The choli is a tube-style, fitted bodice blouse; the skirt flares out, glittering with hundreds of black sequins; and a shimmery gossamer chunni is thrown over her left shoulder. The choli is about the length of a bra and the lehenga is low waisted, so it shows off almost her whole torso.
“You’re so pathetic,” I say, and if our horrible fight had happened before this trip, I might not have been able to even look at her. Butright now, my relief outweighs my anger. Because we made it, and although the likelihood of convincing Priti to take the plunge in the nick of time seems implausible, I’m willing to try. Because even though we’ve hurt each other beyond repair, I want to see her happy again. Last night I got a glimpse of a version of her that I haven’t seen in eight years, and I want that Priti back.
“Gee, thank you, Krishna,” Priti says, shooting daggers at me with her gaze. She flips to Rudra. “Why the hell are you both even here?”
I place my hands on my hips. “ConsideringI’mthe reason we’re on this road trip, inGoa, in the first place, the answer should be pretty obvious, shouldn’t it?” I’m looking at Priti, but from the corner of my eye, I can’t help but notice Rudra’s features twist with hurt. A flicker and then gone.
Priti’s eyes flash with anger. “So you’re still going after Acharya, are you?”
I can’t believe she’s turning this on me!Again!
“That’s not—” I groan in frustration. “Stop diverting the conversation, Priti.”
“I’m not diverting anything. Last I checked, you and Rudrawere screwing.”
“We weren’t screwing!” Rudra and I protest in unison. Our eyes meet, and both of us flush.
Priti sees it, the red all over our faces, and barks with laughter. “And you were callingmepathetic.”
“Cut the crap, Priti,” Rudra finally says. Thank god—I was getting jittery waiting for him to say something. “I’m sick of your tantrums, and I’m sick of your lying.” Rudra glances at me, and we both realize, at the same time, that it’s now or never.
We need to tell Priti that we know about Mansi, tell her what we’ve been planning. It’s not sunset just yet. We don’t have long, butit’s enough to turn things around for Priti. It’s enough to sabotage this wedding.
I let out a heavy breath. Then I take her hand. She startles, like an antelope caught in headlights. It would be funny if the situation weren’t so serious.
“Tell her, Rudra,” I say.
“We know you’re here because of your girlfriend,” he says. “Mansi Joshi. The one you dated in Powai and broke up with a while ago. We were supposed to help you stop her wedding, but you hightailed it here without us—in my car, mind you—so we came here on a borrowed bike to find you. We discussed the possibility of you chickening out, which is why we’re here to tell you to get your shit together.”
“Guys—”
“No, we’re not going to listen to any more of your crappy excuses,” I interrupt. “There’s still time, and we can find a way for you to catch Mansi before she ends up making the biggest mistake of her life by marrying this Soumyaroop dude. But we don’t really have a plan either, so we’re just going to have to wing it. We initially wanted you to have a talk with Mansi before the wedding, at noon, but, well... all of us overslept.”
“Krishna, what are you—”
“I was thinking we could empty the buffet table so you could get on it and profess your love for Mansi just before—”
“Krishna,” Priti says, clamping her right palm over my mouth, cutting off the rest of my words. There’s shock written all over her face. “Rudra. You idiots. Stop for a minute.”
I mumble into her hand in protest. Priti holds up her other hand, shaking her head, and we give in. She shuts her eyes, furrows her brow, and clucks her tongue.
“Okay,” she says after a minute. Her eyes open, and she dropsher left hand, sucking in a long breath. “First, I don’t know how the two of you figured out I was here to meet my ex-girlfriend, but good detective work, I guess. Maybe I wasn’t nearly as slick as I thought I was.”
Rudra and I roll our eyes in unison.
“Nuh-uh,” I mutter through her hand.
“Shh. I’m not done.” Priti scoffs. “I didn’t come all the way here toruinthis stupid wedding. I don’t even care about it. The only reason I’m here in the first place is because Krishna happened to propose her wild-as-fuck plan to me and I knew my ex-girlfriend would be here,andI was free, so it just sort of... fit?”
“Nah-nah-nuh?” I ask.Can I talk?
Priti sighs, letting her hand fall.
I gulp, eyes wide. “But why wouldn’t you care about the wedding when your ex is the one getting married?”
“Because, dufus,” Priti says, slapping my head lightly, “Mansi Joshi isn’t my ex-girlfriend. Nikita Joshi, her younger sister, is.”
32
