Page 233 of One Hellish Wedlock
“How about you cook every weekend, then?” she teased.
He paused to glance at her, grinning. “Double my reward on weekends and I’ll do it.”
She knew exactly what kind of‘reward’he meant, so she gave his arm a playful swat.
“If I give you triple, will you cook on weekdays too?” she fired back, not one to lose a teasing match.
He tossed the knife onto the board and, without warning, lifted her and sat her on the kitchen counter. Her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist.
“I’m ready.”
She giggled, fingers slipping into his hair.
“Nice haircut,” she murmured.
“I know. Plenty of women said the same.”
Aanya narrowed her eyes and untangled her legs from his waist. “Back to work, Mr. Chopra. I’m starving.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He picked up the knife again. Aanya’s smile faded slightly as she remembered something.
“What did you do to Sunny?” she asked, her voice edged with concern. “Please don’t punish him. I talked him into giving me Shagufta’s address. He only helped me.”
Reyansh focused on his slicing. “Loyalty is everything to me. If someone disobeys orders or goes behind my back, they don’t work with me again.”
Her heart dropped. She rushed to stop his hand mid-slice.
“You fired him?” she gasped, eyes welling up. “He was only helping me.Imade him do it, Reyansh. Please don’t ruin his life because of me.”
He placed the knife down again and cupped her waist, pulling her close.
“He’s still working for me. I didn’t fire him.”
Aanya blinked at him. “But... he broke your rule.”
“He did. But he also told me everything. Sunny knows the line. He crossed it but made sure I knew he had. Technically, he disobeyed and followed orders at the same time.”
She exhaled in relief and gave his chest a light punch.
“Why scare me, then?”
“To remind you. If it happens again, and he becomes your source behind my back, I’ll have no choice. Don’t make me fire a loyal man because of you.”
Her throat tightened. He was serious this time.
“I won’t. I swear.”
“Good.”
The doorbell rang.
“That must be the pasta.” She hopped down and slipped on her sandals. “I’ll get it.”
A few minutes later
“This is delicious,” Aanya said, chewing a spoonful of the salad Reyansh had made. They sat side by side at the dining table, enjoying their dinner.
