“Wow, Mishti. London has changed you.”
Mishti pouted for a moment, then smiled.
“Not London,” she corrected. “Living with Avni has. She’s smart, sassy, and way too sharp. I have learnt so much from her.”
Komal laughed even harder.
“What an irony,” she said. “TheWadhwasister is the one who made you this bold? To stand up against the Wadhwa brothers.”
Mishti laughed, agreeing, then her expression softened.
“Avni is a sweetheart. She’s just… deeply disappointed in Karan.” She sighed. “And I want to change that. I want those siblings to find their way back to each other and be happy again.”
Komal nodded, sincerity replacing her teasing.
“I’m with you,” she said. “It will happen.”
They exchanged a quick fingers-crossed gesture and then, feeling lighter now, merged back into the party.
CHAPTER 37
Engagement Day
Karan knocked once on Avni’s room door. VK had sent him. What he hadn’t expected was Mishti to open the door.
And certainly not like this.
She stood there in a pastel green lehenga, fully dressed for the ceremony. The colour hugged her skin like it belonged to her. For a second, Karan even forgot why he was there.
Mishti froze too, especially when his gaze swept over her slowly, before dropping, and lingering at the sliver of bare skin at her waist. The open curve. The quiet provocation of it.
He exhaled stepping closer. “Are you planning to cover that with the veil?”
Mishti frowned. “What?”
Karan’s eyes flicked back to her waist before returning to her face. “I don’t want others looking.”
Her jaw clenched instantly.
“I don’t care whatyouwant. The only problem I have,” she said sharply, “is you looking at me like that.”
A beat passed as she held his gaze. “And nothing is getting covered. You don’t get to decide how I dress anymore.”
Karan shook his head, controlling his anger, even as his voice stayed maddeningly calm. “Where’s my sweet, innocent wife gone?” he asked. “The one standing in front of me feels like my sister’s replica. Always ready to pounce back and argue.”
Her cheeks burned from the fact that Karan had never spoken to her like this before.
Karan then stepped closer, until her back brushed the doorframe, his presence boxing her in without actually touching her.
“I wantmyMishti’s sweetness back,” he said softly, and the very next moment his gaze dipped to her lips.
Mishti swallowed.MyMishti? Did he just call herhis?
Even the way he was looking at her felt… intimate. Like he was peeling back walls she’d learnt to build carefully over time.
Still, she held on to the last thread of her restraint.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” she said steadily, lifting her chin, though her breath betrayed her, “Mishti’s sweetness still exists. But only for others. It doesn’t suit your taste buds anymore, no matter how much you try these playful tactics on me.”
