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“Oh, stop it, both of you,” Vihaan said aloud. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“You are talking about my best friend,” Myra snapped, sitting straighter.
“She knew what she was getting into,” Vihaan retorted. “She needed me to be her fake boyfriend to thwart her parents from matchmaking her with someone else.Shetook the lead in it. It just worked for me as well. We need Jatin Sood to sell his company to us. Shaurya must have updated you on our cement crisis. Me being Tiya’s boyfriend sweetens the deal. And we do happen to be attracted to one another. We are grown adults, and we can do what we want. So, please stop judging.”
“Tiya is not the silent type, Vihaan,” Myra threw back, looking livid. “She will ask questions. Questions for which you don’t have answers to give her. And even if she doesn’t, she’s too smart to not join the dots eventually.”
“She knows where we stand with one another. It’s a fake relationship. A means to an end. I’m not marrying her. She doesn’t need to know the intimate details of my life.”
“But…”
“He’s right, Myra,” Aaryan cut in. “Although I’m not quite happy with this plan, if Tiya knows where they stand with one another, there’s nothing that we can do about it. Vihaan has already taken the step anyway.”
Myra spun her angry gaze at Shaurya. “And you agree with them?”
“I don’t like this one bit,” Shaurya accepted. “But, sweetheart, they are adults. They can do what they want. Besides, Vihaan is helping her as well.”
Myra sighed. “Shit! I still can’t believe Uncle Jatin wanted her to marry Dev Luthra.”
“What...” Avi cleared her throat. “Hewants to marry Tiya?”
Myra slapped a palm on her mouth.
Fuck! Vihaan shoved his hands in his pockets. This was one of the reasons he’d delayed telling his family about the previous night. He’d been worried about how Avi would react to this news.
In the last twelve years, ever sincethatnight, his sister had never once taken Dev’s name. She’d only ever referred to Luthra as he, him or a whole lot of cuss words, but never his name. Of course, Vihaan understood where her anger and her hatred stemmed from; she was, after all, the one who’d been impacted the most by Dev’s betrayal. She’d made them promise never to hurt him, but Vihaan and Aaryan had never understood what exactly she felt for him, if at all. And her reaction to this news was not looking very promising.
“Sorry, Avi,” Myra said. “That kind of slipped out of my mouth.”
Avi’s face hardened. “Why are you apologizing?Hecan marry whoever he wants. Hopefully, he does marry Tiya, so we can all go on and live our lives in peace. Perhaps then he can forget about all of us.”
Dev and Tiya. Even the thought of Tiya with that monster drove a dagger through Vihaan’s chest. She was a nice person and she didn’t deserve to be with someone like Dev.
“Actually, Dev doesn’t want to marry her,” Vihaan revealed. “He’s told Tiya that. But he does want her father’s company. That’s why, it’s imperative that I make this fake relationship with her look real to the world. She doesn’t want to be with him either.”
And Vihaan would never allow Tiya to fall into Dev’s trap. Never. Not on his life.
“It’s already established that you’re attracted to Tiya,” Myra began. “What happens when one of you begins to want more? What if she wants more?”
“Myra, there are no emotions involved in this,” Vihaan said softly. “None of it is real.”
“For both your sakes, I hope that is true,” Myra stated. “I’d hate to see either of you hurt.”
Vihaan knelt in front of Myra. “Don’t worry, please. Jatin Sood was friends with Pritam Luthra. From what I saw yesterday, he’s very fond of Dev too. I need to find out if Jatin Sood was involved in the events of our past. I know you are fond of Tiya’s dad too. But I want to be honest and tell you that I am going to get to the bottom of this.”
Myra gulped. Her face fell. “I’m afraid of what you may find. You know Tiya will hate you if you hurt her dad.”
God! That was the absolute truth and it would be sad if that hellcat hated him because he liked her, he really did. But he was set on his course.
“Then let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Vihaan replied.
“What does that bastard want with you though?” Avi asked.
Vihaan stood and faced her. “I’m pretty sure it has something to do with you. We all know he’s searching for you. Why and for what, we have no clue yet.”
Avi froze for a long second. Her hand shook as she ran it through her hair, the ink on her hand a stark reminder of why he’d fight this battle for her. The swirls of tattooed ink extended all the way up her arm and across a shoulder to base of her throat. Most of the pattern was hidden beneath the long sleeve shirt she was wearing, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
“We won’t let him get to you,” Vihaan told her. “You are safe, and so is Neil.”
