Abhay did not recoil. There was a quiet force in his voice, every syllable a proud declaration. ‘If you’re asking me to respect the code of marriage, I choose to protect my wife first, because sheismy family. I refuse to be the man who teaches my woman that by being a good partner to me, she has to lose her voice and autonomy.’
‘Then you are no man at all,’ Kartik passed his verdict, and Siya nearly lost her cool.
Everything in her screamed to lash back, to defend her man. She sweetly said, ‘This coming from the man who couldn’t stay faithful to his wife, had multiple affairs, and nearly ran the business into the ground? You have no right to make a remark on my husband, and I won’t allow it.’
Abhay sighed, and his warm breath fanned her cheek. He possessively curled an arm around her front, and drew her closer.
Kartik flushed red with anger, colour climbing in his cheeks. Dhruv shifted beside him, and Siya expected him to argue back, but confusion rammed through her as he nodded once at the media personnel and stepped away from the glare of the spotlight.
Dhruv turned around once as he walked away and Siya could swear she saw something akin to respect in his gaze. But before she could linger on the moment, a reporter stepped forward, asking for a few comments.
They swarmed closer when Kartik gestured yes. Mihit and Neena joined them too, posing together.
‘How are you feeling after the success of tonight’s soft launch?’ he asked Siya and Abhay.
‘We’re thrilled,’ Siya managed. ‘It feels incredible to witness our efforts make a difference.’
‘Abhay, how do you feel about winning the bid on one of the most famous rings in the world?’
‘I won something much more precious, my wife’s smile so it feels worth it,’ Abhay answered, sincerely.
Kartik chimed in. ‘Men like Abhay are certainly setting new standards for husbands these days.’
Abhay softly smiled at him. The whirs of the camera caught every moment.
‘Thank yousasurji,’ he said, graciously. ‘I’m learning a lot from you about strength, respect, and what it means to be a husband not just in name but in action. That’s why I signed the auction check to Siya Kashyap, you know, to honourmywife.’
Kartik barely remained poised, studying Abhay, and it finally registered in his mind that tonight, for once, his control was not absolute.
‘Good job, son,’ Kartik praised, his voice too smooth as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Abhay gave him a pleased smile, wide enough for the cameras to catch it.
Someone finally waved the media personnel away and Kartik furiously turned around and walked out of the room. Siya had the same idea. She wanted to run, to escape the suffocatingglamour that felt like prison. Every part of her felt raw and exposed under the spotlight.
The event coordinator came up to Abhay and pulled him away. Abhay squeezed his hand once and told her he would be right back.
Neena and Mihit prepared to follow a few guests to the dining room, but before she moved away, Neena met Siya’s gaze and gave her a small, sympathetic nod. She didn’t know what to do with that offer of comfort, or the strange emptiness it carved through her, so she turned away.
The room swelled around her with too many voices and too much light. She had to get away. She was tired of feeling like a pawn in everyone’s game.
Siya hurried out of the room before anyone could stop her. Outside the grand doors, she paused long enough to wave at a few people she recognised. Her heels clicked sharply against the floor as she made her way to the elevators down the wide hall.
She pressed the button for the roof and caught her reflection in the elevator mirror. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her skin looked pale. She wondered briefly just how much longer she could hold onto the last piece of her sanity.
Inside her mind, her thoughts spiralled, crashing into each other with the force of pent-up emotions.Why did Abhay do this, after everything?
Why the public declarations, the cheque in her name, the confrontation with her father in front of the entire city? Why did he look at her like she mattered when he was the one who had lied to her?
And beneath it all was the truth that terrified her the most, that love wasn’t enough, not when trust lay shattered at her feet, not when his every gesture and every word made her wonder if there would be a price to be paid later.
She pushed open the steel doors of the roof and exhaled, shaky and uneven. There was a scent of rain in the air. When she finally caught her breath, a thought hit her with finality.
This needs to end.
Tonight, Abhay had shattered everything she’d believed about him, and she couldn’t keep fighting these feelings anymore.
Now, it was time to confront the truth, even if it meant baring her heart to the man who had broken it.
Chapter 22
