The morning after losing her bakery, Avery woke up to silence.
Too much silence.
She walked out of the guest bedroom and found Rohan on the balcony, phone pressed to his ear, his voice sharp and angry.
"I don't care what the board thinks, Marcus. Find out who Arjun is working with. There's no way he burned down that bakery alone."
He hung up and noticed Avery.
"Hey," his voice immediately softened. "How did you sleep?"
"I didn't." Avery wrapped her arms around herself. "Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flames."
Rohan walked over and gently pulled her into a hug. She stiffened at first, then melted into him. He was warm. Solid. Safe.
"I'm going to fix this," he murmured into her hair. "I promise."
"You can't bring back what's already gone."
"No. But I can build you something better. Bigger. Stronger. A bakery Arjun can never touch."
Avery pulled back to look at him. "Why are you doing all this for me?"
Rohan's jaw tightened. For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. Then he said quietly, "Because I failed Anjali. I won't fail you too."
Before Avery could respond, his phone rang again. He answered it, his expression darkening with each second.
"What do you mean he's out?" Rohan's voice turned ice-cold. "I had him arrested last night!"
Avery's stomach dropped.
"His lawyers posted bail an hour ago," Rohan continued, his knuckles white around the phone. "Double the security on the penthouse. Now."
He hung up and looked at Avery, and for the first time, she saw real fear in his eyes.
"Arjun's out of jail."