Page 162 of Since You Stole My Heart

With a soft brush of his fingers against her cheek, he walked away.

Their conversation faded into background noise as Kashvi moved down the hallway towards her bedroom. The moment she stepped inside, her back hit the door. She leaned against it, her eyes sliding shut.

The silence felt heavy and suffocating, amplifying her thoughts until they became unbearable. Deep in her chest, relentless questions gnawed at her heart.

Was he really behind this? What did he stand to gain from destroying me?

She opened her eyes, and Swayam’s phone lying near the edge of the bed caught her attention. Before she could think twice, Kashvi grabbed it and unlocked it with trembling hands.

She couldn’t wait for an hour. She needed answers now.

Quickly, she punched in the number she’d memorised as a child.

The call connected, followed by a faint rustle on the other end.

‘Hello?’

For one second, she almost hung up. Then she forced herself to speak.

‘Hello, Father.’

Chapter 31

‘Did you send Viraj after me?’ Kashvi asked, loud enough that it seemed to echo around her.

‘Not even a hello. Do you seriously not remember any of the manners we taught you?’ Karthik chided lightly.

It grated against her nerves. ‘What you taught me was not to trust anyone, so maybe skip the lecture and answer my question.’

Karthik scoffed. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘You do. You very well do,’ she shot back.

‘I don’t have time to entertain your mood swings, Kashvi. So either get to the point or call me back.’

His words stung with a familiar burn in her chest. She gritted her teeth. ‘Fine. Your accountant’s son, Viraj, has pictures of me, and he’s blackmailing me for a hundred crores. Are you behind this?’

His incredulous laugh made her stomach drop. ‘It was only a matter of time before you got yourself into a mess like this. So tell me, you put yourself in a bad position with some guy whoclearly took advantage of your lack of sense, and now you’re looking to blame me. Am I right?’

‘Oh, so you had nothing to do with it?’

‘No,’ he denied smoothly. ‘And lashing out at your poor father isn’t going to help you either. You should do what the blackmailer wants.’

‘Like give him the money? That’s convenient.’ Kashvi scoffed. ‘And you should really stop pretending to be a concerned father. It doesn’t suit you.’

‘You’re an adult. You make mistakes, then you deal with the consequences. So grow up.’

Something inside her snapped. ‘Just fucking answer me!’ Kashvi shouted. ‘Did you send Viraj after me?’

‘No. Whatever the family members of my employees do has nothing to do with me,’ he said.

Then she asked, unable to keep the disgust out of her voice, ‘Then explain something to me. Why is there a transaction trail between you and him? Why have you been paying him if you don’t know who Viraj is?’

His voice turned icy. ‘Have you been looking into my financial records, Kashvi? That’s completely out of line.’

Kashvi retorted, ‘No. But we’re looking into Viraj’s financial records, so I’m sure we’ll find whatever you’re trying to hide.’

There was a pause, and for a second, she wondered if he’d disconnected. Then he cleared his throat. ‘He did some independent assignments for me.’