But there had been no alternative. He’d requested Janak to keep his inheritance a secret until he was ready, knowing that the moment the truth surfaced, the media would descend, scrutinizing and judging his every move. He hadn’t wanted that kind of attention. Not yet. Not before he was in a position to control the narrative.
Janak had respected his wishes. So had everyone else who knew.
Unfortunately, that had meant Shauna learned the truth at the very last moment. He grimaced. It shouldn’t matter how she felt. She’d been rude, dismissive, and judgmental for far too long. If anything, he should have felt triumphant, satisfied that he’d finally managed to silence her. He felt none of it.
More than once, he’d reached for his phone to call Rhea, her twin, certain she would know how Shauna was doing, but he stopped himself every time. Caring meant weakness, and he refused to admit that he cared about Shauna Sehgal. That he was still drawn to her despite everything.
He had to look to the future, to prove to the world and to himself that he belonged here. That this empire, built by his grandfather and nurtured by Janak, was his to lead.
With that thought anchoring him, he turned away from the window and walked back to his desk. His phone rang, and he smiled when he saw Jiya video calling him.
He answered, and his childhood friend Jiya’s face filled the screen.
“Hi, Jee,” he greeted. “You’re back? How was Paris?”
“Paris was great. But we’re not talking about that,” she said, glaring at him. “I can’t believe I had to find out something this important about you from the news,” Jiya said, her eyes narrowing through the screen. “The news, Akash. You’re one of my oldest friends, and you never once told me you were going to inherit the Sehgal Media empire. How could you not tell me?And don’t even get me started on the fact that Rohan knew. I’m furious with him for keeping this from me.”
“In my defense, it never came up in our conversations, Jiya,” Rohan’s voice cut in smoothly.
Akash smiled as Rohan leaned into the frame from behind Jiya. He was one of Akash’s closest friends. Akash had a close-knit bond with him, just as he did with Nirvaan, Dheer, and Vir. The four of them were bound by a friendship that was as tight as it was unshakable. Yet, he’d never told Nirvaan his truth, all because he was married to Shauna’s twin. He’d asked the others also not to say anything, and even that had been so hard.
“Hi, Akash,” Rohan grinned.
Rohan looked so much more at ease these days. Akash had witnessed firsthand, while interning with him, how Rohan and Jiya had fallen in love and gotten married.
“Hey.” Akash gave him a warm smile. “Marriage suits you.”
Rohan grimaced. “Not when Jiya is mad at me.”
“Right now, I’m mad at both of you,” Jiya said flatly.
Akash gave her a soft smile. “I’m sorry, Jee. It was never my intention to hide anything from you. But you’re her best friend too. Can you honestly say you’d have been able to keep quiet and not tell her even once when Shauna shared her dreams and hopes with you?”
Jiya fell silent.
“And as for Rohan,” Akash continued gently, “Janak and I made him promise never to say a word about my inheritance to anyone. The same went for Aditya, Dev, and everyone else in our circle who knew. So please… don’t be mad at him. You know Nirvaan is my friend too, and I never told him, because he’d never be able to keep this from Rhea. I didn’t want to put him in a difficult position.” He sighed. “I spoke to him, and he understood why it had to be done this way. I hope you will too.”
He further explained why he’d needed to keep this hidden for so long.
“Fine,” Jiya finally said. “I understand, and I’m so happy for you. I’m sure you will be incredibly successful. I have faith in you…”
She hesitated, her expression shifting.
Akash frowned. “What is it, Jee?”
“Shauna isn’t in a good place, Akash,” Jiya said quietly. “I met her last night. I hope you know that she’s in Delhi, staying at their farmhouse there. She’s hurt. Really hurt. This past week, she’d been replying to my texts with short, clipped answers. I felt something was off, but then I thought maybe she was busy with work. And then your news broke, and I realized she thought I knew and had chosen not to tell her. Shauna wouldn’t take my calls, so I called Rhea to check on her. That’s when I learned she’d been in Delhi for a week, and she hadn’t even told me. I went to meet her. I had to really convince her that I too had been blindsided by this. I know there’s nothing you can do about it, especially given your difficult history with her. And I understand your reasons for keeping quiet about this. But you and Janak never stopped to consider how this would impact her.” Her gaze softened. “And that… wasn’t fair to her.”
Akash’s grip tightened around his phone. “I never meant for it to hurt her like this. Nor did Janak. But some outcomes are unavoidable, no matter what you do.”
His gaze dropped to the laptop screen just as a new email appeared.
From: Shauna Sehgal
Subject: Resignation
Akash stared at the screen in disbelief, his eyes racing over the words. In the background, Jiya was calling his name.
He looked at his phone screen. “Sorry, Jiya. Can I call you back? Something has come up.”
