Page 31 of The Defiant Wife

The room falls silent.Neither of us are speaking.Neither of us looks away.The truth is, we're arguing about the same thing.We're just standing on opposite sides of the bridge.

I want them to be loved.He wants them protected.Neither goal is wrong.Yet somehow we're still fighting.

A movement outside the office catches my eye.Small shadows.Children.My stomach drops.They've heard us.

Veeraj notices too. His expression shifts immediately.The frustration disappears.Concern replaces it.For them.Not for himself.For them.Something twists unexpectedly inside my chest.

He exhales slowly.Then gather the papers."This conversation isn't productive."

And somehow that's worse.Because he's right. Without another word, he leaves.

For several moments I simply stand there. Angry. Confused. Frustrated. Not entirely sure at whom anymore.

A minute later the door opens again. It's not Veeraj.Children.Lots of children.They file inside cautiously.As though approaching a wounded animal.

Rani comes first.Of course she does.Then Laila.Then Keshav.Soon half the NGO is standing around my desk.

I blink."What are you all doing?"

No one answers immediately.The children exchange glances.Finally Keshav clears his throat dramatically."Don't be too mad at Prince uncle."

My heart sinks.Oh no. Oh absolutely not.They heard enough.Apparently.

I drop into my chair. Rubbing my temples."Keshav—"

"He didn't mean it."

I look up. Laila nods immediately. "Yeah."

Rani joins too."He likes us."

The certainty in her voice catches me off guard."He does?"

Twenty heads nod simultaneously.

I stare.They stare back.The ridiculousness of this conversation nearly makes me laugh.

Keshav points toward a toy car sitting on the shelf."It's mine." I glance at it.The blue one.The wheel broke last week."Prince uncle fixed it."

I blink. "What?"

"He spent twenty minutes doing it."

My brows pull together.He never mentioned that.Keshav beams proudly."He even watched YouTube videos."

The image enters my brain against my will.

Veeraj Singh Shekhawat. Head of a royal business empire.Watching toy-car repair videos.

I almost choke.Laila immediately jumps into the conversation."He helped me with maths."

"Maths?"

She nods."I failed the worksheet."

My heart squeezes.Laila struggles with mathematics.Everyone knows it."What happened?"

"He sat with me until I understood."