Page 103 of Every Move You Make
“Hey, all of that is in the past, yeah?” Shauna kissed his cheek. “This is the present. You’re here, and you made it despite all that she faced, all that you faced.”
Shauna traced his ink. “Aham Ahamsi Yodha. I looked it up after that night in Singapore. It means ‘I am a warrior,’ doesn’t it?”
He nodded.
“You faced such troubled times while growing up,” Shauna said. “You are a warrior. You’ve built yourself despite your past. You are warm, kind, wonderful, and so bloody brave. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Thank you for saying that. For seeing who I am.”
“It took me a while, but I do see you, Akash. I see every part of you.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled at her. It touched him to know that she understood his reasons behind getting that ink even without him needing to explain it.
Her brow furrowed. “So, what happened yesterday? You said you had a rough day.”
Sighing, he told her about his encounter with his father. Shauna listened as he spoke, her expression growing more serious with every word, her fingers curling around his. Silence settled between them when he was done.
“Do you think he really wants to make amends?” she asked quietly.
Akash shook his head. “No.”
“I know how you feel about him, Akash,” she said gently, “but… what if he was genuine? Prison does change people.”
He let out a short breath. “Not him. I know him. He’s the worst kind of man.”
She studied his face for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay. Then the only thing I can think of is… he wants something.” Her brows drew together. “What do you think that could be?”
“Money,” Akash said with a shrug. “That’s all he’s ever cared about. And now he knows Keya and I have it.”
Shauna’s gaze drifted, her expression thoughtful and distant. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like it’s only about money. If it was, then why not ask you outright for it?” She shook her head. “I remember the camera footage from our house. He looked angry when he was throwing things around. It felt like he was searching for something in our house.”
Akash stilled at her words.
Our house.
A warm, quiet, and deeply satisfying emotion rolled through his chest at the way she’d claimed the house as theirs. He liked it. A lot.
He focused back to listen to what she was saying.
“I don’t know… that also doesn’t make sense,” Shauna said, gazing into the distance. “What would he want from a house he’s never lived in, especially one that hasn’t been occupied for years?”
“Exactly,” Akash agreed.
Shauna chewed on her lip. “VJ said he murdered someone. Can we find out why? I mean… your father told you it was self-defense, but what actually happened between him and the man he killed. Maybe if we understand that, we might get a clearer sense of how he thinks… what he’s capable of.”
Akash nodded. “I’ll ask VJ. But to be honest, I’m hoping that after yesterday, my father’s understands that he’s getting nothing from Keya and me. That we want nothing to do with him and that he stays away.”
“I hope so,” Shauna said, though she still looked unconvinced. Worried.
He tugged her closer and kissed her forehead.
She smiled. “I was thinking of getting in touch with Aaliya and starting work on finalizing our home. Is that okay?”
He grinned. “It is your home. Do whatever you want with it.”
“In that case, I’m going to make sure I drop by every evening after work to check on the progress.”
His chest warmed. He tugged on a strand of her hair. “So, you stayed the night again. Now what will your family think?”
