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“I won’t let you take him from me…” she repeated.
“The choice of whether I take him from you or we raise him together isyours,” Dev waved a hand out. “While you decide that, I want to meet my son. You promised to make him meet me tonight. I’m calling you out on that.”
“Dev,” Aaryan called out. “You can’t force her to do this. I won’t let you.”
“And you can’t keep my son from me.” Dev tilted his head at Aaryan. “Don’t doubt for a moment that I won’t destroy you or anyone else who stands in my way to Neil. Either you accept my offer, or I will sell all your lands, assets, and your family home to the lowest bidder. I don’t fucking care about the money. Everything that once belonged to your family will all be gone. I will ensure I sell it to someone who will destroy your entire legacy. Your heritage, everything you ache to own again, will be gone. Forever. This is not an empty threat. It’s avow, Aaryan.”
Avantika gasped. She studied her brothers. Shock held them frozen. The Dev she’d been with the last few days had been agreeable, courteous, and caring. This man in front of her, however, was ruthless, cold, and cut-throat. She didn’t doubt for a minute that he… he’d do what he’d declared.
“Also,” Dev tipped his head to the papers lying untouched on the desk, “Once you read the documents, you will know that our entire agreement nullifies if any of you try to separate Neil from me in the future. Hence, think carefully about how you all will proceed.”
God! He’d thought of everything. Dev had backed her into a corner, and as of now, she had zero ideas on how to get herself out of this mess. She glanced at her brothers. They’d been living in shackles, waiting to breathe properly since years because of her and her son. They’d protected them, cared for them, and now they each had a life of their own.
It wasn’t fair to any of them to live in a constant war with Dev, to force his hand and give up all their heritage, when with a single sign on a piece of paper, everything her family owned could belong to them again. Thus, the choice was between giving her brothers the peace they all deserved or going into another long battle with Dev, this time with Neil also involved in it. She thought through everything, her mind going over and over her options.
In the end, there wasn’t much of a choice to be made. She could end this for all their sakes. She could prevent her son from being stuck in a war between her parents, one which he’d find difficult to comprehend and would most likely traumatize him. Neil didn’t deserve that. Her brothers didn’t deserve it either. They all deserved to be free and to live freely.
The only thing she needed to do was to agree to Dev’s terms and sacrifice herself. She only hoped that in taking this irrevocable step, she didn’t lose herself.
* * *
Dev watchedthe faces of the Rajpoot siblings standing in front of him. Avantika looked pale, while Aaryan, Vihaan, and Shaurya looked like they wanted to murder him. This, forcing their hand like this, was never a part of the plan, but his son came first.
His heart ached to see his boy again, to get to know him. For years, he’d wondered what kind of a father he’d be, of having children with Avantika, only to realize she’d borne his son nearly eleven long years ago, and he had never known. Fate had cruelly destroyed his chance at happiness once. But now, he was given a chance again. And he was far too selfish to not grab that opportunity.
“I need an answer, Avantika,” Dev said. “Are you calling Neil or not?”
Her face set in a mutinous expression, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was too mad at her for keeping the truth about Neil from him. He hated that she’d given herself to him so completely and yet remained silent about Neil.
Fuck! If she hadn’t left her phone in the car, if he hadn’t decided to come to the hospital when he had, would she ever have told him about his son? Would he have lived the rest of his life ignorant of the knowledge that he was the father of a beautiful boy? The very thought was heartbreaking.
He waited in silence, staring at Avantika.
She finally took a step forward. “Come with me. I’ll take you to him.”
Her brothers immediately leapt forward in protest.
“You cannot take him home,” Vihaan yelled.
“Avi, you haven’t thought through everything,” Aaryan said. “We have to…”
She held up a hand, shaking her head.
“I am tired of fighting with him and hiding from him,” she said. “You all deserve peace and freedom. Sign those papers, and let’s end this age-old war.”
“What about you?” Shaurya asked. “I know you’ll never leave Neil. So, will you go live with Dev now? For how long?”
“That is between her and me,” Dev cut in.
Avantika glared at Dev, but thankfully remained silent as she walked out of the office. He followed her out through a side door and into a corridor, where she pressed the elevator button.
She faced him. “Are you sure you want to do it like this?”
“Yes.”
“Why? I could introduce you to Neil, and you could come to meet him whenever. I won’t stop you.”
“He’s my son, Avantika. God!” He fisted a hand to his chest. “I already feel so much… Iwillbe a part of his life. Iwillraise him, and hewilllive with me. And Iwillset the world ablaze if anyone tries to separate me from him.”
