Page 121 of Since You Stole My Heart

A part of him wanted exactly that. If only he knew how.

‘She sounds like a therapist,’ he observed.

Kashvi murmured, ‘She is. And a damn good one.’

Her head bobbed as she lifted the Scotch to her lips and gulped it down in one go. Then she brought the glass down with a careless thud. ‘But I’m too broken to fix.’

Dhruv covered her hand with his. ‘Kashvi, what happened? Why are you here?’

‘I came there,’ she said, turning halfway to point at the glass building across the street. ‘I hoped Maithili had a slot, but she’s not even in the city. I had to cope somehow, and this was available.’

Her shoulders sagged as she grabbed the half-empty bottle and poured more Scotch. Her hand shook, amber liquid sloshing over the rim of the glass.

Dhruv had never seen her this out of control before. It scared him to his bones.

He reached out to steady the bottle. ‘Cope with what?’

She stiffened, looking away. ‘Go on, judge me. I don’t care. You think I don’t know how this looks?’

Dhruv exhaled slowly. ‘You’re right. You shouldn’t care what anyone thinks. But I’m not judging you. And for the record, I see someone too.’

She turned back to him. ‘You do?’

‘Yeah, sometimes. It helps. You know, for people like us who grew up with a father like Karthik, it’s basically mandatory.’

‘Tell me about it,’ she scoffed, clinking her glass lightly against his. ‘Every time I think there are decent men in the world, Dad proves me wrong.’

He nodded. Sadly, he knew exactly what she meant. ‘But I expect better from my brother-in-law, so I hope he lives up to it.’

She shook her head, and a soft, broken sob slipped from her lips. ‘You can’t call him that anymore.’

A knot of worry tightened in his gut. ‘Why not?’

A tear slipped from beneath the edge of her sunglasses, and the air in his lungs froze.

‘Talk to me, Kashvi. Are you okay?’ he demanded softly.

She dragged the back of her hand across her face, wiping the tear away as she poured more Scotch. ‘I’m fine.’

He leaned forward, unwilling to let it go. ‘Where is Swayam? What did he do?’

‘He’s at Obsidian Plaza. That’s where his cousin is getting engaged, and if Swayam likes Aisha, his family will get them engaged there too.’

‘What? How? Why?’

Dhruv couldn’t believe it. He had seen something real between them, something that looked a lot like love. Had he been wrong?

‘Oh, because she’s such a nice girl. Exactly the kind his family always wanted for him,’ Kashvi said with exaggerated praise. Her imitation faltered into a bitter smile. ‘According to his maasi, she’s perfect for him.’

A surge of anger clawed through him. ‘Let’s go drag him out before he gets the chance to do something that stupid.’

She shook her head, pushing the aviators higher up her nose. ‘I don’t want to face him.’

He clenched his hand into a fist, ready to storm out. ‘I’ll find him. I’ll make sure he understands exactly what happens if he thinks he can treat you like this.’

‘If you want to punish the person who hurt me, then start with me. I’m the culprit,’ Kashvi snapped. Her voice cracked into a whimper. ‘I’m the one forcing him to do this.’

None of it made sense, not when he could see how much she was hurting.