Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
VIREN
D amn it! How the hell had that slipped out?
There was complete silence as that little word resonated through the room with the force of an explosion. Wifey.
I was supposed to increase the distance between us, and here I was, laying claim to her as my wife. I really needed my head examined. Sunaina looked shell-shocked. But Sufi and Daima looked triumphant. As if they had won a big battle.
It struck me that they were indulging in some seriously underhanded matchmaking, and a look at Aisha confirmed that she was getting swept away by their matchmaking fervour. Sufi and Daima were adults. But Aisha was a child. And if I didn’t put a stop to this right now, my baby was going to be heartbroken when Sunaina left. Because that was a given.
I had never been as attracted to anyone as I was to Sunaina. But that didn’t mean I was going to risk all my hard-won peace on a relationship that could end in disaster. There was no place in my life for romantic love. And maybe it was time to hammer that fact home to everyone. Including myself.
I set my mug down and straightened up.
“Sufi will keep an eye on you all night. If you guys don’t mind, I need some time to myself. I’m going to bed.”
Sunaina looked hurt at my about-face, but she said nothing.
“Hain? So early. You haven’t even had dinner, beta,” protested Daima.
“I’m not hungry, Daima,” I said shortly and left the kitchen before they could stop me.
It was a long and restless night, tormented by dreams of making love to Sunaina. When the sun finally poked its head over the horizon, I gave up on trying to sleep and went out for a run in the crisp, cold air, hoping it would knock some sense into my head. When I got home an hour later, I was still just as conflicted, but I knew one thing. The sooner I got back to work, the safer I would be.
Family vacations were great, but when most of my family was conspiring to keep me married to Sunaina, I was playing with fire by staying on here. Especially when it was such a struggle to keep my hands off her. As it is, the very solid reasons I had for avoiding love were already starting to look blurry.
I poked my head around the kitchen door and found Daima supervising breakfast.
“Daima, I’m flying home this afternoon,” I announced. “I have an important meeting I can’t miss tomorrow morning.”
“Arre! You’re on vacation, beta. You promised us you were going to take the whole week off,” she complained.
“I know I did, but this is an important meeting, Daima. And you guys can still finish your vacation. We have the house until Sunday.”
“You…you’re leaving ?” asked Sunaina from behind me.
I whirled around to meet her big, brown eyes, which glimmered with a mix of hurt and accusation. I cleared my throat and stared at a spot just above her head because that was safer than looking into her eyes.
“As I was telling Daima, I have a meeting.”
When she said nothing, I hazarded a glance at her face and flinched inwardly at the contempt I found there.
“You guys can stay on until Sunday,” I added.
“Actually, I think it’s time we all returned home,” she replied coldly. “The sooner we get the adoption home visit out of the way, the sooner we can end this mockery of a marriage.”
She was right. It made sense for us to end it soon. I just hadn’t known it would be so difficult to walk away from her.
“All right. I’ll tell Sufi to make sure the jet is cleared for take-off by three-thirty in the afternoon. Will that give you enough time to pack?”
“I’ll manage somehow,” she said grimly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to wake Aisha and help her pack.”
She walked away from me stiffly, not looking back even once as she went up the stairs. I turned around to face Daima who was staring after Sunaina in dismay.
“You’ll regret this, Viren,” she said slowly.
“I know what I’m doing, Daima. And don’t worry about Sunaina. I’ll do right by her. I’ve arranged to transfer the Malabar Hill flat to her name, plus the Audi that she uses and a hefty financial settlement that will take care of all her needs for the rest of her life.”
She stared at me as if I was an idiot.
“I don’t think Sunaina will need your money for too long, beta. She’s still very young. I have a feeling she might meet someone who is capable of loving her almost immediately,” she said pointedly.
Dhruv’s name sprang to my mind, and I realised that he was already waiting in the wings. Hmph. If she was willing to settle for someone with such a limp handshake, that was her problem. But I hoped she didn’t settle for him just because he was the first man to ask her out after her divorce. I hoped she’d wait until she found someone worthy of her.
“Good for her,” I said coldly, and Daima shook her head in disgust.
“I thought I had raised you to be smarter than this, Viren. That girl is the best thing to happen to you in a long time. Do you even realise how she’s changed you?”
“Nonsense,” I said roundly, not wanting to listen to this, but Daima went on.
“When Aisha came to live with us, you were a complete playboy, Viren. And overnight, you turned into a saint.”
“So it’s Aisha’s influence, not Sunaina’s,” I pointed out, but Daima shook her head.
“When Deven died, and you had to take on Aisha’s responsibility, you buried your own needs and feelings so deep that you turned to stone. But in the past two and a half years, Sunaina has chipped away at that stone and made you human again. You may not have realised this, beta, but when Deven died, I was worried a part of you had died with him. Sunaina brought that part back to life. You’re laughing again. She’s softened your sternness. You’re back to being the sweet, tender Viren that I was scared I’d lost forever.”
I swallowed over what felt like shards of glass in my throat. Was this true?
No!
Daima was overreacting. When Aisha came to live with us, I was grieving for my brother. Grief was known to turn even a loving person to stone. There was nothing unusual about that. And over time, my grief had softened and been replaced by acceptance. And I learned to be happy again. That’s all there was to it. I refused to accept any other explanation.
“You’ve been watching too many daily soaps, Daima,” I said wryly. “Now, can you be packed and ready to leave this afternoon?”
She pursed her lips and stared at me in disappointment for a few more minutes before she nodded.
“Of course.”
“Good. I’ll tell Sufi to make all the arrangements,” I said before I made my way upstairs.