Page 229 of One Hellish Passion

Ranveer’s brow twitched high. “If it means risking your life, I will freak out.”

“No. I am not at risk here. You are,” she said, biting her lip again to hold back her giggle.

Ranveer had no clue what kind of plan she had in mind, but he listened. When Maya shared the whole idea, he rebuked.

“Are you out of your mind?” he exclaimed, getting up from bed. “You want me to seduce that girl to know her silly plans?”

Maya pouted. “Not exactly seduce. You just need to get her a drink, talk sweetly to her, and make sure she confides in you. She will easily blurt out things when you ask her in that state.”

When she tried to explain it further, he lost his cool.

“I don’t know if I should laugh at your silliness or spank you for asking me to seduce another woman,” he said.

Maya’s lips thinned. Was that such a bad idea? Probably.

“It works in movies,” she defended one last time.

“And this is not a movie. It’s real. I will only seduce my wife and no other girl ever.”

Keeping her gaze fixed on her husband, Maya reached for Ranveer and clutched his shirt.

“I don’t know if I should fight with you for not liking my idea or kiss you for being such a good husband,” she purred.

The smile returned to Ranveer’s face. In one gentle swift motion, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. She didn’t have to think hard about why he did that. It was night, and it was their most awaited time of togetherness, in their own shell, surrounded by love and nothing else.

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Next Morning

“Dad, you worry unnecessarily,” Adira spoke over the phone with Vivek Bajaj, who was still out of town. “I am happy here,” she said, leaning back on the couch leisurely. “I feel like a queen.”

Vivek sighed in disbelief. “Adira, behave yourself in that house. I hope you are not troubling them. Especially Ranveer and Maya,” he asked.

“Troubling?” Adira snapped.

“Come on,” Vivek muttered. “I know you better than anyone else. You should be thankful that they care so much for you. Anyways, I am trying my best to start soon.”

“No,” she shouted. “I mean, you don’t have to hurry. I am more than comfortable here.”

Vivek knew Adira was not interested in leaving Paradise anytime soon because she was able to stay close to Ranveer Malhotra. Sometimes he really wondered what could open his daughter’s eyes. Why was she so blind to a man who didn’t even bother to look at her? This was madness.

“It’s not your comfort I worry about, but theirs. I am coming back in two days, max three. Just behave yourself around them until I take you back.”

Adira was displeased. She disconnected the call without even saying goodbye to her father. Two days and she would have to move out of Paradise? No. She would have to escalate her plans. She immediately picked up her phone and dialed a number.

******************

Ranveer and Maya patiently waited for Adira to make this call. They knew if Vivek Bajaj decided to return soon, Adira would expedite her plans, and in a hurry, she might make a mistake they could use to trap her. And this phone call she made now was that mistake. Based on last night’s instructions, Adira’s phone calls were tapped, and she had no clue about it. Patel was ready on the other end with the arrest warrant against Adira as a last resort. After she finished the call, Patel rang Ranveer to update.

“We have traced the location of the person she just spoke to. My team is already on the way to track that woman,” Patel informed.

“Woman?” Ranveer reiterated.

“Yes. She spoke to a woman, and it seems like she is the same woman we are looking for, the one who gave a gun to Adira. Right now, we could only get a search warrant against her. And if we find anything suspicious that links her to Maya’s accident, we will arrest her right away.”

Ranveer agreed to that and waited for the show to begin.

Ranveer and Maya waited for four long hours to get some clue from Patel. None of them wanted to disturb the investigation, and Patel was leading it with some local cops as backup. Finally, in the evening, he called Ranveer's number, but instead of saying anything over the phone, he insisted they meet him outside at yesterday’s café. There was something he could not share on the phone but personally. Both Ranveer and Maya drove out to meet Patel.

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