Page 60 of Empowered

He chuckled. “You obviously still don’t know how the Sethi’s operate if you have to ask that question.”

I smiled.Control Freaks.

Jai continued, “He still loves you. He never stopped. He was a goddamn mess after you left. His heart wasn’t in the family busines anymore because you took it with you. That’s why he left the business—so if you gave him a second chance, you’d never be in danger again because he left that world.”

My heart squeezed in my chest. This fucking man. “Jai. I have to go.”

He chuckled again. “I’ll see ya later, doll. And I mean that.”

I pulled out the snake necklace that I still carried in my purse everywhere I went but hadn’t had the courage to wear again. I clasped it around my neck with shaky fingers, then abandoned my heels and bolted through the streets, weaving in and out of pedestrians and bikers. I ran so fast that I was sure my feet would be covered in filth and have blisters later, but I didn’t care. Adrenaline and need fueled my sprint.

The ten-minute run felt like hours. The ride up the elevator from the lobby felt like years. The dash to the hotel-suite door felt like a lifetime. The wait for the light on the key reader to turn green nearly killed me.

I turned the knob and pushed through the door, unsure of what I’d say or do when I met him face to face again. I struggled to steady my breath from the run—or nerves.

The room was dark and the drapes were pulled shut. The sitting room of the suite was empty. Maybe he had already left? Was it me who was too late?

I walked further inside, calling out for him, “Shyam?”

The bedroom door was open. My heart prayed that he was still in there.

I walked through it. Lit candles were everywhere.

And there he was, standing with his hands in his pockets and a knowing smile on his face.

I couldn’t think of how to start so I settled on, “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied, unmoving. He eyed my bare feet. “Where are your shoes?”

I ignored his question and stepped closer to him. “I talked to Jai.”

He didn’t seem surprised. “I know.”

My heart was beating out of my chest, making it difficult to speak more than a few words at a time. “He told me everything.”

He moved closer to me. “I know.”

I grabbed onto the front of his shirt, clutching tightly as I shook him. “You should have told me,” I gritted out.

His hands flew to my arms, gently calming me. He shook his head out in disappoint of himself. “I know.”

I studied his face, seeing honesty and heartbreak written all over it. For the first time, I could see him clearly—no walls or armor.

“I accept.”

His eyebrow knitted as he questioned my meaning with his gaze.

“The job offer. I accept,” I answered hastily not wanting to waste another minute without laying my cards on the table.

He grinned. “It comes with strings,jaan.”

There was always a catch with him. “Like what?”

He pulled out a little red box from his pocket. Bending down onto one knee, he opened it revealing its glittering contents—a ring with the biggest diamond I had ever seen. “That you’re mine. Forever.”

Tears flooded my eyes as I watched the most powerful man I knew, on his knees, begging me to be his. I nodded, unable to speak.

He slipped the ring onto my finger. It sparkled as the candlelight hit it in all the right spots.

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