I feel Meera’s cold fingers twitch in my hand. She’s still shaken. Fuck, so am I.
I give her hand a gentle squeeze before answering Dad. “Someone tried to attack her, and I got there just in time to stop the bastard,” I say, and I swear I can’t thank my stars enough that I reached her before anything untoward could happen.
When the pooja ended, and Panditji started serving prasad, my eyes kept searching for her. I thought she was still in our room. I was about to go check on her when one of the maids told me a note had arrived for ma’am, and that she’d stepped out after reading it. That rang every alarm bell in my body. I couldn’t stand there another damn second. I walked out immediately and asked the guard if he’d seen her. He told me he’d seen her head towards the park.
And when I reached there… my world stopped.
Seeing that bastard standing there with a knife aimed at Meera made my stomach drop to my feet. I didn’t think. I just sprinted to him.
“I knew she’d be nothing but trouble,” Dad hisses, delivering the exact reaction I’d hoped he wouldn’t show. “Every damn day she brings some or the other chaos. I told you to stay away from her, but you never listen. And now look, because of her, you’re bleeding. But you know what, I am done with this nonsense. She’s not staying in this house, not for another minute.”
Meera flinches, and that is enough for my temper to snap.
“Don’t even think about it, Dad. She’s my wife, and she stays with me. It’s my duty to protect her, not throw her out the moment something goes wrong like a coward.”
“Do you really want drama in this house every single day?” Dad fires back, jabbing a finger in Meera’s direction. “This girl is the problem. She is….”
“Someone tried toattackher, and you thinksheis the problem? Are you even listening to yourself?” I shout, my glare slicing through his words.
Dad’s jaw clenches. “I know exactly what I am talking about. But clearly, you’re too blinded by her to see anything.” He casts a brief, assessing glance at Meera before fixing me with a glare. “Tell me one thing, Dev. When there was a pooja going on in thehouse, why the hell did she wander off outside? I bet she was up to something.” He shakes his head, scoffing under his breath. “And you expect me to believe she’s the victim?”
“I… I didn’t wander off,” Meera says, her fingers twisting nervously in mine. “Someone gave me a note. It said to meet outside with Samarth’s name on it. I—I just went, thinking it was him.” Her eyes flick briefly to me, then back to Dad. “I wasn’t up to anything.”
“I hope that answers your question, Dad,” I say coldly. “She didn’t do any of this on purpose. And I expect this discussion to end here, because I am not allowing you to blame her for something that isn’t her fault.”
Veer, who has been standing quietly all this while, finally speaks up. “Bro… you don’t have to go head-on with Dad for this girl. For all you know, she could be lying.”
“She’s not lying,” I snap at him, my gaze scorching. “And I will not let anyone question her either. Not you, not Dad, not anyone. So you better stay out of this.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, a familiar, irritating voice calls out from behind.
“Meera!”
I glance over my shoulder to see the annoying jerk, Samarth, standing in the doorway, his face tight with worry, and his eyes locked on Meera.
Of course he’s here. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.
Before I can tell my guards to throw him out, he rushes forward and stands in front of her.
“Meera, are you okay?” he asks, cupping her face.
“Hands off her if you want to continue this conversation without me throwing you out myself,” I growl, stepping forward. He shoots me a glare, but he knows I am not joking, because he drops his hand immediately.
“I can’t take this circus. I am leaving,” Veer mutters, throwing up his hands in exasperation before turning and walking away.
“What happened, Meera?” Samarth asks, turning back to her.
“Someone… someone tried to attack me,” she says, her voice trembling.
His eyes widen, but he doesn’t reply to her. Instead, Samarth turns to me with his accusing gaze. “I knew staying here would put you in danger. I told you this place isn’t safe.” He grabs her other hand, the one I am not holding. “That’s it, Meera. You’re not staying here anymore.”
He turns to leave with her, but my hand shoot out, gripping his wrist so tight he grunts.
“She’s not going anywhere.” I fix him with a hard stare. “She’s staying here. With me.”
“I can’t put her life in danger by letting her stay here with you.”
“As her husband.” My grip tightens around his wrist, just enough to make him flinch. “It’s my responsibility to keep my wife safe, and I will. So back off before I make you regret pushing this.”
