‘You’re dumb.’
Sen clicked his tongue. ‘But seriously, Kaavi. What are you going to do?’
She sighed. ‘I’m still dealing with my father dying.’
‘No, Kaavi. Look, I know Granddad always talks about forgiveness, but screw that. Your father was a psychopath. Full stop. You’ve got to call it what it is. He was a psychopath and you don’t owe him forgiveness. You just have to accept it and move on.’
‘It’s not that easy, Sen. I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I’m strong enough.’
Sen shook his head. ‘Kaavi, you and your mother are the strongest women I know. You were just a kid when you were put behind bars and then you went on to become a damn supermodel. You’ve survived things most people can’t even imagine. Come on, Kaavi. You’ve got to believe in yourself.’
He softened. ‘I might treat you like my kid sister because you’ll always be the baby of the family to me. But you’re a strong woman. Now you’ve got some big decisions to make, but I have faith in you.’
Kaavi blinked hard, holding back tears. ‘That means a lot to me, Sen.’
‘I love you, cuz. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for me to try that chocolate cake you won’t shut up about.’
The chocolate cake had landed up being consigned to the rubbish bin in Shona and Sen’s kitchen. Now Kaavi was carrying the empty cake dome as she walked beside Neel back to the apartment.
‘So, you used your mother’s chocolate cake recipe?’ he asked, trying hard not to laugh.
‘I did. But when it came to adding the sugar, my mother distracted me and I forgot,’ she explained.
‘Hmm. Interesting.’
She stopped and faced him. ‘I think I should just give up on this cooking and baking thing. That’s why restaurants and takeaways exist, for people like me.’
‘Don’t give up. I’ll tell you what: tomorrow, I’ll come over and we’ll bake cupcakes.’
They reached her apartment block and as much as he wanted to follow her in, he decided not to. Often when he was with Kaavi, he felt like a schoolboy with his first crush. This was one of thosemoments. Instead of waiting for her to reject him or close the door on him, he made an excuse about having work to do and then rushed back to the hotel.
Only when he was under the shower, the water pounding his back, did it hit him that maybe leaving the ball in Kaavi’s court wasn’t the smartest move. Maybe Natara was right, but he also knew that someone like Kaavi couldn’t be pushed. Not now when she was vulnerable.
Kaavi slipped into a pastel strappy maxi dress. The Rally heat was stifling, even with the aircon on full blast. She twisted her hair up into a messy bun just to keep it off her neck.
Neel had said he’d be there around three o’clock with cupcakes on the agenda. He told her not to worry about the recipe or ingredients. Earlier, her mother called after news of the sugarless cake had spread. Clearly, Sen was a snitch. Her mother teased her, which actually warmed Kaavi’s heart. Her mom had called her daily since their talk in the hotel coffee shop, and now Kaavi looked forward to seeing her name pop up on her phone screen.
At exactly three, Neel knocked on the door.
Kaavi opened to find him holding two bags from The Super Market.
‘I’ve got everything,’ he said.
He walked in and headed straight to the kitchen, setting the bags on the counter.
‘Okay. I’ve got all the ingredients and the recipe,’ he said, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
Kaavi leaned over to take a look. The font was ridiculously large.
‘You printed this at the hotel?’
‘Yeah.’
‘But why is the font so big?’
‘Kaavi, we need all the help we can get,’ he said with a straight face.
She burst out laughing, especially when she saw that ‘Add Sugar’ was printed in bold red.
