Kashinath’s pov!

“Mr Agnivanshi doesn’t have a child.” Shyamala said.

“What? Then who is that child? OMG! Did you kidnap her from somewhere? No wonder she has nightmares.” Arohi said, looking at me in horror.

I froze at that accusation.

How dare she? How dare she say that?

I could have tolerated any accusation. I wouldn’t have given two hoots to any accusations.

But this. Kidnapping a child!

That one incident that happened years ago. That one incident that led to all the other mess in my life.

“Miss Sharma, mind your words. I don’t owe you any explanations.” I said coldly.

She was still looking at me with suspicion.

Shyamala cleared her throat, distracting us from our glaring match.

“Er Mr Kashinath, would you like to have your coffee now?” Shyamala asked.

“Yes. A strong one. Bring it to the patio.” I said and walked away without sparing another glance at Arohi Sharma.

The bloody woman gets on my nerves.

Nobody has ever been so insolent in my presence.

Women were always eager to please me. But this woman is more interested in fighting with me.

And she had the gall to laugh at me.

How dare she!

All blood rushed south, when I remembered what I did when she laughed.

She was so soft. A perfect fit in my arms.

Oh but what a pity. She is my employee and I can do nothing.

Could that be the attraction? The forbidden fruit?

Yes. That must be it.

I walked towards Mia’s bedroom and peeped in to see that she was fast asleep.

Then I walked out to the patio and dialled my legal advisor’s number.

“Alok Salar,” the other man greeted as soon as he picked my call

“Alok. Isha called last night.” I said, without wasting time on pleasantries.

“Good morning to you too, Nath.” I heard the sarcastic response.

“Alok,” I called out in a warning tone.

“Couldn’t this wait? It’s hardly Seven in the morning,” the other man complained.

“I don’t believe in procastrinating, Alok.” I said.

“I wonder why you didn’t call me as soon as you received her phone call,” he grumbled into the phone.

Well, I was too busy trying to control my reaction to Arohi.

But I wasn’t going to say that to Alok.

“Give me ten minutes. I will call you back,” he said and I heard a woman moaning in protest.

I smirked. No wonder he is cranky at my call.

“Finish it soon and call back, Alok.” I said and hung up the call.

Mrs Patel came with my coffee and kept it on the small tea table there, and left  without uttering a word.

Exactly ten minutes later, Alok called back.

“Tell me in detail.” Alok asked as soon as I picked up the call.

He was back to professional tone.

“Isha called. She was drunk. She was accusing me of taking away her daughter from her.” I said.

“That’s it? Did she say anything else?” Alok asked.

“No. She was too drunk to say something sensible. Not that she talks sensibly when she is sober.” I said with a scoff.

“Don’t worry about it. Even if she appeals in the court, I don’t think the court will grant her custody after the evidences we submitted last week.” Alok said.

“I want to have a meeting with Mr and Mrs Maitra. What do you think about it?” I asked.

“I will definitely advise against it. As you are very clearly aware of the long standing rivalry between your families, this will be a very bad move. And what your father did to them, it is better you stay away from that mess your father created.” Alok said.

“How can you say that? It is because of the mess he created that I am in this mess now.” I said furiously.

I heard Alok taking a deep sigh.

“You better concentrate on the child for the time being. Is there any progress?” Alok asked.

It was my turn to sigh.

“No. She is rebellious.” I said.

“Runs in the family, huh?” Alok asked and I could literally imagine the smirk on his face.

“She hates the very sight of me.” I confessed, trying to ease the pain I felt every time the little one looked at me hatefully.

“For the four years of her life, she had been living in the family who hated your family to the core. It ought to happen. And it has only been a week. It will take time. Don’t give up.” Alok said.

“No, never.” I vowed.

“Great. The break from work will do you good too.” Alok said.

“Look into it. Have Isha watched. We can’t completely write her off. She will definitely try to create trouble for me.” I said. I could feel it in my bones.

She will definitely come back.

“On it,” Alok said.

Once the call ended, I sat on the bamboo chair on the patio, with the coffee mug in my hand.

Growing up, this was the only place where I felt peaceful.

This was the place where Mom and I retreated to, away from the hateful presence of my dad.

As I sat there drinking the coffee, I saw Arohi walking through the small garden, with a coffee mug in her hand.

She is a work of art. No arguments on that.

Dark curls, bewitching green eyes and a perfect body to go with it.

She was wearing an anarkali suit. All her curves were in the right places.

As I kept staring, she bent a little, inspecting a flower, and I could see the curve of her bosoms, and all my blood rushed south again.

“Damn.” I cursed under my breath.

Having her under the same roof is very dangerous to my libido.

As I was contemplating on the plans to stay away from this woman, I heard a loud crash from inside the house. Alysaa too heard it and she turned around in shock.

“What was that?” 

Arohi’s pov!

“Er Mr Kashinath, would you like to have your coffee now?” Shyamala asked.

“Yes. A strong one. Bring it to the patio,” he said and walked away without sparing another glance in my direction.

