Kashvi leaned to her other side toward Luv and smiled. ‘You know, as a payback for that, I’ll punch him every day, like a morning ritual.’
Luv clutched his chest and his eyes moistened. ‘What did I do to deserve you?’
Meera’s phone rang in a shrill tone and she excused herself, stepping out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind her, Raghav pushed his phone aside and instantly leaned forward.
‘Okay, now that she’s not here,’ he began, scanning the group like they were on some secret mission. ‘I need help, desperately. It’s Meera’s birthday next week and it’s her first since our wedding. I want it to be special but I’m completely blank.’
‘For a guy who forgot his own birthday last year, you’re pretty concerned over hers,’ Luv taunted.
‘What do you have in mind?’ Siya asked, eager to help. She knew how much birth dates meant to Meera.
‘I’ve been asking for so long but none of you have been of any help. So I came up with a bunch of ideas. A weekend away maybe?’
‘Why don’t you write her a poem?’ Swayam suggested with a smirk.
‘That’s a great idea!’ Luv snapped his fingers and said, ‘You can write something like “Roses are red, Meera’s too hot, please don’t leave me, this was all I got.”’
‘That’s tragic,’ Abhay muttered. ‘You should be banned from speaking for the next hour.’
‘I’m a romantic,’ Luv defended himself. ‘In fact, Siya, when is your birthday? I’d love to give you some serenading musings too.’
Abhay reached across the table with zero hesitation and smacked Luv on the head, hard enough to make him cry out.
‘Hey! Raghav only ever threatens me. I didn’t know you’re unhinged enough to actually get violent.’
‘And you’re lucky I didn’t use my right hand,’ Abhay replied.
Luv rubbed the throbbing bump on his head, turned to Siya, and said, ‘You deserve better.’
He quickly moved away before Abhay could reach out for him again.
Swayam asked Abhay, amusement tinting his words. ‘Aren’t you lucky to be married into this circus?’
‘I was born for it,’ Abhay said with a smile.
Siya choked on her laughter when Abhay placed his hand on her bare thigh and possessively gripped it. She glanced sideways and caught the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
Abhay watched her with a soft intensity as he took a sip and it made her body ache with need. Reaching out, he brushed a stray strand away from her face, making her shiver.
‘My mark looks good on you, jaan,’ he whispered to her, brushing a thumb over the hickey.
Siya didn’t get nearly enough of him last night, and had to fight the urge to kick everyone out so they could get back to where they left off early in the morning. She did what she could with people around them and tangled her fingers with his.
He smiled at her and she felt a flutter in her belly. Meera walked in and comfortably settled into Raghav’s open arms. Her sister was laughing at the men bickering about which cake was the best.
For all his reckless jokes, Swayam had always been meticulous about the things that mattered. Now that he would be staying with Kashvi, she could relax just a little.
Siya looked down at their joined hands, where Abhay was tracing absent circles with his thumb as he spoke to Raghav. For the first time in a long time, she let herself believe that things might turn out alright.
Just then, her phone buzzed on the glass table and when she glanced at it, her smile faded.
Dad
The name alone curled anger through her gut and rippled coldly into her chest. The events of last night crashed down onto her and she flipped the phone face-down on the table.
Abhay glanced at her, but didn’t say anything.
Her phone buzzed again. And again. And again. By the fourth call, everyone was looking at her, and she knew that whatever was waiting on the other end wouldn’t stop at four missed calls.
