Page 60 of Forbidden

“I heard Jaya speaking to someone today and booking two flight tickets to London for next week.”

London? Two tickets? She is taking Jhanvi along? Now I have a problem.

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It’s late at night when I tiptoe in my mansion from work, to avoid giving any hint to my wife that I’m back. I don’t even know if she would like to meet me again after what she tried doing to herself. I feel she is avoiding me as much as I am avoiding her at the moment. Did she like the roses? The teddy bears? I really wish to know her reactions after seeing them in her room. I am aware these little things will change nothing between us, but that’s not why I did it. I just wanted to bring a smile to her face, lift her mood, and cheer her up.

There’s a light in the study room. Looks like someone is there. Jhanvi? Could be!! But didn’t she sleep yet? I want to check on her but I refrain myself and instead take the stairs.

“Aarav,” I hear her soft voice from behind me.

No No No. She saw me.! It was Jhanvi in the study and now she is out. Why is she even stopping me? I don’t turn, but I have definitely stopped.

“You should rest in your room,” I say, without turning around. My fingers fist in anger, in control of my body, who wants to just turn around to see her. See if she is doing fine, but I don’t.

It’s the controlling power in me that has always given me good results. I won’t mess with it today.

“So now you don’t want to see my face?” She snaps. “Because I betrayed you?”

Well!! My control is off the door, and I finally turn to meet her eyes. She is still in that same white salwar and has braided her hair. She looks… simple, angelic even.

“It’s the other way round actually,” I say. “I don’t want you to see my face and get more desire to end your life. I want you alive, Jaan.”

I still called her Jaan.! I don’t think that will ever change. She stares at me in disbelief, then something else washes over her face. Pain?

“I didn’t try to commit suicide if that eases your guilt,” she declares, looking right in my eyes. We have a safe distance between us but enough to read each other’s expressions.

Wait. What? Did she say she didn’t try to end her life?

“I mistakenly took extra sleeping pills because I was lost and nervous and not in the right state of mind, but that doesn’t mean I was going to end my life. It just happened and I’ll make sure this never repeats.”

Oh, Thank God!! Thank goodness and to all the holy power on this earth for clarifying that. The guilt of being the reason for such a drastic step from Jhanvi suffocated me. She reaches me, covering the distance between us, and now that she is closer, I see the file in her hand. What file is that? She passes it to me. I just take it.

“I have transferred my 50% rights of the Raichand mansion, back to your name. As said before, that’s not the kind of wedding gift I would like from you.”

I’m not happy. But fair enough. If that makes her feel better, I wouldn’t mind. She’s a bit surprised I don’t argue.

“I’m visiting Daadi tomorrow to tell her I am leaving.”

Now that surely pricks me harder than before. Leaving? Jhanvi again waits for me to ask, but when I don’t, she continues.

“I’m flying back to London next week. Forever.”

I choke. Control is back, but this time I don’t want to control her but myself. I don’t want to scare her off by demanding her not to leave. Those words are right on my lips, but I don’t say them. She gives me a long stare before continuing.

“And the last thing I want you to know is that I did nothing to hack your business secrets, though I agreed with Mohit hoping to get my life back seeing you all destroyed and broken. That’s the real reason I came in this house. He had given me that device, but I could never plant and activate it because that’s so not me. I can’t be like you brothers and challenge my conscience by such nasty acts.”

Yes, I know that already now, and my guilt is doubled. She’s punching me with her words, and I can’t even fight back. She takes another step forward, this time meeting me eye to eye.

“And no matter how much you try to woo me with roses and soft toys, I don’t want to settle down with you ever, Aarav Raichand. Once I head to London and take time to heal myself from all this venom that I had to be a part of, I will speak to my lawyer on the best possibilities to legally end what we have between us.”

That’s her final strike!! I don’t think I can hear anymore. I want to drop my suit jacket hanging on my arm and grab this woman so close that she forgets everything she has in her mind right now and focuses only on me. I want to claim those luscious lips of her, kiss her, devour her with everything I’ve got inside me so that she doesn’t wish to leave me ever. And even after that if she doesn’t stop planning to leave, I want to lock her up in my room forever with me so that I don’t have to stay a single second without her, doesn’t matter if that makes me the most selfish carnal man on this earth.

“Good night, Aarav.”

She has that audacity to wish me good night after all this? Huh!! Looks like my wife’s feisty side is back. I watch her scurry towards the stairs and head back to her room. Jhanvi was never the purpose of my life and it’s just now that I realize she’s become the queen of my Forbidden heart. She spoke a lot today, and now I have too much to think about.

CHAPTER 26

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