Maya's POV

A week had passed since Aryan had made his threat to Ved and a week and a half since I had started working for Ved. For the past two days, Ved was attempting to speak with me but I dodged his conversations and avoided him as much as possible.

But I knew when he approached me on a Thursday night, that he was serious and wanted to talk. I had just put Vedya to sleep and was walking to my own room when Ved approached me.

"Maya can we please talk?" Ved asked. His expression was soft and I could see a glimpse of the impish boy that I had fallen in love with all those years ago.

"Is there anything wrong? I just put Vedya to sleep." I told him.

"No, I need to talk to you about Aryan and the past..." Ved trailed off. I turned pale at the mention of our past. The events that had transpired last week as well as what had happened seven years ago was not an easy feat to ignore around Ved. There were moments when I got flashes of anger just at the sight of him and other moments where fond memories were at the forefront of my mind.

"Ved, whatever it is, I don't want to hear it." I told him, looking away.

"Maya, give me one chance to explain-"

"Ved, I don't want an explanation! Please just leave me alone! You've hurt me too much. Just leave, please." I whispered the last phrase weakly.

Ved's expression turned hard and his eyes turned icy, a sharp contrast from the warmth they held a minute ago.

"Very well then. I do need to talk to you about Aryan's presence here last week and it does concern my daughter so you cannot avoid this conversation Maya." He told me firmly. I looked at him, my expression solemn. His authority silenced me once again and I was forced to listen to what he had to say.

"Aryan has been threatening my family. My daughter, Inayah and you are at risk." Ved said, his hands running through his tousled hair.

"What? He knows I am here?" I grew paranoid.

"No he doesn't, not yet. He thought you were Inayah, thank god. But that doesn't mean you are not at risk. He said that he will hurt you first if I don't comply to his words." Ved said, troubled.

"Ved, why is he doing this to you or even me? Why am I involved in these stupid threats? Are you business rivals or something? You and Aryan have been friends since high school though?" A million questions buzzed in my head.

"Aryan and I have NEVER BEEN FRIENDS MAYA!" Ved thundered in anger as he suddenly held my arm in anger.

"Ved-"

"Aryan is a disgusting man Maya. This rivalry we have goes deeper than you think. You only know one side of the story. You don't know what happened to me and what I almost had to sacrifice." Ved said, releasing my arm eventually.

"Ved, why is Aryan after me?" I asked him, my eyes in fear. I didn't want to run from my past demons again but Seattle has just proven to be doing that. Ever since I set foot in Seattle almost two weeks ago, I had constantly been on the run.

His eyes softened from my fearful look. "Maya, I promise he won't hurt you. He has a problem with me and I will take care of it. But until then, I have extra security arriving tomorrow. Don't take Vedya out without a security guard and if you need to go to the store, I have a personal body guard arriving tomorrow for you."

"Ved, isn't this all a little over excessive? I mean, how much can Aryan do?" I asked him.

"Maya, you don't know half of who Aryan is. You don't know the full extent of his capabilities. So I don't want to take any chances with you or my daughter. Inayah is also at risk here and she will be arriving tomorrow to stay here with us for sometime." Ved said. It would be nice to have female companion to talk to. I had become friends with the butlers and housekeepers but I was craving to talk to someone my age.

"Ok." I said softly.

"She will also have a bodyguard and the two of you can hopefully get along." Ved said.

"Ok Ved, is that all?" I asked him.

"Yes." He replied. "Get some sleep Maya."

"Ok good night." I said and walked into my room. I climbed into bed and fell into the throes of the dark night in a dreamless state.

***

The next morning, after dressing in a white and purple skirt with a purple shirt to match, I walked into Vedya's room. She was surprisingly awake and not fussy as she played with the mobile in her crib.

When she spotted me, she smiled widely and began to laugh.

"Hello sweetie!" I cooed at her as I picked her up from the crib. She continued to laugh and placed her head on my chest, savoring the warmth of my bosom. I felt a rush of warmth for the child. It was true, I was growing a little too attached to her. But there was still one striking question I had to ask Ved.

