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“No,”Iwhispered weakly.Myheart couldn’t take whatever was inside that folder. “Idon’t want to know.”Please, anyone butPoppy.Mybutt landed on the chair, andIstarted rocking involuntarily.
Myweary mind tried to find a way out of hearing whateverAxelhad uncovered aboutPoppy, and becauseIwas an emotional cutter,Iredirected his attention to another terrible lane.
“I’drather know aboutJay.Whatdo you have on him?”
Axel’sright eye twitched, giving him away.Iglanced at the folder labeled “JayAmbani” and realized, unlike the rest of the files, it was wafer-thin.
Thefirst bit of satisfaction since starting this conversation coursed through me.Axelhad little or almost nothing onJay.IfAxelkept his records squeaky clean,Jaywas better.Hewas more than even-tempered and cautious.Jaywouldn’t be susceptible toAxel’sschemes or get into bed to do business with someone unless vetting them thoroughly.Hewas vigilant about protecting himself and about protecting us.
Guiltdragged me to the far ends of the ocean at the thought.WhileJayhad done everything to protect our family,Ihad brought this calamity into our lives.
“You’venothing on him, do you?”
“OnlythatIfucked you and could leak this information onInstagramto my fifteen million followers.Howlong do you think it’ll take for the word to reachAmbaniand everyone he knows?Shouldwe take a wager on it?”
Healways had an answer for everything, didn’t he?
“Youtricked me into it.”
“Goodluck selling it to the public that you weretricked,”he used air quotes around the word, “into sex with someone like me.”
Idrew in a ragged breath asAxelscooped up one of the pages that had landed on the floor.Irecognized it as the signature sheet, the only page that needed to be signed to serveJay.
Axelset the page on the desk and pushed a rollerball pen my way. “Signthe paper,Piya.It’sthe only way to save everyone you love.”Hespoke the words in a soft yet resolute tone, his threat explicitly clear.LeaveJayor watchAxeldestroy everyoneIlove, including my husband.
“No,”Ireplied robotically.
“Signthe paper,Piya,”Axelrepeated, this time with an edge.Hiswords were sharp like daggers, threatening to pierce my soul ifIdidn’t comply with his demands.
Iclenched my fists at my side as if holding onto an invisible rope, watching as the world spun around me.Myeyes darted in every which way, desperate for a way out of this.Therewas none.
“Youcan’t continue a marriage while already married to another man; a man you have been intimate with numerous times already.”
Myhair fell limply around my shoulders like a curtain of sorrow, and my body slumped in defeat.Albeitthe consent had been dubious at best, sex with a man outside my marriage was still an extramarital affair.Ifanyone found out about it,Jaywould be ruined.Jay,Poppy, andIwere the faces of a company based on family values.Ifthis got out, his leadership would be called into question.Itwould be humiliating for everyone, worst of all, my daughter.Everyonewould gossip about her andJaynonstop.
Ibrought my trembling hands to clutch my chest for comfort as if it’d ward off the emotional onslaught.Axelhad cornered me like an animal.Therewas nowhere to turn and my husband wasMIA.Therewas no oneIcould go to about this, not without disclosing this dubious affair.
“Thisis the only way to set things right,”Axelcontinued as if he were considering my feelings and offering this solution for my benefit, not his.
“You’recrazy,”Iwhispered. “I’llnever sign that paper.”
“Signthe damn paper.”Hisvoice was low and threatening, like a great storm about to break on the horizon.Hewas running out of patience and loomed over me like a steady brewing storm. “Thereis no point in wasting your breath on a man you don’t love.”
“Ido love him,”Ishouted, unthinking. “Youknow nothing—”
Axelgrabbed my cheeks to cut me off mid-sentence.Hisface hardened, eyes narrowed with rage.Thelast timeIbrought up my love forJay, it ended poorly.
Ino longer cared.Therewas nothingAxelcould do to overturn this truth;Iloved my husband.
Axelwas right,Idid fall in love with him that night on the beach.Ihad relived our memories and mourned losing him.Yearshad passed since; years thatIspent building a family.
Askme whatI’ddo forJayandPoppy.
I’dthrow myself in front of a train ifIthought it’d keep them safe.
Foryears, nothing had been more important to me than those two people, andIwasn’t about to letAxelturn my life into a lie.Axelcould kill me, andIstill wouldn’t take back my love forJay.
Axel’sgrip on my cheeks tightened, his jaw tight with unspoken fury.Hisdark soulless eyes were filled with unyielding fury, piercing my soul.Hewas a force of nature ready to unleash its wrath.
