Page 47 of The Promise of a Traitor

“Adi,” she said softly. “Let go.”

In response, his hand just tightened around her.

“Advik Malhotra.”

He glanced down at her, a small smile touching his lips. “Am I in trouble?”

“Don’t worry,” she said, rubbing her thumb along the furrows in his brow. “We’ll figure things out.”

His smile dipped a little but he released her. “What are you planning on feeding them?”

“Don’t worry,” she said again, smiling playfully. “I don’t plan on poisoning your parents.”

A second later, she paused, “Oh God! Do they have any allergies?”

Advik burst out laughing. Across the café, both Maya and Yash glanced over at the sound. Still chuckling, he shook his head. “No allergies.”

Aastha gave him a double thumbs up and disappeared into the kitchen. As the door swung shut behind her, she glanced down at her hands.

A double thumbs up? What the hell kind of dork was she trying to be today? First, she gasps for breath like an asthmatic, geriatric dog when Kabir Kashyap talks to her and then she thumbs ups her fiancé? Shaking her head at herself, she walked over to where Rehaan was kneading dough.

“Rehaan, soon to be brother-in-law and best friend, I need a favour.”

“Maya Chachi and Yash Chachu like simple food with strong flavour bases,” he replied, before she could even make her request. “She’ll like the pasta carbonara and he’d prefer a club sandwich. Pair it with the chocolate coffee mascarpone tart and the berry lemonade for her. He’d like a black coffee, no sugar or artificial sweetener.”

“Thank you,” she said fervently. “I love you.”

Rehaan grinned. “That’s what all the girls say.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Advik

“Mom.” Advik plonked himself on the chair across from his mother. “You need to stop.”

“Stop?” Maya took a sip of water and eyed her son. “What exactly have I done?”

“You know what you’re doing!” Advik protested.

“Watch the way you speak to your mother,” Yash said automatically, scrolling his phone and checking on his emails.

“Thank you, Yash.”

“And stop channelling my mother, Maya,” he added, tapping out a message to someone.

Advik’s mouth dropped open. Everyone, and he meant EVERYONE, knew about his mother’s contentious relationship with his paternal grandmother. Dadi had made her dislike of his mother very clear and had used every tool at her disposal to try and fracture his parents’ marriage over the years.

“Excuse me?” Outrage had Maya’s voice turning shrill. A few people glanced over from other tables.

“You’re doing the thing,” Yash said, seeming completely unfazed by his impending demise. He put his phone down and faced his wife. “The smiling politely while being bitingly cold thing. You’re going to give the poor girl frostbite if you keep it up.”

“She hurt my son,” Maya hissed. “She left him.”

“You left me,” Yash pointed out. “Remember?”

“No, I didn’t, you jackass. You called off our engagement.”

“Or so you thought. But it was really my mother, the woman whose scary impression you’re doing right now. Rather well at that.”