Page 56 of Twisted Deceit
There was silence on the other end for a long moment. “You were fast asleep, and I had to leave quite early.”
“Where are you?” she demanded. She was feeling a strange anxiety about him being away from her.
“I’m working on getting the images processed.” She knew it had to be the ones they obtained from the European palace.
She simmered down a bit. “What did you find? Any luck?”
A moment of silence later, he said, “Yes, we found the painting of Shakti. Not a full one, but the artist had to have seen her after she was taken from Singoor.”
Tears formed in her eyes as she felt incomprehensible joy. Just the thought that the Goddess was out there waiting to be found, gave her immense strength. “Thank you,” she sobbed. “Can—can I see her painting?”
“Yes. We could not have gotten the footage if it weren’t for you.”
“I—I forgive you for tricking me into marrying you.” The words that rolled off her lips shocked her. “And I’m sorry I doubted your intentions.”
“Aadhya, don’t—”
She didn’t let him finish. “I want to help in any way possible. My aunt told me that was my father’s dream. To bring peace to this land and do what’s best for the people.”
“You have no idea how much you’ve helped already. But if you are up for it, you can go with me to meet the Jodha clan and their allies. Only if,” he paused like he wanted her to process his words.
“I want to go,” she said and added, “only if, what?”
She heard him let out a laugh. “Only if you tell me why you spied on me last night.”
Her heart flipped in her chest and her breath was ragged suddenly. She thought momentarily, debating if she should tell him the real reason. “What do you mean spied on you? Just because I used your office?”
He wasn’t buying it, and she knew from how he chuckled. “Remember, Mrs. Aadhya Kanwar, I have access to video and audio footage from my office.”
Shit! How could she forget about that?
“I—I was curious.”
“About?” He was quick to respond.
Her palms had turned sweaty. “You. I had looked up NakulThakurbut never you. So I wanted to see what I could find.”
“Whatdidyou find?” He was taunting her, and she knew it.
She had to cut to the chase. “I wanted to know what you did when you weren’t with me.”
He laughed. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“If you were around for me to ask, I would.” She was annoyed at that point and hoped her tone would stray from what he was probing into.
“Fair enough.” A moment of silence later, he asked, “What did you find about me?”
At that point, it was confirmed he knew everything, including the picture she found of him with the cheerleaders. “That you were famous with the women in college.” Her words were lathered in jealousy.
“Indeed, I was named Most Valuable Player for four years straight in college.”
“Great.” She rolled her eyes, still salty about the picture. She was annoyed by her reaction to the picture.
“What did you think of my picture on my university’s alumni page?”
She looked up at the ceiling. There was no hiding anything from this man. “I have nothing to say.”
He laughed but did not say anything more. “I’ll see you in the evening.”
