Oh God.Meghna wracked her brain for a way to change the subject. She wasn’t interested in reliving her brief experience dating Seth back in college. Not when she was sitting here at his rehearsal dinner, just trying to get through his wedding weekend. And she especially didn’t want to discuss it when she was seated next to her fake fiancé. Who didn’t even know she had dated Seth at all.
But before Meghna could interrupt and change the topic, Eric answered Karthik’s question.
“You know, back in college. When they dated. I mean, it wasn’t that long, but they acted like a couple even before that.”
Meghna smiled weakly, and Eric went off on a tangent, leading to a funny story about their college days that thankfully had very little to do with either her or Seth. She sipped her wine and hoped Karthik would be distracted by the story. But when she discreetly looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she almost choked.
His expression was neutral. Composed, in his usual manner. But his eyes were dark and intense. Laser-focused on her. They made an unspoken promise that even though they wouldn’t discuss any of it now, he would definitely be bringing it up later.
Meghna swallowed nervously as all her hopes of avoiding this particular conversation vanished like smoke.
They dated?Karthik shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d picked up onsomethingstrange between the two of them. But he’d never thought for a moment that Meghna would have actually dated Seth. He still had a hard time believing they were even friends.
It wasn’t that she owed him this piece of information, but how had it not come up before? Was there a reason she’d want to hide it from him? A wisp of a thought crossed his brain, followed by an intense, almost nauseous feeling. He took a deep breath through his nose. He couldn’t allow that thought to fully develop. He had to get through the rest of the night first.
He glanced at Meghna, who was watching him quietly, an uneasy expression on her face. His stomach rolled. He broke eye contact, pretending to listen to another of Eric’s silly stories, slipping into a mode of being that was all too familiar. He nodded at the correct moments, laughed politely at others’ jokes, and responded to any questions that were asked. The perfect picture of a loving and caring fiancé.
Meghna, on the other hand, wore every emotion on her sleeve.When the dinner came to an end, the panic that flashed across her face was unmistakable. Karthik’s heart jumped in his throat, but he maintained a cool demeanor as they said their goodbyes and went back to the hotel. At the point where they needed to part ways for their separate rooms, Meghna attempted to say good night.
Karthik cut her off. “I’m just going to change into something more comfortable. But we need to talk.”
“Oh. I don’t know if that’s really necessary. I think we can—”
“It’s necessary. Your room or mine?”
“Umm. Mine’s okay. We can—”
“Great.”
He turned on his heel and entered his room, waiting until he’d brushed his teeth, washed his face, and changed into sweats and a T-shirt before allowing himself to think and feel what he’d started to at dinner.
God. It wasn’t possible, was it? That she still had feelings for Seth?
The sickening feeling from earlier returned. He didn’t want to think it was true, but if it was, it would explain so many of the questions he had about Meghna’s odd friendship with Seth.
Like why she put up with his rude comments and feedback. Why she helped him, over and over again, even when she got nothing in return. Why she made herself available for his every phone call and thought he was a “real creative genius.” Why she tolerated him calling her a nickname she hated.
He crossed the hallway in a bit of a daze. He must have knocked on Meghna’s door, because suddenly she was there, inviting him inside.
“What, um, what did you want to talk about?” she asked, her voice slightly higher than normal.
“You know what.” He looked around the room. He didn’t want to stand here awkwardly while they talked about this. He moved an armchair from the corner so that it faced one side of the bed and gestured for her to sit. She hesitantly perched on the edge of the bed while he took the chair.
“You and Seth used to date,” he said evenly.
“Uh, yes. Years ago. And not for that long.”
“Okay.” He nodded, but he knew that wasn’t the entire story. If it was, she wouldn’t be this nervous. And he wouldn’t feel this sick to his stomach.
“We’ve talked about him a lot, but you’ve never mentioned it.” He exhaled loudly. “Was there a reason?”
She shifted on the bed. “A reason?”
“A reason you never brought it up.”
Meghna looked away, but didn’t respond.
He waited. If there was one thing he was sure about, it was that Meghna wouldn’t lie to him. If the relationship had been so insignificant that it had slipped her mind, she would say that. Or maybe it had been so long ago that it wasn’t worth mentioning. Or it had been just a silly college fling. Or they had realized they were just good friends and it hadn’t been a real relationship after all. Or she didn’t even think about Seth that way anymore, so it wasn’t worth bringing up.
