Chapter 17
Aweek had passed since the night of their date. The night that had ended way beyond his dreams.
They’d woken up in the morning wrapped around one another, and one kiss had led to two until he was making love to her all over again, slow and unhurried, as if the world outside didn’t exist. They’d left the bed much later, ordering room service for breakfast. Then he’d dropped her home, only to return an hour later, determined to take her sightseeing.
He loved Singapore, and he wanted her to love it too.
He’d never forget how her hand had stayed locked with his as he’d showed her around the various sites—Gardens by the Bay, the Supertree Grove, a quick walk through the Cloud Forest, and even a playful round on the Singapore Flyer.
He loved making her laugh—teasing her, kissing her in quiet corners like they were teenagers on a stolen date.
Since that night, they’d slipped into a rhythm, a pattern he now craved like oxygen.
Each morning, he’d wake up with Sabrina wrapped in his arms. He’d drop her home after breakfast, so she could get to her classes.
And every evening, without fail, he’d pick her up from college.
Then he’d take her back to his hotel, where they’d spend the night together, ordering in, watching TV, drinking wine, and making love. It was perfect.
He watched her now from across the table as she studied the menu, her brow furrowed in concentration, the overhead lights casting a golden glow on her face. God, she was so beautiful. So dangerously addictive.
It was a Friday night, and he’d insisted on taking her out.
Sabrina had told him that she had asked Shauna to join them too.
She had formed an easy friendship with her, and the younger girl had absolutely nothing to do tonight.
Besides, Sabrina had hardly met Shauna in the past week and felt guilty for not being around.
He didn’t mind. Shauna was Raashi’s sister-in-law, Sameer and Rishi’s younger sister.
And he was fond of her. She was lively and easy company.
They were waiting for her now at a cozy little restaurant Shauna had sworn served the best Singaporean food in the city.
A waiter approached, filling their glasses with a deep red wine.
“I hope the wine’s good,” Sabrina said.
He lifted his glass, swirling it once before sipping. He smiled. “Malbec is always a good choice.”
Her lips curved, pleased, though a flicker of hesitation followed. “I hope you don’t mind drinking wine with me so often.”
He laughed. “Not in the least. Your course requires you to learn about wine pairings, and what better way to learn than to try them all with me?”
Her laugh was soft and warm, the kind of sound that made the restaurant fade around him. Her phone beeped, and she smiled as she read the text.
“It’s Aisha. Oh, look at this picture!” She turned her phone to show him a picture of her son hugging Aisha. Behind them was the Buckingham Palace.
“Ahaan looks happy,” he said.
Her eyes warmed as she looked at the picture again. “Seeing him happy makes me so happy. I’m glad he’s doing this with Aisha’s family. He’s loving his program in London too. He’s been raving about how much his bowling has improved.”
“Tell me more about him,” Aditya said. “You said he loves cricket. What other sports does he play?”
“Oh, he loves football too, and recently, he’s started to learn roller skating. He’s picked it up very well. In fact, I have to buy him a pair of inline skates when I return. You know, those ones with wheels in a straight line. They are sleeker and faster than the regular ones, I’ve been told.”
He smiled as she continued talking about her son, listening to her carefully, asking questions, enjoying talking to her as always.
Finally, she shook her head. “Look at me, going on and on about Ahaan.”
“I don’t mind hearing about him. I’ve met him a couple of times with Rithwik and Aisha. He’s a good kid.”
Pride shone on her face. “He is.”
His phone beeped. He quickly scanned the message and responded to it. His phone beeped with another message almost immediately.
“Oh, bloody hell!” Aditya swore.
“What’s wrong?” Sabrina asked.
“Akash just landed in Singapore. We’ve got to attend a meeting tomorrow, and he asked me where I was. I told him.”
She frowned. “Yeah, so?”
“So, he’s on his way here, as is Shauna.”
Her eyes widened. “Fuck.”
“Exactly that.”
“Why did you even call him here?” she shot out.
“I didn’t. I just told him where I was. He texted back saying he’s coming over.”
“Shauna’s going to be so mad,” Sabrina groaned.
“Tell me about it,” Aditya muttered. “They can’t stand each other.”
“Hopefully after that one night—” She shut up, looking everywhere but at him.
His brow furrowed. “Wait, you know about that night?”
She gaped at him. “You know too?”
“Yeah,” he said, amused. “I met Akash at breakfast the morning after. He was all out of sorts and was leaving, even though he was supposed to stay and work with me from here. It wasn’t hard to guess what happened.”
