“You mean they want to control me,” Akash snapped, his anger threatening to boil over. All his life, he’d trained, worked hard, and done everything possible to be worthy of his inheritance, and now he was being dismissed without even being given a chance.
Janak studied him. “I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I may have a solution.”
Akash’s eyes sharpened. “What?”
Janak’s voice remained even. “You marry Shauna.”
“WHAT?” For a second, Akash thought he’d misheard. He blinked, shaking his head. Surely, Janak hadn’t proposed what he thought he had.
“I’m sorry… what?” he said again, slower this time.
Janak didn’t blink. “You marry her. It ties you formally to the Sehgal name. It reassures the board, stabilizes their perception, and ends the uncertainty.”
Akash’s chest tightened. “You’re talking about marriage like it’s?—”
“—a merger,” Janak finished quietly. “In this case, it would be both.”
Akash let out a short, incredulous breath. “This is insane.”
“It is practical, actually,” Janak said. “And it is the fastest way to shut Suveer Malhotra’s mouth.”
Akash took a step forward. “You can’t just… Janak, she hates me. Even more now that I’ve taken away her dream.”
“Yet, she is still working for you,” Janak’s eyes remained steady. “Shauna is hurt. And angry. But she is also intelligent. She understands leverage. And she understands the business.”
In the last week, Shauna had continued to work from home, though he still wasn’t certain she had truly changed her mind about leaving. But that didn’t mean she’d be open to marrying him. Fuck. Even saying the wordsmarryandShaunain the same sentence felt like he was in an alternate universe.
His jaw clenched. “And what about Shauna? Why would she agree? What does she get out of this?”
“She stays and runs this beside you, like she’s always wanted,” Janak said simply.
Akash stared at him. “I’m not marrying her to appease the board. It’s wrong.”
Janak’s voice softened. “I’m giving you a solution that will shut the board up one hundred percent.”
Before Akash could respond, Janak took out his phone and tapped on it. Immediately, there was a knock on the door, and Shauna walked inside.
Akash froze. “You called her?”
Janak’s expression didn’t change. “Yes. She needs to listen to this too.”
“Listen to what?” Shauna asked. “Why am I here?”
Akash’s pulse thudded once, hard. Fuck. He couldn’t believe Janak was proposing a marriage between him and Shauna. It was unreal, impossible, and unimaginable.
Janak gestured to a chair. “Sit, Shauna.”
She flipped her hair over her shoulders and took a seat, looking poised and regal, like a queen. The only hint of emotion lay in her eyes. They were cool, icy, and edged with hurt.
Akash remained standing while Janak sat beside her.
“How are you?” Janak asked.
Her lips tightened. “Fine.”
Janak tilted his head. “It’s been three weeks since you’ve spoken to anyone in the family properly. We’re all worried about you.”
“You all should have considered that before you decided to keep me out of the loop when it wasmyfuture at stake.”
