidentally had kids. No real parent can stomach doing this to their child.’
Siya scoffed. ‘Our father didn’t raise us. He raised Kashyap Luxe. That is his real child, and he will go to any lengths to protect its legacy.’
‘Then let’s get both of you out of this some other way. You’re one of the most highly acclaimed civil lawyers in the country. I’m sure you’ll find a way for you and Kashvi to walk away from this family. I’ll help you in any way I can.’
Hesitantly, Siya shook her head and looked away. ‘I can’t walk away,’ she whispered.
‘Why not?’ he asked carefully. He had to go against every instinct in his body screaming at him to hide her away in his arms.
She rubbed the back of her neck as she said, ‘When I turned twenty-five, I inherited a trust fund my mother left me. Nothing too massive, just enough to give me independence. The company was on the brink of bankruptcy due to Dad’s bad investments, and he had his eyes on our inheritance.’
Abhay frowned but held back the questions he had. Kartik had a reputation for making impulsive decisions, and his father had often wondered how he kept the business afloat despite multiple losses. He finally had the answer to it.
‘I signed it over to him, foolishly believing that it made me useful, and that he’d finally see me as someone of value. But I did so on one condition—he wouldn’t touch Kashu’s inheritance, no matter what. She will inherit it when she turns twenty-five, which is next year.’
He saw it now. Siya was trapped in a gilded cage due to the choices she had made years ago, manipulated into it by her father, who had taken her every penny in the name of family. She’d made sacrifices out of devotion to him, and it was tragically unfair that they had come back to haunt her.
Abhay wanted to find Kartik, break every bone in his body, before ripping him apart into pieces for what he had forced Siya to carry since such a young age.
Shrugging, she said, ‘So this is the only move I have. I say yes to marrying you, he gets what he wants, and he leaves her alone.’
Abhay stood up and walked over to her. He lowered himself to his knees and gently took her hands in his. Her fingers were trembling as he entangled them with his. She gave him a small smile, but he could see the colossal pain she was trying to hide.
She looked startled by his proximity, but Abhay needed to be close to her. He could only deny himself so much. ‘I understand your reason for doing this, and your love for Kashvi, and I admire it more than you know.’
Abhay guessed Siya wasn’t aware that she leaned into his touch, but that small gesture gave him courage. ‘I will marry you, but you need to know that it won’t be for life. We stay together until Kashvi turns twenty-five and inherits all the money. And then, if you want to walk away, we’ll dissolve the marriage.’
Her lips trembled, and finally, the tears broke through her restraint. ‘You’d do that for me?’
‘There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you,meri jaan. You were the only thing in my life that ever felt right, and I ruinedusover a stupid mistake. It kills me that I can’t go back in time and change that. If losing you all over again is my repentance, so be it. But there is one thing you should know before you agree to this marriage.’
Her lips parted slightly, and a hint of concern crept into her voice as she asked, ‘What is it?’
Suddenly, Abhay tugged at her hand and pulled her toward him. She gasped as she stumbled forward and braced her hands on his shoulders. They were so close that he could feel the erratic rise and fall of her breath against his chest. Her eyes went wide with confusion, but he could see the sparks of fire in their depths.
‘Make no mistake, jaan. I intend to win you over and make you mine in that one year,’ he grunted in a raw voice.
