Each rise in bid was like another twist of the knife in her bleeding heart. She couldn’t bid, couldn’t intervene. All she could do was stay trapped in her chair as her mother’s ring slipped farther and farther away, until she wasn’t sure if her hands were trembling from fury or grief.
And all the while, her father watched her from the stage, revelling in her misery.
Three crore.
Bile rose in her throat, and she looked away from the stage.
Then, like thunder, Abhay’s voice echoed loud and clear. ‘Ten crores.’
Chapter 21
Gasps rippled through the room as Abhay placed his bid three times the current amount. Siya jerked around in his direction and her lips parted in shock. His jaw ticked, rage pulsing beneath his exterior calm and his other hand tightly curled into a fist.
‘What are you doing?’ Siya hissed at him, too stunned to lower her voice but Kartik didn’t give him a chance to answer.
He pinned him with a glare and lightly scolded him. ‘Abhay, son, must I remind you we belong to the same family? We can’t bid on our own items.’
Abhay smiled coldly and responded, ‘Father-in-law, must I remind you that my last name is Agrawal and not Kashyap?’
Kartik narrowed his eyes in anger, and Siya saw the first crack in his control. ‘Last names aside, as long as my daughter is your wife, we are one family.’
‘In that case, with all due respect, you must not know your daughter’s full last name. It’s Siya Kashyap. She is a Kashyap first and always will be. Getting married doesn’t erase her identity.’
Just then, Mihit leaned forward in his seat and said, ‘I believe Abhay is well within his rights to bid. Unless you’re suggesting marriage gives you ownership over people, in which case I think we should be having a different conversation altogether.’
‘Of course not, I wouldn’t dream of such a thing,’ Kartik easily agreed. ‘Go ahead and place your bids, Abhay. I wish you luck.’ His reply was composed and devoid of anger, but the tremor in his hands betrayed him.
Siya couldn’t believe he’d agreed but the cameras were rolling, and he wouldn’t risk looking like the villain in a room full of important people. She caught the slight glance Kartik cast at Shyamlal, who suddenly joined the bidding. ‘Twelve crores.’
Her nails bit into her palm as Abhay matched the bid with his own. When she tried to stop him, he only gave her a light squeeze in response. ‘Fourteen.’
Shyamlal raised his bid. ‘Twenty crore.’
She saw his paddle go up again as he said, ‘Twenty-five.’
She tried to yank his arm, her voice sharp with panic. ‘Abhay stop! Why are you doing this? This is insane.’
‘Love isn’t always reasonable, jaan. I’ll always fight for you, even if it costs me everything.’
‘Thirty.’
Immediately, Abhay said, ‘Forty.’
Her voice rose as helplessness prickled her throat. ‘You’re setting fire to crores like it’s nothing. Do you even realise what you’re doing?’
‘I know exactly what I’m doing,’ Abhay said, as the bids rang out around them, so calmly that it only worsened the chaos in her.
Shyamlal smirked. ‘Forty-five.’
‘Fifty,’ Abhay announced without missing a beat.
Siya whispered sharply. ‘It’s just a ring. It won’t bring her back.’ She forced the words out, trying to convince herself more than him.
‘Don’t lie to me. I saw you wipe away a tear when the bidding started, so don’t tell me it doesn’t matter to you.’
She shook her head, turning away as if distance could shield her from his penetrating gaze but he leaned closer, his eyes fierce with sorrow. ‘You can pretend all you want, but I know what it feels like to lose someone and still want to hold on to the pieces they left behind.’
The words landed with soft violence in her chest. The anklet around her foot felt heavier at his reminder. She felt unsteady, as though the ground beneath her was tilting.
