“I’ll allow the evidence,” the judge announced from his stand. Annika let out the breath she had been holding in her lungs for several seconds waiting for the decision. Then she uncrossed her fingers.
Paulson, nearly giddy after seeing the file, approached Kiran on the stand and handed it back to him. “Dr. Patil, what is in this file?”
“It is a security record from Mr. Raman’s apartment building. They are dated during the time Annika was is India and still engaged to be married to him. Every visitor must sign in with the security guard—it’s a very well protected building. There are also a series of photos shot from across the street by the PI.”
Annika shot a look over to Kareem. What did he do?
“And what does the security record reveal?” her lawyer asked.
“It reveals that Mr. Raman was unfaithful to Miss Bashir. During their engagement, he carried on a torrid affair with a mutual friend, Ava Gerardi. You can see she stayed several nights at his apartment each week and they also kissed openly in public in front of his apartment. I wouldn’t call that the actions of a man in love and fully devoted to his future wife, would you?”
The jury let out a collective gasp. This was a game changer, and Annika knew it. As mad as she was about Kareem’s indiscretions with her ex-friend Ava, and that Kiran’s father had a PI following her around—what the effin’ hell?—she felt validated for the first time during that court case. She had always known Kareem didn’t love her, and now there was proof.
She wasn’t as terrible as he made her out to be. She was just caught up in a game and didn’t know any better.
Kiran oozed confidence and strength on the stand, Annika noted. But his confidence was earned, unlike Kareem. This was a man who taught her to see beyond the superficial and helped her come into her own. And when she insisted on going backwards out of stupid pride, he came and rescued her.
She couldn’t have loved him or wanted him any more than at that moment. Her family had left her, but he was here. He was her hero, her lover, her teacher, her future.
Her home.
After a quick and desperate cross examination that failed to undo the damage of Kiran’s testimony, the case was officially closed and the jury left with the task of deciding a verdict.
Annika’s lawyer—still grinning like a kid with keys to a candy store—thought it would take no more than an hour or two, so he recommended she stay close to the courthouse.
But she didn’t want to be there any longer.
She had better things to do.
“Just call me with the verdict—I’ll stay by my phone,” she tossed over her shoulder as she nearly pounced on the tall, dark doctor sitting behind her in the courtroom.
Kiran stood up and embraced her tightly, his words soft and gentle in her ear. “I told you I would always come for you, my love.”
His body was firm and strong, and she nestled in his chest. “I thought we were over, Kiran. I thought…I messed up. You believed I cheated on you.”
“I was an idiot. Of course he took advantage of you. Look at you—you’re irresistible. I nearly came down from the stand in the middle of testifying in order to have my way with you in the middle of the courtroom.”
“That wouldn’t have helped my case.” She smiled to herself in the crook of his muscled arm. Annika loved being irresistible to Kiran. But just to him. She turned her face up to his and kissed him softly. “Take me home, now,” she demanded, the heat of his body igniting hers. It was about to turn into a raging fire any minute.
“I’m at your command,” he offered, and then they headed for the doors.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Kareem was outside waiting for them. He was enraged, humiliated, pacing the steps, searching for a reason to hit something.
Or someone.
He marched over to the happy couple before they could get down the steps.
Kiran pulled Annika behind him. “Can we help you, Kareem?”
Kareem pushed close to Kiran taking an aggressive stance, his face inches away. He stood several inches shorter, but he was well muscled and not a lightweight—Annika knew that from being trapped under his heavy body when he attempted to make love to her with all the skill and patience of an over-sexed teenager.
“That was a bullshit move you pulled in there,” Kareem snarled. “I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on that little tramp…”
Before the last word left his mouth, Kiran’s fist made contact. It was an impressive hit, straight across Kareem’s weak jawline, knocking him down to the cement steps.
Kiran shook his fist in pain, checking his fingers for damage. “And this is why surgeons don’t box,” he murmured out loud. Then he directed his next words to Kareem. “Stay away from my fiancée or you’ll have me to answer to and next time I won’t show any restraint. I’ll take you down in every way possible.”
She had never heard such menace from Kiran. It was the first time she saw any darkness in her noble doctor. She pulled him away before Kareem could get up and cause more trouble—or before Kiran could unleash whatever fury had just shown its ugly face. “Come on, let’s go.”
Then she gave one last look at Kareem on the ground, moaning in pain. That disgusting pig, she thought. How could I have ever cared what anyone thought about us? Words came out of her mouth, words she wished she had believed earlier. “You weren’t worth any of this.”
And then they left.