Page 62 of Twisted Alliance

“Ishani, come and meet Rishab. Rishab, this is Ishani, Shivay’s wife.”

The younger man smiled at her, flashing his dimples. “So nice to finally meet you, Ishani.”

Even as she returned the smile under her veil, she recalled the name. Rishab and Nakul were her husband’s business partners. She had heard their names when she was spying in the home office.

Why was Shivay Thakvar’s business partner in Singoor? Wouldn’t that expose his ruthless intentions to drill oil in the desert?

She was shocked by the new development.

Neither Mihir Thakvar nor Shivay Thakvar mentioned anything else about the guest.

But slowly, she noticed something else. She could see a noted resemblance between the guest and Shivay. Both men also had the same defined jawline structure that resembled Mihir Thakvar’s. Was Rishab related to Shivay? A cousin or a relative?

A bolt of uncertainty passed through her.

What if her devil husband was not a fraud? What if he was truly the heir of Mihir Thakvar?

And if he was, then why did he not come to visit his father until recently?

There were so many questions that she had no answers to right then.

“Ishani has been helping me manage the trust and other organizations,” Mihir Thakvar said affectionately.

She smiled at hearing his kind words. “I enjoy it, Papa.”

She had been spending a considerable amount of time during the day going through the accounts and helping her father-in-law with the timely decisions needed to be taken for the charitable organizations he headed.

“And she also plays the bin musical instrument beautifully. It’s like listening to the gods play.”

Ishani’s cheeks heated with pleasure at her father-in-law’s words.

“Thank you so much, Papa. I’m glad you enjoy the music.”

“Beauty and brains. You are quite lucky, Shivay,” the guest said with a smile.

Before she could say anything, her devil husband watched her with an unreadable look.

“Yeah, quite the deadly combination,” he remarked.

Her cheeks heated further in anger at his statement. He was calling her deadly because he thought she was behind all the attacks on him and was dangerous to him.

But the guest and her father-in-law didn’t seem to register her devilish husband’s subtle mockery. They continued to smile warmly at her.

Soon, they were all called for lunch. She noticed that a special feast had been prepared on the occasion of having a guest.

Why wasn’t I told?

She had always taken charge of the meal preparations at the Gujjar mansion and acted as the hostess on behalf of her brother when he invited guests. But she hadn’t done the same at the Thakvar mansion.

No one had stopped her from entering the kitchen and taking control. And since her father-in-law was also not the kind to expect or impose kitchen or meal duties on her, she was completely oblivious to the guest’s arrival.

Her brother had always made it a point to tell her what her duties were being born a woman and when she was lacking in them. But neither her father-in-law nor her devil husband did the same.

Suddenly, she felt guilty for not doing enough at the Thakvar mansion. Putting on a wider smile, she began serving food at the table. There was a flash of surprise on her father-in-law’s face followed by a warm smile.

“You don’t have to serve us, Ishani. Please come and sit with us.”

“It’s okay, Papa. I—”

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