Page 91 of Twisted Alliance

Biting her lip and feeling slightly shaken, she turned and saw that his laptop was no longer locked. With trembling hands, she opened a page and entered her email details. Soon after, she was able to access and open the email and Goddess Shakti’s divine form showed up on the screen.

“I want to print this,” she said, turning back to him in excitement.

He was looking at the image. Then reaching around her, he clicked on a key. Soon, there was a soft whirring sound as the printer began printing the image.

He had taken two copies and handed one to her. She held it and once again stared in awe.

“My God,” she whispered.

It showed the golden form of the goddess covered with black diamonds on her body. She was wearing a white diamond and rubies necklace. And the goddess sat on a stool made of white diamonds and emeralds. Ishani knew that the three components of Goddess Shakti were commissioned by the prominent clans after forming alliances.

“How did you know I was looking for the goddess statue?”

Ishani’s heart jerked at his question. She realized she had overheard it when he spoke with his brothers on the phone. A conversation she was listening to while spying on him outside his office.

“I-I… Rishab had mentioned about Goddess Shakti and asked me if I knew anything.”

He watched her with an unreadable look. “Yes, but that still doesn’t explain how you know that my brothers and I are looking for the statue.”

“I-I knew you must be looking because the people of Singoor believe peace can be restored if Goddess Shakti is brought back to the temple.”

He was silent, but she knew he didn’t believe her.

His mouth slowly twisted. “So, you didn’t find out when you were standing outside my office listening to my phone conversations? The night you came to my office determined to be my wife?”

Her heart thudded even as her cheeks started to heat knowing she was caught in a lie. “I-I…”

He didn’t look angry, and there was no darkness in his expression. But she jumped when his hand cupped her cheek. Her stomach fluttered when the rough pad of his thumb rubbed against her bottom lip.

“Innocence and danger…” his deep voice said as he watched her.

She didn’t understand his words, but warmth spread in her stomach seeing his small smile.

CHAPTER 28

“I’ll be away for a couple of hours, Malathi.”

Malathi smiled. “Don’t worry. I can take care of things.”

Ishani smiled at Rai Bahadur’s wife. “Thank you.”

Continuing to smile, Ishani went to the second floor towards the library where she planned to spend the rest of the morning. She wanted to check on some academic books.

She had been busy taking over the responsibilities of the Thakvar household and trust. Most of the work was done by Malathi and the accounting team, but they often checked with her when making certain decisions.

She didn’t mind as she enjoyed the activities, especially visiting the school and hospital run by the Thakvar trust.

Surprisingly, Shivay did not accompany her.

Does he trust me now?

She wasn’t sure about her unpredictable husband as he hadn’t said anything to stop her from taking over the responsibilities of the Thakvar trust. But she did notice that when he was home during day, he no longer subjected her to cold vibes.

Something had changed between them. And it began when she gave him the image of Goddess Shakti statue. Hopefully, he realized that she wasn’t going to sabotage the effort he was putting towards the peace talks between the clans. In fact, she began to actively participate in them.

She recalled the look on his face when she had spoken to the clan leaders during a meeting.

“Remain close to me during the meeting,” he ordered as he led her inside the makeshift tent similar to the previous clan meeting.

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