Rekindled | ✓

Chapter 15. Cute Ghost

"And keep this wine bottle in the shelf." Mr. Stevens tells Maria, eyeing the exquisite bottle of wine that Inaaya had brought for him and she nods.

"I'm conflicted." He says to Inaaya, sitting on his armchair. "I'm retired and old and I think I should devote my life to others rather that being selfish."

Inaaya chuckles fondly. "You aren't that old. You're a very healthy old man." She says with a smile. "And moreover, just because you want to explore new countries and cuisines doesn't mean you're being selfish? You can still keep an eye on your empire and be useful to the University students."

"How easy it was for you to make this decision." He looks at her with amusement.

Inaaya frowns adorably. "It's easy for you too. You're just unnecessarily forcing yourself to feel guilty about absolutely nothing."

"I'm not forcing myself." He gasps.

"Okay." Inaaya agrees to him, making him annoyed and he looks away with a sullen face.

"On a serious note," Inaaya starts, catching his attention but he didn't look at her, "this is the perfect time for you to actually fulfill your wish. No worries about work, Daniel is an adult who can take care of himself, you've retired and regarding other stuffs, you can manage them well all along. You have visited most of the countries anyways so you can actually plan a schedule which won't put your body under extra stress." She reasons out.

He sighs heavily and a silence falls over them.

"How's he?"

It takes a moment for Inaaya to understand who he's referring to. She knew that Daniel was aware about Ayansh and her but she was sceptical if Mr. Stevens too knew about them and now she was sure that he did. He had that specific knowing look in his green eyes.

"He's good." Inaaya replies, acting confident. "I don't think anyone has a problem with him. He has been decent as a head. Carrying out his work, treating— "

His gruff laugh makes her stop speaking. "I'm asking about how's he with you?" He softens his gaze.

Inaaya's body goes tense as she looks away at the untouched bowl of snacks and cup of tea. "How much do you know about us?" She asks instead, bringing the cup to her lips and taking a sip, in the hope of letting the warmth from the tea replace the cold she felt.

"As much as Ayansh told me." He replies and she glowers at him from the corner of her eyes.

Inaaya doesn't retort.

"Okay, alright. Forgive me." He says, pulling his lips down, the wrinkles evident on his face. "If you don't want to answer, it's fine."

"How long have you known Ayansh?" She inquires, a part of her dreading the answer.

"Since the time he was studying at Cambridge University." He offers her the answer and she didn't know how to feel about it.

Her gut twisted when questions and doubts start creeping up in her mind. "So..... ," she  shakes her head when her brain fails to form a coherent question.

"I know you must be having a lot of questions," he words echo her thoughts and she listens to him. "I didn't know about you until your breakup and by face, I came to know after you started studying. Don't think I've ever favoured you or been biased towards you."

Inaaya shook her head. He never was and she knew it for certain. The only fear that clawed at her for a moment was if she was being played once again but his words pushed her doubts back. "I know that." She murmurs. She wanted to ask if Ayansh ever asked him about her, she got to know that he had told Mr. Stevens about them but to what extent she had no idea. Did he tell him how he lied to her or did he manipulate the whole thing so it doesn't portray him in bad light?