Chapter 68

The Unspoken Alliance

Four Days Before the Wedding – Early Morning, Sharma Estate

The sun had barely risen when Manik walked out into the garden with a cup of tea in hand. The air was cool, dew still clinging to the roses lining the stone pathway. The calm before the storm.

He didn't expect to see Lex waiting by the back gate.

Wearing a dark hoodie, hands in his pockets, Lex looked like he hadn't slept all night—but his eyes were wide open. Focused. Burning.

Manik didn't speak first.

Lex did.

"I know everything," he said simply. "Or at least, enough."

Manik's grip on the teacup tightened. "This isn't the place."

"No, this is exactly the place." Lex stepped closer, voice low. "Tell me what you know about her missing time."

Manik's jaw tightened. "She told me last night. It's not your business anymore."

Lex chuckled—dark, cold. "Everything about her is my business."

The two men stared each other down.

"You think I don't know what you're doing?" Lex went on. "Hiding her here, giving her your name, putting a ring on her finger. You think that's going to protect her?"

"It already has," Manik snapped. "While you were busy disappearing, I was the one who picked her up off the street, bleeding and terrified. I was the one she trusted when she couldn't even trust herself."

Lex took a step forward. "But you didn't tell her everything either, did you?"

That stopped Manik cold.

Lex pulled a folded paper from his back pocket and handed it over. "Hospital records from Montenegro. She was brought in by a private car with fake plates. The same logistics company you invested in three years ago."

Manik didn't take the paper. But his eyes flickered.

Lex pressed. "You're not just the safe guy. You're connected. So tell me right now—were you part of it?"

Manik's voice dropped to a whisper. "You need to be careful what you say next."

Lex leaned in, his voice dead calm. "If you hurt her, if you used her, I'll tear everything down around you. Wedding or not."

Manik's eyes darkened. "If I was involved in anything… do you really think I'd be dumb enough to keep her close?"

Lex stared at him, searching his face.

Then, after a long pause, he stepped back.

"You love her," Lex said. It wasn't a question.

"I care for her," Manik replied.

Lex nodded once. "Good. Then help me find out who's behind this. Because she's pregnant, Manik. And whoever did this to her—they're not finished."

Manik stiffened. "She told you?"

"No," Lex said. "But I knew the second I saw her touch her stomach."

Manik finally looked down at the file Lex had dropped at his feet.

"I don't trust you," he said.

Lex's answer was immediate. "Good. I don't trust you either."

A silence fell between them.

But for the first time—it wasn't hostile. It was an understanding.

The girl they both wanted to protect was standing in the center of something much bigger. And whether they liked it or not, they were going to need each other.

---

Later That Night – Rhea's Room

Rhea sat by the window, one hand resting gently on her belly.

She didn't know that outside, in the dark, Lex and Manik had formed an uneasy truce.

She didn't know that someone in the shadows had just received a message.

> Target located. Wedding confirmed. Retrieve before day four. No loose ends.

And she definitely didn't know…

They were coming for her. Again.