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“Stay out of it, Akka,” he said, the words cold and inflexible. “This is between my bride and me.”
“It’s not what you think, Harsh.”
Rage like he’d never known it swam through his veins. “And what do I think, Raashi?” he asked, his voice dangerously low and soft. “Go ahead,” he urged when she felt silent. “Tell me what I think.”
Raashi swallowed hard, her eyes dropping from his.
“Shall I tell you what I think?”
She blinked rapidly, shaking her head. “Maybe we should-“
“Oh no. No. No. No. Don’t chicken out on me now, Viper.”
“Harsh, don’t do this.” Priyanka’s quiet voice held a noticeable plea in it.
“Have you been banging the old man, Viper?”
The words hung in the air between them. He leaned in closer, his lips an inch from her ear. “Don’t get me wrong, darling. I don’t care if you have. But starting tomorrow, once my thaali is around your neck…It stops. As long as we’re married, fake though it is, no other man will touch you.”
Raashi shivered, her arms going around her waist to hug herself tight.
“Harsh, you have to let me explain.”
“Nope.” He shook his head, making a tsking sound. “I don’t have to do anything. I don’t owe you anything, Viper.”
“Neither do I,” she fired back. “I don’t owe you a fucking explanation either, but I still want to give you one.”
“Why?”
Raashi hesitated, her eyes going wide with an emotion he didn’t recognise. “Because I want to,” she repeated.
“You didn’t want to when I was asking for one.”
Harsh was feeling irrationally rejected by this. His brain acknowledged the sheer absurdity of his feelings, but his heart just didn’t want to listen.
“So, what’s changed, Rash?”
She raised tragic, devastated eyes to his. Too bad he didn’t give a fuck anymore. He didn’t, he insisted to his rebellious heart.
“What’s changed?” he continued to push, rubbing salt into clearly raw wounds.
“Harsh, people are watching.” Priyanka’s worried voice cut through their hushed argument. “Let’s go somewhere private.”
“No need,” he told her, a sardonic smile gracing his lips. “I’m done here, and my darling bride has dinner plans.”
Raashi flinched, stepping away and turning to Priyanka. “Akka, I think it’s better we talk when emotions aren’t as heated as they are right now.”
“Except that you’re getting married in the morning,” Priyanka pointed out. “You guys need to talk now. Tonight is all you have.”
“She’s busy tonight, Akka. Don’t you get it?” Harsh shook his head mockingly. He looked over to where his guards were trying to act like they weren’t listening to every nasty comment going back and forth. “How long for the fucking car to reach us?” he snapped.
“Sir, it’s been waiting for the last ten minutes.” One of the guards pointed behind him. Harsh glared at the car he hadn’t noticed until now. Feeling a little foolish and not enjoying that in addition to everything else, he caught Priyanka’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Priyanka pulled her arm out of his grasp, shaking him off like a badly behaved puppy trying to gnaw on her shoe. “Raashi, do you have a ride home? Is it safe for us to leave you here? Are you comfortable being with that man?”
All questions Harsh should have been asking. All questions he desperately wanted to know the answer to but wouldn’t allow himself to voice.
“I’m okay, Akka. Thank you for asking.”
