Chapter 2
aavi shifted in her seat. She was trying really hard to ignore the crackling chemistry. She hadn’t seen this man in two years, yet her body still responded to him. She ignored the sudden heat that was spreading through her.
Neel once told her that his teachers, parents and friends had always referred to him as the ‘quiet’ one.
But Kaavi knew his presence in a room never went unnoticed.
His height, almost always taller than anyone in the room, was just one of the things that made him stand out. People described him as a hunk.
Although his dark hair was clean cut, he styled it in a way that made it look completely natural.
His generous smile, dimples and a strong, sharp jawline grabbed attention without him even trying.
Now after so much time apart, he was sitting opposite her wearing jeans, a plain blue T-shirt and grey sneakers, and he was just as sexy as on the night they’d met.
But she had to keep her cool. Neel was wrong about her forgetting that she was married.
She thought about it every day. She thought about him every day.
And she’d waited for the day when it would come back to haunt her.
Now the ghost of her past was right in front of her, oozing sex appeal and confidence.
‘You said we needed to talk, but you don’t know why you’re here. I’m confused,’ she said.
He sat forward. ‘I wanted to see my wife.’
She wasn’t convinced. ‘You just woke up today and suddenly thought it would be a good day to see your wife, after this long?’
She expected him to look away. If it were her, she would have looked away. But not him. His gaze remained firmly on her.
‘Something like that,’ he said.
‘And what am I supposed to do with this information? How am I supposed to react?’
He stood up abruptly and said, ‘I have a proposal.’
Shaking her head, she replied, ‘The last time you had one of those we ended up married.’
He ignored that: ‘Give me a month. Just one month.’
Kaavi blinked twice as if that would clear her confusion. She was still getting over the shock of seeing him and now he was proposing something she didn’t understand.
‘A month for what?’
‘To see you, talk to you,’ he said. His eyes were still on her.
That was one of the many things about Neel that always impressed her – he never faltered or showed that he was intimidated.
Not that she believed she intimidated him.
But surely seeing her again must have some effect on him. She wasn’t willing to explore it.
Kaavi stood too.
‘I think you should leave,’ she said.
‘What are you afraid of? It’s only one month.’
Again, she shook her head.
‘I’m not afraid of anything. But I don’t need this disruption in my life now,’ she said.
Neel looked around. ‘Does he know?’
Kaavi was about to ask what he was referring to when it hit her: he thought she was with someone, and living with him too.
She could use this to her advantage, even if she knew it was pathetic.
‘It doesn’t really matter. What matters is us staying away from each other,’ she said.
He took a step towards her. She sucked in a breath as he came closer.
‘Why are you afraid to be around me?’ he asked.
She took a step back.
‘Are you hearing yourself? We’re married on paper. Whatever we felt back then is gone. We’ve moved on. You can’t just walk in here like nothing happened and expect me to fall into your arms.’
He folded his arms and rocked back on his heels.
‘I know you. You want to fall into my arms.’
‘Neel, I don’t know why you’re here, but I don’t want any part of it,’ she replied.
‘Oh, but Mrs Naran, you’re already a part of it. You’re one half of Mr and Mrs Naran,’ he said cheekily.
‘Stop that. Just tell me what you want from me!’
‘You. For one month.’ His answer was firm and clear. His voice didn’t even quiver.
‘And if I don’t agree?’
He turned around and looked out the ceiling-to-floor window. It just didn’t fit in Rally, but who was he to say what suited a town that he knew nothing about?
‘Listen Kaavi, I’m not here to threaten or force you and I’m not going to demand that you give me even an hour of your time. You made it pretty clear when you left that you didn’t want that. But I’m staying in Rally for a month. I’m not going anywhere.’
‘What’s the point of that?’
He turned back to look at her.
‘When the month’s done, you’ll never hear from me again.’
Kaavi didn’t respond. What could she say? She didn’t own Rally. She couldn’t exactly run him out of town. His plan made no sense at all; she didn’t know what the endgame was.
Firstly, he wanted to ‘see and talk’ to her for a month and didn’t even put up a fight when she halfheartedly refused. But now he wanted to stay in town.
‘I’m going to go now, but you’ll see me around. And no, that’s not some sort of threat. It’s me saying I’m not leaving town.’
He moved towards the door.
