The movie made Kamila think about her own past. Her mother had been emotionally abusive and overly critical and called her a lazy, irresponsible harlot. And, while Mom was alive, Kamila’s rebellion was to be exactly what her mother expected—there was no point in being anything else. But everything changed when Mom died and Dad’s depression got so bad. Kamila did a one-eighty.
Her mother had called her irresponsible and lazy, so she reenrolled in college to follow in her father’s footsteps in accounting. And she volunteered for everything under the sun.
Her mother had called her selfish and self-centered, so she threw lavish parties for her friends and made photoshopped portraits of their pets to make them happy. And she constantly tried to matchmake for them, wanting them to have their happily ever aftersbecauseof Kamila. She wanted everyone to be grateful they had Kamila in their lives.
Even the way she dressed was because of Mom’s disapproval. Her mother had said she dressed like trash, so Kamila became interested in fashion, so she could be the most fabulous in any room.
She even decided to stop swearing one day, and she hadn’t since—save for telling Rohan to eff off a few days ago.
And wow, what did that mean? The first person she’d used profanity in anger on in at least six years was someone she was in love with? She should analyze that—another time, though.
Her therapist had said she changed to prove her mother was wrong about her. But Kamila thought it was also to become the person Dadneededher to be when his mental health took a nose dive. Because Dad deserved it—he was the only one who made Kamila feel like she was more than a useless burden on her family.
And changing had been good for Kamila. She discovered how much she loved helping people. She found volunteering incredibly rewarding. She loved having a welcoming home for her friends and family. And she really loved discovering her own signature style.
But getting addicted to that positive attention meant sometimes she meddled. And she wasn’t always authentic. She put too much focus on what others thought of her and not enough on figuring out what was really important to her. What she valued. What she loved. Who she loved.
And whenever Rohan saw her deeply—saw that her parties and clothes and her social mediadidn’tmean she was frivolous or unworthy—she brushed him off. Flirted a bit and kept things playful.
Maybe becauseshedidn’t think she was worthy. Not good enough to run Emerald. And definitely not good enough for anything serious with Rohan.
She hadn’t overcome all the things her mother had said, at least not as well as she’d thought she had. Kamila rubbed her hands over her face. Good thing she’d already made an appointment with her therapist for next week. She had a lot to talk to her about.
But right now…this decision to keep Emerald and grow it into her dream accounting firm was the first big thing Kamila remembered doing that felt like it was just forher. Not to prove Mom wrong or make Dad proud. Not to impress Rohan or her friends. She was doing this because she loved Emerald, and helping her clients, present and future, was incredibly important to her.
She was doing it because she thought shecoulddo it, and she knew she should.
***
Eventually Kamila did get some sleep that night, but she woke up with major stomach butterflies about the day in front of her. This wasn’t fair—she’d planned everything for the puppy prom meticulously so she could really enjoy herself on the day of the party. But of course, fate had other plans, and instead, she was a nervous wreck over talking to her father this morning about keeping Emerald.
But in the words of the wise Freddie Mercury, the show must go on. She got out of bed and did a run-through of Darcy’s routine a few times. After practicing, she took a shower and laid out her sari so she could easily slip it on before leaving for the prom. She’d had the sari, a deep-turquoise-and-gold georgette, stitched for easy wear and had the tailor put more fullness in the skirt to accommodate the musical canine freestyle routine. And she’d had a matching ruffled skirt thing made for Darcy to wear. The doorbell rang as Kamila was setting out her costume jewelry.
It was Jana, with treats from Dad’s favorite Indian bakery in one hand and an umbrella in the other.
“Shoot,” Kamila said, peeking out after Jana came into the house. “It’s raining. It wasn’t supposed to rain today. My hair…”
Jana raised a brow. “Your hair looks fine.”
“Yeah, but it won’t if I get caught in the rain. I can’t have frizzy hair for Darcy’s dance.”
Jana shook her head as she put the paper bag on the dining table. “I can’t believe you’re going to dance with your dog. In public.”
Kamila shrugged as she started taking parathas, samosas, and sweet rolls out of the bag. This was all way off Dad’s diet. Kamila would serve it with fresh fruit. “Hey, if we’re going to try to be friends, you’re going to have to accept me as I am.”
Jana raised a brow. “Are we going to be friends?”
With all her other self-discoveries last night, she hadn’t really thought about the talk she’d had with Jana yesterday. But she gave it a few seconds now and realized that none of her epiphanies last night would have even happened without Jana. And Kamila much preferred having a friend than a nemesis, anyway. “Yes,” Kamila said. “We should give it a shot long-term. Because you desperately need a girlfriend in town right now, and I need someone to call me out when my ridiculousness goes too far.”
Jana huffed a laugh. “That, I can do.”
“Jana!” Dad said from the stairs. “That smells delicious.”
“Look at the treats she brought!” Kamila said. “I need to talk to you about something, and Jana came for brunch to help me convince you.”
“Ooh, mysterious.” Dad checked his watch. “Rohan asked to meet with me to go over some details for the sale in an hour. I can eat quickly, and maybe we can talk this afternoon?”
Kamila shook her head. “I need to be at the prom then—can you call Rohan to push your meeting back a little bit?”
