Page 118 of Every Move You Make
For a moment, he resisted, remaining stiff and unresponsive. Then something inside him gave way. He leaned into her, his head dropping onto her shoulder, his eyes burning, his breathing rough. He couldn’t speak.
Before he could even gather himself, the doorbell rang again. He pulled away from Keya as Kabier moved to open it. Sameer and Raashi stepped in, followed by Nirvaan and Rhea.
Akash stiffened. His gaze flickered across their faces, shock cutting through the numbness that was overwhelming him.
Sameer stepped forward, his expression grim. “Kabier told me everything. I tried calling Shauna, but I can’t get through to her. Her phone’s still switched off. It’s not like her to just… disconnect from all of us.”
Akash said nothing.
“Rishi and Mehak are at home with grandfather and my parents,” Sameer continued. “We’re all… disturbed. They’re trying to look for her. We just… we just wanted to come to you. To understand what happened.”
Before Akash could respond, Rhea rushed forward.
“I don’t believe she said all that to you,” she said, her voice urgent as she shook her head. “She loves you. I know it.”
Akash let out a slow breath. “You’re wrong.”
Rhea frowned, shaking her head.
Nirvaan stepped forward. “I saw you with her that night at Tryst. You both looked completely in love. I cannot believe she’d break up with you. There has to be more to it.”
Rhea took Akash’s arm, guiding him toward the sofa and gently pushing him down before sitting beside him.
“Tell me everything,” she insisted. “Every single word she said to you.”
Akash stared ahead for a moment, his jaw tightening. Then, slowly, he began recounting the call, the coldness in Shauna’s voice, the way she had dismissed everything, the calculated words, the finality.
The room fell silent once he was done talking. He raked a hand through his hair, his heart thumping hard, forcing him to relook at everything she’d said. He remembered all her cruel words, but he also remembered the hitch in her breath before she’d disconnected the line.
Fuck, was he grasping at straws? Trying to believe something that didn’t exist?
He turned slightly, looking at Keya. “I heard what she said. But my heart refuses to believe her. I know she loves me. I’ve seen it. Felt it. I can’t be mistaken about that.” He shook his head. “Fuck. Then why would she say all those things?”
Keya frowned, confusion crossing her face. She gave a small, helpless shrug.
Sameer exhaled, running a hand through his hair before looking at Akash, his expression conflicted. “As much as I don’t want to believe she hurt you like this, the truth is… Shauna has wanted Sehgal Media since she was a child.”
Rhea turned to him sharply. “No, Sameer. How can you say that?”
She looked back at Akash, her eyes fierce, unwavering. “She loves you. She’s my twin. I know her, and she is in love with you. She would never deliberately hurt you.”
Something about her words struck deep. Akash stilled. He remembered her face when she’d told him she loved him. He remembered her excitement when he’d spoken to her earlier, when she’d been forcing him to dance at their sangeet. No, something was wrong.
He refused to believe her over a phone call. He needed to see her, see the look in her eyes when she told him to his face that she’d played him. Only then he would believe her.
Abruptly, he stood. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Shauna’s number. It was switched off.
“Why would she turn off her phone?” he asked. “I wish I knew where she was right now. I just want to meet her and talk to her once.”
Sameer glanced down at his own phone. “I have her location shared with me. It’s showing her last location at your new house.”
Akash froze.
“What?” he said sharply. “That’s not possible. She told me she never went there today.”
Sameer held out his phone. “That’s what it says. Look.”
Akash took it, his eyes scanning the screen. The location marker blinked back at him, undeniable.
