Chapter 11
SAMRAT
“ E xcellent,” said Shivina briskly. “Now here’s what we’re going to do. Samrat, you’re going to drop Meher and her mother home tonight, and tomorrow, we’re going to watch the RPC Cup finals at the polo club in Jaipur. That’s a good place to soft-launch your relationship, no?”
“Ooh, yes. Practically everyone we know will be there,” said Isha.
I could hear Shivina making plans for our fake relationship, but I wasn’t registering anything she said because I couldn’t take my eyes off Meher. And she stared right back at me.
All I could think of was what she’d said earlier about how she had no respect for me and had the utmost contempt for me.
I wondered what I had done to deserve such contempt, when it was she who had destroyed our relationship.
It was typical of a woman, I thought bitterly, to do something wrong and then gaslight you about it.
Dating her, even for show, was going to be a bitter pill to swallow, but I had to do it for Mani. I had to take Qureshi down; otherwise, Mani’s sacrifice would have been for nothing.
I stayed on the edges of the group when we went down to the ballroom for dinner, at a safe distance from Meher.
But the very fact that I was in the same room as her caused a lot of talk and speculative glances.
To her credit, the Rani Ma of Mirpur did not add fuel to the fire and left her daughter-in-law to deal with the situation.
After dinner, I was browsing the dessert counter disinterestedly when I saw something that reminded me of Meher.
The gulab jamun cheesecake in individual shot glasses combined two of her favourite desserts - gulab jamun and cheesecake.
But to my surprise, she seemed to have skipped dessert completely.
She was standing on a small balcony, looking pensive as she stared at the elaborate gardens behind the palace.
On an impulse, I grabbed two of the shot glasses and two small silver spoons and made my way over to her. She looked up in surprise when I joined her, and shot a quick look around to see if anyone was watching us. Before she could say anything, I held out a shot glass.
“What’s this?” she asked warily.
“Two of your favourite desserts in one glass. If that’s not a win-win situation, I don’t know what is,” I replied.
The Meher I knew was a monster for sweets, and I knew she’d often skip the main meal to save all her calorie allowance for the dessert course. But this Meher stared at the glass I offered with an expression I couldn’t read.
“What’s wrong? Do I need to do a taste test to prove it’s safe?” I quipped.
“No! It’s just that…I don’t eat sweets anymore,” she said softly.
“Since when?”
She raised her eyes to meet mine and then looked away.
“For a long time now,” she said evasively. “I just don’t like sweets anymore.”
“I can’t believe it! I mean, I know people change, but surely not that much?” I exclaimed.
Meher gave me a bleak smile.
“You know that’s exactly what I believed once upon a time, and then I learned the hard way that people can change overnight. When love can turn to hate overnight, why can’t I change my taste in food?”
Anger roiled in my gut, mixed with all the pain I’d suppressed for years. I didn’t know why she was trying to make me feel guilty for what happened eight years ago, when it was all her fault.
“Love doesn’t turn to hate overnight, Meher. They both keep warring for supremacy for years until one day, they both turn into indifference,” I replied.
“Good for you, Maj. Deora,” she said in a biting tone.
“You have the luxury of being indifferent to the situation because you never had much at stake in the first place. Your life went on smoothly even after you walked away from me. But I’ve never had that luxury.
It wasn’t just you who turned your back on me.
Thanks to your family, I turned into a social pariah almost overnight.
And I will never forget that. Or forgive you.
My hate for you is a living, breathing thing that I nurture like a beloved pet.
So don’t try to pacify me with these sweet gestures. They mean nothing.”
“I’m not trying to pacify you,” I growled softly. “I was just being nice.”
“Then go be nice somewhere else,” she growled back.
“It’s so nice to see the two of you getting along like old times,” said Nandini Aunty, the Rani Ma of Mirpur, from behind us, and I turned around hastily to see that everyone was watching us avidly.
Shivina gave me a discreet thumbs up, and I forced a smile on my face.
“It’s always good to catch up with old friends, Aunty.”
Meher’s mother floated over to us, her eyes flitting between the two of us anxiously. She relaxed when she realised we weren’t about to murder each other.
“Meher, I think it’s time we took our leave. I’ll see you at the polo club tomorrow, Nandini Didi Sa.”
“Samrat will see you home, Shalini,” said Nandini Aunty, and Meher’s mother’s eyes widened with delight.
“Will he? That would be lovely, thank you, beta.”
She turned around to cast a quick triumphant look around the room, and I heard Meher groan softly.
By the time we left the palace, everyone present at the party was aware of the new peace treaty between the Deoras and the Rathores, and the only silver lining for me was the fact that Nilanjana looked completely furious at being thwarted in her plans.
“Samrat, wait for me,” she called out as we were leaving. “Let’s all take my car since we’re both going home.”
“That’s all right, Bhabhi Sa,” I replied, emphasizing our relationship pointedly. “I’m going to take Meher for a drive after I drop Shalini Aunty home.”
That set the henhouse in an uproar, and I hustled Meher and her mother out before anybody could ask any more questions.
Meher and her mother were staying at their Jaipur home for the next few days because it was closer to Mirpur than Matta was, so I dropped them off there. Her mother jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop.
“Enjoy your drive, beta,” she said, but Meher was too fast for her.
“I’m too tired for a drive, Samrat. But thank you for the ride home,” she said politely, and followed her mother out. I heard them squabbling about it as they went into the house, and the sound of their familiar arguments brought a smile to my lips. That hadn’t changed, even if everything else had.
The next morning, I drove up to Jaipur for the polo match rather reluctantly.
I was peopled out after last night, and if I had my way, I’d hide in my study for the next few days.
But I had promised Shivina I’d show up today, and I liked to keep my word.
Besides, I wanted to avoid Nilanjana as much as I could, since she was suddenly overcome by maternal love and had decided to stay at the palace for a few more days than usual.
Meher was already seated in the VIP enclosure, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. She was wearing a gauzy dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. Just then, a man cut off my view of her, and a spark of fury rushed through me at the way he was standing so close to her.
I didn’t know if my irritation showed on my face, but Meher’s eyes widened when she saw me. Was it relief I saw on her face? Then I got a good look at the man in front of her, and a wave of disgust washed over me. It was Sanjay Jhala, the Yuvaraj of Jhala, Nilanjana’s brother.
He also happened to be the man Meher had betrayed me with eight years ago.