“Shauna left his room the same time I left yours,” Sabrina explained with a giggle.
He laughed. “That must have been something.”
“It was hilarious.” She shook her head. “You and I have never spoken about this.”
He shrugged. “I mean, I wasn’t sure if Shauna had told you about it, and I didn’t want to divulge something personal about them if she hadn’t.”
“Same,” she said with another little chuckle.
He looked up and saw Shauna weaving her way through the tables toward them.
“There you are!” she exclaimed as she reached them, dropping a quick kiss on Sabrina’s cheek. Then Shauna turned to him, hands on her hips.
“And you—” She wagged a finger in mock reproach before throwing her arms around him in a quick hug. “Stop stealing my flatmate. I barely see her anymore.”
“What can I say? I’m a bad influence.”
Shauna pulled back, narrowing her eyes with exaggerated suspicion before grinning. “You’d better be worth it.”
“Oh, I am.” He looked at Sabrina. “Her blush proves it.”
“God, you’re impossible,” Sabrina muttered.
Shauna took a seat next to Sabrina and shot them both a sly grin. “Honestly, I half-expected you two wouldn’t make it—that you’d decide to remain in his hotel room instead.”
“Shauna!” Sabrina groaned, looking mortified.
Aditya grinned. “The thought did cross my mind.”
Sabrina glared at him. His grin widened on seeing her flustered.
Shauna laughed. Aditya smiled, looking at the younger girl. She was a whirlwind of energy, so naughty, but also affectionate and fun.
“So, what are we having?” She tipped her head at Sabrina’s glass. “Is the wine good?”
Sabrina stared at the glass. “Shoot, I haven’t even tried it yet.” She took a sip of her wine and shut her eyes. “Divine. I love it.”
“Works for me then,” Shauna said, signaling a waiter to pour her a glass.
Sabrina leaned toward Shauna, her tone deliberately casual. “By the way, Akash is coming here too.”
Shauna’s smile froze, and her eyes widened with disbelief.
“What?” she hissed, her voice sharp enough that Sabrina winced.
She leaned closer, whispering furiously into Sabrina’s ear, words Aditya couldn’t quite catch.
“It’s fine, Shauna,” Sabrina said aloud. “Aditya knows about that night. And I wasn’t the one who told him.”
Aditya saw the younger woman’s jaw drop, her shock clear. Then her eyes narrowed, and annoyance crept on her face. “That jerk. How dare he tell you?”
Aditya raised a hand, his tone steady. “Don’t be mad at Akash. He didn’t tell me. I guessed.”
“Fuck.” Shauna glared at him. “You are never ever breathing a word to either of my brothers or sisters-in-law. Not even to Rithwik. Am I clear?”
Aditya raised his hands up in the air. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Good. You better keep this a secret forever, till the day you die,” Shauna ordered.
Aditya shrugged. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I don’t know of any secrets. What secret?”
Sabrina laughed.
“What secret are we talking about?” A new voice asked.
Aditya turned to see Akash standing behind him, a wide grin on his face. His gaze swept around the table, and his expression faltered for a brief moment when he saw Shauna, before he pulled on a smile again.
Aditya rose to hug Akash, and then Akash leaned down to kiss Sabrina’s cheek. He said a quick hi to Shauna, who gave him a dirty look in response. He took a seat beside Aditya. A waiter put an empty glass in front of Shauna and began pouring the wine.
“I’ll have the same,” Akash told him. He looked at all of them once the waiter left to fetch a glass for Akash. “So, what secret are we discussing?”
“None of your business,” Shauna retorted.
He gave her a wide smile. “I like secrets, and I like to make them my business.”
Before Shauna could respond, Aditya said. “We were discussing that night, and I promised to keep it a secret.”
Akash’s eyes widened. “You told Shauna about your one-night stand with Sabrina? Why? She’s besties with Jiya, who is married to Rohan, and Rohan is Rithwik’s brother? Didn’t you do the math? Do you want Rithwik to find out?”
“How dare you?” Shauna fumed. “Why would I tell Jiya about them?”
“Sure!” Akash scoffed. “It’s not like you don’t discuss every moment of your day with her and your twin, Rhea.”
Shauna glared at him.
Akash grinned.
Aditya shared an amused glance with Sabrina, who was trying hard not to laugh.
Shauna rolled her eyes before addressing Aditya. “Why would you tell him about your night with Sabrina? And don’t tell me he guessed.”
“Well, I actually did guess,” Akash said. “I’m quite clever like that.”
