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Dev put his hands in his pockets and looked at the crashing waves in the distance. “Have Aaryan and Vihaan sent you to ask me to leave?”
“I know they want you to leave. Unfortunately, their hands are tied because of their love for your son.”
Dev gave him a sidelong glance. “Why are you here then?”
“For their sake, and mainly, for Avi and Neil’s sake,” Rajiv said.
“I don’t want another lecture.”
“Do you know that Aaryan and Vihaan wanted to kill you for what you did that night?”
His heart pinched, but he didn’t show any reaction to the man standing in front of him. “Why didn’t they then? They’ve been in hiding. I haven’t.”
“It could have been so easy, you know. They could have done it themselves, or they only had to make one call to me, and I could have arranged it. Hell, I would have enjoyed planning your end for what you put all of them through.”
Dev looked him in the eye. “What stopped you all?”
Rajiv turned around to look into the house. Dev followed his gaze.
“She did,” Rajiv said, watching Avi.
His own eyes latched on her. She was standing in the corner, fiddling with her phone, biting her lower lip, and looking all alone, even amidst her family. Her brothers were hurting, but so was she, and it was all because she’d let him into her life. Her eyes lifted and crashed with his.
“Avantika made them promise a long time ago to let you live, and so you have,” Rajiv continued. “That’s why I’m going to issue you a warning. Hurt her now or break her trust, and this time, I will end you.”
“Thanks, warning delivered. Can I be left alone now?”
“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Avantika joined them on the patio, her tone cheerful. Only Dev could see how hollow her eyes were.
Rajiv gave her a smile. “I’m going inside.”
As soon as Rajiv left, Avantika said, “Let’s go for a walk.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, she walked ahead of him down the sandy shore. He caught up to her in a few strides. She strode to the left, toward the last villa in this quartet of houses.
“You haven’t made up with your brothers?” he asked.
“I don’t think they will forgive me as long as you’re staying in my house.” She clucked her tongue. “I mean, the least they can do is trust me, right? I trusted them when Shaurya wanted to bring Myra into our lives. Same for Vihaan and Tiya. And Aaryan? I accepted Sanjana—your sister—because he trusted her.”
His heartbeat escalated. “Are you saying that you trust me?”
She arched a brow. “Do you still need to ask? You are living with me in my house. You have full access to my son.”
“I need to hear the words, Avantika…”
Climbing the patio steps of the last house, she entered a code on the wall and pushed the sliding door open. He followed her inside the house, which clearly belonged to her. The home was done in hues of grey, off-white, and dark blue. A football was lying in a corner. He could see a set of skis resting on the foyer wall. He knew now that Neil was learning to ski at Snow World in Dubai. Dev had watched him during his ski classes and his son was a natural.
His eyes ran over the house. An entire wall to one side of the dining table was filled with black and white photos of Neil and Avantika with various members of their family.
She spread her hands. “You’re here in my other home. Now, you know where I live and where to find me. I’m giving you what you’ve wanted from the beginning. You want the words, then listen carefully. This is me, trusting you with everything.”
His heart began to beat faster.
She continued, “Do you think it’s been easy for me to welcome you into my life? Into Neil’s? Yes, I saw a different side of you when we were in London. Then too, it was too soon for me to put my complete trust in you. But now I have. I want to see things from your perspective. Talk to me, Dev. Tell me everything. Let us end this war once and for all. I want peace with my brothers. I want my heart and mind to be at peace with you.”
She took one step forward and then another until she had her arms wrapped around him. Her warm, familiar scent—lavender and vanilla—washed over him, and his pulse skidded.
“What do you want, Avantika?” he asked.
