The next morning, Sia woke from sleep in the best way possible. With half of her body lying on top of Ajay.

There was a rumbling chuckle. “Our lawyer will be here in another hour. We need to get ready, and also get Anika ready,” he said huskily.

With that, reality came crashing back into her life. Her body stiffened and her heart beat faster. She wished she could stay cocooned in the bed all day with no lawyers or Private Investigators to deal with.

“Okay,” she said with great difficulty.

The next moment, his hand was at the back of her head, dragging her close. He tucked her head into the crook of his neck, and shifted her so she lay fully on top of him.

She didn’t protest. She nuzzled closer.

“It’s going to be fine, Sia,” he murmured into her hair. “We are going to fight this together. And I promise you, we will win. Not just the property, but every other game we’ll play as well.”

“I hope so,” she whispered, trying her best to control the overwhelming paranoia that was back with a vengeance.

“It’s just meeting with a couple of lawyers. Rita Nair and her partner. They will explain to us what our options are.”

Sia didn’t answer. She just nodded.

As though he could sense she was in the verge of a panic attack, he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

“It’s going to be fine,” he repeated.

They lay that way, until Anika woke up from her sleep.

“Feed her while I fix our breakfast,” he said, kissing her forehead.

Sia pulled herself out of her self-pity. She shouldn’t have clung to him like she needed him, even though she liked it so much. There were several reasons why she shouldn’t be trusting him or his lawyers. But at that moment she couldn’t recall a single reason why.

She had lived most of her life in constant paranoia. It was quite ironic that the man who had betrayed her was also the one who made her feel safe.

She rolled away from him reluctantly.

 

* * *

 

An hour later, they met with the lawyer.

Rita Nair seemed quite young. But listening to her as she spoke to them in detail about their case, it was obvious that she felt the need to bring justice to a wronged party.

“Sia, Jay called me yesterday to inform that Jagadish Naidu sent your ex-husband to visit you, trying to claim that you were in a bigamous relationship with Ajay. That alone is enough to prove he is desperate and knows he’s going to lose everything.”

Sia nodded. “So far there has been no DNA test done on him. What if he declines to test?’ Sia asked.

“He won’t,” said the lawyer. “I have already made it very clear to his lawyer that any decision his client takes will be made public knowledge. Jagadish Naidu’s Lawyer also knows that we have the security tapes of him being with you when you fell down the stairs. So if he declines taking the test, I will release those tapes as I threatened. That alone will make him appear guilty. He left a heavily pregnant woman, bleeding and injured, without calling for help.”

“I still feel quite strongly about getting him arrested for that,” Ajay said with a frown.

“No, Jay,” said the lawyer. “I’ve told you. That’s the only leverage we have for now. He cannot fight too dirty with that hanging on his head. Maybe once the property transfer takes place, Sia can press charges.”

Over the next few hours, Rita went over the details of the case. Rita Nair was not only bright, but she was also the kind to give attention to the smallest of the details.

 “Thanks for taking up my case,” Sia told her when they began to wind up.

“No problem at all. In fact, I should thank you and Jay for trusting me with such a high profile case.”

Ajay smiled. “I knew you would do great, Rita. You were always good at winning arguments.”

The woman rolled her eyes, but smiled back at him. “True.”

After they escorted Rita outside, Ajay began to raid the refrigerator. “That session was long. I’m starving again,” he announced. “Want something to eat?’ he asked, his eyes still scanning the contents of the fridge.

“Maybe some fruit,” Sia replied.

Ten minutes later, he put a plate of cut fruit in front of her, and began to dig into a large sandwich he prepared for himself.

“What?” he asked when he caught her staring at him.

“How do you know Rita?” she asked.

He shrugged. “We dated for a while.”

She placed the fork on the plate to give him her full attention. “You hired your ex-girlfriend to argue my case?” she asked in disbelief.

He continued eating, watching her in amusement. “Calling her an ex-girlfriend might be a stretch. We went out for only a couple of weeks.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Why, what?” he asked with laughter in his voice.

She narrowed her eyes. “Why did you go out with her for only a couple of weeks?” she asked.

He continued eating, but the amusement was gone from his face.

