Page 57 of The Promise of a Traitor

“Hey,” he said, waiting till she was settled to pull into traffic.

“Hey,” she replied, flushing under the warmth of his gaze. “Morning.”

“Would it be okay if you reached the café a little late this morning?” Advik kept his gaze on the road, navigating around a loaded lorry. Someone was moving homes. New beginnings.

“How late?” Aastha asked though she already had her phone out to give Rohan a heads up.

“About an hour at most.” Advik turned right into one of the by lanes in Bandra. They pulled up outside an apartment building that looked like it was part of the recent redevelopment drive.

“Where are we going?” Aastha asked as she followed him into the foyer of the building. Advik just smiled, not answering. They took the elevator to the tenth floor and stepped out. Two doors on either end of the landing seemingly led to the apartments. Advik pulled out a key to the one on the right.

He unlocked the door, stepped back and waited for her to precede him. Aastha walked through as Advik shut the door behind them.

“Whose house is this?” she asked, turning slowly in a circle to take in the large, empty hall.

“I’m hoping,” he said, watching her carefully. “Ours.”

Aastha stopped mid-turn and looked at him.

“I bought this place a few years ago.” Advik scrubbed a hand through his unruly beard. “Never wanted to live in it. I’m, uh, assuming you don’t want to live with my parents post marriage so, if you like it, we could, um, live here.”

He took her elbow, gently steering her through the place. “I was hoping that you could help me decorate and furnish before the wedding so the place is something that both of us would like to call home. This is the master bedroom,” he threw a door open, walking her through the large space and the attached bathroom. “Over there,” he gestured with another hand, “is the open plan kitchen and the attached utilities area. There are two more bedrooms,” he walked a little ahead to one door and pushed it open, “but this one,” he paused, looking hesitant for the first time, “has an attached balcony. I thought maybe Amyra would like it better than the other. The balcony would give her a space to get some fresh air on days when she’s feeling a little under the weather.”

Aastha’s heart stuttered in her chest as she looked at the room and the large French doors that led to the balcony.

“Amyra?” she asked, her voice a choked whisper.

Advik came to stand behind her, his hands resting on her shoulder, drawing her close as he placed his chin on the top of her head, breathing her in. “You don’t honestly think I am going to let you leave her behind with those parents of yours, do you?”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Advik

“What the hell?” Daksh’s hushed voice was amplified in the silence of the room. “It looks a bit like a vanilla and chocolate swirl.”

“It looks like he only washed the bottom half of his face.” Advik glared at Kabir who was staring at him in absolute amazement.

“Dude, why?” Vikram’s shock was only highlighted by Rehaan’s burst of laughter. “Why would you do this on the day of your engagement.”

Advik stared at his face in the mirror. He had to admit the panic inside him mirrored Vikram’s shock.

He ran a hand along his jawline. “I thought all you idiots wanted me to shave. We were at a beard joke per day rate.”

The door opened and the women came in, laughing and joking. Until Tanisha caught sight of him.

“Oh my God. What happened?” she shrieked, the silver tray in her hand, laden with shagun, wobbling. Kabir grabbed for it and set it down on the bed.

Kimi walked over and poked at his cheek. “The poor thing hasn’t seen the light of day in forever.”

Advik swatted her hand away, staring morosely at his face. He’d thought it was a good day to shave his beard off. He’d never considered the fact that half his face hadn’t been exposed to the sun for years and now looked like the white stepbrother of the upper half of his face.

“Maybe we can get you a fake beard?” Rehaan offered, forcing the words out through the laughter spilling out of him. Kabir smacked the back of his head but he only laughed harder.

“Makeup,” Kimi said firmly.

“Excuse me?” Advik backed away from her like she had the plague.

“She’s right,” Vedika said from where she was standing. Daksh had his arms around her waist and had her resting against his chest. Could the man not stand without holding on to her?