Page 98 of Since You Stole My Heart

‘I’m expecting a proper toast from you too,’ Lavanya insisted, pointing a finger at him.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, because if I start talking about how much I love you, everyone will be stuck here all night. I don’t think anyone wants that.’

Lavanya giggled, tilting her head down to hide her blush, then waved at them. ‘Come on, hurry up.’

Kashvi watched Lavanya leave with a heavy heart because she had failed to see through Viraj’s lovestruck act and the way he manoeuvred out of giving the speech.

And if he could manipulate them so effortlessly over something so small, what hope did she have of them seeing the truth?

‘God bless her, she’s too trusting and innocent for her own good,’ Viraj said, still looking at the door.

The lack of remorse in his voice astounded her. ‘Is that why you’re destroying her life?’

‘I’m saving her. There are worse men than me out there,’ Viraj admonished with a glare. ‘You really should think twicebefore you decide to open your mouth and act like a righteous little victim, because if you do, you’ll ruin a lot of lives.’

A hollow ache settled in her chest, and everything felt distant and muffled as she asked, ‘How am I supposed to be sure you’ll delete my pictures if I do what you say?’

‘First, you’ll have to earn my trust and make Swayam agree to get engaged to Aisha. Once that’s done, and I get what I’m owed, I’ll come to you and we’ll talk about my grand plans for you.’

His leering eyes made her skin crawl. ‘Fuck you and your grand plans.’

‘I love it when you fight, but don’t worry, I’ll beat it out of you,’ he murmured, low and rough.

Kashvi could not trust her voice not to betray how scared she was, so she stayed silent.

Viraj stepped back with a flourish, and with one last wink at her, he walked out of the balcony.

Kashvi knew she had to go home so she could talk to someone who could help her deal with this before it destroyed everything her family had painstakingly built, but she could not move her feet. She stayed paralysed in place.

She felt hollow and emotionally drained.

Viraj was not just dangerous and manipulative, he also knew how to make sure no one else would ever see it.

She knew that to expose him, she would have to fight against the loyalty Swayam had for his cousin, a loyalty that ran deeper than anything she could compete with.

A shudder ran through her as she tucked her mangalsutra inside the collar of her kurti, out of sight. The thought of Swayam believing her suddenly felt fragile and far-fetched.

Chapter 19

Kashvi could barely wrap her head around how her life had spiralled out of control in a matter of hours.

She stepped out of the balcony to find a cluster of people gathered together, their attention fixed on Swayam, who stood in the middle of the room. He was looking around as though searching, and when their eyes met, he smiled.

Lavanya appeared at her side, tugging her forward. ‘Come on, girl.’

She stopped next to Viraj, and Kashvi shifted just enough to keep some distance between them. Still, she could feel him like a shadow at the edge of her vision.

Swayam clapped his hands once, and the chatter in the room gradually died down. ‘Thank you, everyone, for being here tonight. Welcome to the engagement party of Lavanya and Viraj.’

Viraj stepped closer to Lavanya, his hand coming up to cup her face as he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

A few whistles broke out, followed by laughter.

Lavanya smiled, her eyes bright with affection and completely unguarded.

Kashvi tamped down the urge to scream at her to see how dead Viraj’s eyes really looked beneath that easy display of affection and calculated charm.

Swayam spoke again, ‘I feel like I should start with the disclaimer that Viraj very casually informed me twenty minutes ago that I’m his best man while I was trying to balance two suitcases on my head. So, I’d love to take this chance to publicly expose what a pain in my ass my cousin has been for all my life.’