Page 52 of Every Move You Make
“Every one of you knew what I wanted,” Shauna said, keeping her tone steady. “You knew my dreams. And yet none of you told me the truth. You kept me in the dark.”
The silence that followed was heavy, charged with everything that had been left unsaid for far too long. Raashi broke the silence first.
“Keya is my best friend,” she said softly. “I’ve always known her and Akash’s history. So did Sheena.” She paused, meeting Shauna’s eyes. “Five years ago, Janak was forced to tell Kabier the truth about Keya, only to clear the terrible misconceptions he’d formed about her. And that was what led them to understand each other better. They fell in love, and the rest was history.”
“Kabier told me,” Sameer explained quietly. “You know how close Kabier is to Rishi and me. We’ve always treated him like an elder brother. He made us promise not to tell anyone.”
Rishi leaned forward slightly. “It was only a long time later that we realized your dreams were clashing directly with Akash’s inheritance. That’s when it truly sank in for all of us.” His voice dropped. “We tried, Shauna. Over the years, we tried so hard to nudge you toward something else, to open other doors for you. But you were determined.”
Sameer continued, “We couldn’t tell you directly because of the promises we were bound by, but we did try our best to steer you in another direction. However, you were hell-bent on following your own path.”
She flinched despite herself. She had been determined. Fiercely so.
“We’ve been dreading this day. We’ve all been so conflicted about this,” Rishi continued. “And we’re deeply sorry we couldn’t tell you. But some promises…” He shook his head. “Some promises cannot be broken.”
Shauna stared down at her hands, her fingers laced tightly together. She did understand what they were saying, but it was still unbearably painful.
Her father spoke then, his voice quieter now, stripped of its earlier steel.
“As for me,” he said, “I am the General Counsel for Sehgal Corporation. Of course, I knew before any of them.” He met her gaze without flinching. “Your grandfather confided in me when Dhiraj Mishra passed away. He told me everything.”
“And I’m sure Mom and Mehak knew as well,” Shauna said, the words heavy with defeat.
Mehak tilted her head slightly. “Please don’t blame your dad or Rishi for confiding in their spouses. When people are in love, they sometimes share the burden of difficult truths with the one person they trust most.”
Mehak met Shauna’s eyes. “Rishi told me only recently, that too because he couldn’t carry the weight of it alone anymore. And because he knew that when the truth finally came out, it would hurt you.”
The room felt impossibly still.
“We hate that you got hurt, Shauna,” her mother said gently, speaking for the first time. “That was never our intention. We alllove you, but like Rishi said, some promises cannot be broken, no matter how hard one wants to.”
Shauna swallowed hard, her chest aching with the weight of it all. She got what they were all saying. She truly did. Because the truth was, she had to accept her own part in this too. They all had tried to steer her elsewhere over the years, but she had been too stubborn—too determined to let Sehgal Media go.
But understanding all this still didn’t erase her pain. However, it did dull it, and so she was grateful to them for forcing her to clear the air. She loved her family, and being at odds with them had been too damn taxing.
“Akash is one of my closest friends,” Nirvaan said, speaking up for the first time. “And yet he never told me this. Everyone else in our circle knew except me.” Nirvaan shook his head. “Yeah, it hurt when I found out. Hurt that he hadn’t trusted me with it. But he called me immediately after the announcement and explained why. And he was right not to tell me because keeping this from Rhea would have been... hard.”
“You’re my other half, Shauna,” Rhea said. “And Akash knew that asking Nirvaan to keep his promise meant forcing him to choose Akash over you, and he didn’t want to put Nirvaan in that position.” She paused. “So, what Nirvaan and I are trying to say is that we genuinely believe that Akash didn’t want to hurt you, and you cannot blame him for fate choosing him to run Sehgal Media.”
Sameer leaned forward. “Please understand, it was never you versus Akash. No one chose him over you. But look at the situation reasonably. It isn’t his fault that Sehgal Media is his legacy. He didn’t ask for it, but he has worked bloody hard to be worthy of it.”
Her heart pinched. It was true. No matter that she and Akash never saw eye to eye, she had to admit that he was good at his job. And if she were being even more honest, it really wasn’t hisfault that he had inherited Sehgal Media. He hadn’t won it from her. Destiny had made it his.
Her father continued, “You’ve always loved working there. And you have achieved so much. You could continue working there for a while. You could support him, at least until you decide what you wish to do next.”
“I agree,” Sameer added. “We only want you to be happy.”
Rhea linked her fingers with her. “You need to move past this, Shauna. I’m sure there is something better out there that could make you happier. You just need to look for it.”
Her heart thumped. Her twin was wrong. There was nothing else that could make her happier. There had always been only one thing she truly wanted, one thing that had the power to make her immensely happy. Marrying Akash would tie her irrevocably to Sehgal Media. She could still pursue her dreams, even if it meant doing so as his wife.
It didn’t have to be forever. If she was smart, and she was, she could structure the terms of their arrangement carefully, plan everything with precision. A contract marriage could be undone just as methodically as it had been entered into. Suddenly, with startling clarity, she knew exactly what she would demand from him.
She rose, facing her family. “Promise me that whatever I decide next, you all will stand by me.”
Sameer stood. “I promise. We all will stand by you no matter what. And on behalf of all of us, I’d like to apologize for hurting you in any way.”
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. She felt Sameer relax against her, heard his quiet sigh of relief. Her eldest brother had always been her fiercest protector, and she knew he would be the hardest to convince if and when this worked out with Akash and she announced her marriage to him.Rishi was the softer one. She’d always been able to convince him easily. Sameer… he would ask questions. Difficult ones.
