“The hyenas scavenging a fresh kill?” Daksh asked, a faint throb beginning at his temple.
“Yeah.” Ashish pointed his glass at him. “That’s what you are. A hyena picking at my leftovers.”
“Careful,” Daksh said, the throb turning into a pulse, his anger a dull roar in his blood.
Ashish’s mouth twisted in a smile. “Fuck you man. Fuck you! I knew the minute she walked in at dinner and looked at you…I knew then that my engagement was over.”
“Your engagement is over because you screwed her over,” Daksh told him, fury leaking into his voice.
“I had no choice!” Ashish got to his feet, his temper rising to meet Daksh’s.
“You always have a choice,” Daksh told him.
Ashish shoved him, his hand, damp with whiskey, slipping off Daksh’s shirt. “Fuck you.”
Daksh gripped his wrist, holding him back. “Cut it out.”
“Are you fucking her? Did you fuck her in Goa?” Ashish was yelling now.
“No, you fucking idiot,” Daksh roared. “I would never do that to you. Or to her.”
“Then why does she look at you like she’s considering tearing your clothes off?” Ashish’s eyes glittered with angry tears. “She has never once looked at me like that. Even the few fucking kisses I managed to steal were like a chore she needed to get done with.”
“Then why the fuck did you propose?” Daksh gritted out.
Ashish laughed, a bitter sound. “Sex I can get anywhere. Where else would I get a walking, talking blank cheque?”
Daksh punched him even before the thought formed completely in his mind. Ashish went flying, landing spread eagled on the centre table. A thin trickle of blood dripped down his jaw. He wiped at it disbelievingly and looked up at his brother.
“Are you fucking in love with her or something?”
“Love with whom?”
Dread slid through Daksh as their father stepped into the room, glancing askance at the overturned furniture and Aakash who was now dripping tiny droplets of blood on to the carpet.
“Vedika Thakkar,” Aakash spat. “Fucking bastard stole my girl.”
“I didn’t-“ Daksh began but his father was already turning towards him, eyes gleaming with interest.
“Well, well, well,” Prasun Mathur said, “maybe you are not so useless after all.”
CHAPTER 31
VEDIKA
Vedika wokethe next day feeling like a goat had pooped in her mouth and gremlins were hammering at her skull from inside while they danced the tango in her brain. Her stomach twisted violently and she groaned as she lurched out of bed and ran for the bathroom.
She barely made it. Vedika dropped her head into her hands as her stomach punished her for all her deviant behaviour the previous day. What the hell had she been thinking? Alcohol, so much alcohol, she could practically feel her brain sloshing around in her skull.
She dropped her head into her hands, slow, tortured tears escaping her. This was why she lived that painfully regulated life. This was what happened when she tried to put even a toe out of the structure she’d devised to keep her life on even keel.
An hour later, when she felt reasonably confident that she was done with the current episode, she brushed her teeth, washed her face and wrapped herself in a clean towel before leaving the bathroom. She turned the air conditioner on high and fell back on to the bed, allowing the breeze to cool her damp, fevered brow.
A few minutes later, a knock sounded on the door. She slipped her aching body under the comforter and pulled it up to her neck before calling out blearily, “Come in.”
Tani slipped in, shutting the door behind her. She looked fresh and pretty in a green, short dress that draped over her mini baby bump. Her long, unruly curls cascaded over her shoulders making Vedika acutely conscious of her own scarecrow like hairstyle. Her head felt oddly light and free without the heavy weight of her long hair dragging her down. Or maybe that was just her BP dropping from her body’s violent purging.
“Oh no,” Tani said softly, concern furrowing her brow. “What can I do to help?”
