Page 52 of Twisted Alliance

Ishani had forgotten that her father-in-law had a meeting with the trust board. He had told her the previous day during dinner.

Thanking Malathi, she went back to the suite. She didn’t feel like spending time in the garden or playing the bin. Her mind was too upset and worried.

A thought occurred to her as she paced around the empty suite restlessly. She rushed out of the suite without taking too long to think it over.

She went up the stairs to the topmost floor and rushed into the office. Immediately, she knocked on the door even when she heard the familiar deep voice speaking on the phone.

She had avoided him since the last time she went into his office three days ago. She hadn’t dared to be around him after he left her pleasured and shaken. Her mind was still trying to process what had happened.

But right then, her mind was too worried about her mother to think of the discomfort she would feel facing the man who pleasured her in a forbidden manner on his office desk.

“Give me a minute,” he told someone on the phone. She didn’t hear any footsteps, but a moment later, the office door opened.

He saw her, and his expression remained unreadable. But a moment later, there was the barest of frowns on his forehead.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I-I want to visit my home.”

He knew she meant Gujjar mansion.

“I would like to go now,” she said. “I’ll be back by tomorrow evening.” The journey would be long, and she would only spend half a day with her mother, but she wanted to spend any time she could with her mother.

“No.”

His single-word response made her angry.

“You have no right to stop me!” she shouted. “Your father would have allowed me to go. Since he isn’t there, I asked you!”

He watched her. She realized she had shouted at him, possibly making him angry.

She took a step closer, even though she was intimidated by his presence. “Please, let me go,” she appealed. “I will be back by tomorrow.”

He stayed silent for a long moment with his eyes trained on her. “I’ll go with you. Let me know when you want to leave.”

She was shocked. But right then, she didn’t want to think about why he was accompanying her.

“I’ll be ready to leave in an hour,” she said hurriedly. “I’ll ask Malathi to help me pack.”

He nodded. “I’ll be downstairs. Come down when you are ready.”

She felt strange listening to him being reasonable and not demanding or scary. She was still afraid of him and knew he was a ruthless fraud, but right then, he seemed like a considerate husband. Not wanting to analyze too much, she hurried to pack her clothes.

Less than an hour later, she went down the mansion steps. She expected to see a small army of men as security going along with them in the SUV, but she was surprised when she just saw Shivay Thakvar standing next to the jeep. The security stood at a distance in other SUVs.

“Ready?” he asked.

When she nodded, he took the bag from her hands and placed it in the back seat of the SUV.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

When he sat in the driver’s seat, she sat next to him in the front passenger seat. She sneaked a look at him. He was wearing sunglasses and looking ahead. As usual, she couldn’t read anything on his face.

Soon, the vehicle began moving. She realized she hadn’t notified her brother or anyone at her household about her arrival, but it didn’t matter. All she wanted was to check on her mother and spend some time with her.

***

The ride was mostly silent. Soft classical music played inside the SUV, but there was no conversation.

---