Page 42 of Since You Stole My Heart

Siya continued, her gaze dropping to the floor. ‘He made it sound like everything we had built would collapse, and I would be the reason why. So I gave it to him.’

‘He was playing you! Didn’t you see that?’ Kashvi protested.

‘I realise that now, when it’s too late. But I wasn’t careless about it. I made him promise he would never touch your share of the money. Not for any reason.’

Kashvi’s voice came out harsher than she intended. ‘But you sacrificed your share!’

Siya fidgeted with the ring on her finger. ‘I did what I had to do. He said he was looking at other ways to survive, including your trust fund. I wasn’t going to let him take everything from you too.’

Kashvi could only stare at her, unable to escape the simple, unbearable truth that Siya had given up everything for her. It pressed against her throat until it became difficult to breathe.

‘That’s exactly the problem, Di. You keep acting like it’s your responsibility to fix everything for me.’

Siya let out a strained breath. ‘I was only making sure you wouldn’t have to deal with something like this too.’

‘That’s the same thing. You decide what I can handle, what I can’t, what I should be protected from, and you never stop to ask if I even want that.’

‘I don’t care if you think I’m overbearing or emotional. When it comes to protecting you, there is no wrong choice for me.’

‘You don’t understand!’ Kashvi said, her voice turning frantic. ‘I don’t want you to keep losing things because of me.’

Confusion flickered across Siya’s face. ‘You make it sound like I’ve lost a lot because of you.’

You have.

Abhay stepped closer, coming to stand just behind Siya. His hand rested lightly against her back. ‘Kashu, Siya did that because she cares about you more than anything.’

Kashvi turned to him, frustrated. ‘That doesn’t make it the right choice. And it’s still not working, is it?’

Dhruv, who had been quiet until then, pushed himself away from the wall. ‘It was never supposed to. Since Siya rejected her share, she never learned about the marriage criteria. Now he gets your share too.’

‘Wait,’ Kashvi cut in, her eyes widening. ‘If he gets my share… does that mean he gets to keep my chairmanship too?’

‘I don’t know,’ Siya admitted after a moment. ‘Piyush didn’t say anything about that.’

That couldn’t happen.

‘Don’t you still have one more envelope to open?’ Luv said, pointing towards the thin brown envelope beneath the stack of strewn papers.

Dhruv, standing closest, hesitated before picking it up. He tore the envelope open and unfolded the pages, scanning through them.

He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over his face before looking up at them. ‘This is… his proposal to dissolve the foundation, tear it down, and sell the land to a residential development group.’

Siya swore under her breath and snatched the stack from him, flipping through page after page. ‘He’s outlined the liquidation of assets and plans to send the children and elders in our care to different institutions.’

Kashvi dug her nails into her palm. ‘He can’t just…’ she muttered under her breath.

Something inside her recoiled at the thought of how easily her father could shatter the fragile stability those people had built.

‘It’s already been approved. The dissolution date is set for the day after your birthday,’ Dhruv said as gently as he could.

The ground seemed to shift beneath her feet.

It was happening. Her worst fears were coming true.

Abhay placed a steady hand on her shoulder. ‘Kashu, there are ways to stop this. There have to be legal protections.’

‘Yes,’ Siya said immediately, clasping her hands tightly together. ‘We’ll stall it, block the sale, and challenge him in court. I don’t care how long it takes. We’re not letting him take this too. I promise.’