The topic is good and there could be multiple pronged answer to that. I will try to put them across one by one.
1. Male supremacy- It is a highly likely a possibility. Given the Male supremacy and societal structure of men being care givers to their women, the subconscious reaction of any husband is to protect the wife and not the other way around. It’s his duty as a husband to protect her as per the contract of marriage. That’s what he knows and had signed up for.
2. Deal Clause- As per Bajaj’s heart vs mind game, expecting anything apart from loyalty from Prerna is like a bolt of the blue. He understands deals and not favours. What Prerna did for him was nowhere in his deal. So, automatically this gesture falls in the category of favours which his mind is incapable of processing. Like his mind asking- ‘This wasn’t a part of the deal?’
3. Quagmire of resistance- What the mind refuses to believe could be the hearts calling. For a man who has a heart but doesn’t listen to it, this gesture leavens the hard fibres of his heart, making him feel something. Who is this woman? He would wonder. Why does she favour me despite me tearing her apart. Something in him is changing and he is suddenly thrown into a deep quagmire of emotions he doesn’t probably want to feel. He resists the change and hence wants to go back to an equation he is used to deal with. You take care of Cookie and I give you respect and loyalty. Nothing more, nothing less. His Balance and terms are clear which Prerna’s gesture threatens. Also, what might have led this man to become the monster he is today. There could be some explanation. He might be used to treachery and stabbing before he became this bleak man. Now, he gets some emotional warmth which puzzles him. Deep inside, he is scared, perhaps, it’s good that she hates him. He could remain being Bajaj and she Prerna.
But, who knows that they are walking towards each other. Slowly but surely.