CHAPTER 18
The next morning, Isha woke up with a pounding headache and fragments of memories that made her stomach clench.
The restaurant. The drive home. And then.
.. she pressed her fingers to her lips, remembering the taste of wine and him.
The anger, disappointment, embarrassment and his words hit her hard making the headache worse.
The humiliation burned through her as she got dressed, taking extra time to choose her outfit and fix her hair and anything else that would delay the inevitable encounter.
How was she supposed to face him after throwing herself at him like that?
After he’d had to physically pull away from her? Slut shame her?
When she finally made it downstairs, she found Ashok in the kitchen, already dressed and reading something on his phone while sipping on his coffee. He looked up when she entered, and she braced herself for the awkwardness.
“Good morning,” he said casually, as if nothing had happened. “I just made Coffee.”
She stared at him for a moment, searching his face for any sign of discomfort or anger. There was nothing. Just his usual calm demeanor.
“Morning,” she managed, moving to pour herself a cup of Coffee. Maybe he was going to pretend it didn’t happen. Maybe that was for the best.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, not looking up from his phone.
“Like a log,” she lied, then added quickly, “I had such a great time last night. The restaurant was amazing. I remember having so much fun.” She paused, then emphasized, “That’s all I remember clearly, though. The wine hit me harder than I expected it to.”
He glanced up at her, something unreadable flickering in his eyes. “Good. I’m glad to hear you had fun.”
The careful neutrality in his voice told her everything she needed to know. He was giving her an out, letting her pretend last night never happened. She should have felt relieved.
Instead, she was oddly disappointed.
“I remember the fun,” she said again, maybe trying to convince herself as much as him. “But everything after dinner is pretty much a blur.”
“That’s probably for the best,” he said quietly, then cleared his throat. “Actually, I wanted to show you something.”
Ashok turned his phone screen toward her, and she nearly choked on her coffee.
There, on what looked like a page3 article, was a photo of them from the previous night.
They were at the restaurant, and Ashok was leaning in close to say something to her, his hand close to hers on the table.
The way the photographer had captured it, they looked completely smitten with each other.
“Mission accomplished,” Ashok said with a slight smile. “Look at the headline.”
She read it out loud like she needed to hear it. “Mystery Wife of Business Tycoon Ashok Dev, Finally Revealed.” Her eyes widened as she skimmed the article. “They’re wondering when we got married... and oh my God, they’re trying to guess how much the ring cost.”
“Apparently, rubies are having a moment,” he said dryly.
She looked down at the ring on her finger, the one he’d purchased the prior night. “I guess I’ll be walking around wearing a small fortune on my finger.”
He silently took his phone back, scrolling through for more photos. “There are three more pictures here. One of us, walking to the car from the restaurant, one of me helping you into the passenger seat, and one of us on the driveway.”
Her heart skipped and dropped to her stomach. “You mean, here. Downstairs.”
“Don’t worry,” he said quickly. “The photographer was too far away to capture anything viable.”
The words hung between them, loaded with everything they weren’t saying. She felt her cheeks burn, wondering if he was thinking about the kiss too, despite their mutual pretense.
“The important thing,” he continued, his voice becoming suddenly businesslike, “is that Aravinda now has no reason to question our relationship.”
“Why does she find it hard to believe that we would get married?” Isha found it odd that they had to go to those lengths to prove to his sister.
“Because she knows me and is also smart to know that there is no way I would get married to someone at such short notice.” He chuckled. “Never in a million years did she expect me to get married.”
“That’s fair. But why not share our plan with her? Unlike your parents, she should understand what we are trying to do.” Isha was glad the topic moved away from the article and the pictures in it.
He paused for a moment like he had to formulate the right response. “Aravinda being the oldest is fiercely protective. Not just of us siblings but also of the twins. She suspects you would return the moment we are welcomed back to the islands.”
“Oh, you think, she does?” Isha didn’t expect his sister to know anything about her.
“Absolutely! She is the one person you and I need to convince about how madly and deeply we are in love with each other.
His words made a shiver pass through her. She had never been in love. Didn’t know what it would be like as she had always been in emotionless relationships. She had shut down that side of her as a young girl and didn’t know how to even express them.
“And looks like we’re doing okay, based on the captures in the article. Let’s just keep up with that and we should be good.” With those words he nodded at her and left the room.
After he left, Isha sat alone in the kitchen, looking through the article on her phone.
He was right about the photos, they looked like they were genuinely into each other.
The way he was looking at her, the way she was smiling up at him.
It was almost convincing enough to make me believe it was real.
Was it the mutual attraction that made them look at each other that way?
She touched her lips, as if remembering the kiss that they pretended, but it never happened. There was no denying they were attracted to each other. Maybe it was better to not pursue it. Maybe the attraction from her side was because she needed a rebound guy.
Isha read through the article about the ring, their marriage, and how stunning they looked as a couple. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the line between pretense and reality was getting blurred due to the sheer attraction between them.
She knew the pull was temporary, at least, that’s what she kept telling herself.
And it needed to get out of their systems, to finally scratch that itch that had been driving them both crazy, and then they could move on like rational adults.
It sounded so simple, so logical in her mind, like a problem that could be solved with a simple solution.
But he was being stubborn, fighting this thing between them with every fiber of his being, as if acknowledging it would somehow make it real.
She could see it in the way his jaw tightened when she walked into a room, the way his eyes followed her movements and the tension was so thick she could practically taste it.
He was attracted to her too and she wasn’t imagining the heat in his gaze or the way his breath caught when she stood close to him.
Last night was a testament of how much they wanted each other.
They were both adults, both feeling the same magnetic pull that made it impossible to focus on anything else when they were close.
So why was he making it so complicated? Couldn’t he consider putting an end to this maddening distraction that had them both walking on eggshells around each other. They could address it, deal with it, and then get back to their lives without the constant undercurrent of want humming between them.
But convincing him of that logic was proving to be an entirely different challenge; one that required a strategy he wouldn’t see coming.