As far as I had seen Vedya, she seemed to be a perfectly healthy child with no problems. I hadn't performed a full work up on her or anything but from the little I had done, she seemed healthy. Why had Ved requested for a nurse to look after his daughter? A simple nanny or governess would have done the jobs I was doing. But why a nurse? I would have to discuss this matter with Ved soon. The intercom in the nursery suddenly crackled.

"Maya, can you come downstairs?" Ved's voice resonated in the intercom. At the sound of her father's voice, Vedya happily smiled.

"Yes honey, that's your daddy. Let's go downstairs and see what he wants." I told her in my baby voice. I pressed the intercom button.

"Coming Ved." I said normally. After placing Vedya down for one minute in her crib, I fastened the infant carrier on me and picked Vedya up and placed her in the carrier. I walked downstairs and Ved was waiting patiently with a group of men. So he hadn't been kidding about the security.

"Gentleman, this is Maya, the nurse and governess to my daughter who is in the carrier. She is also under risk to the threats I was talking to you about as she is an old friend of mine and an old victim of Aryan. I want strict surveillance in this house." Ved said.

"Yes sir." The men echoed in unison.

"Now Maya, this is your bodyguard Marcus." He said, pointing to a man in his late forties. He looked old enough to be my dad, yet had the physique of a bodyguard.

"Hello Marcus." I said, shaking his hand.

"Hello Ma'am, its a pleasure to serve you." He said.

Then the door opened and an angry Inayah walked in, a security guard behind her. She was dressed in a long sleeved knee length dress with black leggings and boots.

"Ved! What is all this nonsense with the security? I arrived in front of your house fifteen minutes ago. FIFTEEN! I was interrogated by this annoying guy right here-" she said, pointing to him. "-and he wanted my fingerprint, ID card, phone number! He was asking for my Social Security Number when I was done with his nonsense and ran in here, leaving my car at your gate." Inayah sputtered.

"Ok calm down Ina! I'll explain everything in some time. You can go Louis." Ved said to the security guard, who nodded and walked away.

"Maya! I'm so happy to see you because you are possibly the only sane one in this house at the moment!" Inayah said, throwing her arms around me in a hug. Vedya also smiled at her and Inayah pinched her cheeks slightly.

"Ina, I promise I will explain why I am about to do in five minutes after dismissing the men. But you have a bodyguard. Meet Ayaan." Ved said.

"A BODYGUARD? What the hell Ved, what have you gotten us into!" Inayah yelled again. Looks like Ved didn't tell Inayah about the threats.

"Ina please, give me five minutes! I'll explain everything to you."

"And here I was thinking you had invited me for a friendly stay at your house for some time." Inayah grumbled.

"As I was saying before, meet Ayaan. He will be your bodyguard." Ved said, pointing to a younger man in his twenties. He had a marvelous physique and green eyes.

Inayah nodded at him and whipped her head back to Ved. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"I promise I will tell you everything." Ved said.

"You are dismissed" he addressed the group of gentlemen. They dispersed to their various posts around the house and exterior of the house.

"OK I'm off to get Vedya her breakfast and Inayah, you and I can catch up later after you talk to Ved." I told Inayah with a smile.

"I would love that. Thank you Maya." Inayah said. Just then, the door opened again.

"Ved baby! It's been so long since I've seen you!" A skimpy blonde girl said, clinging onto Ved.

"Oh dear, not this bi*** again." Inayah cursed under her breath.

Who was she and what was she doing in Ved's arms?

A/N: Hi Guys! My name is Sandhya and this book still exists! Hope you remember me! I'm so sorry for the delay in updates! And this chapter is dedicated to a super sweet reader who reminded me with her even sweeter comments that it was time to update for you all! Thank you so much -SanyaM- for your comments and love! Until next time, bye! Also excuse any errors as this was typed on my phone 🙂