I was too embarrassed to even look at Shyamala aunty. What would she be thinking now after seeing us in such a compromising position.

And to top it off, that hateful man had to open his mouth and say something.

I concentrated hard on making the cookies.

I could hear the shuffling sounds and Shyamala working the coffee machine. 

I let out a relieved sigh when she walked out of the kitchen, taking a mug of coffee with her.

But my relief was too short lived, because she returned within minutes.

“Arohi,” she called out sternly.

Oh God! Is she going to blast me?

Why am I getting worried unnecessarily! I didn’t do anything wrong.

I looked back at Shyamala aunty confidently.

“Yes Mrs Patel. How was your night? Hope the baby slept well last night.” I asked cheerfully.

“Arohi, Mr Agnivanshi is a very dangerous man.” Shyamala said and I looked at her in uncertainty.

“Uh Shyama-”

“I can see that you are a nice girl, Arohi. That’s why I am warning you. I don’t want your broken heart on my conscience.” Shyamala said, making me frown.

“What are you talking about? Why would I have a broken heart?” I asked with a small laugh.

“A top magazine once coined him as ‘The Heartless Heartbreaker’. And it is hundred percent true. I have seen the boldest of the women cry once he is done with them.” Shyamala said and I looked at her in horror.

It is kind of scary. What if he forced himself on me?

Shyamala must have read my thoughts, because she shook her head.

“No no. That’s not what I meant. He never forces anybody. Well, he never has to. Women drop to their knees if he so much as smiles at them.” Shyamala aunty said dryly.

I frowned listening to that.

“All I want to say is, don’t let yourself fall in love with him. He will not be there to catch you when you fall.” Shyamala aunty said.

“Don’t worry Mrs Patel. He is not my type.” I lied through my teeth.

He is totally my type. I have been having crushes on men like him for years. But they were all crushes. I never felt like acting on it.

Maybe because all my crushes were on celebrities whom I never had a chance of ever meeting.

“He is everybody’s type.” Shyamala aunty said with a scoff.

“Don’t take what happened in the morning seriously. I laughed at him and he was trying to scare me. Nothing else happened between us. Nothing will ever happen either. I know my place, Mrs Patel.” I said with a smile.

Shyamala aunty smiled back. I placed the cookie tray in the oven and made a coffee for myself. I decided to take a walk in the garden with my coffee. I love the calm early morning atmosphere. It is so peaceful.

While I was smelling a freshly bloomed white rose, I heard a loud crash from inside the house. I turned around and ran.

I somehow knew that the noise came from the little girl’s room.

So, following my intuitions, I ran to the same room where I found her yesterday.

As I neared the room, I could hear the loud wailing sound.

Mr Agnivanshi was trying to wrap his arms around the little girl, but she was furiously pushing him away.

“Hate you..” the child screamed again and again.

When Kashinath tries to go near her, her screams intensifies.

“Do something,” I heard an order and it took me a few seconds to realise that he was talking to me.

I looked up to see Kashinath looking at me, waiting for me to do something.

“Me? What am I to do?” I asked, feeling clueless.

“Yesterday you made her stop crying,” he pointed out.

“Yesterday she cried in her sleep. She was having nightmares. Now she is fully awake.” I pointed out.

“I will pay you for this too,” he said and I looked at him furiously.

All the solutions to his bloody problems? Throw money!

“Great. Make sure the pay is high.” I said furiously, as I walked towards the bed.

I saw Mrs Patel and Mr Teer standing there awkwardly, probably wondering what was going on.

Shyamala has said that Kashinath doesn’t have a child. So probably they aren’t aware of who the child is either.

“What is her name?” I whispered looking at Kashinath.

“Ameya. Everyone calls her Mia,” he said softly, not taking his eyes off the child, who had her eyes tightly shut and mouth open, while wailing loudly.

I gently kept my hand on her shoulder and she furiously pushed my hand away.

“Hate you,” she screamed again.

“Mia, sweetie,” I called softly.

She paused for a moment realising that I am not Kashinath, and then continued her wailing.

I waited a couple of moments and then placed my hand on her shoulder again. 

This time, she didn’t push me with that same force. It was gentle this time.

Great! All her hatred is focused on the man standing in front of me. Can’t blame the child either. He is sooo not lovable!

I talked about some random things. I talked about the flowers I saw in the garden, about the small bird nest I saw on one of the branches of a tree. 

Soon her wailing turned into small hiccups. And she was listening to me attentively.

Kashinath took a step towards us. Mia noticed that and screamed another ‘hate you’ loudly and he hurriedly stepped back.

“You hate him? I do too.” I whispered softly to Mia.

“Really?” Mia asked in surprise.

“Yes. He is so rude.” I whispered.

“What the hell are you teaching her?” Kashinath whisper yelled and I ignored him.

Right now, if I tell her Kashinath is a good man, she will probably enemy zone me too. First I need to let her know that I am her friend. Then only will she listen to me.

Let Kashinath think whatever he wants!

“Are you Rapunzel?” Mia asked, with her eyes wide open.