I’d get it all done. I had to.
CHAPTER 38
Maya
I ATTACKED THE MOST PRESSING ITEM ON MY TO-DOlist the way I always did: with a comprehensive plan, complete with a backup plan and a backup plan for my backup plan. Anything to help my father and Michel rekindle their friendship and put us all out of our misery.
Unfortunately, every one of those plans ended in utter, abject failure.
When Sebastian and I bribed their assistants into scheduling them for a shared “VIP dinner,” they walked out immediately upon seeing each other at the restaurant.
When we sent them apology notes signed with the other’s name, they (correctly) sensed deception and tossed them in the trash.
When we engineered a “chance” encounter at the Valhalla Club, they… well, you get the idea.
Dealing with them was like dealing with children—two powerful, stubborn children who were used to getting their way and who would rather die than give up their pride.
This dragged on for two weeks, making it a full month since my father and Michel stopped talking. For once in my life, I was all out of ideas. I wanted to tear my hair out.
To make matters worse, Priya was starting to crack under the pressure of my mother’s Bridezilla-by-proxy tendencies. I’d had to talk her out of eloping twice, but I was worried she wouldn’t make it to her wedding without committing grisly murder.
The countdown to the launch event was now measured in weeks instead of months, which meant every waking minute wasspent finalizing details and triaging last-minute issues. Sebastian and I hadn’t had a moment alone since our quickie in the hotel, and I was a giant ball of sexual frustration.
Basically, I was having one hell of a spring, with an emphasis on “hell.” The only things keeping me together were caffeine, adrenaline, and my nightly calls with Sebastian.
Then there was Neha. Given recent developments, she’d rescinded her earlier threat to tell my parents about Sebastian if I didn’t do so myself. Unfortunately, she’d replaced her threat with something worse.
“You have to break up with him,” she said at Priya’s wedding lehenga fitting. My mother had wanted her to wear a more traditional wedding saree, but Priya had put her foot down. She wanted a lehenga, specifically one designed by Vian (one name only), a famous Indian bridal designer.
My mother had relented, though she’d missed today’s fitting because Priya had “coincidentally” scheduled it for the same time as her immovable doctor’s appointment.
Neha and I were seated at the back of Vian’s atelier while he took Priya’s updated measurements and fussed over the draping. They were too distracted and too far away to hear us, but I kept an eye on them while I responded.
“Neha.” I kept my voice just above a whisper. “I’m not breaking up with him.”
“Maya, this isDadwe’re talking about. He still hasn’t forgiven Raj Uncle for that blackjack incident, and it’s been—”
“Over twenty years. I know, I know.” A headache blossomed at the base of my skull. “But Seb didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m not—”
“What do you think?” Priya called out. She spun so we could see the front of her lehenga. “Should we try a different draping style?”
“It’s perfect,” Neha and I said in unison.
I waited until Priya was busy with Vian again before I continued where I left off. “I’m not breaking up with him just because Dad and Michel are too stubborn to apologize.”
“I don’t understand why you’re being so hard-headed about this.” Neha sounded frustrated. “You didn’t evenlikehim until a few months ago. You’ve spent most of your life actively despising him.”
“Despising is a strong word,” I said. “We were… frenemies.”
“You made a voodoo doll of him and stuck it with a pin every night until Diya found it and threw it away. She forced us to sage the entire house to get rid of the ‘dark magic energy.’ The house smelled like smoke for days.”
“Yes, well, I was fifteen andvery upsetthat he got voted class president over me, okay? All because he hijacked the female vote by flirting with them. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, we like each other now.”
More than like.But I didn’t mention that to Neha. She’d freak out even more.
“Enough that you’re willing to risk Dad’s wrath for him?” She assessed me with serious dark eyes. “I want you totrulyunderstand what defying his order to stay away from the Laurents would mean. This isn’t some parenting rule about getting good grades or coming home before curfew. He thinks Michel betrayed him, and there’s nothing he values more than loyalty—from his friendsandhis family. If he doesn’t forgive Michel—and there’s a strong chance he won’t—therewill bemajor consequences when he finds out you’re dating Sebastian. He could demote you or fire you. He’ll make you choose between your family and your boyfriend, and if you choose the latter, he’ll never give you his blessing to marry Sebastian. He’ll see the choice as another betrayal, one that cuts even deeper because you’re his daughter. Your relationshipwith Dad will never be the same.”
A lump of concrete lodged in my throat. She wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know, but hearing her say it out loud drove my reality home with brutal clarity.
