“Neither have I.” He didn’t even look up as he opened his laptop.
Aanya groaned, then took a breath.
“Okay, fine. One last offer. I’ll do anything you say if you agree to this deal with my father. Anything. Deal?”
Reyansh slowly raised his head, leaning back in his chair. “Now you’re talking.”
Really? Aanya had no idea why he had said that. What exactly he expected from her in return. A dozen reckless, dangerous possibilities flashed through her mind, each one enough to bring heat crawling up her neck and staining her cheeks crimson. But then came the sting of memory...how easily he had discarded her after their so-called marriage, how deliberately he had detached himself from any responsibility toward her.
He had no right.
Not anymore.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice sharper now, cutting through the thick silence.
“Means—” he began, rising from his chair and sauntered toward her, enjoying every second of her unease. She could see the smug satisfaction in his eyes. He was enjoying this far too much.
“For the next few days, until you disappear back to wherever it is you came from,” he said with maddening calm, “you’ll follow every single thing I say.”
He ended his proposition with a polished, professional and soulless smile, that felt more like a threat than a grin. And it terrified her.
Aanya got back in her defensive mode.
“Are you insane? You want me to be your slave?”
He shrugged. “Kind of. In exchange for the deal.”
“No, thank you, Mr. Chopra. I’m not some puppet. Aanya Malhotra doesn’t take orders. I’m not yours to command.”
He sighed. “Alright. Let your father know my decision stands. The deal isn’t happening, and I’m sure he’ll understand why.”
Aanya groaned in fury, snatched her purse off the chair, and stormed toward the exit. Reyansh watched her silently, arms folded, eyes narrowed—not stopping her, not calling her back. He didn’t need to. She’d come around. Maybe not today, but soon. Because deep down, she knew this was the only way. The only way she could get what she wanted. And the only way he could ensure she stayed under his roof, at least until Radhika returned to India.
She halted at the door and spun around, fire flashing in her gaze.
“You are the meanest man I’ve ever had the misfortune of knowing, Mr. Reyansh Chopra,” she hissed. “But karma’s real. And it doesn’t forget.”
With that, she stormed out, leaving behind nothing but the echo of her defiance.
Reyansh rolled his eyes with a smirk and muttered, “Whatever,” perfectly mimicking her tone from earlier, then returned to his desk without missing a beat.
It had been their first real conversation in months...completely raw, messy, and full of sparks. He never expected she’d make him laugh, but damn… she had. He had always pegged her as a spoiled, impossible brat. But the womanwho stood in his cabin today? She had bite. She had wit. And she had a dangerously sharp sense of humour that could disarm anyone…includinghim.
Radhika would adore her. Of that, he had no doubt.
Singh’s Residence
Aanya recounted every detail of her conversation with Reyansh to Navya, who listened in utter disbelief.
“I... I don’t know what to say. I don’t support it either,” Navya admitted, brows furrowed. “God knows what he plans to do with you under such a ridiculous condition.”
“Exactly, Navya! What if he makes me cook for him? Or clean his bed? Or worse…” Aanya shuddered in mock horror, “what if he expects me to warm his damn bed every night?”
Navya burst into laughter at Aanya’s wide-eyed expression of terror.
“Relax. He’s not interested in you. Trust me,” she said between giggles.
Aanya’s eyes narrowed instantly.