“No idea.” He gave a small shrug.
She focused back on her grandfather.
“You see, more than five years ago,” he began, “I watched them meet for the very first time, right here at this hotel during Sheena’s wedding, and I saw the sparks fly.” He looked at Shauna. “But I knew it wasn’t their time yet. There were too many obstacles in their path, and the road ahead wasn’t going to be easy. Akash hadn’t even known about his inheritance then, and I couldn’t tell him because of the conditions placed in the will by his grandfather. Still, after the wedding, they returned to London, and despite me knowing it wasn’t their time, they grew close. Shauna let it slip during our phone calls that Akash had become a part of their circle, and I knew… if they kept walking that path, it would only lead to heartbreak. For both of them.”
From beside her Shauna could see Akash frowning. He looked as confused as she felt. Where was all this going? And how had her grandfather known what they’d felt for each other all those years back?
Her grandfather looked at both of them. “However, a few months later, at Keya’s wedding, Akash overheard Keya and me discussing his inheritance. He realized that what was meant for him would stand in the way of Shauna’s dream of running Sehgal Media. So he returned to London and put distance between them. And that was the beginning of their war.” He shook his head. “Years passed, and we all watched them circle each other, hiding behind arguments, dislike, and constant conflict. To the world, it looked like they couldn’t stand each other. But we all knew better. There was always something more beneath it.”
“Absolutely,” Vir said. “I knew it all along.”
“Tell me about it,” Aditya said dryly. “Sabrina and I witnessed everything firsthand.”
“And yet you didn’t think to tell us about their night in Singapore,” Keya shot back, raising a brow.
From beside Shauna, Akash muttered a curse under his breath. “Fuck… does everyone know about that night now?”
“Gossip never stays with one person in this group,” Kabier said, laughing.
Nirvaan, who was standing closest to them, said, “Looks like your secret is all out in the open.”
Shauna didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Her mind was still reeling, trying to make sense of everything happening here.
“Anyway,” her grandfather continued. “After years, Akash was ready to take over his inheritance, and I knew that it would hurt my Shauna. So I did what I could to get them together, standing right here in front of you all as a happily married couple in love.” He smiled as he looked at her. “The easiest solution for Sehgal Media had always been the two of them running it together. But if I had suggested that at the time, they both would have done the exact opposite. So I changed tactics. I roped in my dear friend, Suveer Malhotra, to help. And he was pivotal to this plan. He’s the reason we’re all standing here celebrating Akash and Shauna.”
Shauna’s heart lurched as she began to piece everything together.
“Fuck,” Akash swore again. He addressed Janak. “So the board never had to be convinced? It was all a ploy to get us together?”
Janak arched a brow. “I trained you personally to take up the reins of Sehgal Media. If I said you were ready, it meant you were ready. No one would dare defy me.”
“Especially not me,” Suveer Malhotra added from the side. He looked at Akash. “Janak’s one of my oldest friends. There was a time when your late grandfather, Dhiraj, Janak, and I were inseparable. Dhiraj must be proud of Janak and me today.”
Shauna’s mind spun as her entire perspective shifted and realigned.
Her heart swelled as the truth settled in. Her grandfather had always known her. Her heart, her dreams, her deepest desires. And he’d ensured she got everything she’d ever wanted. The man she loved. And the chance to build the life she had always dreamed of… with him. With Akash.
She’d thought her grandfather had been unfair to her, that he had sided with Akash, when all along he’d been on her side, working in the background, nudging her, pushing her, and conspiring to bring her and Akash together.
Her eyes stung. She ran to her grandfather and wrapped her arms around him.
“You are the gift that always keeps giving, and I am so grateful to you. You made me see the light when I was trying so hard not to see it. You showed me the path I was always meant to walk on. By presenting the contract marriage, you showed us how we could work together, how we could be together, and along the way, we found our way back to each other. I don’t know how to thank you for that.”
He kissed her forehead. “My dear girl. Watching you and Akash fall in love with each other again has given me the greatest joy.”
Akash approached them. He, too, gave her grandfather a hug. “Thank you for knowing my heart. Everything I am is because of you.”
Janak gripped his shoulder. “You are the very best, and I am proud of you. Both of you.”
Akash cleared his throat and took the mic from him, addressing the crowd. “I suppose it now makes sense that none of you opposed the marriage even once.”
“Of course,” Sameer said. “After Rhea found out that you two had agreed to a contract marriage, she came to us and insisted that we let you do it.”
“I saw you both together that night when you announced your engagement to Jiya and me,” Rhea added. “And I knew we had to allow this to happen. We had to give you space and let this play out. And see, here we are.”
Shauna’s eyes found her twin, who gave her a beaming smile. Rhea was truly the other half of her soul. She loved her so much.
“What I didn’t understand,” Keya added, “was why Janak would propose a contract marriage between you two when he’s the one who’s nudged all of us toward finding love with the right person. So, before you announced your engagement to us, Shauna’s parents, Kabier, Sameer, Raashi, Rishi, Mehak, and I confronted Janak, and he finally told us everything—his entire plan.”
