Jana motioned Kamila to lean closer so she could read the messages.
Jana:Hi.
Nadia:This is strange. Thanks for responding, though. I figured you hated me, lol.
Jana had no idea what to say, but she had to say something.
Jana:I don’t really know you.
Nadia:No, you don’t. But…we could get to know each other.
“Ask her if she’s sleeping with Anil,” Kamila suggested.
Jana didn’t ask that. She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. But Nadia kept writing.
Nadia:I am so sorry for everything. For what I did. For what my parents and sister did. I never expected Anil would speak to me again. And I never expected I would ever speak to you. I told him that one of these days I’m going to try to get the four of us in one big group therapy session together to clear the air.
Jana:Four of us?
She had better not be thinking Imani was the fourth. Jana’s fist clenched.
Nadia:You, me, Anil, and Darren. My partner. He’s the one I left Anil for…we’ve been off and on since high school. He’s in the picture you liked. We all went hiking together a few days ago. That’s Darren’s sister with us.
Jana stared at the message, hands shaking.
“She’sstillwiththe floozy she cheated on Anil with!” Kamila said. “What’s the male version of a floozy?”
“Forget floozy,” Tim said, looking at Nicole’s phone. “He’s a hottie!”
Jana exhaled. Anilwasn’tin a relationship with Nadia. Jana had no idea how tense she’d been for the last few hours thinking of the possibility of that. But now, Jana just…released. And unfortunately, releasing meant crying. She choked back a sob, mortified. The dog whimpered again.
Without skipping a beat, Kamila put her arms around Jana and rubbed her back. “See? What did I tell you? He wantsyou,” Kamila said.
After Kamila let her go, Jana wrote back with tears still running down her face.
Jana:Oh. Okay. Thank you.
Nadia:I wish things had been different. But I’ve always wanted to tell you one thing: Anil always belonged with you, not me. I’m so happy that you two are giving it a shot.
Jana didn’t respond.
Nadia:I’ll leave you alone now. But if you’re willing, I’m here to talk anytime. Answer any questions you have. I’m rooting for you and Anil forever.
Jana didn’t know what to say, so she just wroteThank you.
“She seems nice,” Kamila said.
Jana looked around. She’d forgotten everyone was here. She choked back another sob.
Kamila stood. “All right, I think on that note, this party should wrap up. Jana clearly has some thinking to do. Put all your stuff in a box…I’ll hang on to Shelina and Zayan’s, and Rohan can take Marc’s to work next week. Who needs help carrying things? Jana, take Anil’s and tell him you have it—You’ll speak to him soon.”
Jana was about to snap at Kamila for meddling since she had no idea what she was going to do with the information that Anil was definitely single. But then she remembered that shewouldbe speaking to him soon—when Imani called the next day.
Jana nodded and started collecting her souvenirs. She did need to think…and that was best done alone.
Chapter 28
With her mind racing, Jana took her and Anil’s boxes back home. She had no idea what she was going to do—there were too many emotions swirling through her at the same time. But the strongest one was relief. Anil was notwithNadia again. Also, Nadia hadapologizedfor what she and her family had done in the past. And shewantedJana and Anil to be together.