“That’s when you decided to move back to India,” he replied quietly.

That stunned her. “But... what has that got to do with you dating a girl you liked?”

“Everything,” he replied, and continued to eat quietly.

“Can you please elaborate?” she asked in frustration.

He raised an eyebrow. “Well, would you have dated a man when your mind was filled with another?” he asked.

“Your mind wasn’t filled me with in a good way. You despised me!” she said.

He shrugged. “Yeah, same thing.”

“What?” she asked in confusion.

“Apparently I was already halfway in love with you by then. I just didn’t know it.”

She shook her head. “That makes no sense whatsoever,” she said.

He smiled, and then explained what the Colonel had told him. About love and hate being so similar that it was difficult to identify the difference between both.

“You let a good woman go because of me,” she said, feeling guilty.

He finished eating and sat back. “Rita and I dated quite casually, Sia. We met at a party and hit it off. She was bright and beautiful, and I... well you know what a catch I am,” he said, gaining an involuntary laugh from her. “We both had busy schedules and liked spending time with each other sometimes. It wasn’t like we made any promises to each other. She was fine when I told her I couldn’t see her anymore. We broke up on good terms and stayed in touch. And the reason I chose to hire her was because of her professional track record, not because of personal reasons.”

Sia nodded in understanding, although she didn’t quite understand the part about his relationship with an ex. Before Ajay, she was never in a real relationship. Even though she had gotten married to Manish, she had never considered it a relationship.

“I want you to meet the PI I have hired as well,” said Ajay, breaking through her thoughts.

She raised an eyebrow. “Another ex-girlfriend of yours?” she asked.

He burst out laughing. “Nope. Just a regular guy named Hari Prasad. He’s currently away. But he’ll be back in a few weeks.”

Ajay began to give her the details of the investigation done so far.

 

* * *

 

That night Sia had her first nightmare since moving home. She woke up to her own screams, which were now muffled within Ajay’s chest.

“Shh... it’s okay baby,” he soothed while rocking her. “You are safe,” he said.

She began sobbing. “I-I had a b-bad dream,” she said.

“You are okay now,” he said, still running a soothing hand on her back.

“And this time... in my dream, it wasn’t me who had been in danger. I-I dreamt that my uncle had killed you and Anika.”

It had been quite traumatic to watch Ajay and Anika get killed brutally by her uncle. She had been begging him to leave them alone, and that she would do anything to keep them safe. But her uncle had only laughed, and then slit their throats, as she stood watching helplessly.

“Just a dream,” he repeated. “Anika and I are right next to you. Open your eyes and look at us, baby.”

She opened her eyes slowly. And then cried out, “Oh my god!” while struggling out of his arms. She rushed towards the cradle. “I must have disturbed her with my screaming.”

“No. You didn’t,” he said. “She’s a sound sleeper. Barely moves to any kind of noise.”

Ajay was right. Anika was still asleep peacefully in her cradle.

Sia went back to the bed and sat on it, not willing to go back to sleep. The nightmare and the horror she experienced were still making her hands tremble.

“Here,” he said, handing her a bottle of water. “Drink some, you’ll feel better.”

Taking a few sips, she handed the bottle back and leaned against the headboard.

“It was just a dream, Sia,” he repeated softly.

“I know that. But the fact that it could easily come true under these circumstances is what scares me.”

“I can protect myself and Anika, Sia. It’s you whom I’m worried about,” he admitted.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because there is a lot of money and pride involved with the Naidu Estate Sia, people have killed for even less,” he said, holding one of her hands.

“I can protect myself, Ajay. That’s not a problem,” she said.

He looked angry. “No, you can’t. So don’t dismiss it that easily!” he snapped, making her stiffen next to him.

When she tried pulling her hand away from his grip, he refused to let her go.

“The danger is real, Sia. So is my fear. And even if there is no danger, I have this crazy need to ensure you are always safe.” He pulled her close. “I lost you once,” he said, holding her close, as though to reassure that she was still there. “It was one of the most devastating feeling I’ve ever had. I don’t want to ever feel that way again,” he said.

Slowly her body relaxed and she hugged him back in comfort.

“I promise I’ll be safe,” she said softly.