Sure, I didn’t like the way Nilanjana had tried to maneuver me out of this matchmaking party. But I was even more pissed by her rudeness to Meher. Whatever had gone down between the two of us eight years ago was our business, not Nilanjana’s. And she had no right to speak like that to Meher.
“Really?” she asked, her mouth twisting with rage.
“Really,” said Meher, pulling her arm out of my grasp. She curled her hand around my arm and dug her sharp nails into the side of it, out of sight of the others. I tried my best not to wince in pain as Ranvijay stepped forward with a warm smile. His wife was watching us closely, and I don’t know what she saw, but after a few seconds, she smiled at me sweetly, and I have to admit, it frightened me like nothing had before. I had heard that Her Highness Shivina Singh Rathore was a force to be reckonedwith, and I had a feeling we were about to see a practical demonstration of that fact.
“I can’t believe you’re still willing to associate with this tramp,” spat Nilanjana.
Three voices rose in outrage, but my voice cut through all of them.
“Enough,” I roared, and all four of them froze at my tone.
“If you ever disrespect Meher in front of me, I will cut off your allowance, Nilanjana. Consider this your only warning,” I said softly, and I felt Meher turning to stare at me.
I gave her a quick glance and saw the surprise on her face. I was just as surprised at myself, to be honest. Nilanjana hadn’t said anything about Meher that I hadn’t thought before. So why did it make me so upset to hear her say it? Meher meant nothing to me. So why the fuck did I feel the need to rush to her defence? I knew that after what happened that night, of all the people in the world, Nilanjana had as much right to be upset at Meher as I did. So why did I still speak up for the woman who had broken my heart and betrayed me, making me lose my faith in the very fabric of love?
CHAPTER 8
MEHER
To say I was stupefied was an understatement. Gobsmacked even. In fact, I could go so far as to say that my flabbers were gasted!
Samrat Singh Deora, the man who walked out on me that day because he didn’t even care to hear my side of the story, the one who had believed Nilanjana’s version of the incident over mine, was standing up for me. To Nilanjana, of all people.
When I looked up, he was staring at me stonily. As if he hated the very sight of me. Then why the hell did he bother to defend me? Well, I didn’t need the big, bad army boy to defend me. I could stand up to this bitch all by myself. Only, nobody seemed to think I could because before I could speak up, Shivina leaned forward and stared Nilanjana in the eyes menacingly.
“I’d like to add that if you ever treat one of my guests like this one more time, Your Highness, please consider this your last invitation into our home. You will never be welcome at Mirpur Palace again.”
Ranvijay looked on proudly as his wife took my hand and led me into the palace. Nilanjana looked like she’d swallowed a fly by accident. Or maybe a wasp. As for Samrat…well, he looked furious. But I couldn’t tell if he was furious at Nilanjana, at me, or at himself for defending the woman he held in such contempt.
“The guys are waiting to meet you, Sam,” said Ranvijay, leading Samrat into the ballroom where the party was being held. Shivina and I immediately made for the other side, leaving Nilanjana standing all alone at the door.
I tried not to look behind, but I couldn’t resist one last glimpse at Samrat’s retreating back. And just before he turned the corner, he turned around and caught me staring at him. Damn it!
I stumbled as I turned around hastily, and Shivina started giggling uncontrollably as we made our way through the crowd.
“It’s not funny,” I bit out under my breath.
“No, you’re right. It’s just very romantic,” she sighed.
I tugged at her hand and brought her to a hard stop.
“There is nothing romantic about Samrat and me. And there never will be. So please don’t go getting any ideas, Shivina,” I said sternly.
“Really? Then why did he defend you so fiercely to Nilanjana?”
I threw my hands up in confusion.
“I have no idea why he did what he did. But I can tell you for sure that it had nothing to do with romance. I don’t claim to understand his equation with Nilanjana, but I got the feeling he was making some kind of point.”
“If that’s true, why didn’t you refute his claim that you’re here together?” she asked shrewdly, and I sighed heavily.
This was what was niggling me since I walked into the house. Why did I allow Nilanjana to keep thinking we had come to the party together? Sure, she was very rude to me. But I knew howto put people in their place. I didn’t need to support Samrat’s lie for that.
The only answer to that question was that I was a fool. I wanted nothing to do with Samrat, and his relationship with Nilanjana was none of my business. But it still pissed me off beyond measure to see her acting all possessive of him. And I felt the need to stake a tiny claim to him, even knowing that it was completely fake. Just to show Nilanjana that she did not own Samrat.
I was such a moron, I thought with a groan. I was trying to prove to Nilanjana that she had no say in how Samrat and I treated each other. But that wasn’t true, was it? Because when it had come down to her word versus mine, he had believed her. Samrat had merely used me this evening to score a point against her, and the more I thought of it, the more furious I got.
“Because I don’t owe anybody an explanation, Shivina,” I snapped. “And this is exactly why I didn’t want to attend this party. I hadn’t even stepped through the door before I was forced to relive the past. I don’t have time for Samrat, Nilanjana, and their dirty games. So, please make my excuses to Nandini Aunty, but I’m out of here,” I said, turning on my heel and heading for the door.
