Her Deviant Husband | [✓]

Chapter 27

First of all I am taking this opportunity to introduce my bestfriend Inaaya , her book  for Rishi and Aarna and her lovely writing. I hope you all will support authorinaayaa with their lovely story. Second of all thank you for writing part of this chapter mwah!

Atharva's pov.
(You say daddy's home~ ahem ahem... its just Atharva is my fav ok-)

The rhythmic patter of a slight drizzle on the car's roof was a soothing backdrop as I reclined in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce. The car glided effortlessly through the streets of Hyderabad, the city veiled in a gentle mist that blurred streetlights into soft halos.

Up front, the chauffeur was scarily-focused on the road. Meanwhile, I was decidedly less composed, my mind a chaotic swirl of memories and worries centered on my daughter, Athira.

Athira Roy. My little girl.
My storm in a teacup.
My impending migraine with a smile.

Ever since she had dropped the proverbial atom bomb on me—telling me she had a lover and that they wanted to get married—my world had been... let's say "interesting."

It hadn't taken a full ten seconds for me to realize she was lying.

I mean, come on! She's my daughter.
I practically invented, created and gave her 90 percent of my personality.

Anyways all I knew was that. This wasn't a whirlwind romance; it was a deal.

A business transaction wrapped in wedding vows. My best guess was that this arrangement benefited both parties in some twisted corporate Romeo-and-Juliet sort of way.

And that was the worst way to start any marriage.

A marriage based on a deal has the charm of a corporate merger: cold, clinical, and likely to come with an unreasonable number of terms and conditions. Worse, if you do fall in love with your partner somewhere down the line, it weighs on you like a ton of bricks.

And if Athira was anything like me in matters of the heart, we were in for a Shakespearean tragedy.

You see, I'm an emotional fool when it comes to love.

I think from my heart, not my head—an affliction that's gotten me into a fair bit of trouble over the years. I suspect Athira inherited that trait, and the thought of her getting hurt because of it gnaws at me. I don't want my baby girl to hurt. Ever.

The only reason I had agreed to this charade of a marriage was simple: Athira asked me to trust her. And that's all it took. I'd walk through fire if she asked. That's what I promised to do—support my baby girl when she made a firm decision. Even if that decision came with red flags the size of our family mansion.

Athira had made her choice with the grace of a queen and the determination of a general. It made me proud, even as it left me quietly wishing for more for her.

She's always been like that—my Athira.
Strong-willed, intelligent, utterly unstoppable... and spectacularly unreasonable.

From the moment she was born, she brought light and laughter into my life in ways I couldn't have imagined. She came into this world screaming loud enough to let everyone in the hospital know who was in charge.

That trend hasn't changed much.
And now, she was getting married in a week.

The thought brought a bittersweet smile to my face. Me and Eva had been trying our best to make Athira feel how special a marriage truly is. Even if hers is just for a farce.