‘Right,’ I say, keeping my voice level. ‘Alien is one way to put it.’
She doesn’t reply.
‘You didn’t choose this, Aaditha, I get that. Neither did I,’I say. ‘But we’re in it now.’
The silence is loud and telling.
‘Don’t you want out too?’ She asks a question I’m not ready to answer.
‘Who takes the fall?’ I ask after what feels like an eternity. I feel a pull somewhere inside me; it’s physical. If she’s choking, then it has got to be me; that goes without saying.
‘Both of us! Let’s figure out how to end this,’ she says. ‘This arrangement, planned by our families, is suffocating me.’
I pause. A beat too long, maybe. ‘Okay!’ I commit. ‘Let me know when you have a plan.’
TittleTattle
To all the girls I've loved before…
Curious and so-so,
With wedding bells now officially ringing for Prince Vedveer and Coffee Queen Aaditha Asha Prathap, what better moment to take a walk down the memory lane of His Highness’s love life?
Yes, darlings, before sealing the deal with the heiress to your morning caffeine fix, our Prince left behind a glittering trail of 22 known women (that we could confirm, and match with photographs), each more headline-worthy than the last. We’re talking beauty queens, fringe royals and a human rights lawyer (because of course), before the bride-to-be, the queen of a business empire. (Is it hers or Daddy’s? Debatable. But the paperwork says CEO, so who are we to judge?)
From charity balls to polo sidelines and Bollywood parties, these former flames have lit up society columns for years, only to be ghosted once the royal spotlight shifted. The one TT will miss on his muscular arms is Kairi Gaur. The best arm candy in the business!
Stay tuned, darlings. This tea practically serves itself.
A lot ofwho-is-she(read Aaditha) was doing the rounds in society circles, following last weekend’s polo game.
Psssttt: most of them drink her coffee.
So, she may not be a looker (she’s not bad-looking, trust us; it’s the sad sack clothes she wears that give off old lady vibes), so unlike perfection on two legs, Ms Gaur. But Aadithais raking in the moolah, folks, so let it drop!
A little birdie tells me Aaditha’s new addition to the coffee table is a dark drink called envy. Drink up, girls! Not on an empty stomach, please.
Now, darlings, we had to be fair to the Prince (who has been TT’s long-time favourite). Because we were running this feature on him, we had to do some digging into Aaditha’s past (not enough that we judge her simplistic style). So ordinary it breaks us!
It doesn’t look like there’s much of a past, though, except for this dude she was snapped having coffee with in her café. His name is Arjun Mahesh; he’s an Indian-American, and like the Prince, he’s a looker. Outside of the fact that they’re holding hands in the picture from their college days, which we posted on our Instagram handle, there’s not much to tattle, sadly.
The ‘Princess-to-be’ has her own set of problems, though! It begins with her wardrobe.
9.
Aaditha
Thundering in the Head
i’m standing on pointed heels so sharp i’m in dangerofgoing right through the flooring. I use the foot rails of the bar counter to hoist my rear onto the high chair. It is only after I settle into the seat that I exhale and let my shoulders relax.
The onyx-topped bar counter, on which I place my phone face down, sparkles under the lights. My phone is all I’m carrying. No cards, no lipstick, no bag. It is in my room on the twenty-third floor.
I’m in Delhi on a rare overnight trip for the final day of the annual India Initiates Business Conclave. It ends with the awards ceremony, and this year, I take home ‘The Initiator’ award.
I’m looking for a little getaway, which is why I rode the elevator down to this decadent set-up – the Four Hundred Club. A blatantly elitist piece of real estate.
The only way you can walk these marble floors is by paying an XXXL membership fee or if you happen to stay at the Lodhi Road Hotel itself. Hotel guests can’t just show up at the doorway and demand a table; reservations should be made at least an hour in advance, and requests can be turned down without explanation.
