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He was angry with everyone, but mostly, he was angry with himself for breaking her heart. He settled in his office and had barely flipped his laptop open when his siblings entered, all of them sporting somber expressions.
“Aaryan, you’re back?!” Vihaan exclaimed on seeing his twin.
“I heard you’ve been yelling at everyone in office.” Aaryan leaned against the wall. “And here I thought I was the grumpy twin.”
“I’m allowed a few bad days.” Vihaan’s lips pursed. “Anyway, what do you all want?”
“You know, Vihaan,” Avi began. “You’ve always portrayed this bad boy image, the one that shows to the world that you’re cool and you don’t care much, when in fact the opposite is true. You care the most, and thus, I find it hard to believe that you’d hurt Tiya so awfully.”
Pain lanced through his heart. But he pushed it aside to ask, “Have you spoken to her? How is she?”
“After what you did, do you really deserve to know anything about her?” Shaurya gave him a dark look. “If you never wanted her then why be with her? You could have ended it the moment you learned that her dad’s company was no longer an option for us. Was she just a game to you?”
Despair gnawed at his insides. Tiya was not a game…she was everything to him.
Aaryan neared. “Why do you look so stricken? From what I heard, you spoke a lot of vile and hateful things about her, to Dev Luthra of all the people. You ought to be happy that she’s left you. Isn’t that what you wanted? Why do you care now if she’s hurting?”
“Whyhim?” Avi asked. “I just don’t get it. None of us do. You hate him as much as we do and yet you told him such cruel things about her.”
Vihaan remained silent.
“I suppose you ought to be happy that Dev Luthra is marrying her now...” Aaryan taunted.
Vihaan shot out of his chair. “What the fuck? I’ll kill him. I swear to God, I’ll kill him if he goes anywhere near her.”
“Why do you care who she marries?” Aaryan arched a brow. “You don’t want her. You don’t love her. So, what if she marries Dev? How does it impact you in any way?”
Vihaan pressed a hand to his pounding head. A defeated sigh left his mouth. He couldn’t understand why Dev wanted to marry Tiya. It made no sense at all. And why would Tiya agree to it? She’d expressed enough dislike for Luthra right from the beginning. And she knew Vihaan’s history with him. Why would she agree to this then? Had she never felt anything at all for him?
“I love her, Aaryan,” Vihaan said softly. “I won’t allow her to marry that evil bastard. Fuck! I knew his word meant shit. I knew he had no honor. I should have never accepted his dare.”
His siblings exchanged a look.
“Good.” Aaryan casually dropped onto the sofa. “At least you’ve accepted the fact that you’re in love with her, one which we all knew by the way. We were only waiting for you to say it out loud. Now explain what he dared you to do and why. Oh, and by the way, I made that part up about Dev wanting to marry her.”
“What?” Vihaan’s mouth fell open. “You made that up?”
“You’re my twin. Our souls have been connected since birth,” Aaryan said. “I know when you’re hurting. I know when you’re in pain. And I most certainly know when you’re hiding something from me. This was my way of ensuring you accepted your true feelings. When Shaurya called me to tell me what had happened between Tiya and you, I couldn’t believe you’d hurt her like that unless there was a damn good reason for doing so.”
“Now explain everything and leave nothing out,” Shaurya added.
Vihaan raked a hand down his face. His siblings were all watching him, waiting for him to explain, and so he did. He told them everything about the bet with Dev. About how he’d never expected to fall for Tiya and yet he’d fallen for her.
“You bloody idiot,” Aaryan shot out, after Vihaan was done. “Your gentle heart has always been your undoing. Do you think I want our assets back at the cost of your happiness?”
“When you told us you were incapable of giving Tiya more, I assumed you were afraid to commit to her,” Shaurya said. “I never imagined that you were sacrificing your own happiness for ours, brother.”
“I don’t even know what to say to you.” Avi looked up at Vihaan, her eyes pooling. “You did this for me. To ensure I, and my son, were safe forever fromhim. That we didn’t need to live in fear anymore.”
“I’d do anything to ensure Neil and you are safe,” Vihaan whispered. He looked at Shaurya. “I’d do anything to ensure your child is safe. I know Myra and you have been worried about the future of your baby. This was my way of ensuring that the baby is born in a world without our enemy in it.”
Shaurya cleared his throat. He tried to speak, but shook his head instead, his emotions all over his face.
Avi gave Vihaan a soft smile. “Do you think I’d be able to live happily knowing that my brother gave up his love for me? How do you think I’d feel watching you feel miserable day in and day out?”
“There was no choice, Avi…”
“There’s always a choice, brother,” Shaurya said. “I’ve seen you the last weeks with Tiya. You’ve been happy and free. Like she’s the one who calmed all that turmoil that was always swirling under your skin. Vihaan, you don’t get to choose to destroy your happiness over ours. I won’t let you.”