‘Neel?’
He turned to face her.
‘My family … no one knows about us.’
As he opened the door, he said through gritted teeth: ‘It’s okay Kaavi. I’ll remain your dirty secret.’
He walked out of the apartment and didn’t look back. The door shut behind him.
Kaavi instinctively wiped her palms on her dress. But her palms were not sweaty. There was no pounding in her chest. Why did she think she was having a panic attack when she wasn’t?
Neel had always made her feel safe. In fact, her panic attacks started long after she left him. She sat down on the couch and thought about their marriage. Everything had happened so fast: they went from dates to a two-day engagement to marriage.
She thought about the marriage proposal. Even now, it made her smile, despite all that had happened.
They were lying in bed after a night of passion.
‘I’m leaving for Mauritius next week,’ she said solemnly.
He sat up and faced her. ‘For how long?’
‘About a month. A sportswear brand is launching soon, but they want to do everything all at once while everyone is in Mauritius. A photoshoot, their TV advert and a few other promos,’ she replied.
She pushed the covers off and stood, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back onto the bed.
She giggled, but then sighed.
‘You don’t seem happy about going,’ he said, pulling her closer to him.
She got comfortable next to him again, then ruffled his hair.
‘I’m just worried that this won’t be here when I get back,’ she said, looking around.
‘The house? It’ll take me longer than a month to sell. It’ll be here when you get back,’ he teased.
She playfully punched his shoulder.
He leaned back and, pulling her to his chest, he said, ‘I’m not going anywhere, Kaavi.’
‘I can’t expect you to wait for me. We’ve been together for a few months now and this is the first time that I’ll be gone for a month. I can’t expect you to wa—’
‘You think you mean so little to me? That as soon as you leave, I’ll have someone else lined up to replace you?’ he interrupted.
She didn’t answer, but that was exactly what she was thinking.
They lay in each other’s arms, saying nothing.
‘What if we got married? Would that make you see I’m not going anywhere?’
Kaavi sat up, grabbed his chin and looked deep into his eyes.
‘You’re crazy,’ she said.
‘About you. Kaavi, I’m crazy about you. I’m already in love with you, so unless you don’t feel the same about me there’s nothing stopping us from getting married.’
Kaavi pushed off the covers, got up and stood beside the bed, facing him.
‘Did you just ask me to marry you?’
He got out of bed too.
‘I did,’ he said, coming around to stand in front of her.
Kaavi shook her head.
‘I’m in my panties and one of your T-shirts. You’re in boxers. My hair is a wild mess. My mascara is smudged from last night. This can’t be a proposal,’ she said, half excited, half terrified.
‘If you want the whole elaborate romantic proposal, I’ll make it happen. But I don’t care where it is or what you’re wearing, I just want the answer to be yes,’ he said.
He reached out, his thumb brushing her cheek; she leaned into it, but he pulled away and knelt in front of her.
‘Kaavi, will you marry me?’
He didn’t have to ask twice because she jumped into his arms and they tumbled onto the wooden floor. His arms locked around her.
‘So yes then?’
She nodded far too many times because she couldn’t get the words out. He laughed and captured her mouth.
Two days later, they met at Home Affairs and made their way to the marriage registration office.
They hadn’t planned their outfits, but they both showed up looking like a couple about to say their vows in front of guests at a posh wedding venue.
Neel was wearing a tailored navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a deep burgundy tie.
He’d paired them with brown loafers. Kaavi was in an exquisite burgundy sari.
The fabric was chiffon and draped effortlessly, catching the light with a subtle shimmer that made her skin glow.
She’d braided her hair in a single plait and had threaded a single cream rose, which she’d bought on the way there, into the top of her plait at the nape of her neck.
‘I still don’t understand why we have to keep our marriage a secret,’ he said as Kaavi filled in the application form.
She put down the pen and turned to him. ‘It’s better this way for now. It won’t be forever,’ she said.
Neel didn’t argue. He also didn’t back out.
He simply nodded and an hour later they were married.
They never expected their wait or ‘ceremony’ to be over so quickly because they’d heard only horror stories about long delays at Home Affairs.
Neel joked that it signalled their marriage would be smooth sailing.
She now knew that it was also a sign that the marriage would be over quickly.
But, for a short time, they did have that marital bliss people always speak about.