“Yeah, right,” Shauna scorned.
“Uh, well…” Aditya looked at Akash. “The secret we were talking about was not about Sabrina and me; it was about you…” He tipped his chin at Shauna. “…and her.”
“What?” Akash sputtered. “Sabrina knows? Wait, I’m sure she also guessed.”
A waiter put a wine glass in front of him. But before he could pour him the wine, Akash took the bottle from him and filled his glass himself, looking annoyed.
Sabrina laughed.
“Glad someone is finding this amusing,” Shauna said, sipping her wine.
“It is funny,” Sabrina said. “I didn’t know Aditya knew about Akash and you, and he thought I didn’t know about it, which is why he never told me.
Meanwhile, Akash didn’t know that you knew about Aditya and me, when you actually knew about it all along, but you also didn’t know that Akash knew about it, and now everyone here knows everything. ”
When she said it like that, it did sound so funny. He burst out laughing as well. This whole situation between the four of them was too damn funny.
“Let’s not forget we all have to keep all of this…” Shauna waved a finger at all of them, “…a secret from everyone we know. Is everyone clear about that at least?”
Sabrina chuckled. “Yes.”
Aditya took Sabrina’s hand and kissed it. Akash stared at him and her, and at their joined hands. “Whoa, I didn’t know this had also happened.”
“It’s very much happening,” Aditya said.
Akash sipped his wine. “Oh, you’re going to get into so much trouble when Rithwik finds out.”
Sabrina freed her hand from Aditya’s and glared at Akash. “Didn’t Shauna just say that we are keeping all of this a secret? So, Rithwik is not going to find out.”
Akash looked confused. “But Aditya and you are together.”
“We are,” Aditya said.
He blinked. “Then—”
“Oh, for the love of God, get the drift,” Shauna interjected. “They are together right now, while they are in Singapore. They won’t continue when they return to Mumbai.”
“Why?” Akash asked. “How can you just switch on and off your feelings just because you’re in a different city? I don’t understand...”
“Tell me about it. I don’t understand it either,” Aditya remarked.
Sabrina threw him a dirty look. “We’ve already discussed this, and you agreed.”
“Regretting it already,” Aditya said.
“Stop it!” Sabrina scolded.
Shauna made a face at Akash. “See what you’ve done? Idiot.”
“Sorry, guys…” Akash winced. “But I still don’t understand. If you’re together here, then why can’t you be together back home too? I mean, jokes aside, Rithwik, Aisha, and everyone else won’t mind if you’re together. I think—”
“—I think you need to shut up,” Shauna said. “It’s their life. They can do whatever they want. I may not agree with it. But like I said, it’s their life.”
Sabrina grimaced. “Shauna, you’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am, that’s why I said what I said.”
“Okay, everyone,” Aditya cut in. “While I’m enjoying this conversation and am very happy to have both Shauna and Akash on my side, can I just enjoy the rest of my time here with Sabrina first, before we talk about the status of our relationship in the future?”
“Thank God,” Sabrina said.
He gave her a smile. “That doesn’t mean we won’t talk about it again, beautiful; just not tonight.”
Her forehead creased, so he quickly added, “But right now we do as you say. So, come on, let’s order. Shauna, you swear by the food here, so go ahead and order for all of us, please.”
Shauna walked them through the menu, then signaled to a waiter and quickly placed their orders.
The conversation around him flowed, although Akash and Shauna continued to be at odds over anything and everything.
In fact, their bickering had only gotten worse since their night together.
Sabrina kept interjecting, gently playing peacemaker between them, but they kept at it.
He smiled to himself. The more Akash and Shauna argued, the more it became obvious that all their hostility hid a deep-rooted attraction that they both were avoiding.
One day soon, this would all explode between them and take them under.
Sighing, he sipped his wine, shifting his attention back to Sabrina. He watched her—the graceful tilt of her head, the slight smile on her lips as she listened to the other two, the shake of her head when she disagreed with something. God, she was utterly radiant, and she made him so happy.
Being with her filled him with a quiet contentment he hadn’t known he was missing. The restless edge that had shadowed him for years was simply gone. Sabrina had steadied him, easing a part of him he hadn’t even realized needed calming.
It was too soon to think of the future, to even convince her of it. But already, the idea of letting her go was unfathomable. He knew it in his bones that they were perfect together.
He exhaled, reminding himself that these thoughts had to be parked for later. Right now, he’d enjoy her remaining time in Singapore, exactly as she wanted.