Considering how outrageous the story sounded, Maa had yet to freak out on me, so I considered that a win. Now that the egg was no longer in his possession, Desmon had given me the go-aheadto share the story. It was crazy enough that I doubted anyone would believe me anyway.
I did, however, decide to keep Emmett’s name out of it. Partly because I thought it safer to leave him unnamed, and partly because I worried that saying his name might call him into existence, then steal me off to babysit his future kid and warm his bed.
Just because Graham didn’t even have the decency to show up to say goodbye didn’t mean that I was desperate enough to hop over to a powerful stranger who promised me the world. Though I had to admit that the deal sounded sweeter by the minute.
It was why I hadn’t told Maa about the offers Emmett had thrown at me. She might just decide to contact him and make sure I didn’t ruin my chance now that Karim was gone.
“You’ve had a big adventure. I’m just glad you are safe,beta.” Maa took a long sip of her tea. “What are you going to do now?”
“Just keep living my life, I guess. My new friends invited me back to Darlington for the upcoming Monsters & Magic Charity Gala. We should go together. You’ll love Darlington.”
“Oh, no, no, no. You should go with a date. I’m sure my daughter can find a date by then. One better than Karim.”
I sighed. “I know you’re always worried I’ll be alone. But don’t be. I’ll be fine.”
Maa was silent for a beat before she spoke. “The reason I pushed you so hard at Karim was because I felt like I failed you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, shocked. “You worked so hard and raised me on your own after Dad left. How could you think you failed me?”
“In so many ways. You had to grow up watching us fight. And money was always tight. You had to see me cry when I was lonely. You tried to cheer me up. It should be the other way around. That’smyjob. I should be there foryou.”
I gawked at her. I had no idea she held so much guilt in her heart.
“And because of me, you’ll never see the culture-rich country you came from,” she continued. “I didn’t even have time to teach you to cook! You made your first dal from a recipe on YouTube because I failed you. Every desi mother is supposed to teach her daughters.”
“You were working, Maa! You paid for everything: our apartment, my school books, you even paid for my real estate license.”
“Because I worried you wouldn’t find a husband. And then when you started seeing Karim, I was so happy. I thought I could never take you to visit your home, buthecan.”
She’d asked Karim to take me to visit India several times, but the answer had always been “after the wedding.” I hadn’t understood then how much it clearly meant to her that I saw her homeland for myself.
“I don’t needhimto go anywhere. I know you’ve told me that I had to go with a man for safety, but what’s stopping me fromhiring one of the Redrocks to go with me? And you can come too.”
I was talking out of my ass because I had a feeling the Redrocks charged an arm and a leg, and a trip out of the country would be way out of my budget, even though we were friends.
Her eyes lit up at the thought of seeing her home country again. “Oh, no. I can’t.”
“Why? Because of your family? Your brothers? They wouldn’t even know we’re there. And have you seen the Redrock brothers? They’re gargoyles. Even if my uncles find out, they aren’t going to try a thing.”
There were tears welling in her eyes now. “You are sweet, my Meera. We will save up and go together.”
She embraced me, and I hugged her back, tears welling in my eyes. Maa and I hadn’t always agreed on everything, but it felt good to know she always cared about me and had my best interests at heart. She’d taken care of me enough. Now I wanted to give her something back. If she could never take me to India, then I would take her.
Now that my unplanned detour through the supernatural world was officially over, I had to figure out what came next. Somehow, the idea of going back to showing condos felt about as exciting as watching paint dry, especially when half of Manhattan already had a license to sell shoeboxes for a million dollars.
We finished up our meal, and Maa told me that a few of her coworkers were working together to get her boss fired, whichmade me think of Graham and our visit to the farmers’ market. I never did pick up that warding plant for her. Then Maa packed me enough food to last until the next apocalypse and sent me on my merry way home in a cab.
The silent cab ride meant I was thinking about Graham again. I hated how my brain kept going back to him and the fact that he hadn’t even cared enough to say goodbye. He was just some guy who was tasked to protect me and nothing more. Nothing! I shouldn’t be so freaking hurt over this. I bet he was over me already. He hadn’t even called.
I was about to haul two full canvas shopping bags of glass containers up the stairs to my apartment—the elevator was broken, again—when a very familiar-looking woman stopped me.
Michelle looked worse for wear, her usually perfect hair a mess, her makeup badly smudged. The crisp blazer she always wore was wrinkled, one sleeve rolled up haphazardly, and there was a coffee stain on the front. That alone would’ve caught my attention. But the gun in her hand? That was impossible to ignore, especially since she pointed it at me.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the woman who ruined my life,”she spat.
I realized she was the voice I’d heard from behind the counter at the coffee shop. Bitch had been in on it the whole time.
“I can’t believe how stupid you are,” she continued. “You managed to get your hands on the egg and ended up with nothing to show for it. You really were always the slow one, weren’t you?”
