She had expected someone cold but the motherly way Neena brushed away an imaginary lint from her son’s lapel and smiled up at him felt familiar to Siya. A pang of longing went through her as she recalled how her own mother would sing her to sleep.
Abhay turned to Siya and laced his fingers through hers as he said, ‘Speaking of engagement, I want to introduce you to Siya. My fiancé.’
The warmth on Neena’s face, so natural when she spoke to Abhay, vanished without a trace the second she looked at Siya. And Siya, used to the barbs of her father’s family, used to court room confrontations, suddenly found herself feeling fifteen again, waiting to be called into the principal’s office.
Just then, the event manager hurried over and murmured something to Abhay. With a small sigh, he said, ‘Something about vendor payments. I’ll be back in ten.’
He lightly squeezed her hand, offered an apologetic smile, and walked away, leaving Siya alone with the woman who would soon be her mother-in-law.
The silence between them stretched, and beneath the heavy weight of her gaze, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being examined under a microscope. All of a sudden, she remembered her father’s words from one of his many drunken rants. ‘That woman wears the pants in the Agrawal empire. Mihit just carries her bags.’
‘Don’t let them get to you with their moronic questions and rumours. It’s a lot to step into a role that the public is scrutinising every moment of. I know how terrifying that can feel.’
Siya nodded but kept mum. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten to prepare to face the Agrawal matriarch, and now she felt at a loss for words.
Her gaze swept once over Siya and then Neena said, ‘You look nothing like your mother.’
The observation caught her off guard, and her shoulders stiffened. She blinked as each word sunk into her heart like splinters. ‘I hear that a lot. Everyone says I look like my father.’
Neena tilted her head, as if weighing her response. ‘Is that all?’
The question hung in the air as Siya tried to decode the implication. ‘I’m not sure I follow.’
Neena smiled but there was no warmth in it. ‘Kartik isn’t exactly known for his humanitarian nature or common decency. It’s natural to wonder then, isn’t it, if you’re more like him or Arohi.’
Siya couldn’t tell whether it was fury or heartbreak crawling up her spine. She could hear her father’s voice in her mind.Don’t trust that woman, Siya. Neena Agrawal will smile at you while cutting your throat with a diamond blade.
Siya tried to keep her expression even, but her tone came out more defensive than she intended. ‘I didn’t come here for the Agrawal name or wealth, despite what my father or the media has led you to believe.’
‘So why are you here?’
‘I’m here because of the choices made for me,’ Siya admitted, meeting her gaze despite the way her pulse thundered in her ears.
There was the slightest fracture in Neena’s composure as her eyes flickered with recognition. She raised a brow and remarked, ‘No one walks into a deal like this without wanting something for themselves.’
Siya tried to swallow past her dry throat. Her fingers curled at her sides as she said, ‘I’m not proud of the bargain I made, but I did it to protect what matters the most to me. And I had hoped that maybe, as a woman, you’d understand what it costs us to choose duty over our heart.’
The rustling of the breeze swept Neena’s feather-light pallu into the air, and her grey hair glinted under the afternoon sun.
‘I’m simply protective of my son. Abhay has always believed the best in people. So I’m within my rights to wonder if you’rehere as your father’s proxy,’ Neena said, each word chosen like a chess move.
‘You’re well-known for your intelligence. I’m sure if you observe my actions beyond my last name, you’ll figure out the answer.’
For the first time, Neena looked at her with curiosity. ‘You have quite a bite to your words,’ she finally said.
‘Please don’t mistake my defence for disrespect, Mrs Agrawal. I may have my father’s face, but I carry my mother’s spine.’
Neena held her gaze for a moment, and then a faint, knowing smile tugged at the end of her lips. ‘Good. You’ll need it.’
Turning on her heel, Neena walked away, leaving Siya confused over her warning. Though she knew one thing for sure. Neena didn’t need to be loud or hostile, her chilling smile did the work just fine. Siya had seen that kind of strength before in her mother who’d worn it like a second skin, and then watched as her father ripped it apart, piece by piece.
Meera passed Neena with a polite nod, and came to stand beside Siya in the balcony. She asked dryly, ‘On a scale of one to ten, how dramatic was your first conversation?’
Siya let out a startled laugh and said, ‘Easily a hundred. It felt like I was being interrogated for a crime.’
‘So… a typical mother-in-law initiation then,’ Meera said, and patted her back in sympathy.
‘Is it always like this with everyone?’
