Page 42 of One Hellish Wedlock
“Great,” she replied dryly. “I thought Sunny was giving you a daily report card.”
“He is. But I wanted to hear your side.”
Aanya let out a soft laugh. “Feedback is for improvement. Are you planning to launch a grooming academy for women now?”
Reyansh smirked on the other end. “Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know,” she said with deliberate coolness. “Maybe once you get rid of me, you’ll go searching for a‘perfect’woman and train her in advance.”
Silence followed her jab and it lingered just long enough to make her stomach twist.
“You think I’m going to let you go that easily?” he asked, his voice dipping into something dangerous.
“Why not? If it benefits you, you would,” she replied, her tone sharp and unapologetic.
She hadn’t meant to go there, but she couldn’t shake Kyle’s voice from her mind. Kyle had said it point blank:Reyansh never did anything unless it served his interests.That had stuck with her. Because, deep down, Aanya still didn’t understand why he had agreed to marry her in the first place. She had always suspected an ulterior motive. And now, she had reason to believe it.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he barked.
She sighed. “Don’t yell. I’m not saying anything people haven’t already said about you.”
“People?” he echoed, his voice rising again. “Which people, Aanya? Who’s been putting this in your head?”
She hesitated, but his persistence left her no choice.
“Kyle Malhotra,” she said bluntly. “She told me you don’t move a finger unless you get something out of it. So yeah, I assumed one day, if leaving me benefits you, you’d do it without blinking.”
Silence returned between them.
“So should I take that as a yes?” she asked after a pause.
“Don’t judge me based on someone else’s opinion,” he replied coldly. “You’ll have plenty of time to form your ownjudgment once you’re living under my roof. Save your verdict till then.”
Her lips curled into a faint, bitter smile.
“You’rewicked,” she muttered. “You didn’t deny it. You didn’t even try to prove me wrong. You just deflected.Impressive.”
“That’s two judgmental adjectives in one call,” he added.
She chuckled. “Fine. I’ll keep the rest to myself… for now. I’ll wait till I know you in and out.”
“In and out?” he repeated. “Careful how you phrase things, Aanya.”
Heat rushed to her face before she could stop it. Damn him. Of course he’d pick up onthat. Twist it, let it hang in the air just long enough to get under her skin.
She hadn’t meant it that way, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about itthatway.
Her pulse kicked up, embarrassingly fast. Why was she reacting like this? She’d been around confident men who flirted openly, even shamelessly. But none of them had left her feeling this…off-balance.
Like every word out of her mouth was suddenly laced with hidden meaning.
And Reyansh?
He didn’t even need to flirt outright to get under her skin.
That was the worst part.
“You there?” he asked.
