Page 117 of Since You Stole My Heart

Her gaze darted away. ‘I told you, Siya is waiting for me downstairs, so I need to go.’

Swayam cupped her chin and tilted her head back until she met his eyes. ‘You seem to have forgotten your sister is in Delhi.’

If she could’ve facepalmed herself, she would have.

‘You’re getting late. Your maasi is inside, and she must be waiting for you. You should go back,’ she insisted, skirting around her red-handed lie.

The fragile restraint he’d been clinging to finally snapped. Swayam exhaled harshly. ‘Kashvi, just shut up.’

She stared at him, startled into silence.

‘Just stop whatever the hell it is you’re trying to do,’ he said, his gaze locked onto hers. When she parted her lips to speak, he shook his head sharply, cutting her off. ‘Why are you pushing me away when it’s killing both of us? What did I do for you to hurt me like this?’

Kashvi swallowed hard, fighting back tears. ‘I’m not...’

‘Yes, you are! It feels like I’m going to die in the next moment because I can’t take it anymore. Do you want to know why?Because whatever twisted sense of happiness you think you’re giving me by doing all this is only breaking my heart.’

‘All I want is for you to be happy and safe, and I know I can’t give that to you,’ she mumbled in a raspy voice as a tear slipped free.

Swayam wiped it away with his thumb. ‘I don’t want anything more from you than what you’re willing to give. I would never do that to you. But I can promise you that I’m happy with the way things are. I can only be happy with you. Isn’t that enough?’

It was more than she’d ever believed she deserved.

Her chest rose sharply, urging her to close the distance, to grab his hand and never let go, to finally say the words she’d been suppressing for far too long.

And how was she supposed to tell him that the reason she couldn’t say any of it was his own cousin?

‘You need to listen to me. We’re never going to work, and that’s because of who I am.’

When Swayam looked ready to argue, she stopped him. ‘Just trust me on this. Go to the ceremony, meet this girl, and give her a real chance. That’s best for everyone.’

A thick, suffocating beat passed before he asked, ‘And when she asks me if I’m single, what do I say?’

‘You say yes,’ she choked out.

His brows pulled together in disbelief. ‘You want me to lie to her?’

Kashvi shook her head, feeling like she was drowning. ‘It won’t stay a lie for long. If you like her, I’ll arrange the divorce papers immediately. You won’t have to worry about anything.’

Swayam went completely rigid, as though she’d struck him. ‘Do you even hear yourself right now, Kash?’

Her throat burned with the scream she was swallowing. ‘I do. It’s the only way,’ she whispered, her gaze dropping to the platinum wedding band still on his finger.

When she tried to slip it off him, Swayam jerked his hand away from her as if she’d burned him. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

Kashvi blinked at his outburst, her hand still hovering between them. ‘If you go wearing this, you’ll look married.’

‘Iammarried!’ Swayam snapped, nearly dragging a hand through his hair.

‘You know that’s not what I meant,’ she said quietly.

He let out a humourless laugh. ‘I don’t care what you meant. You’ve lost it if you think I would ever take this off.’

She held onto his hands, trying to reason with him. ‘You can’t start a new life while you’re still tied to your old one.’

His expression darkened further, anger bleeding through as Swayam brought a hand to the back of her neck. He ran his thumb along her nape until he pressed against a small lump beneath the fabric. ‘Is that why you’re still wearing your mangalsutra, Kash?’

She instinctively lifted her hand to where the mangalsutra rested beneath her high neck. Kashvi stayed quiet, because anything she said would either be a lie or far too close to the truth.