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Dev tapped his lips with his index finger. “Hmm. See, I don’t quite believe that. I don’t think you are dating.”
“Am I supposed to care what you think?”
“You should,” he said, his tone cold, lacking any emotion whatsoever. “After all, your dad does want me to consider the idea of marrying you.”
Her shoulders tensed. God! What was her dad thinking? Why would he want to pair her off to such a cold man? Just being alone with Dev Luthra put her on the edge. His mere presence chilled her to the bones.
“Was that before or after he saw Vihaan and me together?” she asked calmly.
“Agreed it was before. But that doesn’t change my intentions.”
She frowned. “What does that even mean?”
“It means that you’re pretending to date Vihaan to avoid marriage to me or anyone else. I can wait until your farce plays out.”
Her stomach fell. How had this man suspected the truth? It made no sense. None. It took every ounce of control she had to maintain a straight face and speak.
“Then you’ll have to wait forever because I willnevermarry you.”
“I don’t want to marryyoueither,” Dev said. “I, however, do need to buy your dad’s company. And he likes me a lot. I also know that he prefers to sell the company to a prospective son in-law. Iwillconvince him to sell the company to me, without the marriage proposition, of course. And since Vihaan finally decided to step out in the open after twelve long years, it means that he wants to buy it too. Or did you not know that?”
Tiya rocked back, dazed by what he’d said. Was it true? Was that why Vihaan had so easily agreed to be her boyfriend? Anger pulsed through her. That lying, deceitful ass-wipe. How dare he not tell her the truth even after she’d asked him for it? He’d just chosen to disappear instead.
And Dev? What was his agenda here? Why had he deliberately sought her out?
“Hmm, silence again?” Dev smirked. “My guess on your fake relationship is proving to be true, indeed.”
Tiya threw him a frosted look. “I’m glad Vihaan wants to buy my dad’s company. I’ll ensure he gets it. At least it will be out of your hands then.”
“I’m not your enemy, Tiya.”
“But you do seem to be theirs.”
The hard mask on Dev’s face dropped for the tiniest of moments. But she’d seen the change in his expression. Only that it had been too quick for her to note much. She was certain however that Vihaan and he had a history—and not a nice one. Vihaan’s reaction on seeing Dev earlier spoke volumes of some of the trauma he was struggling with till date.
“The Rajpoots do have a rather nasty habit of painting me as the villain in their lives…” Dev dismissed with a flick of his hand.
“I’m pretty sure their reasons are valid.” She lifted her shoulder and dropped it. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
She took a step forward, but Dev stepped in her path, blocking her way.
“Are you siding with them because you know about our history? Mine and his? Has Vihaan told you about his family? Have you met them?”
“Of course, I’ve met Aaryan and Shaurya,” she scoffed.
Dev laughed. “You don’t know anything at all, do you?”
Tiya kept quiet. What was he even talking about? She didn’t understand.
“Your silence speaks for itself, Tiya,” Dev commented. “If you and he are for real then he will tell you everything. If he doesn’t then you know where you stand with him. I know Vihaan very well. He’s too free spirited to be tied down to one person, ever. A word of caution. Don’t fall for him. Hewillbreak your heart. Better would be to walk away from all this now.”
Anger rose swift and sharp. How dare he patronize her like this?
“Are you God Almighty?” she snapped. “Can you see the future? Is that how you can predict that Vihaan will break my heart?”
Dev laughed. “Feisty, so feisty, you are. You’re exactly his type.”
“And he’s exactly mine,” Tiya retorted, defending Vihaan, though, right now, she pretty much wanted to throat-punch him for having his own hidden agenda for agreeing to fake date her and then keeping her in the dark about it.
