"So? Did you find someone?"
"Yes. My friend Puneet is going to come with me."
"Perfect! Now we need to go shopping. We both need new dresses for this party. Something stunning. This is the social event of the season."
The next evening, after work, Akshita dragged me to a shopping district I had never been to before. The stores here were upscale, the kind of places I usually avoided because the prices made my stomach hurt.
But Akshita was on a mission.
We went from store to store, trying on dress after dress. Everything Akshita picked out for herself was bold and daring. Finally, she settled on a stunning gold dress with a backless design that looked incredible on her.
"Your turn," she said, turning to the racks with determination. "We need to find something that will make jaws drop."
She pulled out a beautiful dress and held it up against me.
It was gorgeous. Elegant but with just enough edge to be interesting.
"Try it on. Trust me."
I took the dress into the changing room and slipped it on. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I barely recognized the woman looking back at me.
I looked beautiful. Confident. Like someone who belonged at fancy parties.
When I stepped out to show Akshita, her eyes went wide.
"Oh my god, Viya. That is the one. You have to get it. You look absolutely stunning."
I looked at the price tag and winced, but Akshita was already pushing me back toward the changing room.
"No arguments. You are getting that dress."
As I changed back into my regular clothes, I thought about Saturday night. About going to this party with Puneet. About seeing Armaan there.
Would he bring someone? Would he have to pretend we did not know each other beyond the professional?
The thought made that twisted feeling return to my chest.
But I pushed it down and focused on the present.
I would go to this party. I would wear this beautiful dress. I would have fun with my friend.
And I would try not to think about the fact that my husband would be in the same room, and I could not claim him as mine.
Chapter 15
Armaan
My wife was not talking to me.
Three days. Three long, torturous days of silence. Three days of her avoiding my eyes, sleeping as far away from me on the bed as physically possible, leaving for work before I woke up and coming home after I had already gone to bed.
All because of what she had seen in our bedroom.
I understood how it looked. I understood exactly what was running through her mind when she walked in to find Avija standing that close to me, her hands on my shirt. But understanding did not make the silence any easier to bear.
The truth was painfully simple. I had come home early that day because the Mehras had called to say they were coming to visit Dadi. I had changed out of my work clothes and was buttoning a fresh shirt when Avija had walked into our bedroom without knocking.
She had the audacity to tell me she missed me. That being in Paris had made her realize how much she wanted to be near me.That seeing me married to someone else, even temporarily, was harder than she had anticipated.
